#springfic

Chapter 2: Sunrise

    It took me a little bit to figure out how this guy’s hair worked. He didn’t push his bangs straight up, but instead a little to his right, making it stand up like a golden mountain. He had big blue eyes that glistened in the sunlight. He was pale, but had what I can only describe as ‘rose tinted 50s cheeks.’ His frame was slim, and I couldn’t tell if I was taller than him or he just had poor posture. Looking at his face, it was easy to tell why his aura felt off. He was clearly in distress for some reason.

   “My name is Lucas.” He said in a trembling voice. “I got separated from my brother Claus when we boarded. I thought he’d wait for me when we got off, but I think he ran off ahead of me. He had our map, so I don’t know where the dorms are. Is it ok if I tag along with you?” I thought it over in my head a little bit. His aura made me uneasy, but that was only because he was upset. Maybe his energy would change if I helped him?

   “Sure, I don’t mind.” I told him, pulling my map out of my pocket. “My name’s Ness.” I introduced myself.

“Thank you so much, Ness.” Lucas said, bowing his head a little. He straightened himself out and the two of us began making our way down the steps. We were silent until we reached the bottom, but then Lucas spoke up.

   “I’m sorry,” he began, “I must look like a wimp. I get anxious real easy, and without Claus I have trouble keeping my cool. I have no clue why he took off like that.”

   “No, it’s fine.” I told him. Truthfully, I was already feeling pretty homesick, but I figured I should keep that info to myself. I noticed that his aura was shifting; it felt less frantic. I wanted to ask about it, but figured I should keep it discreet. I eventually figured out how to phrase my question:“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you decide to ask me for help?”

   “I’m sorry, what do you mean?” Lucas asked in response.

   “I mean me, specifically. There were a lot of people getting off at the train station just now, and you could have gone to any one of them for help. Why did you pick me?” Lucas looked down at his feet. I probably put him on the spot just then, but his silence confirmed he could feel my aura, like how I was feeling his. He probably thought telling the truth and saying ‘I could feel you’ or some variant of the above was weird (because it is). It didn’t take him long to come up with a more normal response.

   “It was your outfit.” His tone was more confident than he heard before; he was fully committing to this white lie. “We’re wearing similar clothes.” When he said that I suddenly realized it was true. Our t-shirts were really similar. Mine has horizontal blue and yellow stripes, and his was the same but with red replacing blue. We were also, by some miracle of bad fashion, both wearing jean shorts. The only substantial difference was that he wasn’t wearing a hat. I’d owned my red baseball cap for as long as I remembered, and practically wore it everywhere.

   “Oh, I guess you’re right.” I admitted. Lucas’ energy shifted again after that, and the anxiousness passed from his face. We took a right turn down a path shaded with old oak trees. Lucas was surprisingly good company, considering how distraught he was when he got off the train. I figured talking a little more as we headed to the dorms wouldn’t hurt.

   “So, where are you and Claus from?”

   “Oh, we’re from Tazmily Village. It’s a really small neighborhood, and it’s a long way out from Fourside. We had to take three different trains just to reach the city, and the fourth to get on campus. It’s a bit on the old-fashioned side, but I always liked it there. Where are you from?

   “Me? I’m from Onett. It’s a suburb not too far from here.

   “Oh, I’ve heard of that place!” Lucas chimed. “People say that a meteorite fell on one of the hiss there a few years back. Do you know anything about that?”

   “Yeah, I do, actually.” I was surprised that Lucas actually knew about the meteorite. It seemed like nobody heard of it outside Onett, despite it being pretty big news back then. “I live near the base of Onett’s cliffside. One night, at about 3:20 AM, I was shaken out of my bed by a sound like an explosion and vibrations that shook my house. I looked out my window to see the tallest hill glowing red. I snuck out of my house to take a look at it, but my neighbor and the police got there before me. By the time I was able to take a look at it the next morning, the meteor had cooled off and was basically a boring old rock.”

   “Oh. I’m sorry. That sounds like it was disappointing.” Lucas was the one to ask the next question. “Do you have any hobbies? I take tap-dancing lessons.”

