Young Writers Society

Sam and Evan trotted into the training area, glancing around. It was a large sandy field surrounded with bleachers for all the students to sit on. Near the entrance were Izzy and Powder, seated on the lowest bench. Izzy shot a nasty glare at the two, her finger trailing in the sand. Evan grabbed Sam's arm, leading them far away from the angry speedster and her timid companion.

Sage squirmed a bit on the bench beside Dawn. Meeting new people always made her extra fidgety.
"Do you think your mom will like us?" she asked the redhead in a quiet voice.

Powder recoiled into Izzy as she stuck her tongue out at them. "Why do you hate them?" Powder asked, shyly.

"I don't hate them. They hate me!" Izzy rebuttled. "I did nothing wrong! Besides, Sam's the kid who tried to stab your eye out! I'm just protecting you!"

Powder gulped. "Yeah, I know. Thanks, Izabell"

"Izzy."

"Oh. I thought that was just your nickname."

Dawn smiled as Sage sat down next to her. Despite her illness, the flowers preplanted around her had already begun to grow just a bit better. "Of course! My friends are my mom's friends!" Then, Dawn looked at the clock. Her heart sank slightly.
"She was supposed to be here by now..."

Ms. Lane cleared her throat into the microphone on the small platform. She wore a delicate smile across her face. "Good afternoon, students! Oh, it's good to see everyone so lively! Keep up that energy! The Adjudicator should be out shortly!"

Dawn swallowed nervously. "She means- Ms. Darcy means out here with me, right?"

Sage felt Dawn tense beside her, and immediately began clicking her chain. If Dawn was nervous about the goings-on, something was definitely wrong. She knew this place inside and out--it was almost like she lived here.
Sage snapped the chain into a plus sign. "What's happening? Is there a problem?"

Meanwhile, down in the bleachers, Sam leaned forward excitedly.
"The Adjudicator!" they cried, bouncing up and down. "Nobody's seen them for years!"
"Yeah..." Evan's eyes narrowed. "I wonder why..."
The whole crowd went quiet as the doors to the grounds slowly creaked open.

Dawn stared down at the arena as the Adjudicator arrived on stage, her hand grazing over Avery's. The Adjudicator's entrance was nothing special. Darcy was quick to run over and grab the handles of the hero's wheelchair and push her on stage. Many students whispered amongst themselves about the dean's appearance, though most were quick to point out why the entire school felt very accessible. The Adjudicator's hair was ruby red, her eyes green as grass, and wrinkles around her face gave her a wise and gentle look as she waved into the audience. Darcy handed her the microphone, and the Adjudicator spoke her first words. "Welcome, students. I am elated to finally see your faces." The dean wasted no time. Unlike Darcy, the Adjudicator spoke confidently and proudly. "After several-" She flashed a glance at Sam, "-incidents involving mishaps with powers, I have decided that learning to control your gifts will come sooner in the school year than anticipated. These courses are to help you learn, grow, and adapt to your abilities, yes, but are also to help you support those around you. A team is made up of people who are not powerful in their own right, but have knowledge of their companions limits, shortcomings, and how to counteract these."

The Adjudicator went on and on, explaining that some classes would be replaced with a Humanities class about morals and how to think with compassion and logic in tense situations and all this great stuff to test the student's moral standings, but it all sounded like nonsense to a Bio-kinetic's ears. "Mother..." she mumbled, pensive. Dawn slouched and hid her face away. It was hard to tell if she was in shock or a state of deep sorrow. "She lied to me," she said, grabbing Avery's hand tight. Her own hand was freezing cold. Suddenly, she glanced between Avery and Sage, before finally landing on Sage. "She said Darcy would do it. That she was tired and was going to spend time with me. And..." Dawn fell silent.

Then, she sneezed. The garden shriveled up and withered into nothing but crusty brown stalks.

Avery squeezed Dawn's hand reassuringly.
"I'm sorry," she said in her soft, deep voice. "It always hurts when someone doesn't tell the truth."
"I'm sure she didn't mean it," Sage added nervously. Semavry sprouted at her feet, winding around her ankles. "Something probably came up and she had to change some stuff around. She'll explain it all after this."
She studied Dawn's face, chain clicking faster. I hope I said the right thing...

Dawn, despite the shock, smiled as they tried to comfort her. "It's alright, really. You're... You're right, Safe. She's super busy. I-I get it. I mean, her power is morals, right? Probably thought appearing for her students was... more important than this."

