Chapter 5

Elaine was miserable. It had been a month since she had found out about the rumors, and her situation hadn't improved any. Though, due to her Gift, she showed no outward signs of it, the stress she was under was taking its toll. She was falling behind in all of her classes, and had difficulty sleeping. Though Arrowhead's food quality had noticeably improved during the past few weeks, thanks to Sonya Brown, Elaine found herself with little appetite.

The rumors had continued spreading, and Elaine had become a complete outcast. Students avoided her to the fullest extent of their abilities, and even the instructors refused to meet her gaze. The only people who even tried to approach her were her three former friends. They knew the rumors were false, but surely the only reason they wanted to get close to Elaine was to betray her again. This was why it was better to avoid friendship. The fewer people she let in, the fewer there were with the opportunities to cause her grief. Elaine had thought those three were different. She had been such a fool.

Elaine's mother, who had recovered nicely, had noticed the change in her daughter and tried to help, but Elaine didn't want to discuss her problems. She spent more and more time in her room, with the door locked, ignoring the outside world. When she had realized that the situation was extremely unlikely to ever improve, Elaine had even attempted suicide, using her accursed new Gift to teleport her heart from her chest, but her body had betrayed her, shifting form to a healthy version of herself the instant she had done it, and teaching Elaine that she was, for many intents and purposes, unkillable. Any otherwise fatal injury prompted an instinctive shift back to her original form, sans injury. This had left Elaine perfectly healthy, but with an exceptionally awkward problem in her hands. It had been a chore, but she had managed to dispose of the extra organ. Elaine couldn't help but laugh at the situation. Since then, she hadn't felt that deep despair, but had simply let herself go numb.

Currently, Elaine sat at the breakfast table, staring at a plate of fruit she could not force herself to eat. Sighing, she pushed the plate to Lex and trudged over to get her backpack. It was another Monday, and time to endure another week of her exclusion. Though the weather was pleasant, clear and cool, with the snap of autumn heavy in the air, Elaine did not notice it. Her feet took her to her destination without conscious guidance, though her sluggish pace said louder than words just how little she desired to be there.

Despite her pace, Elaine arrived at school early, mainly thanks to her having left without pausing for breakfast. Numbly, she walked to the front door, and the students parted before her. Elaine leaned against the wall, looking out at the other early students. Every time she incidentally made eye contact with one of them, they flinched and hurriedly looked away. None of them were actually rude to her, but she knew that was only because they were too afraid.

Elaine continued her emotionless examination of the assembled students, and winced as she saw one coming towards her. He was going to try again, she knew. Why couldn't he just leave her alone?

"Elaine. I'm going to tell you again, we didn't start this," Saric said, though his voice betrayed the fact that he already knew her response, "You need support. I can see in your eyes that this is getting to you. Let us help you."

Elaine briefly came out of her emotional numbness. He couldn't resist another opportunity to hurt her, could he? Hadn't he and his friends done enough? Instead of screaming at him, Elaine's response was icy.

"I have told you before, Saric, that I do not wish to speak with you. You three are the only ones with whom I discussed the alteration of my Gift; therefore, logic dictates that you three are the only ones who could have started the rumors. I am not going to let you get to me again. Get out of my sight. And stop trying to use that fucking Gift of yours on me, no amount of charisma is going to change my mind."

"I wouldn't use my Gift on you, Elaine!" Saric protested, a hurt look in his eyes.

"Leave. Me. Alone."

Elaine turned her back to Saric, staring intently at the door that was the entrance to the hell that he had condemned her to, waiting for the beginning of yet another day.

The doors opened, and Elaine walked inside. Even those students who were normally the first in hung back, causing Elaine to think briefly of a quote from a book she had once read. Leper. Outcast. Unclean. The only ones who ever approached her were the three people she least wanted to deal with. Elaine determinedly set off towards math class.

