[COLOR=gray][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]B R Y N N R E Y E S[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][sup]6:16 PM, Friday Evening | Orlaith Valley Trail and Park[/sup][/INDENT] Brynn was busy trying to process everything while Aiden and Sebastian went off, mind whirling as she went through her thoughts. [i]This is crazy, right? Thinking that everyone has powers,[/i] she thought, bringing up a hand and raking it through her hair. But Brynn knew better than that — she herself had a power. [i]A [/i]power, she thought scathingly. [i]How cute. I know I’m going insane here, yet I still want to believe it.[/i] Upturning her hands, Brynn glared down at them, hating how normal they looked. Did she even need her hands to manipulate things? As far as she knew, her power was the ability to make things appear or disappear, like illusions. [i]Illusions,[/i] Brynn thought, seizing on the word. That was her power, wasn’t it? Being able to create illusions, hiding things in plain sight or making it seem like something that wasn’t actually there, was. Turning to the tree that the flag had been placed upon, Brynn paused. What was she supposed to do now? Hiding her powers away also meant never voluntarily calling them out. [i]Well, there’s one point to add to the list of “surprises” Aiden McKenna mentioned,[/i] Brynn thought wryly, thinking back to sophomore year. [hr][hider=Flashback][i] It was a cloudy Tuesday sometime in September of Brynn’s sophomore year, and her life was going swimmingly. She’d aced her second round of tests — always a better accomplishment than the first round since those were mostly for feeling the waters — and she’d been chosen as the varsity captain for Crestwood’s girl’s volleyball team. Barely suppressing a grin, Brynn had walked through the door with every intention of doing a little bragging when she spotted her brother’s shoes lined up in the shoe rack. [color=gray]“Caden’s home?”[/color] Brynn asked, looking at the resident housekeeper, Maddy. “He’s in the dining room with your parents,” the greying lady supplied with a gentle smile. “Dinner was already served, but I’ll get your things set up right away.” [color=gray]“Oh there’s no need. I can do it myself, Maddy,”[/color] Brynn said, perking up again. [color=gray]“I’m not a little girl anymore — I can serve my own food.”[/color] “Alright, Brynn,” the housekeeper said as Brynn skipped her way to the dining room. Brynn’s mother and father sat opposite to their son at the center of the table, both listening intently to Caden as he spoke. “—and then Justin ran into the room with the final part of the project, and we were saved! So close, and all because Derrick forgot to print the damn thing,” Caden said, laughing. Brynn looked on in surprise as her parents joined in — since when did her mother become free enough to stick around for storytime at the dinner table? “Oh, Brynn!” Sheila Teresa Reyes — or, informally, “Mom” — said, spotting the girl in the doorway. “Come join us! Empty plates are in the pantry. Grab one and sit down so I can scoop you some of this scrumptious pasta that Maddy whipped up.” “Okay, Mom,” Brynn said meekly, doing as she was told. The whole scene felt so unfamiliar — her mother, home and not glued to her phone and laptop; her brother, bothering to give anyone the time of day; her father, home early from the clinic with enough energy to participate in social activities. Just yesterday, Michael Terrence Reyes had worked all the way until one in the morning and Sheila had stayed up in the study even later. What had changed? “Heya, Brynn,” Caden said, grinning and ruffling his little sister’s hair as she sat down beside him. “How was school?” “Fine,” Brynn said, not knowing how to start. Did she just go for it, laying all of her good news out on the table, or did she eke it out in digestible pieces? Being a rather modest person — or at least she hoped she was — Brynn always refrained from bragging, but she was in such a good mood right now she wanted to try it out. She was also, however, familiar enough with her family to know that her mother had something to announce — most likely about her brother. And it was going to be good news — stupendous news — that would utterly outshine whatever insignificant little detail Brynn was looking to bring up. Figuring she might as well ease the whole process along, Brynn pasted on a curious smile. “You’re back early, Caden. Aren’t you interning at the company while you finish your applications to grad school?” “Well that’s just the thing,” Sheila said, beaming, “Caden’s been accepted to Harvard! The admissions rep took one look at him and accepted him on the spot! Of course, I was there, but plenty of parents oversee their kids’ interviews,” the woman continued, positively gushing now. “So clearly it was all Caden, not that I’m surprised at all.” “Oh c’mon, mom. Enough’s enough,” Caden said, laughing. Brynn widened her smile, hoping that it looked better than how she thought it did. As the dinner went on, Brynn learned a bit too much about Harvard’s frat parties for her comfort and even more about the great benefits of Harvard’s dual business programs for graduates. All throughout, she kept a polite smile pasted on, cuing herself to laugh and fork pasta into her mouth despite her waning appetite. When dinner was finally over, Brynn breathed an internal sigh of relief and hugged her brother goodbye for the next month or so as he flew back to New York to catch his internship in the morning. Her mother joined them, giving Brynn a reassuring pat on the back before she departed for the airport with Caden, and Brynn wondered what she was thinking earlier. Bragging? Really? In this family, to these parents, with this brother? [color=gray]“Goodnight, dad,”[/color] she said, spotting her father on his way back out to the clinic. “Goodnight, Brynn. Sleep tight, and don’t forget to get all your homework done,” the bespectacled man joked as he shut the door behind him, leaving Brynn alone in the huge mansion. Maddy’s last responsibility was usually to wash dishes, but Brynn’s mother had stuck them all in the dishwasher and sent the lady home that night. Standing alone in the living room and staring blankly at the obscure modern piece her mother’s interior designer had picked for them, Brynn contemplated the meaning of the black and white triangles arranged in an interesting and rather irritating fashion. Why had the artist chosen to point the southernmost black one at the topmost one? Couldn’t he see that it messed up the seemingly effortless quality of the painting?[/i] I wish they just weren’t there,[i] Brynn thought with a burning hatred, glaring unblinkingly at the triangles until they really did disappear. And then, with a blink, they were back. [/i][/hider][hr] Taking a deep breath in before letting it out slowly, Brynn trained her gaze on the tree and concentrated, emulating what she remembered of that night. [i]All right, tree. I need you to[/i] disappear. A few moments passed before Brynn let up on the task, inhaling sharply in frustration. [i]Of course! What was I expecting — me to just magically be able to disappear trees? This is stupid. I’m going crazy — that’s what this is,[/i] she thought angrily, but her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp stinging smell — smoke. [i]A fire?[/i] Brynn thought, turning around. Her eyes widened when they caught on the orange curtain of flame that was quickly closing in on her side of the forest. [i]Fuck you, Aiden McKenna. This is not teambuilding in the slightest.[/i] Panic flowed through Brynn’s veins as the fire snarled and snapped branches in front of her, advancing. Should she run? Then what about the flag? Did Aiden McKenna really start this enormous fire? Was her life really in danger? And if so, why in the world did it have to be during [i]this[/i] class, Social Conscience? Chemistry labs or math finals she could understand, with all the safety hazards of messing with strong acids and pulling one too many all-nighters. But why here and now, when she was on a camping trip in the woods and playing capture the flags with a bunch of people she’d never in her right mind talk to? [i]This is stupid,[/i] Brynn concluded as she looked up at the flag in the tree, [i]but I have to know if it’s not just me going crazy.[/i] Training her gaze on the flag, Brynn tried again: [i]Alright, flag. I need you to fucking[/i][b] disappear[/b].