Izzy was first to raise her hand. "Me! Me! I wanna show off!" She shook her hand wildly in the air, even stepping on another students head to get higher than the others.

With a calm smile, the Adjudicator pointed at Izzy. She squealed with excitement, even grabbing Powder's arm, before she ran in front of the dean.

"I'm glad to see at least one of my students is eager," the Adjudicator chuckled. "Well? Anyone else want to volueenter? Show us some of their abilites? Hands up now, before it becomes a volueen-told."

Sam's hand shot into the air almost as fast as Izzy's. "Me too! I wanna go!"
"No, no, no," Evan grabbed their arm, pulling it back down to their side. "Remember what happened last time? We can't have you exploding things again."
"I'll be careful, I promise!" the little pyrokinetic cried earnestly. "Nothing bad will happen, I swear."
Evan pursed his lips, skeptical. "Well, it's up to the dean, anyway..."

The dean scanned the crowd carefully, Darcy careful not to disturb her. She didn't dare move an inch as the Adjudicator put her gaze over everyone. Then, suddenly, someone caught her eyes. She smiled. Slowly, her wrinkled finger pointed into the crowd, directly at a young man and his younger friend. "You. Evalyn, correct? Yes. Come on down. I think you'll be suitable."

Dawn was quick to reassure the two beside her. Though, her holding Avery's hand as firm as she could contradicted most of her words. "It's really alright. I mean, I should've expected this. It's not the first time."

Evan rose slowly out of his seat. The grounds were unnervingly quiet as the students watched him make his way to the center of the stage. He glanced up at the Adjudicator and Ms. Lane.
"Do I just..." he made a vague waving motion with his arms, supposedly meant to convey the use of his powers. Darcy nodded quietly. "...ok."
Evan took a deep breath, closing his eyes. His heart pumped loudly, filling his ears with a dull lub-dub. lub-dub.
"One...two...three!" he inhaled sharply and then, in an instant, he was gone.

The crowd of students erupted into ooh's and ah's, some of the younger ones trying to squint hard enough to find him. Izzy swallowed nervously. The Adjudicator lightly applauded him. "Quite interesting powers here," she said, "But, other than spectacle, imagine how you could use this in the heat of encounters with villians. Maybe defensive, but not very offensive."

Then, the Adjudicator gestured to Izzy. Izzy glanced at her for the okay. She had a show-stealing idea, but of course, she feared she could end up like Sam. Still, Darcy, as if reading her mind, hesitantly nodded. The Adjudicator seemed a bit more happy about it.

So, Izzy took a deep breath. Then, in a flash of color, she vanished from the stage and the blur of her figure was running circles. Sand was kicked up into a mini-dust devil around the stage. Darcy was regretting her decision, but the dean was quite amused. When Izzy finally stopped, stumbling a bit from dizziness, the largest grin had grown on her face. She spat some sand out of her face.

"Well, I supposed that's our offensive. Good teamwork in this line of work is a healthy balance of both of these." The Adjudicator said, wiping her legs of the sand.

Sam squinted at the stage, searching for any sign of Evan. Izzy was already making her way back to her seat, so where was he?
Then, they spotted it--a vague shimmer of color, rippling slowly toward the speedster. What is he--
Suddenly, Izzy's shirt began to change color. The blue was fading out of it rapidly, concentrating in Evan's hand, which had one finger pressed against her sleeve. By the time she whirled around, her shirt had gone completely beige.

Izzy stared at her shirt with horror. Something in her was quick to snap. Sure, she was attention hungry, but she wasn't usually angry at people. Annoyed, sure, but still. Blue, her favorite color, rubbed from her just like that! For beige? For what?! Revenge? What did she do wrong? It's not she was the one to blow up glass and stab dear little Powder in the eye!
Izzy whipped herself around, then looked at Evan. "What is wrong with you?!" she screamed, "This was my favorite shirt!" Darcy stepped forward, but the Adjudicator stuck her arm out.

Then, that little switch flipped in her. She pounced onto Evan without a second thought. The Adjudicator was not stirred in the slightest at the tussle that was breaking out. Izzy lit up with an idea when she pushed Evan down on the bleacher. S frantically rubbed her hands against her kinks and coils, her hands going inhumane speeds. Sparks and bolts grew from the friction. Then, suddenly, she pushed her hands down onto his chest. "That's what you get for messing with me and Powder!"