Math class was fairly standard. Elaine sat in the middle of the classroom, surrounded by eight vacant desks. No one wanted to sit adjacent to someone who could steal Gifts. Mr. Feldwythe was lecturing the class as usual, but Elaine decided to tune him out. What did it matter? It wasn't like he was going to call on her for inattention. No one knew exactly what Mr. Feldwythe's Gift was, but presumably, he didn't want to lose it any more than the next person. Time slowly passed, and, it seemed half an eternity later, the bell rang. Elaine got up to leave.

"Elaine, would you please stay a moment?"

It was Mr. Feldwythe. He had actually spoken to her? Elaine was so stunned that she probably wouldn't have been able to move if he had told her the building was on fire.

The other students filed out, and Elaine shook off her surprise, walking to the front of the room and making eye contact with Mr. Feldwythe. Amazing. He didn't flinch at her proximity, or her gaze. Was it possible he hadn't heard the rumors?

"Aren't you afraid I'll steal your Gift?" Elaine asked, trying to keep the venom out of her voice. She wasn't angry with him, she reminded herself.

"As a matter of fact, I am not."

"Haven't you heard the rumors?"

"Elaine, I was a student in this school not that long ago. I still remember that nearly every rumor I heard back then turned out to be false, or so grossly distorted as to be nearly unrecognizable."

"That doesn't stop the other teachers from treating me as though I were radioactive."

"They have to worry that the rumors might, however unlikely it is, be true."

"And you don't?"

"No. I do not."

"Why not? The only people who wouldn't worry about losing their Gifts are..." Elaine's eyes widened.

"Precisely. Those who have no Gifts to lose."

"You're Giftless?"

"Elaine, do you realize that your inflection was approximately the same as if you had asked me if I were a serial killer?"

"I'm sorry," Elaine said hastily, "That isn't what I meant."

"I know, and I'm fairly used to getting that reaction from people."

"How do you deal with it?"

"It isn't as hard as you might think. We humans got along quite nicely for thousands of years without Gift. I spent most of my life before there was such a thing. The hardest thing to deal with, really, is the way people react. I'd imagine you've learned a fair bit about that in the past month."

Elaine nodded. Those who were naturally immune to the mutation virus were exceptionally few in number, and aside from those who were elderly when the virus was released and strangely immune to its effects, a person with no Gift was very rare. A lot of people looked down on them as inferior. The worst people looked at them as they looked at apes: as an evolutionary ancestor, but not a sentient being. Even in Arrowhead, they were unofficially strongly urged to refrain from having children, though Sparkweaver spoke out against those who suggested such things.

"But why did you decide to act as a long-term substitute math teacher?" Elaine asked, "People my age are not generally known for their broad senses of compassion."

"That's part of why I came. If I can demonstrate to these students that I am still a competent human being, then when they learn I am Giftless, they may rethink their prejudices."

Elaine nodded.

"But why tell me?"

"I needed to talk to you, and I felt you needed to know what was going on. The reason I actually called you up here was to discuss the problems you seem to be having with math."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Feldwythe. It's just a bit difficult to motivate myself to do anything when it feels like nothing I do matters."

"I don't know if this will help, but my experience with rumors has shown that they tend to pass, eventually, unless further evidence is offered to support them."

"It seems like this one is lasting an eternity."

"I understand. If it helps, you've got a friend here, not just a teacher. If you need to talk, just let me know."

"Thanks, Mr. Feldwythe. I'll try to do better with math."

"I appreciate that. You'd best get to your next class, Elaine. Have as good a day as you can, and good luck with this rumor dying down quickly and thoroughly."

Elaine smiled and hurried off to history.

The facets of Genesis having been briefly covered, Ms. Taggert had launched into more ancient history. The topic was currently focused on ancient Europe. Elaine found herself a bit curious about the subject, and had a few questions, but Ms. Taggert was in general too good a teacher for Elaine to subject her to the stress of deciding whether or not to respond to her raised hand. Elaine suspected she would be acknowledged, but also knew that it would make everyone too nervous to focus on the lesson. Instead, Elaine wrote down her questions. She would ask them at a later date, when she could get answers without disrupting class.

