The story of my life, thought Jessica dryly. Wondering about something that just might have happened. Thinking that you're special because of a coincidence. She'd been concentrating all the time yesterday and this morning, though, and nothing had moved at all, just like the other times she'd always tried. The girl tried to remember exactly what had happened that day, what had caused her to suddenly have the power that she hadn't had before.

If I even do have it, she reminded herself. Don't get too sure, otherwise you'll be disappointed. Very few people could stop themselves from being excited over something like this, and Jessi wasn't one of them.

It was Friday, and Jessica was anxiously waiting for the end of school from the beginning of her 6^th period class, History. After that was Spanish. The girl sighed; yesterday, in that class the teacher had been so nervous around Jessi, seeming to avoid her. The teacher wouldn't call on her at all, and didn't even look in the direction of her desk, almost as if Miss Garcio was scared of Jessi. She'd gotten that reaction from other students sometimes, but never from teachers before until now.

The bell rang, and everyone rushed to his or her seats from their various positions in the room where they were talking to each other. Carrie was in this class too, Jessi noticed nervously. There was something weird about that girl, and not weird in the way that most people meant it, the thing that they meant when they called Jessi weird. There was such odd coldness coming from the girl, and a sort of raw power.

Even though she was so creepy--and everyone should have seen it, it must be obvious to much people!-- everyone seemed to like the girl. Carrie quickly became popular, liked by everyone, despite the fact that from what Jessi had seen, the girl didn't see at all like the normal sort of girl that most would like.

Jessica brushed those thoughts aside as the class started. She wanted to figure out what had happened on Wednesday, with the pencil! Thinking back, the girl tried to immerse herself into the memories, relive it. When she could manage that, she normally remembered details much better than when she just remembered the normal way.

Nobody was giving her a pencil…it was so unfair…Jessi felt angry, frustrated and angry, and the anger built up…

Looking back, Jessica could see how stupid it was of her, to get so upset over such a simple thing. However, that could have been the key. She was really upset, it had felt like the anger bubbled up and spilled over, and that was when the pencil had moved.

Now, it is only anger, or do other emotions work as well? Jessi questioned to herself. She tried to concentrate on the coldness that she felt right now, that feeling, but it wasn't really an emotion, it couldn't get too much, it couldn't bubble over…

Sighing, the girl tried a different approach, not seeing the curious look that she was getting from "Carrie". Maybe frustration would work--that was a similar sort of emotion, right? It might have even been the frustration yesterday that caused the telekinetic reaction.

Frustration…she could probably find something to trigger that fairly quickly. Jessica didn't have to dig back into her memories very far before she found the perfect trigger: being in school right now.

I'm sitting here, bored, when I could be doing much more productive things, Jessi told herself, trying to get herself upset. There's no reason for you to be here, you know this stuff, and they're still making you. You have to take all of this crap from the other kids, it might permanently damage you, and they do nothing to stop the teasing, the screaming…they do nothing, they turn a blind eye…

It was working. The resentment flared up in Jessi's mind, taking over. She suddenly turned and stared the pencil, trying to put the resentment into the utensil. It didn't work, but she still had all of those negative emotions, piled up inside.

With a last effort, the girl gave a little mental scream, vaguely noticing that the girl next to her gave a little wince and spun to face Jessi when she did scream mentally. With the scream, though, came something that made the rest of the kids of the class scream.

I did it, Jessi thought in satisfaction as she saw the pencil hovering right in front of her. She gave one last triumphant smile, and then blacked out.

******

Upon hearing the mental screen, Cuiaree was quickly jerked from her telepathic search. She whipped her head around to the girl next to her, which was where the scream had come from. There was so much resentment in the girl's mind, but Cuiaree could tell that it was probably summoned on purpose. This "probably" was revised to a "definitely" as the pencil on the girl's desk flew into the air and hovered there, causing the class to stare in shock and a few of the girls to scream.

"Impossible!" Cuiaree breathed quietly, then her eyes snapped open when she realized that she'd said it out loud. A human-born Eneni? Here? The odds against that…it can't be impossible!

