I wanted to wrap my sweater over my head to hide from the embarrassment. I know I helped people, but I was still an awkward fool and snuck away to my Prius like an idiot. Hopefully having the magnetic motorcycle will help next time.
“You’ve really made some new leaps since I saw you last week. I think you are doing really well for yourself. Makes Mama Lynn proud.”
She sipped her tea, and I looked over to where Cora was chasing a robotic mouse I made for her. Compliments were not easily taken by me, but I still appreciated it.
“How’s having a team member been working out for you?” I decided to use question five off of my list now, so I didn’t run our conversation into the ground, leaving us in silence. That was the worst for me.
She knew what I was doing, and happily took the bait, talking about things at work. New kids, both with powers and not.
By the time she left, I felt drained. It was emotionally rough for me sometimes to interact with people, especially when we were talking about things I was uncomfortable about. Men, change, and how great I was doing was on that list.
“What do you want to do now?” Pops walked over to me and sat down on the cushion to my right. He normally did something else while Lynn and I talked, giving us some privacy, but then other times he liked to join in—the little socialite of my crew.
“Not sure. I feel tired, but I don’t think I should sleep right now. Maybe watch a movie?” I asked him, hoping for his opinion.
“I’ll get the popcorn.”
We settled for watching Pops’s favorite movie about cartoon robots falling in love and saving planet Earth. If I was being honest with myself, I loved the storyline too. The little robot was head over heels for the more sophisticated robot, and she was so cold at first. But then she fell too. It was sweet.
When it was time for bed, I settled into my comforter, and stared at the ball of steel on my nightstand. I always kept some form of metal nearby so I could wind my mind down by changing the shape.
Cora snuggled up against my leg, and Pops went to his charging station to shut down for the night.
Clearing my mind as best as I could, I began to focus on the ball, shifting it into a triangle, then a square. After another twelve shapes, my mind started to calm. Sleep was peaceful, and I was ready for it to claim me for the night.
I woke with the sound of thunder booming outside the window, completely startled. My eyes adjusted to the room and saw everything looked to be in its place. Cora was still lying beside me, but her head was up, those eyes watching me just in case I needed something. Pops was still charging, oblivious to the loud storm happening outside the window near him.
My body sagged back onto the mattress, and I turned to look at the metal on my nightstand.
A frown formed on my lips, seeing the shape it was in. I always left it as a circle before closing my eyes to sleep. I reached over and turned on the lamp next to the odd form sitting there, so I could get a better look at it.
Not a shape, but a person.
Apparently in my sleep I’d been thinking of Arthur, because the metal on my nightstand had formed his face. Like a work of art, glasses and all.
Chapter Ten
Gwendolyn
“Try to grip me by the wrist, like this.”
I winced in pain as Lilith—the woman in charge of teaching defensive and offensive fighting techniques—grabbed my wrist, showing me what she wanted me to do to her.
She let go and smiled in anticipation of my attack. I remembered what she did step by step and put it into application.
It should have worked, but she did some move with her arm then I was trying to grasp air.
I stared at the woman, in both awe and frustration. She was tall and looked like one of those lingerie models, with black hair and a big grin. She looked both seductive and lethal. In a way she reminded me of one of those Venus flytraps—they lured the bug to them and then ate them. She didn’t have any powers like me or others in the Society. She had been trained as a spy and could hold her own better than anyone except the two men at the top tier of the group, Draco and Dorian. Those two I’d yet to meet, and I wasn’t sure how I’d feel when I did.
“Gwennie, you’ve got to use that big brain of yours and anticipate my next move and be there.” She tried to swipe my legs out from under me, like we’d practiced earlier, but I’d gotten fairly good at that defensive move.
“Like statistics?” I panted, while trying to forget that she called me Gwennie.
Her head tilted to the side, like the way a dog would when it was confused.
“Exactly like statistics. Create a fighting formula. It’s quite predictable if you pay attention enough.” She came at me, checking to see if I was indeed paying attention by moving her hand toward my face. I deflected, and then she tried again.
We practiced moves for a little over two hours, and my body hurt in places I’d never felt before. I ran for exercise, but this was completely different.
