Talent Storm (4 page)

Her dark-brown eyes crinkled with amusement when they met mine. She pointed to my face and said, “You look like you need some healing.”

“Yeah.” I looked down, knowing my face must look ridiculous.

“I'm Medic Jasmine Helton,” she said as she extended her hand to me.

I returned her smile and took her hand. Amazingly, my hand didn’t shake. “Nice—” I cleared my throat and clenched my other fist, forcing myself to calm down. “Nice to meet you. I'm Citizen Jaden Stone.” I held her gaze a little longer than usual, transfixed by her beauty.

“Can I have that back?” she asked, looking down.

“What?” I followed her gaze and saw that I was still holding her hand. I snatched mine back. “Oh, sorry.”

She laughed. “No problem. Well, Citizen Jaden Stone. You can call me Jasmine if I can call you Jaden.”

I smiled, looking away. “Please do.”

“Have a seat and I'll check you out.”

She pointed to a bench in the middle of the room. I strode over to sit down. She stepped close enough for me to feel her warmth as she pressed her fingers on both sides of my jaw-line, cheeks, and eyes.

“Does any of that hurt tremendously?”

I shook my head. “It's not too bad.”

“Good. Let me get your face cleaned up first.”

She walked to the sink and wet a cloth. When she returned, she rubbed my face with it. I gritted my teeth as the ruff cloth scraped over my cuts, but I didn’t make a sound.

“That looks better,” she said. “You’re kind of cute now.”

I lowered my eyes, my face feeling hot. I couldn’t believe she called me cute. I had to make a move.

“Any other injuries?”

“My ribs hurt something fierce.” I gently patted the lower left side of my torso.

She nodded. “Take your shirt off, and I'll have a look.”

I hesitated feeling my flush return.

She smiled, sweetly. “Don't be shy. It's not like I asked you to take your pants off,” she said, winking.

My face grew hotter, but I pulled my shirt off. I sat up straight, pushing my shoulders back to look my best.

She smiled again, her eyes twinkling. “That's better.”

She stepped to my left before kneeling down. She pressed her fingers along my ribs. I felt both pain and pleasure at the touch of her warm smooth hand. The contact was worth the pain. Her crisp perfume floated around me in an alluring dance. Her chest, just below my chin, dared me to glance. I couldn’t resist and snuck a close view of her silky abundant cleavage. Maybe she was toying with me. I didn’t care. It was one of the best moments in my women-sparse life.

“Did that hurt?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“You’re tough; you didn’t even move.”

I shrugged, remaining silent. If she only knew the real reason...

She hesitated to pull back, smiling. Not wanting the moment to end, I stayed frozen. It seemed like a wonderful eternity in her presence.

Eventually she stood and stepped back, ending the movement. “It looks like you cracked a rib. I'm going to clean you up, bandage the cuts, and then facilitate the healing process.” She giggled. “Oh, and you can put your shirt back on.”

I tugged it on before she patched me up.

“And now for the healing.” She laid her hand on the bare skin of my arm, exciting me again.

Suddenly, her talent surged through me. It felt like a hot shower on a cold winter’s day. My face and ribs tingled as her talent mended them.

After she finally removed her hand, she smiled wide. “There,” she said. “Your cuts should finish healing by tonight, and your ribs should be as good as new in a few days. You're all set to go.” She offered her perfect, delicate hand to me.

Maybe it was the healing, but I suddenly felt more relaxed. It was now or never. I squeezed her hand while gazing into her eyes. “Thank you Jasmine. I really appreciate your help. If you would allow me to return the favor...”

She cocked her head to the side, her eyebrows raised. “Oh?”

I stepped back, raising my hands and nearly losing my resolve. “No... nothing like that,” I said, even though I would love it. “I’m having a party at the end of the week. I’d like you to come.”

“That's not necessary,” She said.

My heart sank. Slowly, I rotated to leave and stepped toward the door. I considered appealing to her, but my nerves pushed me forward.

“But if you want me to go, I'd love to.”

I glanced back, heart racing, meeting her big brown eyes. “Military housing twenty-two B. Saturday at eight. It’s going to be a great time.”

