Let's Be Realistic

[hollis o. grangers]

It’s not that we’re the enemies, really. It’s not even that we’re the pawns of some greater evil. Then again, we aren’t the heroes either. We are not the ones who saved the day when it all came down to it. I can honestly say we did try, though. We tried to save everyone like those heroes in the stories, but in the end we fell. What I am telling you now is neither the story of a hero nor the story of a villain. This is the story of the fallen.

My name’s Adelynne Drae Brinkley, and most people just call me Drae, but don’t ask why because I don’t honestly know. If I told you I was merely a normal girl I would be lying. I am not normal, but then again I am not quite unique either. There are others like me, who can do occult things. We’re not incredibly common, but there are more of us than you might think. We tend to hide our abilities, fearing what society would actually do if they knew that there are humanoids like us. I doubt they’d stop with merely interviewing. Anyway, like I said, there are others like me. I only knew of two who were friends of mine in school.

Callum Reed was in my math class freshman year. We met when we were forced to do that whole partner thing that no kid really wants to do at all, and luckily we got along well. As the months passed, we became friends. By sophomore year we were pretty tight, and could be considered best friends. Everyone knew we were friends, it was always Callum and Drae this, or Callum and Drae that. We knew everything about each other. Yes, this means we knew about each other’s supernatural abilities. Don’t worry, Callum could be trusted.

Later that year I met Bleumoon Winters, the daughter of a seemingly shady family. Her mother was clearly on drugs, and it seemed Bleu’s escape could be found within the halls of the school. No one ever spoke of Bleu’s father, and to this day I’ve no notion of what exactly happened to him. All I know was that he was not there. Bleu had known Callum before she knew me, and with my being buddies with Callum too, it was only a matter of time before we came face to face. The three of us soon developed a close bond, one that reminded me of the show Friends. We were just always there for each other. Secrets were not an option with us.

Bleu was special. Of course, she was born with abilities like Callum and me, but I don’t mean that. Bleu had multiple personalities, and this scared most people away from being near her. It was as if they deemed her to be a freak or something … Yeah, if only they knew what Callum and I knew. We understood though, and we didn’t shy away. Sometimes I wonder if that made us stronger than them. I’d like to think so, but I won’t ever assume again. With that explanation out of the way, there is the topic of exactly what abilities the three of us had left for me to explain.

Bleu was telepathic, and could read minds. She didn’t choose to, thoughts just passed through her head. She must’ve been pretty confused. I often wonder if she knew who’s thoughts were who’s, and if she knew what her own were compared to the rest. Callum was the traditional super fast guy, who could move at basically amazing speeds. He was super strong too, basically like Superman in the flesh. He was just younger is all. Then there is me, who can temporarily stop time.

The more I practice the longer I can pause time in the act. At this point I can stop it for about twenty minutes. Bleu has yet to control who’s minds she reads, and Callum can pick up an entire trailer without breaking a sweat. Despite our varied progressions, we are all pretty well off. I mean, you have to consider that most other humans can not do anything of the sort. Life was pretty normal for us though, we were used to the way we were and didn’t pay much attention to our difference.

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“Hey Drae!” I turned to look over my shoulder when I heard Callum’s voice behind me. Pausing as I situated my books for the fifth time that day, I smiled. “What’s up?” He asked as he drew closer, walking step in step with me.

“Nothing really, just off to history class. What about you?” I inquired, starting to walk once more down the hallway. I raised an eyebrow as he produced a test he had taken just two days ago. Red marks cluttered the black text, and a whopping failure of a grade stood out like a sore thumb on the top of the page. “Oh wow, that sucks. Looser.” I teased, a smile growing on my face. Callum scowled and huffed.

“Well it was only one bad grade so I should be fine anyway.” He retorted, hastily stuffing the paper into one of his black binders as I watched out of the corner of my eye. Smirking, I veered to the right and waved in a farewell.

“Well see you later, looser!” I called before slipping into the classroom before I could earn myself a glare. In her seat already was Bleu, who was frantically trying to put her binder back together. I swear, that thing always fell apart on the poor girl. Today though, this was not what caught my immediate attention. Instead, the two girls who sat behind her were pointing and giggling loudly at something.

When Bleu dropped a wad of papers, her face falling as she bent to pick them up, the girls burst out in laughter. There was no doubt in my mind now who their entertainment was today, and anger made me clench my fists. Narrowing my eyes, I stomped over to my seat next to Bleu, and helped her collect her papers. Ignoring the laughing girls was the best thing to do, so I did. I ignored them.

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Quite honestly, this happens to almost everyone. Getting laughed at by those who think of themselves as greater than you, and even just feeling angry for a friend. This is what you could call the beginning of everything that would happen in the next year. Let’s be realistic, this stuff happens. No matter who you are, or what you are, it happens. I think this is what got to Bleu the most, the teasing and poking fun. She came to school hoping to escape her home life, which I happen to know pretty much sucks. When her school life went downhill, she honestly couldn’t have known where to go.

