Were there any pleasures more glorious and grand than being the reason a crowd’s jaw drops?

“As you can plainly see, mes jeunes amis, true mastery comes not with power, but precision!” Noelle grinned a self-pleased grin as the water she’d sucked out of the drinking fountain compressed itself into a perfect, foot-by-foot-by-foot six-sided cube, flat on all sides, showing nary a ripple until she flicked one corner of it to make the entire thing shimmer beautifully.

“I can’t even keep a sphere without it falling apart.” One girl admitted glumly.

With a sneaky grin, Noelle moved her hands outwards, the cube of water suddenly snaking like a serpent through the air, her hands acting the part of the marionette master, her psychic powers the strings. The girl gave a gasp as the water swam around her, and blushingly took a few steps forward as the water wiggled beckoning in Noelle’s direction, and she stopped just a foot away from the fille with uncertainty in her big eyes.

“Hydrokinesis is a most wonderful discipline, mayhap my favorite of the ‘left cerveau’ disciplines. It is easy to practice!” Noelle swam the water through the air between her hands, turning it into a large ring, with a hole in the center a proper foot in diameter. “Water is everywhere. One can practice in the shower, in the pool, when it rains, at the edge of the Seine; to practice, one simply needs—” She held the ring over her head, the light glimmering off the liquid lowering down her body, circling around her hips, “—fearlessness.”

The crowd gave a little ‘ooh’ and a polite clap as she took the water into her hands again in a large sphere and smiled at the girl.

“Prends ça.” Noelle ordered, and after a look of confusion, Noelle gave a mental nudge, and the girl gave a little ‘oh!’ and held her hands up, her expression dripping with nervousness. “Now, before I let go, I want you to lower your hands.” The girl hesitated, but Noelle tilted her head. “Fais-le!” She ordered, and the girl’s hands shrank to her side.

With a broadening smile, Noelle gestured to the crowd. “Do you know what the purpose of my hands in this demonstration is?”

After a moment of silence, somebody spoke up: “So, uh… so you can, like, visualize holding the water?”

“Correct, très bon! But, what happens if you try to pick up water with your hands?”

“It falls through your fingers.”

“Oui oui!” Noelle moved her hands in a slow circle around the ring, not touching it, but causing it to shimmer. “You will learn something here early, a thing your teachers will call a ‘crutch.’ You have to learn when your hands hold you back, and when they help you; you will learn the same with other things like ‘left-brain’ and ‘right-brain’ powers.”

She continued. “Your mind is its own worst enemy; it will often project doubts and stop you from reaching your potential. You must learn to unchain it. My hands guide the way the water flows, but it must be your mind that holds it together. Now…” Noelle drew her hands away from the sphere of water and stepped back, staring at the girl she drew forward. “Fais-le!” She nodded eagerly.

The girl’s mind hesitantly reached out. She lacked confidence, especially as her psionic influence brushed skeptically across Noelle’s. It was a mental tickle, a simple feeling of an intrusive telekinetic grasp trying to supplant her own and take the ball of water. She felt that psionic grasp tug, but the ball of water did not move.

“Fais-le!” Noelle said again. “Come, come, take it!”

“Y-you won’t let go.” The girl said, sounded a bit humiliated, and Noelle nodded.

“Because you won’t take it. You have to grasp it; if you drop it, you will get water on my shoes.” Noelle held a foot out, shaking a finely polished, beautiful short-heeled shoe at the girl. “These are Aubercy! To get them wet is to soil my very sole!” She pat herself on the back for that one.

“But, I can’t hold it very well, I’m—”

“Making excuses, lâche! When you take something with your hand, do you hold it like it might bite you? Do you take it with fear? Non! Take the water, do not wet my shoes.”

The girl flushed pale, the crowd leaning in to stare as she raised her hands, but at Noelle’s stare, lowered them again. She took a deep breath, and Noelle could feel the girl’s anxious firmness in the air. She was still lacking in confidence, but she was no longer looking like she might wet herself.

Again that foreign psychic mind brushed against Noelle’s, wrapping around the sphere, grasping it much like she did, and rapidly let the water sphere go. Instantly, a heavy drop of water splashed the ground, just barely grazing the tip of her shoe tip.

“Tsk!” Noelle grinned. “You were but a moment away from disaster, weren’t you?”

“Sorry!” The girl squeaked, the ball floating in her mental grasp, shimmering and shaking, rippling and dewing at the bottom, threatening to dispense more. “I-it’s a lot more than I’ve held before!”

