*Logan POV*

"Logan! Welcome home, honey!" Mom says as I enter the house.

She hugs me tightly.

"We've missed you so much! How is school? Did you make any friends? Do you like your classes?" she asks.

"Yes, things are satisfactory. I am going to go unpack. When is dinner?" I ask.

"Six. Dad should be home in about ten minutes," Mom says.

I nod and go up the stairs. It's nice to be back in my old room again. Of course, I'm not a very sentimental type of person, but this is the room I practically grew up in here. 

I sit down, dusting off my desk, and set up my computer, and plug it in. While it's charging, I text Virgil.

You: I've arrived home. Have you?

Virgil: Yea

You: That's good. How are you doing?

Virgil: Fine

You: Are you sure? Please be honest.

Virgil: I ammmmm

You: Okay. Ttyl, then?

Virgil: Yeah sure.

I smile, hoping I used the acronym correctly.

An hour passes and Mom calls me downstairs for dinner. I sit down at the table. It's almost as if nothing has changed at all. For them, the only thing that changed was a problem going away. For me, so much has.

"So how has school been going?" Mom asks as she sits down.

"It is satisfactory," I say.

"Who're your friends?" she asks.

"Three boys, Virgil, Cass, and Patton. Then a girl named Rosa," I say. I'm not ready to admit I'm gay, much less dating.

She nods.

"So what exactly is the curriculum like?" Dad asks.

"I'm in mostly accelerated classes, and there is a lot of after-school clubs that help support both my learnings and interests," I say.

"Good. These kinds of schools aren't the cheapest, although this one was..." Dad says, "Still, I want to make sure it's a good fit for you."

"It is," I assure him.

We reach a long pause before my mom asks the question I've been waiting for.

"So have you had any accidents?" she asks.

I think back to the few times I feel as though my power has felt like too much- during capture the flag, training, the fight.

"No, actually," I say.

"Good. Maybe your little curse has gone away!" Mom says with a smile.

I smile from the irony. She couldn't be further from the truth.

---

As I go to sleep that night, I find something bugging me. Something Patton said.

I have this power. It's strong. Much stronger than it should be for a beginner. But it seems like neither of my parents has any knowledge of its existence, in me or anyone else. 

I let out a sigh. I need to do research. A lot of research. 

I sneak downstairs and grab a cup of iced coffee my dad likes to make for the mornings.

I go back up to my room and flip open my computer. Now that I've been in this school for two months, I have a rough idea of keywords I need to look up to find what I'm looking for. I hope that the information on my ability isn't confined to the library at school.

It's two AM and I'm still awake and still looking. I've found next to nothing.

Virgil: Did you know toddler's adult teeth are under their eyes?

You: No and I don't think I wanted to know that.

Virgil: Yeah I didn't either. But Remus cursed me with this info and now I need to curse you too.

You: Thanks.

You: Do you happen to know how lit researching at two AM is? This is a total yeet.

Virgil: No. Just no.

I grin. It's late, I have time, and I am running off of caffeine alone.

You: It's absolutely wig. Coffee is my savage too.

Virgil: Why do I love you?

You: Because I am totally cap. It's sis, tea.

Virgil: I am going to scream

Virgil: Please for the love of everything emo, never use slang words

You: You got a problem with my hipness?

Virgil: OH my GOD

You: I'm sensing things aren't Gucci with you. Are you feeling my woke and it scares you?

Virgil: I'm begging you

You: Fine-

You: Hey do you happen to know the genetic details of how our abilities are passed on and what genes they are?

Virgil: Go to sleep. I'll tell you in the morning.

You: Well considering it's two AM I think you should also get to sleep.

Virgil: You know what? Fine. Only because I am always too tired to deal with shit

You: That's understandable. Goodnight ❤

Virgil: ❤❤

I suppose I have no choice but to go to sleep now.

---

When the morning comes I wake up at exactly six AM. But I'm so tired, I decide to sleep in. After all, I'm on break. I wonder how Virgil stays up so long so frequently. I haven't needed to stay up all night studying at all this school year.

At around nine, I go downstairs to make myself some toast.

"Good morning," my dad says, not looking away from the TV, which is showing the news.

"Salutations," I say.

As I'm making myself breakfast, I listen in. Another thing that was so commonplace in my life, yet I didn't realize I forgot. The news every morning and evening.

"A small influx of power outages, house accidents, and water supplies suddenly freezing has occurred this week. Could these events be connected? Stay tuned at noon with us to find out!"

Dad scoffs.

"It's obviously fake news. The media these days is always taking the littlest things and making them conspiracies," he says.

"Yes, it is a problem," I say.

Power outages- light manipulation. House accidents- explosion manipulation most likely. Water supplies suddenly freezing- temperature and water manipulation. These are connected. It's likely my classmates coming home and not being punished for abusing their powers.

---

Christmas day comes and goes. It's nothing unusual. Just my aunt and uncles coming over. Specifically, my mom's brother and sister-in-law, and my dad's brother. Unfortunately, my older cousin didn't come. But neither did my baby cousins, who love tearing apart my room, so I would consider this holiday 'good'.

---

It's finally the day to return to school. I honestly prefer it over my home.

"It's been great seeing you again, honey! We'll miss you so much!" Mom says, hugging me tightly.

"I will miss you too, Mom," I say.

"Learn something while you're gone, Logan," Dad says.

"I will do my best to," I say.

Mom lets me go and I start to make my commute down to where the bus for all the Sanders School students in the area are supposed to be. I think there are only one or two others that are going to be there already.