Anyway, each day was similar. Some days Callum, Bleu, and I would hang out after school and walk downtown. We were the best of friends back then. Honestly, I’d trade anything to get those days back. We have to move on though, just like everyone says.

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“Mom I’m home!” I called as I shut the door behind me. Cold wind rustled the leaves outside and made me shiver as the last sweep of it followed me into the house. A voice carried from the kitchen and got louder as I ran down the hallway. Poking my head around the corner, I saw my mother cutting up carrots for dinner or something.

“Hi, Sweetie. How was your day?” She asked, looking up at me with a warm smile. I dropped my bag by the closet and plopped myself on a stool at the counter.

“It was fine. I got my test grade from Mr. George back today.” I replied, biting my lower lip and not wanting to meet my mother’s eyes. Ah yes, the test. Immediately I regretted bringing it up, and cringed inwardly.

“Oh yeah? What’d you get on it?” She asked, her tone changing a little bit as she looked down to chop some more carrots. I blinked and frowned. How was I going to tell her I failed? She wouldn’t understand. Mom never understands …

“I uhm … I failed it.” I told her quietly, and jumped when she slammed the knife down on the cutting board with such force it caused the vase on the other side of the counter to tremble.

“Adelynne Drae!” She yelled, pointing a finger at me. Her face contorted in anger and I shrank back. She was so angry, she got angry a lot too. It’s times like these I wish Dad would come home from his business trips. Tears threatened to pour over, and with a swish of my finger time just stopped. My mother froze in place, looking like a gargoyle. The ticking clock on the wall stopped moving. I gathered myself, hoping my sangfroid act would be enough to fool her. Sniffing and wiping my nose, I resumed my previous position and swished my hand once more. Time continued.

“Mom I-” I began, only to be cut off.

“No! You’re grounded. Just wait until your father hears this.” She grumbled, her eyes burning fire. At this point I knew there was only one way to reply.

“Yes Mother.” I murmured before turning around, sliding off the chair and grabbing my bag as I headed up to my room.

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Alright, so my family life was fine, even though it doesn’t look like it. Mom just expects a lot from me is all. I won’t say that is wrong, though it doesn’t help me at all. It just puts a lot of pressure on me, you know? I have to live up to the great standards of my mother. Hey, at least it is me though. I am not sure Bleu could survive with the pressure of living up to anything. She’s fragile, and all who care to know her are in the light of this.

Callum seems to have the perfect life. Actually I happen to know he does. His parents got a divorce before he could remember, and from what I heard it was not a terrible divorce. Just a clean and simple break. His mother is happily married to a man that Callum himself approves of, and though I know he wishes he knew his real dad, he doesn’t seem too unhappy with his family. With right. Things could always be worse. If you’ve ever heard that phrase, then reply with this: things could always be better. It’s true, you know.

We’re just teenagers, honestly. It’s a good thing no one knows of our special abilities yet. Callum, Bleu, and I are just like the normal ones, trying to get through life while being bombarded by tests and hormonal parents. Maybe we’re the hormonal ones, now that I think about it. Either way, we’re in the same boat they are. Nothing is easier just because we were born special.

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“Hey Bleu!” I ran up to my friend, who grinned as she peered at me. Instantly we fell into our usual chit-chat about the latest gossip, or how our history teacher completely sucked at life. It was not long until Callum came up to us from behind.

“Guys, look at this!” He lifted an article in the newspaper up to our faces, shoving it so close that I couldn’t actually read what it said.

“I would if you calmed down and backed up a little, Cal.” Bleu snapped, taking the words right out of my mouth. Smirking, I stifled a giggle as the boy huffed and complied. It took a moment for Bleu and I to read the article, but when we finished Callum looked like he was the happiest guy on Earth.

“A new Superman movie! I am so excited!” He gushed, bleu eyes shining. Bleu and I smiled, knowing just how much he idolized Superman, being so much like him and all. Personally I was a fan of Piper from that TV show Charmed. She could stop time like I could, and as for Bleu the mind-reader, Edward from Twilight was her idol. In fact, she even planned on buying herself a silver Volvo when she could drive. Suddenly the bell rang for class, and the three of us could only laugh as we stumbled into our classrooms, each receiving a scolding for being tardy.

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Callum really did idolize Superman. We all have heroes you know, even if we deny it. We all want to live up to something, someone, who we think is just great in all aspects. More often than not, you find yourself similar to whoever you idolize, which makes it easier to reach the goals you aspire to. Sure, Callum is next to obsessed with a cartoon character, but it is a character who shares his super-being abilities. I don’t see anything wrong with wanting to be the hero everyone adores. Do you?

