Part I - 2: Controlling One's Power

After Joey left, I started setting the table for dinner. Mom was bringing dinner home that night, but I sometimes cooked for us when we felt like pancakes or spaghetti. My head was a buzz of what happened that day so much that I didn't even hear her walk in.

I jumped a foot off the ground when she said "I hope you feel like Chinese."

During the meal, I kept feeling her eyes on me. The dinner talk was normal, but she seemed to sense something was different about me. Finally, while we were cleaning up, our eyes met, and I felt that feeling again. This time though, it was her mind that spoke to mine.

"So you found them. I had prayed you would never find your powers after forgetting them, what, six years ago?" she said in my head.

I could only stand there with my mouth open.

Then out loud, she said, "We better have a talk. Good thing we had our birds and the bees talk last month. I don't think I could have handled both at the same time.

We went over to the couch and sat down. I was feeling pretty... Well I don't know what to call it. Embarrassed? Scared? Shy? I felt like I had been caught jerkin' off, which had never happened to me at the time.

"Before I ask what you have done so far, I suppose I should tell you about my... life before you." She explained pretty much what I said at the beginning of my story, except she didn't mention my father had the power too. She then went on and explained how bad it was to change another person, even a little bit. That God had intended for others to be the way they were, and we shouldn't tamper with God's work.

She ended with, "It is also very bad manners to spy on other peoples thoughts when they don't know. That is why... Why I ask your permission before I examine yours. Is it all right if I look for myself and see? Nothing you have done could make me angry at you, or change the way I feel about you. You should know that."

I sat there, feeling like I had been asked to open my hand so she could see it was red (handed). I was looking at nothing, feeling her mind all around me, touching my cheeks, my ears, my nose, my hair. But never entering my mind.

The only thing I could do was slowly nod my head once without looking at her. As soon I had, I felt something warm touch my mind, then was gone in an instant.

"Oh I am so proud of you!" she said as she wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.

"Hurg?!?" came from my mouth, a result of the surprise and the hug. This was the last thing I had expected.

"When I had first discovered my powers, the first thing I did was to enslave one of my coworkers. But you didn't harm anyone, or make anyone do anything they shouldn't or wouldn't have. You even resisted using it on Joey. I must say I am surprised about the boy stuff since all I ever got from you mind was images of girls. When you were in your room, um, doing your thing, your mind leaked very badly. That's why I knew it was time to give you the sex talk last month.

"I feared you had made some poor little girl your love slave. Or just messed with someone's head for the fun of it," she added.

"But... I don't understand," I finally said. "I did make others do things. Like... Like in the shower and stuff."

"Did you do it on purpose?" she replied.

"No. But I guess I had wanted it," I said. I didn't want to admit anything more.

"Timmy, you did good on your first day. Please believe me. Feeling guilty about these things means you probably won't do them again. You know what is right, and what is wrong. Don't let yourself be tempted to do evil like I had.

"God gave you this gift. Once you learn how to control these powers, you should use them only when your heart tells you it is OK, and when your mind agrees. Don't use them to control others, but to help others if they ask for it. Everyone has the right to be themselves. You may even find someone who will want you to alter them. But never alter them if they do not wish it."

We talked on through the night. I actually learned a great deal from her. She showed me how to shield my thoughts from others. How to control my own body, and to some extent hers as well. I saw through her eyes, listened through her ears, and even once spoke through her mouth. Everything she showed me I understood instantly, and wanted to learn more and more. Finally she called a halt to it. It was after midnight on a school night.

While she drove me to school the next morning, she made me swear I wouldn't use them while I was there. If I behaved, she would show me more after school once I had proven it to her by letting her peek into my mind. Then after we spent the weekend going over everything, she promised she wouldn't ask to peek into my thoughts unless I was obviously screwing up other people.

It was a good thing she made me promise too. I wanted so badly to show off some of my new "tricks". My resolve lasted until Mrs. Patterson's class, then I could not resist myself.

Mrs. Patterson had just finished telling us how disappointed she was in our latest paper, and we would have to rewrite it, and add to it. No one was particularly happy with this. The thought just jumped into my head and instantly I issued the command. Just as Mrs. Patterson was sitting down, she let out the longest and noisiest fart any of us had ever heard. As the entire classroom rolled with laughter, Mrs. Patterson's face turned red. And when she shifted in her chair to try and regain order, I couldn't help myself as I made her make little baby farts every time she moved. By this time, several people had fallen out of their seats and were rolling on the floor, including me.