“And you are holding it, are you not?”

The girl’s expression twitched, keeping her arms rigid at her side as the ball of water threatened to split apart at any moment.

“Was math hard for you, mon chéri?”

“Y-yeah, I was almost held back a year because of it…” The girl answered as Noelle walked around her, the crowd tracking the beauty as she examined the girl.

“Did it get easier?”

“When I got a bunch of tutoring, I-I guess.”

“You will find this much the same way. You do not need to learn numbers and figures, but you will learn it as if you are flexing a muscle. Like now, you are flexing harder than you ever have—” A big splatter of water hit the floor… “But give it some years, and this shall feel like you are carrying your luggage!”

“That’s—eek!” The girl gasped as the big ball of water suddenly tore apart at the bottom, falling in waterfalls like she was trying to grasp it with invisible hands and spilling all across the floor.

She looked horrified for a moment, and straightened up as a hand landed on her shoulder. Noelle gave her a smirk, and walked through the resultant puddle. “You will do better next time with what I said, oui?”

A thick swallow, and then, “Oui…”

“Bonne! Keep all this in mind, everyone: your psychic powers must be developed like a muscle!” She nodded at the crowd, who eagerly clapped, murmured curiously at one another, and many of them simply stared at Noelle, awed when she flipped her braid over her shoulder and flicked her skirt as she began to walk away.

Noelle chuckled silently to herself. To be the center of attention, what a wonder! If only it were that easy all the time~. She stretched her arms out to flex, easing her mind as it prickled slightly from the day’s pressure.

A mid-afternoon flight from Paris that from yesterday to get back into Arizona, where the winter was comfortable and brisk at worst instead of slushy and freezing. Away from her family, getting her luggage moved into a room she lived in for nine-to-ten months for the past four years, greeting the dean, not having her beauté noire to hang out with.

And, worst of all, the first peer she saw that she recognized upon arriving was that sneering English pig!

Noelle huffed, and suppressed a curse.

“Connard…”

Not completely, though.

With a hum, she let her mind reenter the thought bubble that filled PA by now. It wasn’t as familiar as it was when it was fully in the swing of things; too many new minds, not enough of the students she knew had returned, and these freshmen were amateurs at tampering with the thought bubble. They felt, they queried, but none had the ability to be so mentally present as a psychic trained in divination.

Still, it was fun to poke around and feel all the excitement around her. Questions abounded, wondering where to do this and that, when orientation was, who was gunna be their roommate?

Noelle tittered to herself; freshmen.

Walking along, looking for the next crowd to entertain, she heard something. Not outloud, no, but in her head, something familiar. It was a happy series of thoughts, not in the form of just words and feelings, but guitar noises.

A gentle, easy tune, slow, joined by low notes and soft, passionate lyrics: {—ev-reebody want to rule the wo~orld~...}

With a small, curious grin, Noelle decided to test her luck.

She narrowed down that little tune to the joyful presence singing it. She recognized the presence, even if it was hardly familiar. She recognized the particular mixture of curiosity and happiness, she recognized some of the stray thoughts on the surface of their mind, she recognized the name ‘Madeline’ at the forefront of her mind.

Noelle sent out a teeny-tiny, itty-bitty little feeling: a small, mental peck on the cheek.

The song stopped, and a strange, anxious feeling filled that little section of the thought bubble. With a mental gasp and a pause of delight, she felt Taz awkwardly, but eagerly poke back… less a kiss, more a pat on the back.

{Bonjour~!}

{B-b-bon—hi! Hi, Noelle?!}

{Ah, ma choupette recognizes me~! Blessed day!}

Her head swivelled around, trying to stare over the heads of the crowd of students where she could, but so many of these damned boys stood head and shoulders over her! Humph, freshmen…

It did not help that her prey was, if her mind recalled correctly, short.

{Where are you?} She heard Taz’s voice in her head, and she pursed her lips.

{That is a difficult question to answer with such a vast crowd…}

{I’m here with my mom, maybe look for her?}

{Oh I am trying ma poupette, I am very good at finding ravishing blondes, yet you both elude me…}

{Uh… well… oh! What about what Madeline did at the convention? Use divination!}

{Mon petit amour, I have bad news for you…}

{Wait, hold on, I see you!} A new voice suddenly emerged within the mental bridge, and Noelle straightened up.