Just take a minute here and pretend you were one of us. We are the same type of people who save the world over and over again and yet … No one knows this. Maybe it is for the best. Like Piper I don’t want anyone to know anyway. They’d be on my back about things I cannot control, just because of their expectations. Bleu agrees with me, and she is no idiot. Even she knows she is too fragile to handle the wants of the hungry public just looking for heroes to rely on. But Callum … He wants everyone to know. He likes attention, and he wants to be able to help people whenever they need it. Instead he followed us, and kept everything in the shadows of our lives. But I guess he was always tempted.

I am sure he did not mean to, but there came a day when that temptation became too much for Callum. He was always trying to prove himself too, but that’s just boys for you. In his case it became not a matter of pride, but of danger from the moment he let the secret slip. I never cared to know the whole story, it didn’t matter. What was done was done, right? There was no undoing it. I could stop time, not rewind it. Bleu was the first to realize what had happened. She heard the thoughts before anyone said a thing to her, and she ran to me just as I left school that day. Let me tell you, word travels fast. Gossip is an evil thing.

Before that day ended we had everyone just waiting. It was as if they expected us to do something. We hadn’t done anything in the past, why should we start now? Bleu and I tried to avoid Callum for the rest of the day, as we traced it back to him. After all, Bleu and I were against telling people. We were hoping it would die down, the excitement and the shock. But days passed and it did not. I am sure Callum never thought anything would come of his little conversation that day, but he was only a kid like Bleu and I. We were only kids, with expectations much too great riding on our shoulders.

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Red sirens of an ambulance passed my house around six o’ clock PM a few months after the secret had slipped. I was in my room, trying to ignore my parents downstairs arguing about me. Mom was all for the grades, yet Dad was talking about science and things. I think he wanted experiments done or something. Well I wasn’t making a point of listening- I had work to do. I didn’t think much of the sirens then, I heard them often living in a bustling city like this. Things happened, that was life.

I did look out my window as the ambulance passed, though. It was a cloudy day, and rain was dropping from the sky lightly, dampening the grass and the pavement. It was a Friday, and I could have been out with friends. Callum was out seeing that new Superman movie, alone. Bleu had not been the same since the secret slipped. Our lives had gone into chaos. We couldn’t leave the house without stares upon us, or without that feeling that we must do this, and we had to do that. Obligations this way and that, and we were sick of it. We all skipped school today, I knew because both Callum and Bleu were on their blogs only a few hours ago.

I blinked and turned back to this paper I was writing that was actually due today. Of course since I was absent, it gave me extra time that was much needed. Bringing my pencil to the paper, I paused when the phone rang. For some reason I didn’t start writing again either, I just sat there. The phone rang, and it rang. It sounded ominous, and the shrill debates of my parents came to a halt. Did they feel it too, I had wondered. Slowly getting off my chair, I skulked to the door, opening it a little. Mom had answered it, and she was talking into the receiver, her voice quiet. Then she wailed, like a hysterical crying wail. I heard Dad shout something, and then I was bolting down the stairs. What had happened, what was wrong? They were so upset. An ambulance had passed only a few minutes ago.

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That was the day I realized something. I realized that pressure and expectation can ruin someone’s life. We were only teenagers when this all occurred, and I hate speaking of it now. Younger than our neighbors, and fellow classmates of the other kids. And yet we were put on a pedestal just because we were special. Abilities don’t make you more mature, or mentally stronger. They don’t make you wiser or more capable of anything than any other person. This was the day I lost a friend. Bleu had downed a bottle of pills from the medicine cabinet that day, trying to escape what people thought she was.

I don’t blame Callum for this. I don’t blame myself for this. No one was at fault here, honestly. It was the way the world works that drove Bleu to commit suicide. The way society raised us all to be was the greatest downfall of one who aspired to be what society itself wanted her to be. So forget the fact that super heroes save the world in comic books and movies. In real life, they might never get the chance.

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I walk down the halls today, June 16th. It is the last day of Senior year in high school and we’re about to set off on our own. Everyone is cheering and laughing, strutting the halls with newfound excitement, and fear they keep hidden behind their smiling faces. I grin along with them; I am excited too. Clutching my books to my chest I round the corner on my way to history class. It is funny how history shows us exactly what mistakes we made in the past. We’ve yet to heed the warnings of previous years, and realize what we’ve done wrong. Maybe one day we will, I think as I enter the classroom. Maybe one day the people here will learn from the mistake they made only a year ago. I still feel gazes on me when I walk into the classroom, though the shock has finally died down.

I pass Callum’s desk, and my old friend looks up at me through sallow eyes. He’s changed. I can see he’s gotten skinnier and that his once shiny hair has acquired a dull and dusty appearance. I see that he regrets sharing our secret that day. I don’t stop, and I don’t speak when I pass him, though our eyes meet. Unspoken memories flicker between us, and I can feel myself catch my breath. I remember.

[/justify]