Beyond Control

02

"Eli? What is it? You can tell me."

Xavian's eyebrows were furrowed in confusion while I debated whether to tell him or bury it deep into the ground. I could tell that he was sincere. He wanted to help.

Was it the right thing to do, though? It wasn't like this was any average secret I could keep from him. This was a matter of keeping my reputation as a normal human being. I couldn't yell it out and be okay with it.

"Eli..." Xavian called to me in a gentle tone. "Come on, brother. I'm your best friend. Whatever it is, I assure you it stays between me and you in this room. We've known each other since we were toddlers. You can trust me."

I shook my head. "Xavian, you have no idea. Nobody has any idea."

"What do you mean?"

I kept shaking my head, trying not to let my emotions take control. Forcing myself to calm down, I decided to keep it as vague as possible. "I'm...not normal."

More confusion revealed itself on his face. "W-What? What does that mean?"

How was I supposed to explain this to him? What would he think of me if I did tell him? This was too much.

I just blurted the first words that came to mind.

"I'm not normal. I have powers."

Shit. What was I thinking!? Why did I expose myself? I have been holding my reputation as your average high schooler my entire life, and this is how I blow it? By blurting it out? What was Xavian thinking?

The confusion on his face was now peaked. He was dumbfounded. "You...what?"

The secret was out. There was no turning back, now. I sighed and turned towards him. "I'm serious, Xavian. I was born with these...abilities of sorts. I don't know how I got them, but as far as I can remember, I've always had them. I know this makes no sense, but I need you to believe me."

Xavian was completely speechless. "I...you...what?"

His reactions were understandable. I didn't know what to expect out of him in the first place. "I know it's hard to believe, but I'm genuinely being serious right now. I need you to try to understand."

He took a second to comprehend what I told him. "You're saying...you have powers? What does that mean?"

I was about to explain it to him, but an idea came to mind. It'd be a great way to get it out of my system. "Rather than explaining, why don't I show you?"

Xavian furrowed his eyebrows. "Show me? Where?"

Thinking for a moment, it was obvious to me that I needed a large, open space to showcase my abilities, but where? There was the old football field, but too many cars would pass by. Xavian patted my leg.

"The soccer field should be fine. The one off campus."

"Wouldn't that be too public?" I asked. "I don't want other people seeing this."

He pondered for a moment before shrugging and shaking his head. "No, because nobody uses it anymore. It's also out of the way from any residences. It shouldn't be an issue."

After thinking about the idea, I eventually agreed. I couldn't come up with anything better. "Alright. Let's eat dinner and we'll head out after."

"Sounds good," he responded. "It should be ready by now."

We left his room and joined his mother at the dinner table. She made a great meal consisting of pork, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables. It had been a while since I'd had good meat like this, due to the spiked prices, another reason why I didn't like our Supreme Leader.