She heard a series of gasps and exclamations, some of delight and wonder, some more profane and alarmed, and her eyes were drawn towards a series of raised fingers at a silver-haired mermaid floating above the crowd, swirling towards her with a casual flip of her tail.

Melodica was all smiles, moving through the air like it was water, drifting over towards the older fille with a smile. Her pastel, oceanic theme was bright and beautiful, her jacket a very light pink, her shirt a seafoam green. Noelle found herself grinning as the mermaid tulpa swam a gentle circle around her, encircling her with her pretty blue tail before raising in front of her with a smile.

“Hiiiiii Noelle~!” Melodica sang, and Noelle felt a crowd of eyes on her once more.

This time, however, they weren’t admiring gorgeous body or her talented abilities, they were staring as, for all they could tell, she was taking the strangely smooth hands of a mermaid.

“If I am not mistaken, you are Melodica?” Noelle grinned, her thumbs squeezing the siren’s hands. She noted, with some discomfort, that though she could touch her, Melodica’s hands had no give, like she was squeezing a mannequin.

“Yeah, we didn’t get to talk much at the convention!” Melodica reached back and twirled her hair with a curious little grin. “You’re super pretty.”

“Oh, you flatter me, Ariel…”

“Ew, no, I’m past that phase.” Melodica snorted. “But if you have any pretty French things to call me, I’m all ears!” Melodica’s voice quivered at the thought, leaning towards Noelle with a smile as the girl grinned, especially when the crowd half-heartedly parted and Taz emerged with a gasp, looking a little exhausted, but mostly enthusiastic.

“H-hi!” Taz managed to peep, the sight of the formerly-brunette fille sending a flush of red straight to her cheek.

Noelle grinned, walking through Melodica. A curious hand or two passed through the mermaid’s body, inquisitive minds prodding at her to see if she was even real, many only detecting the psionic imposition of her existence but no functioning organs or unique brain pattern.

“Mademoiselle Cooper.” Noelle gave that expert little bow again, grinning up at her junior as the little blonde squeaked in response. “Bienvenue.”

Noelle straightened up in surprise as she suddenly had a pair of tight arms thrown around midsection, crushed body to body with the excitable little blonde.

“Aaaaaaaah!” Taz squealed, breaking the hug to all but dance around Noelle, Melodica joining her in a hip-shaking, arm-waving shimmy that had Noelle ducking a few times to avoid getting whacked by a stray limb. “I-can’t-believe-I’m-finally-here-I’m-so-excited-it’s-good-to-see-you-hi-everyone-isn’t-this-amazing?!?!”

Naught but Melodica could parse the stream of happy words tumbling out of Taz’s mouth, her very presence in the thought bubble a bright and happy spot that left Noelle wanting to giggle, but instead, she had a job to do.

Taz yelped as two fingers snagged her ear and dragged her to stand in front of the fille, an assured smirk on her face. “Ma choupette, the lovely Madeline asked a favor of me.”

“Sh-she did?” Taz asked, nursing her ear.

“Yes, in regards to you.”

“Oh!” Taz blinked, Melodica swimming up behind her, peeking over her shoulder and periodically glaring at anyone trying to touch her. “What’d she ask?”

“To keep an eye on you until she arrives.” Noelle answered, raising her arm high and touching her chest like she was performing a play. “I am to ensure your safety and your comfort in her place, and I would like to start by leaving this gathering of eyes and ears. What do you say to a little tête-à-tête avec moi?”

She couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear as Taz’s expression went from shining with delight to glowing with embarrassment as their eyes met, and with a small giggle, Taz gave a little smile…

And then the air seemed cool a few degrees as a new presence forced herself onto the crowd, and Noelle found herself staring up into the frigid glare of the precious little blonde’s mother.

“... Or, mayhap, we can talk as three!”

“—and Aunt Zi wants to be here in person with her, so she might not be showing up until tomorrow.” Taz explained, her fingers wiggling in the air in front of her, piano sounds chiming off her fingers as, in a fit of inspiration, she simply plunked the air to make a tune out whatever she could think of.

“Ah, mon amie breaks my heart with her lateness!” Noelle spoke with a sweeping, dramatic tone in her voice, making Taz giggle. “We’ve been apart only a few weeks, but I feel the gaping void at my side gnawing at my nerves!”