Obviously it was, because the pencil hovered there, and Cuiaree, feeling the girl with her mind, could tell that she was using telekinesis. Then, all of a sudden, the girl--Jessica, Cuiaree got the name from her head--fainted from exhaustion, slumping in her seat. The pencil immediately fell back onto the desk, rolling down and onto the unconscious student.

The teacher sputtered, unable to speak, out of amazement. The Eneni girl stood up.

"I'll take her to the nurse," she said, her chin up in the air with confidence. She sent out vibes for people to be admiring of her ease in taking the situation, and leaned over to pick Jessi's body up. She used kinesis, but in a way that nobody would be able to tell that she wasn't just very strong.

"Y-y-yes, you…do that," the teacher said haltingly. She blinked, leaning against the wall as the new girl walked out of the room, half-carrying another girl. As soon as they were outside of the room, Cuiaree quickly took her arms off of Jessi, using kinesis to hold her up.

"Alright, wake up," she said quietly, slapping each cheek a little. When that got no reaction, Cuiaree sighed and probed the mind a little. It was very exhausted; Jessica had used more power than she should have, used more power than she currently had the discipline to safely use. How odd, the human-born Eneni never were able to harness any real power before they went to Atlantis… The girl's thoughts were confused. She then gasped. I must have been the cause! I unconsciously helped her to realize her power, to use it…

Probing the mind further, Cuiaree was finally able to make the other girl wake up. She opened her eyes slowly, looking around in confusion, then in fright as she saw that she was floating several feet in the air.

She blinked slowly, swallowing visibly. "Hi?" she asked weakly, then dissolved into tears. She wasn't quite sure why she was crying, but it was all too much, she was floating in the air, the stress was just…

Cuiaree sighed. "Sorry." She slowly lowered the other girl to the ground, herself exhausted as well from using kinesis on such a large mass. "Nobody saw, don't worry."

"What happened?" asked Jessi, trying to stop her frightened tears. She felt about two years old from her reaction, but really, this was too much. It felt like some sort of dream, felt like something that couldn't possibly be real.

"You attempted to use telekinesis, which was a rather stupid move since you don't know how to control it. You used too much energy, and passed out from exhaustion. The teacher and students were too shocked, or too stupid--"

"Probably both," said Jessi wryly, causing Cuiaree to laugh.

"Well, either way, they didn't do anything, so I said I'd take you to the nurse's office. But, since they wouldn't be able to do anything for you, I only took you a few steps from the classroom to try and get you back conscious again." Cuiaree finished her short relation of what happened, and looked at the other girl expectantly. She waited for the spill of questions that she was sure would come.

Cuiaree wasn't disappointed. "Who are you?"

"Carrie Andrews," she answered with a small smile. She received a Look from Jessica in return.

"Allow me to rephrase that," sighed Jessi, looking at the ceiling in exasperation. "What are you?" Seeing and misinterpreting the look on the other girl's face, she hastily added, "No offense."

"None taken," Cuiaree tried to smile. "Look, maybe we should get back to class. We can discuss this later, okay?"

"No, now!" exclaimed Jessi, then covered her mouth. Again, she was acting about two years old. "Look, they won't expect us back so soon, won't they get suspicious?" she asked, trying to cover up her period of immaturity.

"I can take care of that," Cuiaree replied confidently, with a glint in her eye. "I'll tell you about it later, all right?" She walked back towards the room as Jessi sighed, looking at her watch.

"When?" asked the other girl, feeling quite impatient. After all, it wasn't every day that you find out that you have certain powers…then the person who knew about it kept antagonizing you by refusing to say anything about the subject. "How about after school today? We can go to my place?"

Cuiaree shook her head as she went for the door. "Mine. Can you get away from your house?"

"My parents won't be home, so sure. I'll have until about 6:30," agreed Jessi eagerly as she followed Cuiaree to the door of the classroom. "I'll take your bus, I guess?" At Cuiaree's nod, she grinned and then quickly wiped the happy look off of her face as she opened the door of the classroom. The girl put a haggard, exhausted look on her face as she stepped into the room. She rubbed her eyes, swaying a little as she walked to her seat with a slightly nauseated look on her face. "Carrie" couldn't help but be a little admiring of the other girl's acting skills as she sat down as well.