Then I noticed that Mrs. Patterson was not finding this amusing, nor even distasteful. She was virtually near to tears. I felt the pain she was feeling, and decided that I had to fix that. I made her realize the amusing side of the situation. I guess I shared a little bit of my immaturity with her.

As I felt the image repeat in her head several times, the pain grew less, and just as most of the class had lost the ability to laugh anymore, Mrs. Patterson exploded in laughter. And when I say exploded, I mean, it was like a bomb went off. I saw a new side of Mrs. Patterson that day. And it was beauty-ful.

Her scraggly face became one large smile that forced her teary eyes to squeeze shut. Her tubby body shook like jello as her booming laughter echoed around the room. She laughed so loud the windows shook, and even rocked herself so hard in her chair that she fell backwards. That only renewed the classroom laughter, and several people were choking on their own joy while Mrs. Patterson rolled around the floor laughing.

As everyone finally ran out of energy and breath and the people who had come to investigate the ruckus had left, we all just sat there smiling at Mrs. Patterson as she did the same to us. No one spoke for several minutes, partially because we couldn't.

Finally, Mrs. Patterson said as the bell rang, "Perhaps those papers weren't so bad after all," and we all understood the implied message. Joey gave me a questioning look as we walked out the classroom. All I did was smile and shrug.

As we walked to the lunch room, I gave Joey a quick run down about what happened after he left the last evening. When we approached our table, John, Brad, and Lex stopped their talking and watched me approach. I felt a chill run down my spine from the weird vibes I was getting from them. I wasn't peeking at their thoughts or anything either. They definitely had a problem with me.

"Uhmm, what up guys?" I said as I set my tray down. Joey wasn't really sure what to do, but followed my example and put his tray down. He kept his mouth shut too, which before yesterday would have been impossible.

John glanced at Brad, then said, "Seems like there were a lot of things 'up' yesterday."

"Urr? Look, what's going on?" I said, playing dumb. Joey had sat down, but I was still standing. I wanted to check out their thoughts, but somehow I felt that it would be the wrong thing to do. Beside, I had made a deal with my mother.

"What, can't you just read our minds?" Brad said. Then he turned to Joey and said, "How about it Joey. You were trying to tell us about our friend here, the psychic. I figured we wouldn't be able to shut you up for a week about it."

"Fuck You," Joey replied. "We spent the whole day after school yesterday trying to send each other a telepathic message. All I got was a headache."

"Well, you asked for it," I said, trying to follow his lead. "You wouldn't leave me alone about it until we tried it. I guess it was kinda fun, even if it was a complete waste of time." Then I sat down.

"You dork!" Lex said as he backhanded John on the upper arm. "You had me almost believing you."

John and Brad just looked at each other, then Brad said, "But we had the same fantasy about Suzi! At the same time! All four of us!"

"We did? I mean, yeah, I was thinking about Suzi. But I'm always thinking about Suzi in that class. She sits two chairs in front of me." I said.

"You can't tell me that you weren't imagining Suzi in her bikini and that you didn't imagine her bottom string breaking so you could look at her ass." Brad said.

"Hey, that was my fantasy!" Joey interrupted. "I told you that one yesterday! But I didn't tell you the best part," he said with a grin.

"What?" Lex said, taking the bait. He had perked up at the possible change in the topic.

"She had a tattoo of a heart that said 'Joey'. She was at the beach with me, and she was, like, my girl... " Joey paused as he was blushing. But then he said, "Well, it was just a fantasy." For a moment I wondered if I had been accidentally getting some of his fantasies instead of the other way around.

John then said "That's not what mine was like. OK, I give up."

Brad stayed quiet then. I guessed he was either feeling unsure about it all, or maybe realized he would have to have something more to back up his claims. I didn't dare try and peek at his thoughts. I might give myself away accidentally.

We finished lunch with the regular chit chat, with Brad not joining in too much. As we were leaving the cafeteria, he tagged behind me for a minute, then caught up with me.

"So, what do you think happened yesterday in the showers?" Brad finally asked.

I looked at him a sec, then said, "I think... I think there were a lot of horny studs that just had to spank their monkeys at the same time. Shit, I don't know." After a moment of silence, I faked a little anger and said, "OK, I might have started it by doing it to myself, but I can't make anybody else do it! I am sick of this shit. First Joey, now you! If I can read minds and make people do things, why the fuck am I here! I would be fucken my brains out with every fucken girl in this fucken school. So FUCK OFF!"