“I know what you mean.” Taz murmured, her eyes sinking to the floor as her playing stalled. “I was really hoping she’d be the one showing me around on my first day. I was kinda picturing Aunt Zi would be here to keep mom distracted so Maddy and I could run around. I wanted to see y’all’s room.”

“That will be a treat for later.” Noelle winked, sending Taz’s chin to her chest as she tried to reign in the sudden, coy curiosity now swimming through the thought bubble. “Until ma belle returns, I will be in charge of seeing you around.”

“Maddy trusts you quite a bit.” Both girls looked down at Anna, sitting in the front row of the school’s main auditorium. The blonde woman leaned back, looking flustered and frustrated, but calm. “I certainly hope you’ve earned it.” Anna’s fingers drummed her knees, Melodica relaxed in the chair by her side, every now and then running her fingers along Anna’s arm comfortingly.

“Mademoiselle, you will come to see that there is no name more trustworthy in Phoenix Academy than that of Noelle Duplantier!” Noelle hopped off the edge of the stage, striking a dramatic pose, before giving a deep bow that did nothing to make Anna look any happier.

The Copperfield Auditorium didn’t stand out as particularly fancy, but it was incredibly functional. It could host around four-hundred audience members in the chairs alone, with room for standing along the walls and sitting on the stairs, and if the entire student body was expected to attend, the school’s stadium was used instead.

However, even with an influx of additional students this year, the auditorium would suffice. The acoustics were excellent, the interior was air-conditioned, the lighting–currently set to a low, comfortable dark–and the thin lead sheets built into the walls kept outside psychic resonance from interfering with the audience’s mood.

Taz quietly recalled when Madeline told her how psionic plays on the Copperfield stage were a unique experience. An audience full of psionics, all thinking together, showing their collective joy, despair, amusement, or boredom made for a broad experience. Movie nights in the theater were a hoot, according to her; during the summer blockbusters, the room would always feel full to bursting with a strong, shared desire to go out and save the world… or wreck cars into each other.

During horror nights–of which Maddy frequented few–the collective anxiety could be absolutely strangling.

It was almost impossible to not bust a gut during comedy nights, when the thought bubble was inevitably infected with rapidly rising humor.

Maddy told her the hardest she’d ever cried was at ‘A Star Is Born’ a few years ago. What was supposed to be a date ended with a two hour phone call of her weeping into Taz’s ear, supporting her musical aspirations and leaving the little blonde both disturbed and on the verge of tears herself.

After years of hearing the stories, being on the stage was strangely ominous, even if the auditorium was empty. Still, Taz plunked at her imaginary piano, staring down at her mother.

The plane ride had been a tense one. Taz was happy, yes, but her mother moved like a weight was on her shoulders, and she could see, even now, her mom wasn’t ready.

Taz was, though. She was ready to show that her psychic powers weren’t just a distraction, and that they could buoy her music to a new level. Or, even if she never fully went into music, they’d serve whatever career she chose for herself.

Noelle jumped high into the air with a ballet-like twirl, settling back down next to Taz in a relaxed sitting position, legs crossed, making Taz freeze. She’d seen people use telekinesis to jump higher or even hover before, but she’d never seen it up close, and never with such a spinny dress to accentuate it...

“So, ma choupette, I have something to tell you.” Noelle said with a sneaky grin.

“Wazzat?” Taz asked, shaking off her surprise.

“It’s something special, and very private.” Noelle wiggled her eyebrows, only to hear an ugly cough from Anna. The woman’s sneer alone could peel the paint off of walls… “‘tis nothing crude, mademoiselle!”

Anna just growled.

“Ahem, anyways. It is something I do not share often or easily, but Madeline has made you out to be a trustworthy person, and because you are so terribly important to her, I want to make sure that you are never without a friendly ear.” Noelle’s hand fished through her purse and pulled out her phone; a top-of-the-line, current year iPhone with a phone case depicting the French flag, and a sticker on it that looked like one of those shadows of a naked lady on truck mud flaps. “I will give you my phone number, and you will not abuse this privilege, comprenez?”

Taz’s expression went from blank curiosity to a big, beaming smile in no time, and she squealed as she dug into her jean’s pocket. “Yes yes yes, I comperknees! Ah!” Taz checked her other pocket. “Where’s my phone?! Melodica, where’s my phone?!”

“Why would I know?! I don’t have it!”

“You watched me pack! Did I put it in my luggage?!”

“Is it in your bag, dear?” Anna asked with a sigh.