“See you there.”

I turned and walked out of the room, feeling warmth tingle through my body. Elated, my lips curled up into a big smile, my eyes nearly shutting in delight.

CHAPTER 3

Days later, I navigated through the school hallways around a sea of students, carrying my binder and notebooks. Paper littered the floor, lockers hung open, and students chattered incessantly. I hated the chaos of it.

“Look who it is. The Little Girl.”

I raised my head and saw a tall, sharp-faced, blond boy. Brent, an old bully of mine. The last time I saw him, I probably slunk away, but no more. I continued walking by him and with a slight glow that he didn’t seem to notice, I shoulder bumped him. He twisted, jerking to the side and then stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.

When he regained his balance, I stared him down, with my chin held high, standing to my full height. His eyes met mine.

“Don’t call me that anymore,” I said.

“What should I call you then?” he asked, almost hesitantly.

My eyes still raking his, I said, “How about my name?”

His eyes fell; then he turned and walked away. “Okay,” he mumbled.

My talent finally gave me the confidence to be assertive rather than passive. Sure, I threw in a little aggression, but I was angry after all his past abuse, and he deserved it.

I reached my history class, entered, and sat next to Ben, placing my materials on my desk. The teacher, Ms. Garow, was an older lady with white stringy hair and a limp. Standing in front of the class, she was dressed professionally as always, in slacks and a button down white blouse.

“Hello class, please rise for the Coalition mantra.”

We stood as one, pushing back our chairs. Together, we said, “Locke’s Coalition: where freedom reigns, where injustice is intolerable. May Talent protect her from her enemies; may Talent continue her grandeur.”

“Now the oath,” she said.

“I pledge my body, mind, and talent to the Coalition. I will defend her from her enemies and make her grand from within.”

“All right, let’s get started.”

The class simultaneously sat, our chairs shuffling against the ground.

“Today we’ll review for tomorrow’s final. There are many factors to the decline...”

I quickly tuned her out while beginning to doodle birdlike figures out of triangles. After a few more drawings, I looked over at Ben. He had a page full of notes. Just a hint of black and blue remained on his jaw. I reached my arms out behind my head, stretching my back and felt a twinge of pain in my chest. Ignoring the pain, I glanced over at my friend Danessa, a pretty, blond girl with an adorable sideways smile. She sat, twirling her hair and taking notes. We had a short relationship a few years back, and we still flirted and played jokes on each other.

I got her good about a week ago when I convinced her that she was suspected of vandalizing the bathroom walls. I told her that the teacher wanted to see her after class, and she fell for it. Of course, when she asked the teacher about it, she got a weird look in return. I was cracking up in the doorway as the whole scene went down. She was pretty much the only other person, besides Ben, that I would call a friend. I waited until she looked over and then stuck out my tongue at her. She feigned a hurt look, so I blew her a kiss. She favored me with a glowing smile. My heart accelerated; it didn’t take much to excite me. Besides, I was still very much attracted to her.

Still surveying the room, my eyes landed on Sid. My expression contorted in disgust. He had a chubby face, nerdy glasses, and an arrogant attitude. I shook my head thinking about how much I disliked him. He sat diligently taking notes, not even noticing me grilling him.

No longer able to stand looking at him, I turned back to my notebook. I continued my latest drawing of a grim looking robed figure holding a scythe. Like everyone else, I had my notebook out, but most of my margins were filled with various doodles. Only the center of the page contained a few illegible notes.

The teacher continued her history lesson. “America was the greatest, freest country in the world for hundreds of years. America’s democracy, where people controlled the government, was the model of fairness, a model the Coalition uses today. Despite its greatness, everything ends. Eventually, a collapse that began with the Great Recession grew as most people no longer had enough money to spend. The world economic outlook dimmed as many countries’ debt to gross domestic product spiraled out of control.”

Sid raised his hand, and Ms. Garow shook her head and sighed.

