It was two days later when the letter arrived. It came with a thick brown package tied with twine; an unusual choice for all the 21st century packaging availible. There were no stamps or addresses anywhere to be found, so it must have been hand-delivered.

Harper and I were in the middle of a Physics session after school when Miss Patsy came upstairs with a worried frown, holding the package in her work-lined hands. She gave us the package and left without a word.

The crisp white envelope had two red printed words on the back:
READ FIRST.

Before we opened it, we began speculating everyone we thought might have done this, and then decided to wait until her father returned. But it was hard, and eventually Harper suddenly tore the seal open, her curiosity getting the better of her.

A letter in fine handwritten calligraphy was folded up very neatly, and it took some time to unfold. When Harper finished smoothing it out, she layed it on the table and we eagerly began to read it.

Harper Wilson
Subject 9
Gravitokinesis

Dear Harper,
You may be wondering how we knew about you and what you can do. Well, let's just say we know a lot more than just that, so your first assignment is to stop wondering. The second step is to read the following information very carefully and then open the package.

G R A V I T O K I N E S I S

⋅Gravity Generation
⋅Increase Gravity
⋅Black Hole Creation - to suck things into oblivion.
⋅Crushing - things by enveloping them with a gravity field.
⋅Weight Manipulation
⋅Reduce/Remove Gravity
⋅Flight Manipulation - by controlling the gravity around the user others and objects.
⋅Levitation/Flight - which can also affect other things.
⋅Send a person flying off to the vacuum of space - by stopping gravity's hold.
⋅Stimulate Superhuman Strength and Agility - by making things easier to lift and carry.
⋅White Hole Creation - to release things from oblivion.
⋅Floor Tilting - to shift the direction gravity draws:
⋅Orbital Force Manipulation
⋅Gravitation Adaptation
⋅Telekinesis-like effects - by manipulating the direction/force of gravity.
⋅Attract Or Repel Objects - by surrounding it in an anti-gravitational field.
⋅Concussion Beams - or blasts of gravitational force.
⋅Force-Field Generation - to repel physical and energy attacks/effects.
⋅Gravity Constructs
⋅Space-time Manipulation - by using high gravity to distort them.
⋅Time Stopping/Time Reduction -
Wormhole

Now you may be wondering why we would list such things, but I'm sure you're a bright one and have figured it out a bit by now. Your ability can be enhanced greatly. Right now, with very little training, your abilities are being hampered, and you are probably only able to accomplish one or two of these feats. However, with tests and training to grow your skill, I am confident that you can achieve much.

Our organization would like to take you on as a student. We have already talked to your father, and he has agreed to a contract stating a temporary two-week for trial. If you improve considerably and he likes the results, you will complete a year or two of training and become a graduate.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Joseph Schemanske
Program Director
Advanced Ability Academy (AAA)

Harper finished the letter first. All that reading I suppose. She stared in shock at it while I continued, and when I reached the end we shared a long glance of mixed feelings. Her eyes told me she was excited, almost eager, while I was apprehensive and a bit nervous.

"Can you believe this?" She said finally. "I'm subject 9! That means there's other people like me out there! I won't be a freak anymore!"

"You're not a freak Harpsichord-" I began.

"They'll help me, so that I can control this instead of letting it rule me!" She began to rise as her emotions did, soaring to the ceiling unaware.

"Don't be like Elsa," I warned, getting a bit worried. I knew could she get hurt if she wasn't careful. "Your ability only controls you if you let it."

Harper ignored me, rising quickly and talking even quicker. "I have to tell father...he'll be back tomorrow...can you imagine? Me training to improve? No more Physics, no more-"

I climbed on her desk to stand on it, hoping she'd pay more attention to me, but she had almost reached the ceiling and was in danger of smashing into it. Thinking quickly, I jumped off of the desk and threw her to the ground as hard as I could.