Taz tore through her messenger bag, squeaking in distress, pulling out folders and binders before finally pulling out her phone, in its little leather fish scale wallet-case.

Noelle hid a giggle as Taz opened her phone up and carefully punched in the number she was told, and Noelle confirmed it was correct when she received a text.

“Suivant!” Noelle exclaimed, taking Taz’s phone and dragged her close by the shoulder. Taz’s face was red and her smile was bright as Noelle took a picture of the two of them smiling together, then passed the phone back over. “I appreciate a good picture with my number, so make sure to add it!”

“I will!”

Noelle grinned, though both girls went silent when the door at the far end, atop audience seating opened, and a conversation poured through.

“—two ESP at each door, with official permission to scan for malicious intent.” A deep, commanding voice said, and a familiar, tall, broad-shouldered black man in a fine suit entered with a comparatively petite white girl in an ESP outfit. “If Brain Scythe thinks it can walk in here and make a mess of things, I want—”

Dean Davis paused as he noticed the two girls on the stage, then the two girls in the audience… one of which was floating up in the air to get a better look at him, a long, fishlike tail replacing her legs.

He looked unfriendly for a moment, his eyes bouncing from face to face, but then he turned to the ESP and gave a small nod of his head. “Pass on those orders, and quickly; orientation starts soon.”

“Yes sir!” And the woman scampered off.

“Yoohoo, monsieur Davis!” Noelle waved her hand, smiling from ear to ear as Davis walked down the steps. He was looking at Melodica curiously, watching her head tilt from left to right as she stared right at him, but her squinted eyes suggested some difficulty.

He paused in his step when the woman in the chair stood and turned to face him, giving him a plain look, only small creases in her brow suggesting she was anxious at all. His eyes lingered on the woman for a long, long while before he started down the steps again, taking in her face, her body, her presence.

When he drew near, she held up her hand, and in his surprise, he automatically took it, and noted her firm handshake.

“Hello Dean Davis.” She said formally, and he squared up his shoulders and put on a small smirk.

“A pleasure to meet you, miss…?”

“Anna Cooper.”

His eyebrows raised, and he broke out into a knowing grin, moreso as he watched her placid look turn to confusion, then to annoyance.

“And what did I do to warrant that smile, sir?”

“You cast a spell over my head of security; one Aiden Walsh, miss Cooper. I can see how.” He gave a low chuckle, and Anna drew in a breath, and simply looked frustrated. “Don’t worry, I don’t intend to give him any competition.”

“I’m not looking for a lover while I’m here, Davis.” Anna stated flatly, and he gave a nod.

“I imagine not. You’re here because you’re protecting your daughter from Brain Scythe, aren’t you?” He asked, drawing a now curious look from her. “Telepathy might not be in my repertoire, but I’m no less good at reading people; you’re anxious and don’t like it here. Not a fan of psychics, I take it?”

Anna took another breath, her eyes moving off his face and towards the ground, taken aback by question, and slowly she let it out, her face firming. “Well, I have to commend you on that. No, not under normal circumstances.”

“Your child will be well taken care of, miss Cooper, I can promise you that. We’ve taken no—”

“I was at the convention, Davis,” Anna interrupted him, “where I met your twitterpated chief of security.”

“Ah yes, of course, then you know. Well, you have my personal assurance that I will spare no expense in keeping your child safe. Speaking of…?” He glanced up at the plain little blonde sitting at the edge of the auditorium stage, watching him from behind big, round glasses.

She dressed so innocuously that he could have easily ignored her for Noelle and Anna, but he paused as he stared at the girl, his eyebrows furrowing as he stared at her face.

“Ah hah.” He glanced between the little blonde and the mermaid pressing a finger into his shoulder until Anna hissed at her. “You must be the storied Natasha Cooper.”

The girl’s posture shifted as a pall of confusion fell over her, and with a curious look at Noelle, she repeated: “Storied? Wait, I’m storied? How?” She asked, leaning towards Dean Davis to accept his big hand. Compared to her mother, her handshake was positively dainty.

“The evolink with the interesting tulpa that kept a batch of kids with Mustafi Syndrome at ease.” Dean Davis answered, taking a step back to give her some comfortable space. “I make it a point to meet with all evolinks that come through my school.”

“So I don’t blow it up?” She asked.

“Taz, take him seriously.” Anna reminded her, but Davis just snickered.

