Caroline checks her watch. The time is 8:02. She’s running thirteen minutes ahead of schedule, but she figures it wouldn’t hurt to be early.
She quickens her pace as she treads the cobblestoned sidewalk leading to her office. As she walks, several strangers do a double take. One woman even starts to choke on a blueberry muffin that she is eating. A concerned friend pats the stranger’s back as she recovers, still watching Caroline with wide eyes.
“Woah,” Caroline hears someone say moments later as she passes the 24-hour pharmacy on the next block. She registers a deep male voice, and only has to turn her head a fraction of an inch to see his short brown hair and blue eyes. The whispered awe continues as Caroline continues down the street, but she tunes it out.
“Never seen anyone that gorgeous…”
She hears snatches of other conversations, too. Ones that have nothing to do with her: “...what time did you say the dinner reservation is for tonight?”
“Shit, I just missed the 206 bus!”
The flood of voices fills her ears, but Caroline sighs deeply and refocuses. The noise disappears in an instant, and she’s able to enjoy the peaceful sound of birds singing in the trees above.
As far back as she can remember, Caroline has had this ability. The business of anyone she comes into contact with becomes her business, too, unless she actively chooses to deny it. Her senses are impeccable; it takes very little effort for her to hear exactly what someone is talking about or to see the food in someone’s teeth from fifty feet away.
Caroline’s train of thought is broken by another stranger, in a violently orange blazer, who is suddenly obstructing her path on the sidewalk. “Um, miss?”
Caroline purses her lips, guessing what’s coming. She says nothing.
“You’re very beautiful,” says Orange Blazer matter-of-factly.
Caroline nods, unperturbed. This interaction is quite a common occurrence.
“Sorry, how rude of me not to introduce myself! I’m Jon.”
“Hello, Jon,” she replies mechanically.
He’s staring at her, openmouthed, but the sound of her voice seems to bring him to his senses. “Ever been to Zeneli? It’s this excellent pizza place in Wooster Square. I’d hate for you to miss out on it一maybe I could take you sometime?”
“Are you asking me out? You don’t even know my first name.”
“I’d like to know, I confess.”
On a good day, Caroline would be able to politely decline, keeping her temper and composure in check. But today, she just doesn’t have the patience. “You’re bold to assume a stranger would accept a dinner invitation.” She smirks at her own cruelty. “I think I’ll pass.”
Jon switches his tactic at the speed of light. “Look at those eyes,” he says, looking into Caroline’s large brown ones that are shaped like a cat’s. “I mean, come on.”
It’s true—Caroline is of such breathtaking beauty that it has become the habit of total strangers to stare as she passes. The eyes that Jon complimented came from her mother. The wavy, jet black hair that flows just past her shoulders is just like her father’s. She has a nose identical to her aunt’s, slight upturn and all. She stands at five foot eight and has curves that hug her frame.
Caroline looks boredly away from Jon’s face and down at her watch. 8:09. “I’d better get going. Nice chat.”
She strides past him as he stands there, still looking as though he was clubbed on the head.
Being courted by total strangers is just one of the many ways that Caroline starts her days. She has to admit, it keeps her life interesting一as though Caroline herself isn’t interesting enough. Caroline grew up in a family of five girls, all with some variation of their father’s dark hair and mom’s fiery spirit. Her sisters were once her everything, but then she arrived at the Agency, and learning to use her powers took all of her energy.
As a child, Caroline always felt out of place in school. The work was dull, the classes were dull, and she found herself preferring to let her mind wander. She knew that she was different from her classmates, and learning to channel her abilities became more important than schoolwork.
The Agency found out about Caroline when she was in her first year of high school, and they offered her a place at their elite school for kids like her. She was invited to leave home right away, and she accepted.
She still remembers the events of all those years ago like it was yesterday…
It was the night before she left for the Agency, and there was a disturbance in the form of her youngest sister, Miah. Caroline woke up in the middle of the night next to Amelia, the second oldest, in the room that housed Caroline and all four of her sisters.
As soon as Caroline could form conscious thought, she knew something was wrong. Amelia, Diane, and Keli were sleeping soundly, but Miah was mumbling nervously in her sleep. Usually, Miah’s Midnight Conversations With No One consisted of silly anecdotes and of voicing the thoughts that had gone with her into her dreams. But when Miah appeared afraid in her sleep, it was a warning sign. Miah was like a canary in a coal mine.
“Carrie? Carrie!” she said, pure terror on her face.