Elaine patiently waited through the remainder of the class, but it appeared Ms. Taggert had somewhere else to be, as she did not linger after the bell rang. Elaine shrugged, picked up her backpack, and began making her way to the locker room.

It was as she was walking through the hallways that the attack occurred. It began innocently enough. An area in the middle of her back, about as large as her palm, began tingling. As Elaine paused to consider this odd feeling, the tingling increased, and began growing uncomfortably warm. Elaine turned around, seeking the source of the sensation, but saw nothing that could be causing the feeling. The heat increased further.

There was only one explanation. Someone was using a Gift on her. The spot on her back was now painfully hot, and still the heat increased. Elaine was still uncertain who was responsible, so she did the only thing she could think to do. She ran. The heat followed her for a short distance, and the pain continued to increase to an agonizing level, but Elaine knew that whoever was causing it likely had limited range, and could not follow her at the speed she was going without becoming conspicuous. She ran on, and soon, the attacker was left behind. The pain died down slightly as its source was cut off, but the majority of it was still there. Elaine suspected she had been rather badly burned. Elaine, however, remembered the results of her attempt at suicide, and shimmered into a non-injured form of herself, cutting off the pain as if a switch had been thrown.

Physically, the attack was insignificant. Emotionally, it was upsetting. Mr. Feldwythe might have been partially right, but it seemed that, in absence of fear, the students were beginning to resort to bullying tactics. Elaine sighed, and her earlier optimism vanished. Would it never end?

The locker room was much the same as always, crowded, noisy, and unpleasant. Elaine removed her shirt, turning it inside out to look at the spot she had been burned. Surely enough, there was a small circle of darkened fabric on the back of her shirt. Elaine knew she was not in actual danger, if perhaps only due to her Gift, but the prospect of long-term harassment was even less pleasant than that of long-term ostracism. Elaine shook her head and changed into clothing that didn't impede her movement.

When Elaine reached the blacktop, she barely recognized the place. Cameron had set up what appeared to be a very complicated obstacle course. How he had gotten it constructed on such short notice was a mystery. Elaine spent a few minutes waiting before he showed up and offered an explanation.

"First, thank you to all those students who answered my request for volunteers on Friday to help get this course ready so quickly."

Had Cameron requested volunteers? Elaine hadn't noticed. But then, she hadn't really been paying much attention.

"As I mentioned Friday, we're moving into a study of Gift in teamwork. This obstacle course will be your first lesson. While the course itself will be up for a few weeks, do not expect things to be exactly the same. The course is as follows: First, you will scale this wall," he gestured towards an impressively high wall. It looked to be about ten feet tall, but it also looked to have some hand and footholds, "On the other side, a large area has been converted to an aboveground pool. You will swim to the middle, dive to the bottom, and retrieve a ring, then swim to the other side. Be warned, this pool is deeper than most aboveground pools. Beyond that, you will crawl through a large pipe, ending up at the track. Run once around the track, until you are back at the pipe, then run to the opposite side. On the other side of the track, a double row of tires leads into a hedge maze. The exit to the maze is next to the entrance. From there, a ditch has recently been dug, with ropes hanging above it, suspended from a recently erected framework. You will first climb those ropes to retrieve another ring at the top, and then use the ropes to swing across the ditch. You may navigate these obstacles in any way you desire, but all members of your team must reach the finish line with both rings. You have three minutes to select a team. Do not start until I give the signal. The first team to the finish line will be awarded with extra credit. Any team that does not make it within the time allowed for the period will get an F for the day."

The groups began forming. Needless to say, no one gave Elaine a second glance. Well, that wasn't strictly true. Saric, Kentaro and Dennis had formed a team, and were making inviting gestures to Elaine, but she was committed to having nothing to do with those three. Cameron might have put her in a team under normal circumstances, but things being as they were, he chose to ignore that she was solo. The allotted time passed, and Cameron blew his whistle, starting the race.

