Courtney smiling said "No problem. Let me go ahead and help your confused distracted mind by telling you a secret." Her smile turned coy and a little mischievous. "Yesterday, was a great day." she began rolling around Ty in her wheelchair.
"Okay..." Ty said not understanding the secret.
"The day before that was good too, I got to wear my favorite jacket. And the day before that I got to get lunch at Taco Bell." Ty was trying to understand. "The last few years were good, and the years before that too... The last 11 years of my life were great, Ty, I'm not, nor have I ever been your victim. Today was great too, do you know why?"
"No?" Ty said, letting go of guilt he repressed for years.
"Because I got to see my older brother again, Silly!" She timed it perfectly coming to a stop in front of Ty. "The earth shattering powers really take the cake, but I would have been just as happy just seeing you again." She paused and smiled the most earnest and innocent smile Ty had ever seen. "I've missed having you around... And I'm just fine! So stop thinking you ruined my life!" With that she wheeled herself down the hall toward the parking lot to wait for her parents. She paused, "You should take those clothes home for a washing, but you may want to change into less disgusting clothes for the ride home."
Ty looked down and realized he never changed out of his Gym clothes since the ordeal! First there was the breaking bones, then the panicking, then the police statements, then talking to the guidance counselor, then the school canceling classes... ugh, he was gross.
He went to the locker room and found his locker and began changing. Ty's mind was finally silent, no racing thoughts, no magically crippled passer-bys. Just a task to take care of and him taking care of it. Some freshmen had decided to play a game of basketball while waiting for the school buses to run and they finished the game and were changing too.
Ty tried to keep his mind in the zen place he had briefly found, but freshmen talk so loud... "Hey Mark, Check it! I got peach fuzz coming in, I'm gonna have a beard by the time i'm 16."
Mark replied, "Yeah I talked about it with my dad, he said that by 15 he had a 5 o'clock shadow and it all came in in like a month! He thought he was turning into a gorilla!" both boys chuckled.
Ty couldn't help but consider his own situation, he felt inadequate hearing 14 year olds discussing their beards coming in and he didn't show peach fuzz yet. Sharply, he felt the pain of not having his father to ask questions to or even to see to get an idea. Not only did he feel behind schedule but he couldn't even get an idea of what was normal for his genetic line...
The first voice continued, "You will look like that Ty kid, only younger and more gorilla like."
"Screw you Alan! At least I will shave before I hit college!" Mark retorted.
Ty was the only kid he knew of in the school that went by Ty... He froze for a second, but that got him nowhere. He reached up and felt his face, finding a dense dusting of stubble covering everywhere he would expect to find a beard...
"Aww Shi..." Ty remembered what happened to June... "p shape?" Grabbing his backpack he raced out of the locker room surprising the kids.
"Yeah, That's the guy I was telling you about!" Alan exclaimed, either oblivious or uncaring that Ty heard and could still hear him.
"Okay," Ty was trying to calm himself down before deciding if he should go to the bus pickup line. "Those kids knew about it before I did so that means this is the new reality, right? Nobody but me thinks it's unusual." Ty was trying not to freak out, this was the first time he accidentally effected himself. He began walking toward the buses.
Ty halted suddenly as a revelation hit him."Unless I don't ride the bus anymore because I made myself older and now I drive? Did my wonderful foster mother get me a car?" Ty paused grabbing for his wallet. His school ID showed the picture he took at the beginning of the school year. He was clean shaven in the image but he could see a shadow of a beard that wasn't there before. "Grade: 10 That's still the same. I still have a few months until I can take drivers ed."
Ty exhaled a sigh of relief. It would be awesome to drive but he wants to feel confident in his driving ability before he needs to navigate home by himself.
The trophy case he passed had a number of trophies in the shape of various ships but thankfully Ty didn't notice. He has enough to deal with and try to fix already...
He got on the bus and took his seat, retreating into his own thoughts... "Maybe these accidents are normal when someone gets powers, or maybe I need to practice more. maybe its a sign that I need to do something bigger with them to keep the magic from accidentally overflowing into my life as they have been? These changes have been happening when I'm not calm." Ty wondered. Ty thought about this morning and June. "How will Mark react? They fed off each other's bitterness and were both extremely selfish individuals, they could stand each other because they understood each other so well. Does June have to revert to her less wonderful self? Can I make it so that the world thinks June was always this way, of course I can but should I? Courtney said changing peoples minds is wrong." Ty put his face in his hands and rubbed his eyes. His hands slid down to his face where he felt the stubble and he felt more alone than he ever has before.