Pisces
Chapter 1

Matt didn’t bother asking if I wanted to order anything. I’dcome to the café enough times for him to recognize when I was in one of mymoods. Instead, he dropped a cube of sugar in my coffee, and left to waitanother table. I didn’t need to strain to catch the tone the girl at the table usedwith him, she definitely wanted his attention.

I didn’t hold itagainst Matt, but a twinge of frustration had me momentarily narrowing my eyes.We’d gone on a few dates before and they’d gone great, but emotionally he justwasn’t available. At first I’d thought he was looking for a way to let me downeasy. But when I’d confronted him he explained he needed to work through somethings. Anyone could say that—sure—but his eyes told me the truth; hurt andbetrayal reflected there. I knew that look all too well, and understood.

We decided to stay friends, but I couldn’t deny I thoughtabout him from time to time. How could I not? Tall, deep brown eyes, and aperpetual five o’clock plus overtime look that made my breath catch anytime Ilet my mind stray. Not to mention his personality. When I thought about it hereminded me a lot of—my eyes drifted from the window to the other table forcinghis image from my head.

I smiled when I saw Matt blushing. He really didn’t know howto handle assertive women. Not that he disliked them. He just happened to thinkhe wasn’t anything special, so it always caught him by surprise when a girlexpressed interest. I guess that made him the humble type. Another point towardsattractiveness.

Matt smiled at the girl, saying something and eliciting alaugh. My smile dropped, and my eyes returned to the window.

Face it Nora, you’re just looking for a distraction from thesituation at hand. He is a nicedistraction though. But still a distraction.

The weather outside matched my mood—chilly rain and warmsun. In the distance thunder rumbled, echoing down the street. Not forebodingor anything, but I couldn’t ignore the unease settling in my stomach.

Why were they making me do this? I’d already seen thedoctors, it’d been confirmed. I didn’t inherit my parent’s gift. Well, theworld’s gift. I fell into the ten percent born without the ability despitebeing third generation direct descent. It was a mystery neither my parents northe doctors could explain. I’d just got the short end of the stick…likeeverything else in life.

Across from me, Justine let out a sigh and set the menudown.

“You’re going to throw off the flavor if you don’t mix thesugar in,” she said. A grunt on my part had her eyes rolling. “Any idea whenyou’ll be done pouting like a princess?”

My eyes snapped to her and my lips thinned. She knew I hatedbeing called that, especially since I was the exact opposite: short, black hair,nose and lip piercing—all products of my teenage years when I looked for every chanceto rebel against my parents. She was just trying to get a rise out of me.

But I couldn’t help it as my glare broke into chuckle and Ishook my head. She knew how to snap me out of these moods. Straight forward andhonest if not blunt, I’d expect nothing less from my best friend. She knew mebetter than anyone, even my own parents, and the reason why I wanted to spendmy remaining time on Earth with her instead of them.

Justine twirled her finger up, and the spoon next to mycoffee rose into the air and then slipped into my drink, stirring it. She was anova, like my parents, like the restof the world. The ability to harness ones’ own energy and exert it on thephysical world.

Novae were the result of a project run by GASPR, or GlobalAeronautics and Space Research. After breaking the mystery of dark matter, itwas only a few more years before they harnessed the dark energy radiating fromit. I didn’t know the specifics. I didn’t really care either since I couldn’tuse it, but apparently scientists found a connection between dark energy andthe energy given off by humans.

“Quit showing off,” I said flicking the spoon out of mycoffee and taking a sip.

“I will if you lighten up.”

“Kinda hard when your parents are forcing you to have moretests done.”

Justine rested a cheek in her hand and raised an eyebrow.“C’mon on Nora, you should be excited you get to go to GASPR’s main researchfacility. Not many civilians get to—it’s the experience of a lifetime.”

“Jealous,” I asked smirking. I had to raise my voice overthe thunder.

“Who wouldn’t be?”

I hummed tapping my chin, “Someone like me?”

Justine’s eyes scanned the ceiling again and said, “Even a dwarf like you could enjoy the trip ifyou’d actually allow yourself.”

Dwarf. Short for dwarf star. A term for someone unable touse their energy.

“The only thing I’ll enjoy about this trip is getting to usethe telescopes on board,” I said sitting back sighing. “I bet Halley’s Cometwill look amazing.”

Justine smiled, “Exactly. You’ll have access to some of thegreatest technology while you’re there. It should help to pass the three monthsyou’ll be trapped 250 miles above the Earth.”

“Don’t remind me,” I muttered sipping more coffee. I wincedas thunder shook the window next to us.

Justine looked confused, and turned to the window, “Have youseen any lightning?”

I blinked, realizing I hadn’t. Looking out the window too,my eyes widened as a massive blast lifted a car off its wheels and hurtled itstraight at us.

A scream tore from mylips, Justine shouted something, and a hand yank me backwards out of the booth.