   “I do yo-yo tricks.” I pulled my Trick Yo-yo out of my pocket. It was lime-green with black decals. “I have a yellow one too, but its string broke and I haven’t fixed it yet.

   “I tried to learn a yo-yo trick once. I hit myself in the forehead.” He laughed a bit at the memory. At the end of the sidewalk was the main dorm building. It was obviously one of the oldest buildings on campus. It was a ten story high rectangle made of mis-colored bricks, most of which were invisible behind patches of ivy and morning-glory. A lot of people were backed up in front of the main door, waiting for their turn to walk inside. Suddenly, I heard Lucas speak up. “There he is!” He pointed toward a patch of carrot-orange hair that poked upward from the top of the crowd. We began to push our way between people, and the closer we got, the more I could feel Claus’ aura. Did these powers run in Lucas’ family?  Claus was facing away from us, but even from that angle, I could tell just how different he was from his brother. Red hair aside, he was taller that the both of us, had broader shoulders, and had posture that would make a lightpost proud. Eventually, we came in arms reach and Lucas tapped him on his shoulder.

   When Claus turned around I realized just how flawed my summation of his appearance was. His face looked like it might have resembled Lucas’ in the past, but was it was covered in blood red scars that ran from his chin, past his left eye and up into his scalp, which created a small bald patch in his bangs. His left ear had a chunk missing, and his nose was bent a little too far to the right. And somehow, under his leather jacket, he was wearing another striped t-shirt, just with teal complementing the yellow this time. Still, through his injuries, he looked genuinely relieved to see his brother.

   “Lucas!” He squeezed his way between two people and gave his brother a hug. “I’m so sorry I took off without you. I forgot you gave me the map. I thought you got lost.”

   “I probably would have.” Lucas said. He gestured toward me. “This is Ness. He helped me find the dorms.” Lucas pried himself away from his brother.

   “Thanks for helping him out.” Claus said to me. “Lucas can be a bit of a beta-twin sometimes.” Lucas punched him in the shoulder, confirming what he said was true. Somehow, the 7-foot mass of scar tissue and poor-postured ball of anxiety were twin brothers. Claus extended his hand toward me. “Really though, I can’t thank you enough.” I took his hand to shake it and realized it was cold. A prosthetic arm?

   “It was no problem.” I said, trying to keep my cool. “I was headed here anyway.” I pulled my eyes up to look at his face and somehow made another discovery. The eye with scars running past it was dialated differently than the other. It was made of glass. How many injuries did this guy have?

   “Alright.” Claus said, pulling his arm away. “You probably have a lot to do today, so we’ll leave you alone for now.”

Chapter 5 Part 1: Instructed   

    My alarm blared on, shaking me from my sleep. Today was the first day of classes, and my first was the PSI Instruction Course. I spent a few minutes in bed as my alarm continued, content to let it run its course, until a pillow struck me from the other side of the room.

   “Turn it off.” Lloyd grumbled from under his sheets. “I don’t have class for another 3 hours.” I pushed his pillow onto the floor and got out of bed. I opened up my drawers and looked through my clothes options. Today was the first day of class, so I wanted to make sure I looked nice, and distinct enough to stand out from my ‘evil twin.’ I picked out a purple button-down that I wasn’t a particular fan of, and figured it was good enough. I wore actual, full-length jeans too, and figured I should put my cap on straight for once. I went to get the textbook I bought for the class to put it in my backpack. It was a relatively bland looking text. It’s front cover was a simple red with a diagram of the human brain. It was titled Psionics, Psychokinesis and Extrasensory Perception, A Scientific Study. It was credited to a George Sandhop, who was also the professor teaching the course. I had looked over the first chapter a couple of times but had trouble grasping the material. Maybe hearing it from a person would help me understand? I shoved the textbook and a blank notebook into my backpack, slung it on and headed out the door.

   The hallways were mostly empty at this point in the morning, so I walked toward the elevator by myself. I hit the button, and the door slid open. I got inside and pressed the 1F button. As the doors slid closed, I heard a voice call out from down the hall.