“I’ll take questions after, Sid. European countries were the first to default on their loans but not the last. As capital and therefore resources continued to flow from the poor to the rich, capitalism began to fail. The people’s government of America did its best to right what went wrong, but it was too late. When many Americans struggled to eat, the protests began. Police labored to maintain order as people tore apart the country. While the world collapsed, governments, warlords, and the super-rich saw their opportunity for profit. Countries invaded their neighbors and enemies, bowing to centuries of tension. The Great World War threatened to destroy all civilization. America, the beautiful, fought valiantly to protect their people and ideals. In a last ditch attempt for supremacy, Iran released a virus. The Terror Virus, as it’s known, destroyed the once great country of America. Then, it spread to kill billions.”

I’d been told my whole life what Iran had done to the world and hated them for it. I looked up from my drawings when I noticed Sid focus his beady eyes on me and raise his hand.

“Ms. Garow, Jaden’s not giving his full attention,” he said.

I turned to face him, my body stiff and my fists balled. Why couldn’t he just mind his own business?

“Mr. Stone, you must have mastered American history since you have moved on to art.”

The class giggled.

“Perhaps you would like to demonstrate your knowledge.” She waved me to the front of the class.

“Please Jaden, why don’t you enlighten us?” asked Sid.

He looked like a frog with his wide smile, thick glasses, and chubby neck. I hoped he didn’t have talent, so that we wouldn’t be together in advanced training.

Ignoring him, I responded to the teacher, “Of course Ms. Garow.”

I put down my pencil, and with my head high and chest out, I strode to the front of the class. I wasn't going to have some stuck-up old lady make me look stupid. She thought to catch me unaware, but I knew more than she gave me credit for. I reached the front of the class and faced my fellow students. The twenty pairs of eyes boring into me made my stomach knot. Danessa smirked and winked. Ben frowned, shaking his head. Sid did a little dance in his chair, his fat jiggling. He pointed at me, mouthing laughter.

I gritted my teeth and for an instant thought about rushing him but managed to control myself. The rest of the class waited patiently for Ms. Garow to make a fool of me.

“Begin,” I said as I bowed low to the class and then turned to Ms. Garow. Most of the time I was uncomfortable when on display, but for whatever reason, I felt bold today. Perhaps it was my successful run in with three thugs the other day or maybe it was my interaction with Jasmine.

Ms. Garow crossed her arms over her chest while looking at me side-eyed. “What should the world have done to prevent the collapse?”

“They should have made me their ruler,” I said.

Much of the class laughed. Ben lowered his head, covering his face with his hands.

The teacher shot her cold eyes at me. “This is your last opportunity, Mr. Stone. Answer this question to my satisfaction or I will recommend that you repeat this class.”

I gasped, my eyes shooting wide. I slumped, knowing I was defeated, and she smiled. What was I going to do? I had no idea how to answer the question. What did it matter if I knew how to fix the extinct world economy? I felt warm perspiration roll down my side as my breathing began to accelerate. It would be a nightmare to repeat history.

Need help?

At the sudden sound of Danessa’s voice, I flinched, then glanced at the teacher. She didn’t react. I looked at Danessa, raising one eyebrow.

She can’t hear me,
I heard her say, but her lips didn’t move... she was a telepath! How had she kept the secret from me? What did she know about me?

I know everything about you.
She winked.

I ran my hands over my face.
Great.

Just relax. You can worry about that later,
she thought
. For now just repeat after me.

I repeated her answer word for word. “First, the world’s governments should have raised the minimum wage. Second, the entire world should have been organized into various unions like the Coalition is today. Then they would be able to fight for fair wages and working conditions like we have. The percentage of the world’s money owned by the lower ninety percent would increase and so would their spending. People who have little money, have little to spend. Every extra dollar they earn is typically spent. When the top one percent of the population holds too high a percentage of the world’s wealth and are not spending it, the world gross domestic product decreases to a point of instability.” I stood straighter, feeling more confident.

“As people spent their higher wages, countries tax bases would increase, giving them the money to pay off their debts. Debts would be reduced; people and business would become more profitable. The economic crisis and world collapse would have been averted. It’s still a mystery as to why people didn’t see this and vote in the changes sooner. Maybe they did, but America couldn’t save the world alone.”