Well, thought Cuiaree, it appears that this ordeal is going to be even more interesting that I had first thought. Smiling a little, she settled back in her seat, getting back to her plans.

Jessica was at her locker, checking her homework book for what homework there was.

"Hey, Jessi, what books do we need?" asked a girl named Tara. She was one of those girls who tried to make an effort to be nice to everybody, including Jessica.

"Just math and science, though I'm not sure about your English class," responded Jessi, turning the leaves of the homework book back to the cover and jamming that into her backpack, grabbing the math book as well. Tara nodded, thanking the other girl as she spun in her locker combination.

Jessica put on her coat and slung her book-bag over her shoulder, wincing a little at the weight of the binder and the three books. Jeez, after years of this, you think I'd be used to it, she thought as she slammed her locker shut, turning around to look for someone.

"Hey, Jessica," said someone, and Jessi spun around to see "Carrie". How had the girl sneaked up on her like that? "Did you forget?" It was said humorously; both girls knew that Jessica would not forget about this meeting, and wouldn't miss it for anything.

"Which bus are you on?" Jessi said in way of response, walking over towards the stairs.

"I don't take a school bus," responded Cuiaree, walking next to the other girl. "Come on." She walked past all of the yellow busses that were parked out in the parking lot, ignoring the masses of children leaving the school or waiting for their busses. She went down the street for half a block, then came to the local bus stop.

"You take the public bus?" asked Jessi, surprised. "Why don't you just take a school one?" She looked around, at the other people taking the bus. She'd never ridden one alone before, since the ones going into the city had a tendency to have some people on it that Jessi was not exactly eager to meet.

"Well, the school doesn't have any buses that go to where I'm staying," she answered as the bus pulled up and the girls stepped into it behind the other people waiting. Jessi watched in amazement as the other girl stared at the man driving the bus for a moment, and he let them pass without making them pay.

"How did you do that?" she hissed to the other girl excitedly. "Does it have something to do with-- oh, what am I saying, of course it does!" Jessi giggled, not something that she was at all accustom to doing. It earned a disgusted look from Cuiaree, and the girl quickly stifled her laughter. "Sorry, I'm just…stressed, I guess with all of this. Surprised, and all."

"That's understandable," Cuiaree acknowledged with a nod.

"So, what are you?" asked Jessi again curiously. "That's why we're going, right, so that you'll tell me?"

"Yes, I'll tell you," replied Cuiaree in an annoyed tone, "when we're not on a bus crowded full of people." She gestured around at all of the people who could be listening.

"Oh, sorry." Jessica put her head down, looking at the floor in embarrassment. She was quiet for the rest of the trip, just looking at the floor as the girl next to her looked out of the window. The trip lasted a long time, but Jessi didn't comment on it. It felt like she was almost afraid to speak.

"Here we are," said Cuiaree cheerfully after what seemed to Jessi like ages. "This is our stop." She stood up, walking to the front. After a few moments, the other girl followed suit. They walked down the steep steps out of the bus and came out in the middle of the city.

"Whoa, you live far away from the school," noted Jessi with awe, wondering exactly why "Carrie" went to her school and not one in the city, but she refrained from asking. Following the other girl down the street, Jessi looked around worriedly. She'd never been in this part of the city without a parent before, and she was always told that it was dangerous.

"Don't worry, I can deal with anybody," said Cuiaree, guessing the other girl's thoughts.

Jessica swallowed nervously. "Did you read my mind?"

"No, no, of course not. I can't do that very well, read the thoughts, and besides I don't have the energy after using my powers so much today."

The other girl noticed the stress on the word "read", and she wondered what Carrie did do with the thoughts. Jessi didn't ask, but with a gulp, she figured that she was starting to get an idea what she did with them, and to be frank the thought scared her. "You--"

"Here, we are!" said "Carrie" cheerfully, walking up large stairs.