At hearing her sister’s nickname for her, Caroline leapt up, suddenly feeling quite awake.
“Miah? Miah, wake up!”
Miah woke up, immediately breaking out of her terror and looking disoriented.
“Miah?” Caroline whispered, trying to keep quiet so the others could sleep. But there wasn’t much use一Amelia had sat up, rubbing her eyes, and Diane was turning over restlessly in her bed. “Miah, baby, what’s wrong?” She rubbed her little sister’s back in what she hoped was a soothing manner.
“Carrie, you have to get out of here! They’re coming.”
This response was not what Caroline had expected and sobered her up immediately. “Miah, what are you talking about?” This warning seemed far fetched, but Caroline had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach all the same.
“Those people… the ones that know about what you can do. They’re coming and you need to get out of here.” Miah had her eye on the door, as though she was expecting someone to barge in.
You’re wrong, Miah, was what Caroline was thinking, but Miah didn’t know what she was saying. Caroline couldn’t hold any of this against her. “No, Miah, sweetie,” said Caroline, thinking this sounded less defensive. “They’re going to teach me how to use my powers.”
“No, no, no!” said Miah, sinking back into her pillow and hugging her knees towards her chest.
“What’s wrong with her, Caroline?” asked a sleepy Diane, now sitting up in her bed.
“She’s fine, Di,” Caroline said dismissively, “Go back to sleep.”
Diane watched Miah wearily for a few seconds. “Are you sure?” she asked in a small voice. “Carrie, she looks scared.”
“She’ll be fine.” Please let me handle this.
Diane locked eyes with Caroline for a moment, then made a show of yawning hugely and fell back onto her pillow.
Caroline turned back to her littlest sister. “Miah, this is what I’m meant to be doing.”
“What if you’re wrong, though?” said Miah, her eyes getting wider still with fear. “Carrie, promise me you know why you’re really going to that place. Promise me nothing bad will happen.”
“Miah, it’s not like一”
“Then promise me, Carrie!”
“I promise.”
“Okay.” Miah sighed heavily and wiped the tears off of her cheeks like she had just realized they were there. “Okay, fine.”
Caroline coaxed Miah to lie back down, and her little sister was soon lying on her side, Caroline stroking her hair so that it wouldn’t stick to her still-wet cheeks.
The next morning, Caroline’s family piled into their minivan and drove her to the train station. She would be taking a train to the airport to start her studies at the Agency.
She gave each of her sisters a long hug, then her mother and father, leaving Miah for last. “I love you, Miah,” she whispered in her little sister’s ear.
As Caroline rose to wave one last time at her family, Miah tugged on her shirt sleeve. “Be careful.”
Her parents were watching the exchange with confused looks, so Caroline simply laughed and said, “Don’t you worry about me, Miah-girl. I’ll write if I get homesick.”
Her father chuckled, though there were tears in his eyes. He pulled all seven of them into a hug, and Caroline felt a lump form in her throat.
She pulled her bag over her shoulder and boarded the train. As the train left the station, Caroline’s eyes met Miah’s again, and she wondered what she really was getting herself into.
Now, when Caroline reflects upon her littlest sister, she feels many things. She feels sad, of course, but it isn’t just because the two haven’t spoken in years.
Caroline gets the sense that, though the Agency doesn’t know it, Miah could have powers of her own. Caroline remembers that Miah had this… way about her; it was like she always knew the outcome of things before they happened. Caroline didn’t know with complete certainty how the Agency had found out about her own abilities, but they certainly didn’t know about Miah’s.
Caroline wished that Miah was at the Agency alongside her. But Caroline had long since lost hope that she would see Miah, let alone speak to her, ever again. All communication with her family had been cut off after Caroline’s first year in the program.
“It’s for your own good,” the faceless people had told her all those years ago, when she’d begged to call Miah on her seventh birthday. “You are too powerful to have contact with the outside world.”
To this day, Caroline’s last memory of Miah was of her sorrowful face slowly disappearing as the train took her away. And there was something else, too一a look in Miah’s eyes that said so much. They simultaneously warned of danger and sadness that awaited Caroline at the Agency. But Caroline ignored the horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach that persisted all throughout that day. The first week. The first month. For the past seven years.
Her bitterness about her situation caused her to resent everyone and everything she came across. She almost missed the days when she had been forced to repress her powers. Her way of holding up a big middle finger to the very same organization that had cut her off from her family and exploited her powers for their personal gain? Become the poster child of said organization. This would make it all too easy to eventually overthrow the Agency from the outside in.
