Gifted Connections 1

“Now, stay,” I told Tamara as we turned to jog back to our ‘base.’

Joe was beyond ecstatic as he placed the flag in our holder. Rachel, Joe and I gave each other high fives and we made our way up to the stairs to our classroom so we could get our critique. I held my injured wrist to my stomach. Now that the adrenaline was leaving me, I felt the pain in my wrist.

I didn’t know what I expected when we entered the room, but it wasn’t complete silence. The instructor was looking at me with narrowed eyes and I saw he wasn’t the only adult in the room. A man dressed orderly was standing right behind him. He was a tall, good-looking man, and he had fair skin with light blond hair and a unique shade of blue eyes. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know he was the father of Mei Linn and Tamara. Even though both of his girls were mixed, they both had his eyes and slightly upturned nose.

“Daddy, she made Tamara take off her pants and walk around in her underwear,” Mei Linn glared at me.

The man was looking at me contemplatively. “I saw,” he said in clipped tones. “Mind telling me what that was all about?” he crossed his arms over his chest. “I would also like to know why you left Victor Ryan down there as well.”

I crossed my arms too. His daughters were bullies. I knew I should show him more respect, but he should have probably pulled me into the hallway for this discussion, instead of having it in front of the whole class of impressionable youth. “Your daughter had no qualms lifting and throwing unsuspecting younger teens around,” I pointed to a few of the children still nursing headaches, sprains, and bruises. The healers weren’t allowed to intervene until the exercise was over or the situation was considered dire. “Your daughters and children like Victor are under the impression that unless you know your lineage and your family is gifted, that they are beneath them. That they can bully them, talk down to them, and belittle them whenever they get a chance.” I looked around at some of the younger teens that I knew weren’t from gifted families or didn’t know if they were from gifted families. “I never met my mother, she may be dead, I don’t know. I don’t even know who my father is. I have a very unique gift. Even if you don’t, don’t let anyone put limitations on what you’re capable of.”

I saw a few grateful smiles from them. The other’s looked scared that I had even talked to them.

“And humiliating Tamara, because she may have said some unnecessary thing to you-” he started.

“She stole her boyfriend!” Mei Linn exclaimed.

He gave her a warning look, she huffed but closed her mouth. “How is humiliating her justification for what you did?”

I tried not to roll my eyes. “Mister, with all due respect, your daughter is a cheerleader. What she wears on the field is more revealing than what she is wearing now, and I see what she wears in the pool. Maybe it was inappropriate, and I apologize, but I couldn’t think past my anger and pain. I don’t know if you saw the part where she picked me up and hurled me twenty feet across the room into a brick wall.”

He looked at me with anger in his eyes. ?

??Maybe she would benefit from learning how to control her anger before she’s put back in the arena with some unsuspecting child.”

The instructor nodded at him, but the moment his back was turned the instructor winked at me. I imagine not many people spoke back to a board member of the school.

I was more than ready to leave the campus by the time I got back to my room. Jemmy was already there laid out on my bed.

“Can you text Noah and ask him if he’s going to be home when we get there?” I asked

Jemmy as I picked up my hamper of dirty clothes that needed to be washed.

“Sure, phys ed still kicking your butt?” she laughed as she stuck her lollipop back in her mouth and flipped through a magazine.

“No, that healer messed up her wrist worse than it was,” Rachel scoffed. “I told you, you shouldn’t have let her touch you. She’s so inept. It’s not the first time she’s hurt someone more than healing them.”

Jemmy looked up from her magazine. “What happened?” she asked surprised.

“I hurt my wrist in performing arts, and the instructor insisted that I get it mended. Stacey made it worse,” I said holding out my hand where my bone looked twice the size now.

“Eww,” Jemmy grimaced. “I’ll call him now.”

I finished gathering everything I needed as Jemmy made the call. I was beyond irritated. I had used a lot of my gift today, so I was tired, hungry, and a little…well, I wanted to be really, really close to one of my guys.

“Let’s go, you guys ready? Noah is already at the house and so…is Stacey,” Jemmy frowned at me.

I shrugged. “Whatever, he’s only keeping her around because she’s an easy lay,” I said snidely. By the shocked looks on both of their faces, I knew they never expected me to be so catty or negative.

When we got to the house, I was pleasantly surprised to see Jace’s vehicle and Remy’s vehicle. I guess they had made it home for the weekend. I didn’t see Troy’s, so I assumed he was still on the road for his company. I slammed my way into the house knowing the girls were avoiding me like the plague because I felt on edge.

All the guys were sitting at the island with beers. It reminded me of the first night I had officially met them. Except Stacey was there also, sipping on a glass of wine.

I immediately glared at her and Noah jumped up. “What’s wrong, love? Another tough day in phys ed?”

I snorted and held up my wrist. “I wish. I had a healer in performing arts class that should probably rethink her career unless she wants to do more harm than good.”

“I told you it was important that you stood still,” Stacey bit out, obviously annoyed at Noah’s endearment and his quickness to rush to my side.