Elaine wasn't overly enthusiastic, but nonetheless started towards the wall. Upon reaching it, she shifted form into a powerfully muscular figure and hoisted herself easily up over the wall. Some of the other students had adopted different methods of getting over, she noted. Sonya Brown tossed a few seeds at the base of the wall, then she and her teammates grabbed on to the young shoots that sprouted from the seeds and rode them to the top of the wall as they swiftly grew into sturdy clinging vines. Another student, whose name Elaine did not know, simply leapt over.

Elaine shifted form again, improving her lung capacity and altering her muscle configuration, and climbed one of the numerous ladders to the pool. It was quite the impressive display, though not so large as a standard in-ground pool. For once, Elaine was thankful for a different set of clothing for Gift Development. She took a place atop the ladder and dove into the pool.

The pool water was shockingly cold, but Elaine ignored the chill, making a beeline for one of the bracelet sized rubber rings piled at the center of the pool. Just as she was about to grab a ring, something plunged down from the water's surface. Or rather, someone. The student in question saw her, grabbed a ring, and swam rapidly away. Elaine grimaced and grabbed a ring of her own, slipping it on her wrist, then continuing underwater to the far side of the pool.

For the pipe, Elaine decided that the best way to go would be to run straight through it, so she changed form again and took a few feet off her height, while adding strength to her legs. She was fairly far behind most of the others already, as they had been able to take advantage of multiple Gifts, but she didn't think any of them had anything that would help them with this.

After emerging from the other end of the pipe, Elaine changed form again, mimicking the body of a professional runner. She couldn't keep up with some of the more specialized Gifts, but she was able to outdistance those who could find no way to use their Gifts to enhance their speed.

It was the maze that finally defeated her. It hadn't looked that large from the outside, but whoever had designed it had done a very good job. Al Anderson, whose group had been trailing behind Elaine in the last events, rocketed ahead as Al used his mirrors to scout the maze in advance. Elaine found herself facing dead end after dead end. Curses. She had never been much good at mazes, nor had she ever much cared for them. The minutes rolled by, and Elaine came no closer to the exit. Finally, the bell rang, and she was still lost. As if it wasn't bad enough that she had failed the obstacle course, it appeared she was going to be late for lunch.

A few more minutes passed, and Cameron came around the bend. He said nothing when he saw her, but merely turned around, made a gesture for Elaine to follow him, and in the space of about two minutes brought her to the exit. She had been that close? As if her humiliation at failure wasn't bad enough. Cameron pointed her towards the locker room and jogged off.

Elaine stared at her plate. Though her stomach complained at a lack of breakfast, Elaine was unable to muster up much enthusiasm as she ate. She picked up a grape and idly popped it in her mouth, while her mind wandered, wondering if she would ever be accepted for who she was. She could have understood the stigmatism if she genuinely possessed the ability to steal Gifts, but all this was based on nothing more than a rumor.

"Hey. You."

Elaine looked up, startled. She hadn't heard anyone coming up to the table where she sat alone with her lunch, but suddenly there was this girl standing in front of her.

"Are you talking to me?" Elaine asked, quite surprised.

"Yes. Follow me."

"What's this all about?"

"No time," the girl said, shaking her head, "follow me."

With that, she got up and began walking away. Elaine had no idea what was going on, but decided she might as well follow this girl. It was better than sitting around with only her thoughts and a plate of fruit and vegetables for company.

The girl led her out of the cafeteria, through the empty, echoing corridors of the school. As they were about to turn a corner, the girl stopped.

"We have to cover this part quickly. The guard doesn't usually pay much attention, and I'll whip up a distraction, but I can't keep him distracted for long. I hope you can move quietly."

Elaine nodded, then looked around, realizing where they were.

"We're leaving the school?"

"We aren't going far," the girl assured her, "now, keep your eyes on the door. Don't look at the guard, and move as quickly as you can without making noise."