She quickens her pace as she treads the cobblestoned sidewalk leading to her office. As she walks, several strangers do a double take. One woman even starts to choke on a blueberry muffin that she is eating. A concerned friend pats the stranger’s back as she recovers, still watching Caroline with wide eyes.
“Woah,” Caroline hears someone say moments later as she passes the 24-hour pharmacy on the next block. She registers a deep male voice, and only has to turn her head a fraction of an inch to see his short brown hair and blue eyes. The whispered awe continues as Caroline continues down the street, but she tunes it out.
“Never seen anyone that gorgeous…”
She hears snatches of other conversations, too. Ones that have nothing to do with her: “...what time did you say the dinner reservation is for tonight?”
“Shit, I just missed the 206 bus!”
The flood of voices fills her ears, but Caroline sighs deeply and refocuses. The noise disappears in an instant, and she’s able to enjoy the peaceful sound of birds singing in the trees above.
As far back as she can remember, Caroline has had this ability. The business of anyone she comes into contact with becomes her business, too, unless she actively chooses to deny it. Her senses are impeccable; it takes very little effort for her to hear exactly what someone is talking about or to see the food in someone’s teeth from fifty feet away.
Caroline’s train of thought is broken by another stranger, in a violently orange blazer, who is suddenly obstructing her path on the sidewalk. “Um, miss?”
Caroline purses her lips, guessing what’s coming. She says nothing.
“You’re very beautiful,” says Orange Blazer matter-of-factly.
Caroline nods, unperturbed. This interaction is quite a common occurrence.
“Sorry, how rude of me not to introduce myself! I’m Jon.”
“Hello, Jon,” she replies mechanically.
He’s staring at her, openmouthed, but the sound of her voice seems to bring him to his senses. “Ever been to Zeneli? It’s this excellent pizza place in Wooster Square. I’d hate for you to miss out on it一maybe I could take you sometime?”
“Are you asking me out? You don’t even know my first name.”
“I’d like to know, I confess.”
On a good day, Caroline would be able to politely decline, keeping her temper and composure in check. But today, she just doesn’t have the patience. “You’re bold to assume a stranger would accept a dinner invitation.” She smirks at her own cruelty. “I think I’ll pass.”
Jon switches his tactic at the speed of light. “Look at those eyes,” he says, looking into Caroline’s large brown ones that are shaped like a cat’s. “I mean, come on.”
It’s true—Caroline is of such breathtaking beauty that it has become the habit of total strangers to stare as she passes. The eyes that Jon complimented came from her mother. The wavy, jet black hair that flows just past her shoulders is just like her father’s. She has a nose identical to her aunt’s, slight upturn and all. She stands at five foot eight and has curves that hug her frame.
Caroline looks boredly away from Jon’s face and down at her watch. 8:09. “I’d better get going. Nice chat.”
She strides past him as he stands there, still looking as though he was clubbed on the head.
Being courted by total strangers is just one of the many ways that Caroline starts her days. She has to admit, it keeps her life interesting一as though Caroline herself isn’t interesting enough. Caroline grew up in a family of five girls, all with some variation of their father’s dark hair and mom’s fiery spirit. Her sisters were once her everything, but then she arrived at the Agency, and learning to use her powers took all of her energy.
As a child, Caroline always felt out of place in school. The work was dull, the classes were dull, and she found herself preferring to let her mind wander. She knew that she was different from her classmates, and learning to channel her abilities became more important than schoolwork.
The Agency found out about Caroline when she was in her first year of high school, and they offered her a place at their elite school for kids like her. She was invited to leave home right away, and she accepted.
She still remembers the events of all those years ago like it was yesterday…
It was the night before she left for the Agency, and there was a disturbance in the form of her youngest sister, Miah. Caroline woke up in the middle of the night next to Amelia, the second oldest, in the room that housed Caroline and all four of her sisters.
As soon as Caroline could form conscious thought, she knew something was wrong. Amelia, Diane, and Keli were sleeping soundly, but Miah was mumbling nervously in her sleep. Usually, Miah’s Midnight Conversations With No One consisted of silly anecdotes and of voicing the thoughts that had gone with her into her dreams. But when Miah appeared afraid in her sleep, it was a warning sign. Miah was like a canary in a coal mine.
“Carrie? Carrie!” she said, pure terror on her face.
At hearing her sister’s nickname for her, Caroline leapt up, suddenly feeling quite awake.
