Diane has a superhuman strength. Even though Father beseeched her to not use these powers in public, Diane already got involved in a few brawls. I have to say that two of them were initiated because of me - Diane knows how to defend her sister's dignity and I'm eternally grateful for that.
                          
My powers are a bit more mysterious. So far, I only know they involve some kind of energy manipulation. How am I supposed to train my powers when I have no idea what do they do? I am able to infuse people with energy - I do that often when Father or Diane are feeling down. Using this power tires me a bit, but the results are worth it. I may also be able to create some kind of forcefields, but I did that only once by accident.
                          
That brings up one question: who was our mother? Reverend Warren is always very mysterious about her, but he hinted that the powers are her heritage.
                          
I started to read books, both fiction and non-fiction, about paranormal occurences, ghosts, demons and exorcists. Father wants to train us to become some kind of ghost hunters - or paranormal investigators, as he calls it. He says that our powers made us destined for such fate. I am not complaining. Maybe it will finally bring some excitement into my life.
                          
But until then, I have to pretend that I'm a completely normal girl whose backstory isn't so complex that even I have no idea what's going on in my life.
                          
And that may be a bigger challenge than I thought.
                          
<<>> 
                          
Finally, halfway through the school day. Our next lesson is in a classroom in the third floor. There is also the Principal's office - I have to shiver a little when I walk past it. There is a scary legend regarding the school - its former Principal who was in the office before we were born was, according to the story, brutally murdered, found in his office with a sliced throat in a puddle of his own blood which was splattered even on the walls and furniture. I don't know if I should believe it, but it's unsettling nevertheless.
                          
I'm so busy observing the door of the Principal's office that I space out. It happens a lot to me, I'm just a daydreamer - the worlds inside my head are ironically the only thing which can keep me sane. But right now, it's not the best time to get lost in my thoughts.
                          
I accidentaly run into a boy walking in front of me. We both fall on the groud with our textbooks scattering all over the hallway. I can already hear the laughter.
                          
In a teenage high school movie, I'd probably make an eye contact with the boy I ran into, we would politely apologize to each other and in a following conversation, he would invite me for a date. But, as you probably know, this isn't a movie. And the guy doesn't seem like he wants to take me for a date.
                          
"Watch your steps, goddamit!" he shouts. "Look what did you cause!"
                          
"I'm sorry," I say. "It was an accident."
                          
The boy just groans and starts to collect his textbooks from the ground. I stand up and wipe the dust off my skirt. When I try to take a step forward, I trip over something and fall again. Another wave of laughter follows. One of the girls standing nearby tripped me up, as if my embarassement isn't already big enough.
                          
"Hey, Alexis," the girl mocks me, "you're not so cool when your sister isn't around, are ya?"
                          
I look at her without saying a word. She's not even that pretty, definitely not a member of the "beautiful and popular" group, but she still thinks it's cool to humiliate me. Well, everyone thinks it's cool to humiliate me, a tiny introvert who will never fight back.
                          
I take a quick look at myself. My white blouse is creased and dirty and so is my skirt. And they were so neat in the morning. Also my ponytail got all messed up. At least my glasses are where they should be - I learned to secure them using a string.