what happened after unlocked

chapter seventeen ~ enhancer enhancing enhancer

Jensi Babblos.

Sophie hadn't heard that name in a while.

Which wasn't very good of her, since Jensi was the first person to befriend her once she came to Foxfire, despite the differences between her and the other students.

He was such a nice person to her...and she'd basically pushed any mention of him out of her mind.

When Sophie arrived at Watchward Heath, she combed her fingers through her hair self-consciously and waited for Mr Forkle to come and open the door to his office. At the memory of their previous conversation, she winced, hoping that she wouldn't have to talk to Mr Forkle much...but that meant talking to Jensi, and that would be even more awkward.

Wow, her life was hard.

Someone cleared their throat. Sophie twisted around on her heel to see Mr Forkle – but he was standing in front of someone else.

Jensi looked so much older than the Jensi Sophie had first met. He'd tamed his dark curls so that only the top was curly and the sides were flat, his face had matured, he'd grown way taller and more muscular, and the smile on his face made him even more attractive.

Jensi was only sixteen like her, but Sophie could have mistaken him for his father only much, much cuter.

Sophie raised an awkward hand to wave at her old friend. Or ex-friend. Or first Foxfire friend. She wasn't sure which one to call him.

Jensi stepped out from behind Mr Forkle, still smiling, and revealed his hands. Sophie barely realized they had been folded behind his back before he brought them out...and he was wearing gloves.

The same kind that she wore.

"Are you...?" Sophie's voice trailed off when Jensi nodded.

"I just manifested a little while ago," Jensi said, and his voice was deeper and slower than Sophie remembered. "I also came to talk to Mr Forkle about it since I didn't know how to control my ability, but Dex helped me with that."

"Oh...um, that's good!" Sophie said, blushing with awkwardness. "Are you part of the Black Swan now?"

Jensi nodded again. "Mr Forkle wants us to work together with our Enhancing abilities. See how we can combine them."

Sophie, still shocked at how different Jensi was, didn't really know how to answer, but thankfully Mr Forkle stepped in for her.

"Why don't we visit inside my office? It is getting quite cold out here."

It actually was pretty icy on the hill they were standing on – but Sophie hardly noticed she was shivering because she was too busy staring at Jensi.

He had changed so drastically that Sophie would never have guessed that he was Jensi, without Mr Forkle telling her. And she had so much to say to him...so much to apologize for...

Mr Forkle finished opening his office door and waved them in, noticing the look on Sophie's face but not making any remark.

The two teenagers stood at opposite ends to the long bench in the middle of the egg-shaped office. Sophie's eyes raked past Jensi's now-handsome face and moved to his hands, where his gloves were. They were black and lined with deep blue, the same color as his eyes. He was also wearing a pure white tunic that stood out brightly against his skin, and matching pants.

Jensi looked like he'd just stepped out of an elvin fashion magazine.

He must have noticed Sophie's staring, because he said, "You look different, too, you know."