When I wake up Ria is gone and a pile of clothes is stacked on a chair next to the bed. I roll off and look to see a sticky note on top that says 'The shower is across the hall'. I sift through the clothes to find a sky blue shirt and baggy jeans, I then grab it and cross the hall to the shower. I can hear Ria and her mother talking in the kitchen so I stop to listen,

"So who's the girl?!" her mother says, It's all I can do to stop myself from giggling as Ria stutters most likely paired with a blush.

"A friend from school" she mumbles, I smirk and continue into the bathroom. The hot steam centers me and I think about the events of yesterday. I remember that when I saw Ria engulfed in flames I was terrified by her power but I saw the panic that filled her eyes when the girls left.

I quickly step out of the shower and wrap myself in a towel, I stand in front of the mirror but the panic in Ria's eyes overwhelms me, and a fierce instinct to protect her fills my sense of self and I look in the mirror to see my eyes glowing white and water flowing around me as if there was no gravity.

When I'm finally ready I creep to the kitchen and see Ria frying up some eggs while laughing with her mother, she seemed to glow and with joy. My face warms when she looks at me and gets brighter still.

"Morning sleepy head!" she says, I gasp when I notice the strands of red in her hair.

"Your hair!" I find myself reaching out to hold one of the strands,

"Yeah, it was like this when I woke up. Do you like it?" she blushes at the last part but I chuckle and nod. I laugh when her mother gives her a sappy parent smile and her face turns tomato red.

"Don't worry about it, my hair was black before I manifested my ability" I say, she gasps and studies me closely. Me and her mother burst out laughing and she pushes us out of the kitchen.

Soon we are off to school and awkward silence engulfs us as we walk to school,

"What do you think will happen at school today." She asks, her eyes glued to her feet and I put my hand on her shoulder.

"Remember, they were the ones in the wrong" I assure her, she looks up and smiles in thanks. We continue to talk about the ridiculous theories of what will happen when we get to school including the whole school erupting into screams when we arrive and the whole school lifting us up in celebration.

When we arrive at school everyone is silent and watching us, at the door, there are two men all in black waiting. When we approach the men call our names and when we confirm they pull out ability-restricting bracelets and snap them on our wrists.

Immediately I feel my energy pulled away from me, my knees buckle and my vision goes dark and I hear Ria calling my name as I lose consciousness.