“It’s not an unwarranted question. Six or so years ago we had an evolink come through who was an,” he trailed off a moment to find a delicate word, “enthusiastic pyrokinetic.”

“He was the reason the elemental labs got rebuilt for the fourth time!” Taz whispered to Noelle.

“Taz, I know all the stories.”

“Then tell me some!” Taz squeaked.

“Noelle, you are behaving with the freshmen, right?” Davis asked the young fille.

Noelle held a hand over her heart and gave the Dean a hurt look. “Oh, mon très cher professeur, I have done no harm to ma choupette!”

“I’m not worried about you hurting her, Noelle.”

“You may rest assured, monsieur Davis, at the risk of incurring the wrath of ma belle–not to mention la reine de glaces present–I have simply been providing her reassurance of my companionship and mentorship.”

The Dean gave her a long, measuring stare, causing her to squirm in place for a moment before he turned to Taz again. “Based on my reports from Professor Burke and Professor Dewitt, they’ve already spent quite a bit of time grilling you over your psionic abilities, mostly pertaining to one…” He turned slowly to face the suspiciously-staring mermaid, “I want to say Melody?”

“Melodica.” She corrected, swimming over him, her body forming a lazy arch as she stared him in the eye, her eyes unfocused like she wasn’t sure what she was looking at.

“Is something bothering you, miss? I usually don’t like students or tulpas getting in my face.” Davis said with a low tone of warning, and Melodica drifted away, encircling a concerned Taz like a protective snake.

“Mel?” Taz asked, resting a hand against Melodica’s cheek. Though her fingers passed through the girl’s form, she gently tingled her psionic projection, giving Melodica the illusion of being touched.

“I see a guy there.” Melodica pointed right at Davis, whose eyebrow arched.

“Oui, that is the dean of the school, Sirène.” Noelle chimed in, and even Anna was giving Melodica a concerned look.

“Okay, first, you can call me that whenever you want.” Melodica said through reddened cheeks. “But, second, like… I can see him, I can hear him, but I can’t feel him. Like, I can touch him, but…”

“Ah, Rène, you use psychic powers to sense people?” Noelle asked, drawing an uncertain look from Melodica and Taz both.

“That’d make sense.” Taz glanced at Melodica as she pondered the question. “She doesn’t have senses like we do. Mel, you’re probably able to see him and hear him because of me, right?”

“I guess so?”

“Because, when I reach out–w-with my mind I mean… when I reach out with my mind…” Taz glanced at Dean Davis and gave him an awkward smile. “Wow, it’s really like you’re not even there! I heard trying to feel a nullifier was weird, but…”

“It’s my curse to carry, but I am long past the worst of it.” Davis said, approaching her again, watching Melodica’s expression tighten. “Being a black boy growing up in the 70’s was hard enough, so when I’d heard that psychic communities tended to be colorblind, I was pretty quick trying to find one to join. When they realized they couldn’t see me, hear me, talk to me, or feel me with their minds–and worse, when they realized I could shut them in their own heads, I was run out pretty quickly.”

“And then Zhou Ping found you!” Taz said, looking maybe a little too happy to know the man’s difficult childhood. “Was he as great as everyone said he was?”

“Better.” Davis smiled, sliding a hand in his pocket. “A Chinese guy with psychic powers picked up a black kid with anti-psychic powers out of a bad neighborhood; the man threw a middle finger up at every societal convention trying to keep people in their own ‘category.’ If it weren’t for him… lord, I don’t even wanna think about where I’d be without him.”

“That’s really cool! I wanna be like him when I grow up.” Taz was all smiles, and Davis couldn’t help but return it.

“Please do. We need more Zhou Pings in the world, and much fewer Brain Scythes.” Davis chuckled, but was cut short when his watch began to beep. Almost as soon as it did, the doors in the back started opening up, and a few students and their guardians walked inside.

“Orientation time, doyen. I hope you’re prepared.” Noelle teased, sliding off of the stage as Taz, flailing in a panic, quickly leapt off after her.

“Well I meant to prepare, but got sidetracked.” He gave Taz a pointed, but amused look.

“Sorry!”

“Don’t be, this won’t be difficult. Find a seat, we’ll talk about you being an evolink later.” He told her, patting her back as she passed by, and sharing an odd look with Melodica as he took to the stage to, quickly, test the microphone as bit by bit, freshmen, parents, and attentive teachers began to fill the room up.