   “Can you hold the door open?” I pressed a button on the panel and the doors reopened for the other passenger, but I didn’t need to look at them to know who it was. “Thank you for-Oh, hello Ness!” Lucas greeted me when he entered the elevator. “How have you been?”

   “Oh, I’ve been good.” I said, not really putting much thought into the response. Lucas’ aura filled up the elevator and began to figuratively choke me as the doors slid closed. He felt like a ray of sunlight, and that wasn’t doing my tired mind any good. Lucas looked at me with a smile on his face.

   “You excited for class?” Oh jeez, he had a cute smile. His enthusiasm instantly made me nervous, but I couldn’t pick out why. Maybe I wanted to impress him? Why though, it’s not like I even really knew him. I noticed the elevator doors open and figured I should say something.

    “Sure, it seems like it’ll be interesting.” The two of us headed out of the dorms and toward the science building, where the PSI Course was held.

    “I honestly never thought there were schools that teach how to use psychic powers.” Lucas said. “I always knew I had weird abilities, but I never really knew how to control them, beyond a few parlor tricks.”

    “Really? Like what?” Lucas held out his hand and a small green light began to dance on his fingertips. “Woah, that looks really cool.” I complimented.

    “Thanks.” Lucas said. “I’ve never needed a flashlight in my life. But if you think that was impressive, you should see my brother. He can make electricity. He uses it to keep his phone charged.” He looked back up at me. “Do you know any tricks?” Oh god, there was that smile again. I fished around for words and figured out a response.

   “Uh, I can make things float.”

   “Really? That seems pretty useful.”

   “Oh, well, I can’t make everything float, only small things like coins and pencils and whatever.”

   “Well, if you come to class, you could get better at it.”

   “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

    Eventually, Lucas and I reached the science building. The lecture hall the class was in was huge, and it seemed like nearly the entire class had already sat down. I could feel the mixed aura of a couple-hundred psychics seeping out from under the door. Lucas and I entered the room, and we saw a splash of red hair at the front of the class.

    “Thanks for walking with me, Ness.” Lucas said. “I’ll talk to you later, ok?”

    “Sure, no problem.” Lucas turned around and went to sit with his brother. I waved at him, but he didn’t see it. Then I guess I kinda stood there for a bit, because the next thing I noticed was my name being called out from the right.

    “Ness!” I turned to face the voice.

    “What?”

    “Come sit with us.” I saw the source of the voice was Paula Polestar, the other psychic from my high school. I knew her from orchestra, but since she was in percussion, we never spoke that often. I shifted over to sit next to her.

     “Hey, Paula.” I said. “How was your summer?” Suddenly another voice boomed out from Paula’s right.

     “Forget about Summer!” She stuck her head out from behind Paula and looked straight at me. She had hot pink hair that stuck out in wild directions, dark eyes and was wearing a big, sky blue hoodie. “Did you even notice how hard you were blushing just now?” No, that’s ridiculous. I wasn’t blushing. Was I blushing? I  looked at my reflection in my phone. I was blushing. Why was I blushing? Paula lowered her head.

Chapter 1: Away from Home

    “Are you absolutely sure you have everything?” My mom asked, for probably the third time.

    “I’m certain.” I reassured her.

    “You so sure about that?” Tracy butted in from behind my mom and held up my ATM card. My stomach immediately sank. I tore my backpack off and scrambled through every pocket. After a brief second of searching, I pulled out my wallet and opened it up, and to find my ATM card securely inside. Tracy started laughing.

    “Ha ha, very funny Tracy. Put my spare back where you found it.”

    “Come on, Ness, don’t be so cold. This is my last chance to taunt you before college.”

    “And you don’t want to say goodbye like a normal person?” I chastised. She shrugged her shoulders and walked out of frame. Mom pointed the camera back at her.

    “Alright. If it turns out you left anything here, we’ll mail it to you. Be sure to call your father once he’s off work, ok?”

    “You got it. I’m gonna miss you.” I admitted.

    “I’ll miss you too dear. This is a good opportunity for you, though. Remember to ‘Go for It!’” Mom always used that line to encourage me. It actually calmed my nerves a bit hearing it again.