Evan gritted his teeth, trying to push Izzy off, but she was a lot stronger than he thought. Her fingernails dug into his chest, carving grooves into his flesh.
Suddenly, a little blond ball smashed into Izzy's side, slamming her to the ground. Evan sat up, gasping for breath. He looked down at his chest. Izzy had practically burned through his shirt, leaving bright red handprints on his skin.
"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH HIM!"
Evan looked up to see Sam standing over Izzy, absolutely spitting with rage. The pyrokinetic was almost too bright to look at--even their hair was ablaze, waves of fire washing over their body like ripples on a lake. Their hands burned like torches and their eyes were like miniature suns, glaring at the speedster in pure hatred.
"Let's see how you like it, then!" they cried, swiping an arm toward Izzy. A wave of fire burst forward, scalding the benches white-hot as students screamed and scrambled out of the way. Sam swiped again, more fire washing over the grounds. The sand melted to glass beneath it, rippling in the heat. More cries erupted from the stadium as people rushed for the door, scrabbling over each other in desperation. Sam laughed maniacally, fire erupting from their mouth. "Hot, isn't it?"

Izzy's shrieking was covered by the rest of the crowd running from the fire. The only thing that was discernable was her first comment: "He touched me first!" After that, it was hard to tell with high-pitched screaming was her. She was only recognizable because of the ball of fire atop her.

Finally, the Adjudicator's brow wrinkled and tightened. She handed a syringe to Darcy. "Simply a sedative," she said, before wheeling herself to the front of the stage. Her voice sounded like a boom through the area. "Enough."

She sighed when she caught some of the student's attention. So, she repeated in a louder voice, enough to make some jump. "This is the exact reason this school was built. To stop things like this from happening when you're all adults and there will be death sentences served to you." Her voice was crystal clear and demanding. Nothing sounded mean, but it was clear she wasn't at all afraid or affected by the state of affairs. "Deal with it, Ms. Lane, and take them away. We'll have a talk once this is over with."

Darcy trembled slightly as she held the syringe in her hands. For students, was this really the right option? What was her other option? Burn alive trying to tear two kids away from each other? Still, it was the dean's order... Darcy ran up behind Sam, trying to find a single spot of skin she could touch. Then- a part of their arm went back to normal flesh. The assistant was quick to pounce on it. "I'm sorry," she said as she pushed whatever substance was in the syringe.

Once Sam had been removed from the situation, mainly by Darcy picking them up and taking them to an unspecified location, the Adjudicator spoke again. This time, she wheeled herself in front of Izzy, groaning in pain. By then, Powder had already come to her side and was a sobbing mess.

"Get up," she ordered. Izzy's face was still searing. She didn't even stir. "I said, get up," The Adjudicator sounded annoyed now. "You're face was burnt. That's all. Your legs still work, so get up."
Finally, Izzy pushed herself off the ground and held the side of her face that was most hurt. She did nothing but whimper and shake once she was up. "Good. Follow me." Izzy was too shaken to ask where. Powder glanced at Evan, then followed behind the girl like a lost puppy.

Evan was horrified. He'd known Sam was prone to excited outbursts, but this...this had gone way too far. Poor Izzy--he watched her scurry away, covering the burns on her face. Then, he looked down at his chest.
I started it, he thought, gingerly touching the angry red handprints. A shock of pain went through him, causing him to gasp for air. She had no right to burn me. And Sam was just protecting me...but...
Evan's gut twisted in confusion. How was he supposed to feel about this? He started it, yes, but Izzy had most definitely overreacted. And Sam...Sam endangered the whole student body when they lit the stadium on fire.
Evan looked around the training grounds. Melted heaps of benches lay all around him, still-smoldering glass at his feet. What a disaster...
Just then, Dawn, Avery, and Sage came running out, their faces a mix of fear, horror, and fury.
"What is this?" Avery demanded. Her usually soft, misty tone was now hard and sharp. "What were you thinking, taking the color out of Izzy's shirt like that?"
"She's been nothing but a stuck-up brat to Sam and I since we got here," Evan replied dully, still trying to absorb the weight of the situation. "I thought she needed to be taken down a peg. It seemed harmless in the moment."
"I never liked her, but..." Sage shifted her bracelet from hand to hand. "Did you see what Sam did? Her whole face was all burnt...I hope the healers can fix her up."
"Yeah..." Evan stared at his feet. Suddenly, his head snapped up. "Where is Sam, anyway? I didn't see them leave the stadium..."