Taz and Noelle slid off the stage to join Anna in the front seats. The moment Taz sat down, her mother’s hand slid into her lap, taking her own with an affectionate squeeze. Anna’s eyes were fixated on the man on the stage, though Taz figured he wasn’t the source of her current tension.

It was about what Taz expected: her mother was a ball of nerves the whole time they were coming in. She’d expected her mom to be especially fussy and grouchy, and didn’t mind that she was constantly getting her hand held, but she really did wish her mom would lighten up.

It reminded her of what Mallory had said: ‘It must be weird having a mom so invested in your life, but, like, wants nothing to do with your dream.’

Still, her mom had been quiet for most of the trip, looking more mournful than anything, and, of course, the constant badgering: call her often, call her at any signs of trouble, stay out of trouble, and stay on the campus.

Taz wasn’t sure she could follow that last one; PJ was a nice place, after all, and she wanted to explore their psychic shops!

She examined her mother’s features, one of the few people within Anna Cooper’s social circle that could recognize the woman’s weakness, and ran her thumb over her knuckles to try and soothe her.

The lights in the room went from dim to bright, quieting the chit-chat happening in the audience, the thought bubble that had formed going silent as it was filled with anticipation of the dean’s introduction.

“Hello everyone.” The man began at the top of the stage, wearing a smile Taz had seen maybe hundreds of times in innumerable advertisements. “If nobody else has, then let me be the first person to welcome you to the Phoenix-Paiute Academy for Extracerebral Youths. I am, as many of you may know, Nathaniel Davis, the dean of this school.”

On he went. “You have heard, probably more times than I’d dare to guess, what the stated purpose of Phoenix-Paiute Academy is; you know why you are here, you have heard and read and probably seen what it is we have to offer, so I’m not going to repeat myself when you’ve already been convinced to enroll with us. Sometimes I may call you kids, but even the youngest of you are starting to become adults; slowly, it might feel, but at my age, I feel like I don’t have enough time in this world with each of you.”

His eyes briefly passed over Taz, and Taz swelled up, giving him a big smile, while Noelle, by her side, gave a soft, quiet clap and a nod when their eyes met. But, he swiveled his head, peering all through the crowd, peering at faces behind the two girls, meeting the expectant eyes of their parents.

“So, rather than fill your heads with promises I’ve already made, I’m going to use this opportunity to tell you what I, what my staff, what Zhou Ping, and what the world will expect of you.” He lowered the mic a moment and stepped out to the edge of the stage, his expression turning calm, but serious. “We define our abilities as disciplines because you need to be smart with them. What does that mean ‘to be smart?’ That means using them in ways that protect you, and respect your fellow man.”

“It means respecting the privacy of your fellow psychics, not using your powers to bully or harm those weaker than you. We do not differentiate between unpowered human beings and psychics at this school: PEOPLE ARE NOT PRACTICE!”

The man’s roar was met with silence, the resonance in the room disseminating a sense of fright and surprise as he stared at them all. Taz, in particular, suddenly felt crushed into her seat, afraid to move, but, oddly, her mother’s hand loosened around her fingers.

“I want to reiterate that point: your friends, your neighbors, your rivals, your enemies, the smelly man at the back of the bus, the little old lady at church, everybody has a right to their privacy, their health, and assuredness of their actions. We will teach you how to read minds and dejunk them; only for people who agreed to it. We will teach you how to safely set a flame; for what purpose will you use it? I don’t know, but you have to know and respect the power of fire when you do it.”

“All of you enrolled here at Phoenix Academy now carry a responsibility. Maybe your parents taught you to behave at home, but while here, and after you leave, you will have more weight on your shoulders than ever before, because we believe that psychic powers do not make you an inherently better person. Power is a dangerous thing to have, and it can be abused very easily. Psychics the world over have suffered persecution when their abilities were abused in the past: the holocaust, the destruction of Vietnam, the death of former president Bill Clinton, all perpetuated through the use of psychic powers.”

“Am I trying to scare you? A little.” He acknowledged, pacing from one side of the stage to the other, his eyes almost unblinkingly roaming once more. The audience certainly seemed cowed, and that gave him just a little bit of hope. “I want you to know that your actions have consequences; not just to yourself, but to every other person in this room. Our school hosts the finest psionic medical establishment in the world, and if you ever want an answer to the question: ‘why shouldn’t I use my powers however I like?’ ask to meet the patients there.”