    “Thanks, mom. I’ll talk to you later.” We exchanged our goodbyes and hung up, and I was pulled from the coziness of my childhood home to the cold steel of Fourside’s subway station. The train shook and rattled along its tracks, and florescent light shone in through the windows. I didn’t recognize anyone who was in the train car with me, but we were all headed to the same place. I pulled my train ticket out of my pocket and stared at it. I was still unsure about this decision. I didn’t necessarily even want to go to college, but Fourside University was the only place I could go for help. In fact, looking around the train again, I could...feel it. There was someone else on the train car who was like me. Who was probably here for the same reason. Maybe if I focus I ca-

    My train of thought was broken by a sudden flash of sunlight. I turned around and looked out the window to see that the train had just exited a tunnel and become exposed to the blue sky. I could see it off in the distance, the complex of buildings that was FSU’s main campus. Modern constructs surrounded the old brick architecture in the center; just a glance showed how long the college has existed. In fact, it’s been here longer than the city itself. Somewhere inside those walls was the man who could help me.

    “Bing-bong.” The intercom sang itself awake. “Now arriving at Fourside University Station. Please, gather your things and be ready to disembark. I grabbed my briefcase and pulled my backpack onto my shoulders. Slowly, the shaking train came to a halt. The metal doors slid open and waves of people began to spill out. I picked up my briefcase and stepped out into the sunlight. The train station was a simple marble platform with rails on one side and a staircase on the other, which descended down onto the sidewalk. People hurried past me as I descended the staircase, sometimes I heard chunks of conversation as they moved, but I didn’t grasp anything substantial. It didn’t seem like anybody else shared my nerves. Suddenly, I felt a shiver go up my spine. It was the same feeling I had on the train. Slowly it got stronger and began to envelop me. Whoever was giving off the aura was getting closer. I considered picking up my pace to avoid it, when I heard a voice from behind me.

    “Excuse me?” I half jumped in fright as I turned around to face the voice. I found a boy around my age with sunflower-yellow hair looking at me. “Can you help me with something?” he asked.

    “Uh, sure.” I responded, odd energy still present. “What do you need?”

Chapter 4: Doppelganger

   The campus of FSU is constructed like a maze. All the older buildings are in the middle, with each decade’s expansions spreading out from the center. Kind of like tree rings or urban sprawl. The dorms have been standing for years at the heart of FSU, and the recently constructed café was located at the far north end. Because of this, Lloyd and I had ample opportunity to talk on our way there. He told me about the time he hid in a garbage can on the roof of his elementary school to escape bullies, and how the experience indoctrinated him into a career of dumpster diving.

   “I barely buy any electronics anymore.” He explained. “If you salvage enough broken refrigerators, you’ll end up with enough working parts to make a new one.” Apparently he built the CRT himself, and is incredibly proud of the result. Even the Super Nintendo was frankensteined together with salvaged parts. Seeing his handiwork, it was easy to see why he was majoring in engineering. “What about you?” He asked, after a bit of walking. “Do you have any interests?

   “Well, I used to play baseball. I was shortstop for my elementary and middle school teams, but I broke my leg my freshman year of highschool and wound up dropping the sport. I picked up yo-yo tricks around that time, and I joined the school orchestra. I got third violin.”

   “Really? Sounds interesting. I’ve never had a good sense of rhythm. Or pitch. Or any skill that would allow me to play any instrument?”

   “What about the triangle?”

   “I don’t need your sass.”  We walked up a flight of stairs and game face to face with the main café. It was easily the size of a warehouse, and looked like it could house half the school’s population at once. Lloyd and I walked into the café and found the buffet area. For a moment, I was overwhelmed by the sheer variety of foods on display. The two of us poked around looking for exactly what we wanted. Lloyd found his fix first, and came back with a platter done up like the thanksgiving dinner.

   “It’s basically always thanksgiving where I come from.” He said, though I had no idea what he meant by that. I scouted the selection a bit more, and eventually found...steak? No, there’s no way they served steak here, and even if they did, there was NO way it was any good. Was there? No way to know unless I tried, I guessed. I picked up the steak and put it on my platter, and complemented it with some collard greens. I couldn’t tell you how much the meal cost. The expense just sunk into my dad’s seemingly endless bank account.