Before Elaine had a chance to reply, the girl was moving towards the door. Elaine did her best to follow, rolling her feet as she moved to decrease the noise of her footsteps on the tiled floor.

The distance to the doorway seemed a lot longer than usual, and Elaine felt she was moving painfully slowly, but the guard made no outcry. The girl had already opened the door, and Elaine slipped through it. The girl closed the door behind them.

"This way," she said, walking around to the side of the school. The girl led Elaine to an alcove. Elaine was a bit startled, realizing that this had been where she had talked with Saric about her fear that she might be stealing Gifts.

"Time for an introduction," the girl said, "I'm Anne. My Gift is Instant Replay. I'm here because a friend of yours wants you to see something from the past, which should hopefully clear up a misunderstanding you have with them. What you are about to see is an exact replication of past events. I cannot alter my projections in any way."

So saying, Anne closed her eyes briefly, and the light took on an eerie quality. It was as if the immediate area had suddenly gone from noon to morning. The shadows of the various objects in the alcove had lengthened significantly. Elaine looked around for a few seconds, before spying... herself. The Elaine of a month ago, leading Saric to the alcove. Elaine was somewhat startled when she heard her own voice and Saric's reply. Apparently, the image included sound. Before the conversation had gotten very far, though, Elaine saw another ghostly form step into the alcove. The form was that of a boy, another student at the school, judging by his backpack. The boy found a spot where he could clearly listen unobserved, and settled in as the conversation of a month past was replayed. He had obviously heard enough to start the rumors. Elaine suddenly realized she had been blaming the wrong party. Infuriated, she swung at the illusion of the true culprit. Her fist passed right through him, as she had suspected it would, but Elaine planned to find the real version and give him the same treatment.

"Let the authorities deal with him," Anne said. Elaine had almost forgotten that Anne was there.

"The authorities won't come anywhere near me."

"They will after I show them this."

"Why are you helping me?" Elaine asked, still trying to adjust her mind to the facts.

"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"I have what you might call an obsession with the truth. I've been lied to all my life by my parents, and it tends to make me sensitive to these things. When one of your friends told me about the lies that were causing you all so many problems, I figured I might be able to set the record straight."

"Thank you," Elaine said, shaking her head, "This is going to take a bit of readjusting."

Anne smiled and nodded.

"Come on, we don't have much time to get back inside before the bell rings."

Elaine was miserable. Her friends were innocent, yet she'd treated them terribly for the last month. She knew she owed the three an apology, and Elaine was not one to delay the unpleasant, but what could she say? What was there to be said? Words seemed inadequate. Elaine decided to just play it by ear, as best she could. She had had no opportunity to say anything during science class, however, as Mr. Conner had started teaching the instant he walked in the door, and didn't stop until at least a minute after the bell rang. There were times when having an enthusiastic instructor was less than thrilling.

It was just outside English that the four ended up meeting. Elaine gathered her courage, and stopped them before they went into the room.

"Guys, I wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have leapt to conclusions the way I did. The way I've been treating you this past month has been inexcusable."

For a long, awkward moment, no one spoke. The boys exchanged glances with one another, communicating silently. Saric finally broke the silence, speaking for the three of them.

"We understand your situation, and considering the evidence against us, we can understand your conclusion. We have not been friends long enough for you to adequately judge us based upon our character, and we are pleased you have resolved the situation. You are forgiven," Saric smiled.

Elaine felt her burden lighten, though the past month still troubled her somewhat. She decided she would drop in for a session of counseling after school, just to sort things out. The hospital wouldn't miss her, so long as she gave her hour at some point during the day.

English was getting more interesting. The four still had the writing assignment from hell to deal with, but Elaine was making some progress on hers, and suspected the other three had done significantly better. And the class had finally started getting into other things than the writing assignments. Today, the discussion was focused on an old classic, Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley. Mr. James started by asking for opinions on the book as a whole. Saric was first to raise his hand. Mr. James nodded, and motioned for Saric to speak.

