Bittersweet Magic

"PART ONE Chapter One Jason It was another boring day. In early November, we're all still getting used to our new lives. New houses (my dad and I moved; Derek got his wish of an adoptive family near us, as well as Alex and Amy who got nice parents and a house within walking distance of the rest of us). School; that was the worst. In my mind, it was almost like the facility we used to live in. Break a rule and you get detention. You're stuck there ALL DAY. It can get pretty boring. We kept our Powers, but it’s our little secret; only us teens know. We told the three adults that we gave up our Powers to save the Earth from total destruction. The look on their faces? It was as if we told them we saved the Earth by blowing up a balloon. So, another day of school. We all meet up at lunch in the cafeteria. I sit down along with Amy and Derek at our usual spot. I'm glad I brought a lunch today. I think to myself. ‘Why?’ I go on inspecting my packed lunch, pretending nothing happened, ‘One day you’re going to scare me, Myra, and you’re gonna blow our cover. And then I'm going to kill you.’ ‘Boo hoo.’ She says unconcerned and I see her glance back at me from the entrance. She smiles in that cute way that she does, that makes her eyes crinkle and dimples form on her cheeks - but right now she's only doing it to tease me. I take out my leftover spaghetti and open the container. Alex walks over from the food line, followed by Myra. Myra sits beside me and Alex takes the last seat. “Not a shepherd’s pie, fan?” She asks poking her straw into her juice. I shake my head, “Nah, and my dad didn’t want me to waste his ‘perfectly good meal’.” I quote him and roll my eyes. Alex glances sideways at Myra. I can tell there's some sort of exchange from the way her face flushes and she starts to attack her meal. Alex shifts in his seat, then glances at his twin, who's glaring at him. Amy's bright blue eyes lock on her brother's for a moment. She rolls her eyes, then, and turns back to her lunch. Amy and Alex don’t have telepathy, but you’d swear they do. ‘Easy on the pie, My.’ I think, taking a bite of spaghetti. I look up at her, watching her hear me and pause her fork attack. ‘I know,’ She sighs. She drops her fork and pushes her hair behind her ear, her fingers lingering by her cheek. “Oh, it was brutal!” Alex is saying. I shift my attention to the conversation, “What was?” I ask. “Our social test.” He grumbles. Myra nods, her mouth full. “Hey, are we meeting up tomorrow?” Amy asks. Today is Friday; every Saturday, we try to meet up and hang out. Sometimes it was a movie, others it was just lunch or a simple get together in the park. Often, no matter the place, it was the only time we ever talked about our past. Man, we had a messed up past. Everything changed after we all turned ten. During that year, we were all kidnapped, and brought out to the facility. We’d had our memories tampered with, left without memories of our past. After almost six years of living there, we escaped, but almost got ourselves killed in doing so. After a week on the run, we went back to where we were trapped for so long. That was a mistake. A mistake I insisted on. But somehow, we managed to get away with our lives, the artifact, and Myra. In the end, you could say we won. But we’ve all been scarred. And, after we came home and settled down, we realized we may have overlooked something; forgotten about someone. I shiver. “I’m free.” I say, jarring myself out of my memories. “Me, too.” Myra says, putting down her juice. “I’d have to ask; we might be going to the fair.” Derek sticks his fork in the shepherd’s pie. Derek has a younger brother; Nathan; and sister; Brianna; who are also adopted. They both love going to the fair, they have for the past three years they've lived here. But with all of us being fifteen, (Myra turned fifteen in the middle of our escape; we were too preoccupied to remember, though) or in Derek’s case, sixteen, there wasn't that much there for us as there would be for an eight and ten year old. “You can’t ditch?” Alex asks. “No; I can never ditch a ‘family day out’.” He rolls his eyes. “So hopefully Derek can come, but it’s set, right?” Amy looks around at the rest of us. “Lunch?” Myra confirms. “Lunch.” Alex nods. The bell rings then, for lunchtime activities. Derek stands up, “Student council,” He says, picking up his tray, “See you guys later.” We all wave to him. I turn back to my lunch. While I eat, I wonder about things we don’t often talk about anymore. I also wonder (not for the first time) about my evil Grandfather and our used-to-be-friend, Caren. After thinking for so long she’d died, seeing her was the biggest surprise ever. And there’s still that nagging thought in the back of my mind that she hasn’t been completely dealt with. ‘Again with the evil?’ Myra taps my leg with her foot. Giving her a sideways glance, I catch her luminescent eyes staring at me. ‘Well, you told us what happened, but that was so long ago. And you always find a way to talk about it without putting yourself there. You pretend it never happened, now. You never talk about that night.’ I complain. She ignores me, finishing her juice. ‘I don’t want to.’ She says, her voice final. I sigh. It’s been almost three months, and the others have just about given up thinking that Caren is still out there. Myra doesn’t say anything about her time with Caren or my grandfather other than, ‘It was the worst thing ever’ or ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’ “Ow,” I mumble as she kicks my shin, my thoughts as clear in her mind as my words. She doesn't lift her head. Amy glances between Myra and I suspiciously, and then turns back to her lunch. More and more often, recently, I’ve wondered if Amy was telepathic. We all had our fair share of secrets even the air couldn’t reveal."