   “So where do you want to sit?” I asked him once we were near the tables.

   “I know where. Follow me.” Lloyd led me across the room to a square table in the corner. It had two people were already sitting there, who were both giving off particularly strong auras. Claus was sitting to the left, and on the right was the person Lloyd wanted me to meet. My doppelganger, Ninten.

   “Oh, Ness!” Claus called out, recognizing me. “Come sit with us.”

   “Yo, Trashman! Long time no see!” Ninten called out to Lloyd. Lloyd and I shuffled over to the table and put our food down.

   “Hey, Breathless.” Lloyd greeted his friend with an equally degrading nickname. He gestured to me. “This is Ness. He’s my new roommate.”

   “Cool.” Ninten said as he got up. “Nice to see someone else who appreciates my sense of style. As we shook hands, I noticed how weird it was looking at Ninten. He looked almost exactly like me, but his hair was straighter, he had tan skin, and his eyes were an unnatural red. As for our outfits, Ninten had an affinity for ascots that I didn’t quite share, and he angled his cap differently. Aside from that, we could be mistaken for relatives, maybe even brothers. It was at that moment that Claus spoke up.

   “Ok, is it bad that I only now noticed that these two look exactly the same?” He was greeted with awkward silence by all parties. “Seems like my vision’s going. I think I’ll have to get this old thing checked out.” He tapped on his glass eye jokingly.

   “Oh, Claus, I don’t think you introduced yourself to Lloyd yet.” Ninten said.

   “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry about that.” Claus shook Lloyd’s hand. “I’m Claus. I met Ninten on the train and Ness by the dorms.”

   “It’s nice to meet you.” Lloyd didn’t seem to be bothered by Claus’ scars, though I guess that said more about me than it did Lloyd. I glanced around at everyone’s meals as they ate. Claus ad an omelet that was fully loaded with vegetables and meats, and Ninten somehow got his hands on ribs. I didn’t remember seeing any at the buffet. In fact, I noticed there was something else I wasn’t seeing, or feeling for that matter.

   “Claus,” I asked with a mouthful of collard greens, “where’s Lucas?”

   “He’s still at the dorms. He wanted to get to know his roommate.”

   “Speaking of those,” Lloyd added, “You guys haven’t mentioned your roommates.”

   “Well, I haven’t met mine yet.” Claus said. “He wasn’t there when I unpacked, and the DA said he wasn’t expected to show up for another few hours.”

   “My roommate’s visiting from Dalaam.” Ninten interjected. “He said his name was Poo. He’s here for the PSI Courses too.”

   “Oh yeah!” Claus butted in. “You, Ness, and I are all psychic! I guess that means we’ll be seeing more of each other in class.”

   “That’s right.” Ninten agreed. “I wonder how many psychics are on campus anyway. Counting myself, you, your brother, Ness and Poo, that already makes 5. Wait.” He turned to Lloyd. “Isn’t Ana here too?”

Chapter 3: Gray

   I didn’t have anybody to talk to after Lucas and Claus walked away. It’s strange. I don’t know anybody here at FSU, but somehow, Lucas seemed like somebody I’ve known my whole life. Did he remind me of someone? Maybe he has those ‘innocent’ and ‘pure’ qualities that make people instantly endearing? Or maybe I was just overthinking it. I continued mulling it over as I entered the dorm building. Despite its outward appearance, the interior was surprisingly sleek and modern, with classy hardwood flooring and simple, slate-gray walls. I checked the dorm assignment I was given on my phone and it said my room was 320. Thankfully there was an elevator, so I didn’t have to carry my luggage up the stairs.

   Room 320 was surprisingly spacious. It was a simple, square room. The left side had a bed, desk, chair, and dresser, which were mirrored on the right. There was a card table in the middle, for those roommates that actually had an interest in talking to each other. The walls were the same gray as the hallways, and there was a single window on the far wall. I tossed all of my luggage on the left side bed and started unpacking. Thankfully, I found that my mom’s fears were unfounded as I found all of my essential items. I got about halfway through unpacking when I heard the door unlock.