It felt like slow motion as she spun away from me, thankfully descending, and then sped up as I realized I was heading full tilt for the ground. Harper landed on the bed, I on the floor, heavily. I groaned, clutching my rib where all my weight crashed down and stole my breath away.

"Blu!" She scrambled off the bed -nearly falling off in the process - and knelt down next to me. "What-"

"I'm alright," I interrupted and sat up, gritting my teeth against the pain. "Don't worry about me."

"Thank you," she looked down, her cheeks tinged with a sheepish blush. "I wasn't thinking."

"Yes you were," I grinned, the pain easing a bit. "You were thinking too much."

"Well, you were right. Maybe we should think about this slowly," Harper replied, smiling. "Let's open the package."

I slowly stood and slid into the chair at her desk as Harper eagerly tore the neatly wrapped brown paper off. Her efforts at first procured only another brown box, which caused her to lose a bit of her enthusiasm. However she continued and soon had opened the tabs to reveal a layer of plastic packaging. At this I joined in to help her, curiosity gripping me once again.

Finally the black corner of a mysterious object was visible and we both seized it, our hands entwined. I knew my hand felt sweaty and rough, so I hurriedly released it, marveling a bit at the warmness and soft texture of hers. It fit perfectly into my grip, like it was poured from a mold.

I shook my thoughts away when I caught full view of the object as Harper turned it over and over into her hands. It was shaped like a cube, but with odd marking and buttons on one idea of it. The other side had a smooth digital screen, blinking with enough numbers and instructions to confuse an engineer.

After puzzling over it for awhile, I finally had the sense to look back inside the box, where there was a note and a manual lying amidst the sea of packaging. I turned to show her with a grin, but was suddenly transfixed by her concentrated look. She was pushing her hair out of her eyes as per usual, and the furrow in her brow was in place as well, but what captivated me was the look in her eyes.

Harper's eyes. They were always what made me stop. The seas of green could sparkle with excitement and light up a room, yet hold sorrow and depth like no other. There was great wisdom in her eyes, and I admired it.

A moment later she looked up at me, the corner of her mouth lifting into a half smile. "Something interesting?"

"I found a manual," I chuckled, skirting the question. "And a note."

"Thanks," she laughs back at me, taking the note from my hand.

Harper-
This is a gravitational reading instrument. It can tell you how much of your potential you are using, read your vitals, and much more. We will be using it a lot in your training, but I thought you might like to try it out yourself as a sign of our goodwill.

There was no signature, and it was assumed that it was the same man who had written the letter. I looked at Harper after scanning it, wonder in my eyes. We had been friends so long that having a non-verbal conversation was no problem at all; we often held entire dialogues using only our eyes and expressions.

"Can we...?" She began.

"No!" The word exploded more forcefully than I intended. "We can't just belive everything they tell us, Harper."

"But why would they be lying?" She asked, generally confused."What reason would they have?"

"They might have decided that your abilities are a threat, and are intending this set up to use or kill you," I told her gravely.

"Kill me?" Harper scoffed a bit, raising her eyebrows. "You really think that's a possibility?"

"Well I'm not just going to disregard it," I replied carefully. "Everything's a possibility at this point."

She huffed and crossed her arms, setting the object down with a bit more force than was necessary. "Fine. I'll do it alone."

"What?" I stared at her in surprise. "You can't be serious."

"This could be my ticket out of here Blu Alexander. I have to make the most it." There was a pleading note in her voice, not to mention the fact that she had used my middle name. She only did that when she was especially worried or upset, so I could finally grasp the scope of how important this was to her.

"I'm not saying we shouldn't do it," I said gently, trying to rephrase so she would understand me better. "I'm just saying to take things slower, so we can be ready to catch anything that might be thrown at us."

"Like your lovely metaphors," she whispered, her eyes glazing over with a faraway look.

"We'll be ready."

A/N:
Hope you liked the second chapter! It's a bit hurried but I hope you enjoyed it just as much as the first one. Thanks for reading! 💕

Next Update: Thursday, April 20th