"Whoa, Carrie, this hotel must be really expensive," replied Jessi in awe, looking up. She briefly remembered the way that the other girl had taken care of the bus driver, and bit her lip worriedly. Was this girl cheating everybody?

"Cuiaree."

Jessica blinked. "What?"

"My name is Cuiaree, not Carrie. But you're not going to tell anyone that." Cuiaree's lips were set in a firm line after saying that, and Jessi nodded as she followed the other girl.

"No, of course not," she bit her lip nervously, getting the bad feeling again. Something was different, but it might not be different in such a good way as Jessi had been thinking the past few hours. Cuiaree was up to something, that much was obvious, and what that "something" might be, had Jessi worried.

Once they got inside the hotel, Jessica noticed that Cuiaree had her head down and walked quickly, as if trying to avoid people. The girl started to open her mouth to ask why, but shut it again quickly, figuring that now probably wasn't the time. She, however, kept her head up, looking the world in the eye. I must look like Cuiaree when I'm in school, thought Jessi to herself. She didn't quite like the thought. I look afraid.

They walked over to the elevator and Cuiaree hit the button to go up. The elevator on the right popped open immediately, and they stepped into it. "Which floor?" asked Jessi.

Cuiaree shrugged and hit the "2" button, stepping back and putting her hands behind her back, standing up straight, as if at attention. From her expression, Jessi guessed that the other girl didn't realize that she was standing in an unusual position. Jessica wondered what sort of childhood Cuiaree had, for her to stand in such a formal position without realizing it. Was that the normal sort of childhood for where she'd lived?

When they got to the second floor and the girls stepped out, Jessi continued watching Cuiaree. Even with her head down, the girl had fairly long strides that could almost be thought of as "neat", sort of proper and formal, if there was such a way of walking. The back was still straight and Cuiaree held herself the way very few people did, and it was apparent that it was naturally, or at least the other girl didn't realize she was doing it.

Some sort of military thing? Jessi wondered. Does it have something to do with the powers? Would I have to go there, since I have them? Thoughts flew though her head as they normally did, as the girl got more and more anxious. She followed Cuiaree to a room, and the girl took out a key to open it. Jessi sucked in her breath in awe when she walked in. It was one of the most fancy places she'd ever been in.

Shrugging, she dropped her backpack unceremoniously by the door and flopped onto the bed, letting her feet dangle over and bouncing once in her seat before she turned to Cuiaree. "So, what is this all about? And don't dodge the subject, because you are going to tell me." Jessi looked at the other girl pointedly, crossing her arms.

Cuiaree sighed and walked over to the chair, sitting down with the same position: straight back, shoulders back, hands resting in her lap. "Alright then. Ask away."

"What are you?" Then, as an after thought, she added, "what am I? Is that the same question, or no?"

"I'll answer the last question first. I don't know. Probably, maybe not. We can't be sure." Cuiaree sucked her breath in, a bit of worry starting to sneak onto her face. "I'm not sure what you are, as I just said. I'd need more information, and I really don't know how to tell that anyway. What I am, now that I can answer, but the simple answer won't mean anything to you. I'm an Eneni."

"You're right, I don't know what that means. Explain?" Jessi was sitting up in bed; her interest was definitely caught. Not that it hadn't been caught since History class.

"I can't just explain," Cuiaree seemed impatient, but it also seemed like she was trying to be patient. "There's history involved, and the science. Which of it do you want to know?"

"All of it."

The girl sighed again. "I can't just tell you all of it. There's too much." She glared at Jessi, thinking how she should have realized that there would be no simple answer. Jessi almost seemed to catch the thought, or else she read the expression, and turned red in embarrassment. "What do you want to know first?"

"I guess the history," she shrugged, then she stiffened suddenly. "There's another one of you here, isn't there? I can sense it." Jessi glared at Cuiaree. "Why didn't you tell me?" she leaped up, and went for the door.

"Jessica, no!" exclaimed Cuiaree as the other girl went to the door and opened it, going out to find the other Eneni. Jessi, of course, didn't listen, and went out.

Oh, no, groaned Cuiaree, what else have I started? Why couldn't this have been as easy as I was planning on it being?