   “Hey, Ninte-” Whoever walked inside started a sentence, then cut himself off. I turned to face him. This time I knew that he was shorter than me. He was wearing thick, round glasses with red frame that caught the light in a way that totally obscured his eyes. He had ghost white hair and freckles all over his face, complimented by a mouse-like overbite. He was wearing a red hoodie that was too big for him and black cargo shorts. He had all of his luggage stuffed into a backpack that had extra pouches and pockets sewn on. And, thankfully, he didn’t have an aura. “Oh, I’m sorry.” He said, addressing his flubbed introduction. “I thought you were somebody else.” He walked passively to the right side of the room and put his backpack on the floor. Then he turned back to me and stretched out his hand. “My name’s Lloyd.”

   “I’m Ness.” I took his hand and shook it. “Nice to meet you.” Lloyd let go of my hand and started unpacking. “I can’t believe I was actually able to come here.” He said. “I was originally planning on going to Merrysville Engineering School, but I was offered a scholarship by FSU, and turning it down would have been a total mistake.”

   “So you’re an engineering major?” I questioned.

   “Yep. I always liked toying around with machines and seeing what I could make. I actually used to make my own bottle rockets.”

   “Bottle rockets? How did you get the gunpow-”

   “ANYWAY.” Lloyd cut me off before I could finish my question. “What about you? What are you here for?” Great. I dreaded that this moment would happen. I should be able to just say it, but for some reason I never really could. Am I embarrassed about it? Ashamed? Maybe I’m afraid people would judge me? Still, Lloyd’s my roommate now and deserves an answer.

   “It’s easier if I show you.” I opened my wallet and pulled out a loose quarter. I set it down on the card table. “Ok, here goes.” I closed my eyes, exhaled, and focused all my attention on the coin. Suddenly, my eyes snapped open, flashing lights enveloped the quarter and it slowly rose into the air. Lloyd snapped up the quarter, breaking my focus.

   “Oh my gosh, this is so funny!” He said. He grabbed a photo from his bag and showed it to me. In it was a younger Lloyd standing next to...me? No, he was just dressed like me. Wait, he had the same hat! HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE DRESSED LIKE ME?

   “Who is that?” I asked.

   “That’s my friend Ninten.” Lloyd said. “I thought you were him when I walked in because you look just like him, and somehow BOTH of you are psychic! This is probably the dumbest coincidence I’ve ever been a part of.” I winced a little at that word. Psychic. That’s the word everybody uses to describe people like me. Like Lucas and Claus. Like this Ninten guy, apparently. I never really liked it though. Something about it felt...fake. I didn’t want to be compared to phone mediums or attention hogging weirdos. In any case, it was relieving that Lloyd knew people with the same abilities. “So you’re here for the PSI instruction courses?” Lloyd asked.

   “Yeah, I am. An FSU representative visited my high school last year to scout for psychics. There were only two of us there, myself and Paula Polestar. We were offered scholarships, so long as we enrolled in the PSI classes.”

   “Do you have a major besides that?” Lloyd asked.

   “Not really.” I told him. “I’m just taking general education classes until I figure out what I want to do with myself.”

   “That’s fine. I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” Lloyd tossed my quarter back to me and we both got back to unpacking. Turns out the reason Lloyd’s backpack was overstuffed is because he couldn’t leave any of his hobbies at home. He unpacked boxes of DC (mostly Superman) comics, LEGO sets, classic Kaiju genre DVDs, and no fewer than 6 portfolios of Magic the Gathering cards. His clothes and school supplies didn’t even make up half of his luggage. He noticed I was staring at his things.

   “Yeah, I know I’m overdoing it. I just can’t imagine living without this stuff. But here’s the pièce de résistance.” And with that, he somehow pulled a Super Nintendo, box of cartridges and CRT TV out of his backpack.

   “Ok, how the heck did you fit all that in there?”

   “I’m just really good at making extra space.” Suddenly, Lloyd pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Did he get a text? “Hey,” he started, “you want to go get lunch?”

   “Right now? Why?”