He paused for a moment, his footsteps the only sound in the room. “Meet the normal human beings whose minds were fractured irreparably by irresponsible psychics. Meet the psychics who are suffering from their own ailing minds, who are cursed by their power. Meet the patients who suffered the stigma of our power at the hands of the paranoid and the discriminatory.”

“We are patient, we are protective, we will educate you, empower you, and embolden you, but Phoenix-Paiute Academy will not tolerate cruelty and wanton mistreatment of the human mind. We want to show the world that a crowd of trained and respectful minds can do more than destroy and control. We can heal, we can see, we can alter the fundamental laws of the universe little by little, and that can be used to stop violence, discrimination, and disease.”

“So I ask you, humbly, respectfully, as the man whose entire life was changed and made better with the help of a single good psychic: please, do good. Do great. Ask yourself: what would Jesus do with his powers? What would Superman do? Captain America? If you pause, and think, and question your intentions for even a few seconds, you may find yourself averting a terrible mistake. Because, if you don’t…”

His presence, without so much as a shift in posture, suddenly loomed, and every psychic in the crowd began to stir uncomfortably as a static filled the air. The thought bubble, the resonance, all suddenly so murky, and thin, and pale, and unassured. His mind laid over the room like a blinding blanket, not strong enough to strangle their minds into their respective skulls, but enough to make them spark and balk at their sudden inadequacy.

“I will not hesitate to fix your mistakes for you, and ensure you can never make them again.”

The room, bright as it was, suddenly felt dark and cast in shadow. The normal-minded amongst the crowd squirmed in the ambient tension, unable to experience the suffocating restraint their friends and family were suddenly placed under. However, when the dean lifted his influence off the crowd, a wave of relief washed through the auditorium, and the thought bubble refilled with anxiousness.

Taz, in particular, felt like an entire limb had gone numb. It was the best way she could describe it, and the cold discombobulation of her psionics left her eagerly grasping for her mother’s hand and Melodica’s hair, but to her worry, she could not find the mermaid anywhere.

“I trust,” the dean began with a slowed tone, “that I have made myself abundantly clear?”

There was a murmur of agreement.

“Good. With that said, I say this as both a reminder and a reassurance: the psionic discipline of domination is not being taught under any circumstance for the many reasons I gave you. If you suspect somebody is using domination for any reason, alert the ESP or a staff member; do not confront them by yourself.”

Another murmur of agreement.

“And finally,” he raised his finger, “I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

That was met with total silence. Some of the crowd looked at each other in confusion, others simply tried to figure out which building’s third-floor corridor.

The dean gave an embarrassed smile. “C’mon y’all, I know at least some of you parents out there have read Harry Potter.” He held his arms out, and in response, got a slowly rising chuckle from the crowd, and a scattered applause that soon picked up as the tension in the room deflated. “Welcome to Phoenix-Paiute Academy, everyone; try not to find yourself in my office too often, and please, enjoy our facilities for the time being. Remember, y’all got one week to settle in, and then classes start in full!”

The audience nodded, chatting more amicably without the dean’s warnings and threats hanging over the room. People began to stand up, expressing surprise with the intensity of the speech as the dean continued to give instructions.

“Familiarize yourselves with the campus while you have the time! There’ll be faculty stationed in the foyer who are offering guided tours. The dorm offices will have your room keys and campus IDs, and packets containing class information and instructions on how to navigate the Classwork website will be delivered to your rooms on Wednesday!”

Anna pulled herself up to her feet and glanced down at her daughter, offering a hand to her. “Well, that was certainly something. He’s certainly passionate.”

“That’s Monsieur Davis for you, madam!” Noelle hardly seemed affected by what had happened, though Anna could guess she had sat through this speech more than once. “There is a reason the Duplantiers trust him with their eldest daughter!”

“I suppose so. Come, Tasha, let’s get your room key and unpack your things. And then…” Anna’s voice drifted away, a frown forming. “Maybe we can find some dinner around here before I go.”

“Ah, please do not worry, madam, I will be here to help her!” Noelle beamed, and only got a suspicious look in return.

“Anyways, let’s go.” Anna glanced up at the top of the auditorium, towards the exit doors. “Tasha?” Anna asked after receiving no answer.

Taz suddenly shook, as if awakened from sleep, and looked up at her mother with a bit of a strained smile.

“Right! Yeah, let’s go! Room and dinner, great!” Taz said, jumping to her feet.

She sped out the doors, Anna and Noelle staring after her with curious looks before starting after her.