flawed

Chapter 5

Maisie

Standing up, I looked around the courtyard, gazing at all the other teens, completely frozen. When I stop time, not only does the man-made term "time" cease passing - people stop, frozen in whatever they're doing. The weather stops, animals stop, machines, sounds, and light. Everyone and everything is stuck, as if someone took a snapshot of that exact moment.

I walked around the courtyard, taking my time, occasionally taking a potato chip or carrot stick from someone's lunch. Trudging past all of the other students, the only sound I could hear was my own breathing.

If you're still wondering why the pudding cup situation earlier was important - here's why. If Fabian had seen the pudding cup magically appear in my hand (since he wouldn't see me stopping time to get up out of my seat and go to the cafeteria - it would look as if I used some sort of teleportation to get it), he would question me about it. And if he questioned me about it, he could figure things out. And next thing I know, I'm in a lab being experimented on.

The silence when I stop time is eerie. There is never complete silence in the world, except when I snap my fingers.

I stop time a lot. If I'm bored in class, I'll snap my fingers and stop everything to take a walk or take a cookie from the cafeteria. The most drastic thing I've ever done with my power was this one time in math. I'd finished all my work, and was pretty much dying of boredom, when I snapped my fingers and decided that I wanted to take a trip to the beach.

Since I live in Garnersville, Florida, it took me a while, but I walked all the way to the Gulf Of Mexico. Anytime I got tired, I'd just stop and take a nap or go into a store and take some food.

When I finally got to the shore, the waves were frozen, stuck completely still, so it's not like I could really have some fun. I stole some kid's popsicle and enjoyed the view for a while, but eventually got up and started the journey home. You can't stop time forever.

Anyways, I made my way over to the courtyard where the girl was standing before. Normally, I don't use my powers to snoop - I have better things to do. But the way Fabian was looking at her - he looked terrified.

Standing in front of her, she looked pretty average. About 5'7" tall, dark brown hair, tan skin. Her eyes were green, but i could hardly tell because the hood on her sweatshirt was up.

After a little less than a minute, I lost interest. If I really wanted information on this girl, I'd just have to talk to Fabian myself.