"I have heard this book described as a picture of hell on earth. I respectfully disagree. Certainly you or I might find ourselves miserable in the society the book speaks of, but for those born and raised in it, it was utopia. A society that grants happiness to all its members is notionally appealing even as it is factually appalling to those not raised in such. There are those who suggest that happiness in the book is a simple popping of a pill, and thereby devoid of meaning, but I must point out that to those who have seen no light but shadows cast by firelight, dancing on the walls of a cave, the sun is not something that is yearned for, for one cannot desire what one has never known."

Mr. James smiled slightly, cocking one eyebrow at Saric's closing statement, "I don't believe I assigned Plato, but you make interesting use of the allegory of the cave," He turned towards the class, "As some of you may have noticed, this book is a bit risqué for a seventh grade class. Does anyone want to venture a guess as to why I assigned it anyway?"

A girl Elaine didn't know raised her hand. Mr. James again nodded and motioned. Elaine began to suspect he wasn't very good at memorizing names.

"I think you assigned the book because we are, in a large way, in our own brave new world, and, like the savage, we are not always pleased with the shape of the world before us. The cost of our Gifts has been large, and the coin we have paid is in our technology and in human blood. The odds seem insurmountable, but perhaps we can reshape this world for the better. At the very least, we can try. We don't have to swallow the pill that life hands us and accept a watered down, meaningless existence. I for one would rather swing from a rope than live in a world I had no part in making and no hope of changing."

Mr. James nodded, seeming a bit pleased, "Another reason I assigned this is simply that you young men and women are, in general, more mature than any class I've ever had."

The girl smiled slightly sadly, "We've had to grow up a bit quickly in this world. If you asked how many of us lost someone important to us as a result of Gift, you'd probably see a show of hands nearly equal to the number of students in the room."

Mr. James nodded, then, seeing the somber turn the discussion had taken, rerouted it by asking for more impressions and details. The remainder of the period was spent discussing the various characters of the book, and analyzing their points of view. The discussion was just winding down when the bell rang.

Dennis sighed. Martial arts was a fun class, but it seemed so awkward. Kentaro had been training the group steadily, and felt they were ready to begin sparring. He asked them to form two lines, facing each other. Dennis found himself facing Cassandra, from his history class. He didn't really know her very well, but it seemed like she wasn't quite sure who she wanted to be. Most of the time, she acted the part of an annoyingly vapid girl who, before Genesis, would probably have been concerned more with the latest fashions than with her grades. But then there was her behavior in History. She was always the first to raise her hand, and it seemed like she knew every minute detail of the answer to every question Ms. Taggert asked.

"Hajime."

Dennis snapped out of his daze at Kentaro's order to begin, assuming a defensive stance. The rules were simple. The fight was to be at half speed, with use of Gift accepted, so long as it caused no harm. Though Gift was acceptable, Kentaro had repeatedly stated that the emphasis must be on physical fighting, as Gift fighting was covered in Gift Development. The victor was the first to score three significant contacts.

Dennis and Cassandra began slowly circling, looking for an opening. Cassandra started with a punch/front kick combination, but Dennis blocked the punch and stepped behind her, avoiding the kick. From his new position, he launched a slow motion punch to her kidney, connecting soundly without causing any actual damage. Cassandra, however, was already somewhat off balance, and the contact managed to trip her up. She flailed wildly, looking for something to grab to stop her fall. Instinctively, her hand found Dennis' wing. She grasped near the tip, her hand crushingly tight. Dennis didn't know whether she managed to arrest her fall. After her hand closed about his wingtip, Dennis didn't notice much of anything but pain.

As the pain backed off a little, Dennis realized the entire class had stopped sparring. Kentaro rushed to his side, followed shortly by Saric and Elaine. Cassandra had a look of horror on her face.

Kentaro quickly took charge of the situation, shooing back the onlookers, then addressing Dennis, "Are you alright? Do you need to go to the nurse?"

"Nurse. Please," Dennis managed to croak out. Speech wasn't easy at the time.