“Miah? Miah, wake up!”
Miah woke up, immediately breaking out of her terror and looking disoriented.
“Miah?” Caroline whispered, trying to keep quiet so the others could sleep. But there wasn’t much use一Amelia had sat up, rubbing her eyes, and Diane was turning over restlessly in her bed. “Miah, baby, what’s wrong?” She rubbed her little sister’s back in what she hoped was a soothing manner.
“Carrie, you have to get out of here! They’re coming.”
This response was not what Caroline had expected and sobered her up immediately. “Miah, what are you talking about?” This warning seemed far fetched, but Caroline had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach all the same.
“Those people… the ones that know about what you can do. They’re coming and you need to get out of here.” Miah had her eye on the door, as though she was expecting someone to barge in.
You’re wrong, Miah, was what Caroline was thinking, but Miah didn’t know what she was saying. Caroline couldn’t hold any of this against her. “No, Miah, sweetie,” said Caroline, thinking this sounded less defensive. “They’re going to teach me how to use my powers.”
“No, no, no!” said Miah, sinking back into her pillow and hugging her knees towards her chest.
“What’s wrong with her, Caroline?” asked a sleepy Diane, now sitting up in her bed.
“She’s fine, Di,” Caroline said dismissively, “Go back to sleep.”
Diane watched Miah wearily for a few seconds. “Are you sure?” she asked in a small voice. “Carrie, she looks scared.”
“She’ll be fine.” Please let me handle this.
Diane locked eyes with Caroline for a moment, then made a show of yawning hugely and fell back onto her pillow.
Caroline turned back to her littlest sister. “Miah, this is what I’m meant to be doing.”
“What if you’re wrong, though?” said Miah, her eyes getting wider still with fear. “Carrie, promise me you know why you’re really going to that place. Promise me nothing bad will happen.”
“Miah, it’s not like一”
“Then promise me, Carrie!”
“I promise.”
“Okay.” Miah sighed heavily and wiped the tears off of her cheeks like she had just realized they were there. “Okay, fine.”
Caroline coaxed Miah to lie back down, and her little sister was soon lying on her side, Caroline stroking her hair so that it wouldn’t stick to her still-wet cheeks.
The next morning, Caroline’s family piled into their minivan and drove her to the train station. She would be taking a train to the airport to start her studies at the Agency.
She gave each of her sisters a long hug, then her mother and father, leaving Miah for last. “I love you, Miah,” she whispered in her little sister’s ear.
As Caroline rose to wave one last time at her family, Miah tugged on her shirt sleeve. “Be careful.”
Her parents were watching the exchange with confused looks, so Caroline simply laughed and said, “Don’t you worry about me, Miah-girl. I’ll write if I get homesick.”
Her father chuckled, though there were tears in his eyes. He pulled all seven of them into a hug, and Caroline felt a lump form in her throat.
She pulled her bag over her shoulder and boarded the train. As the train left the station, Caroline’s eyes met Miah’s again, and she wondered what she really was getting herself into.
Now, when Caroline reflects upon her littlest sister, she feels many things. She feels sad, of course, but it isn’t just because the two haven’t spoken in years.
Caroline gets the sense that, though the Agency doesn’t know it, Miah could have powers of her own. Caroline remembers that Miah had this… way about her; it was like she always knew the outcome of things before they happened. Caroline didn’t know with complete certainty how the Agency had found out about her own abilities, but they certainly didn’t know about Miah’s.
Caroline wished that Miah was at the Agency alongside her. But Caroline had long since lost hope that she would see Miah, let alone speak to her, ever again. All communication with her family had been cut off after Caroline’s first year in the program.
“It’s for your own good,” the faceless people had told her all those years ago, when she’d begged to call Miah on her seventh birthday. “You are too powerful to have contact with the outside world.”
To this day, Caroline’s last memory of Miah was of her sorrowful face slowly disappearing as the train took her away. And there was something else, too一a look in Miah’s eyes that said so much. They simultaneously warned of danger and sadness that awaited Caroline at the Agency. But Caroline ignored the horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach that persisted all throughout that day. The first week. The first month. For the past seven years.
Her bitterness about her situation caused her to resent everyone and everything she came across. She almost missed the days when she had been forced to repress her powers. Her way of holding up a big middle finger to the very same organization that had cut her off from her family and exploited her powers for their personal gain? Become the poster child of said organization. This would make it all too easy to eventually overthrow the Agency from the outside in.