I don't use picture prompts often (they feel more constricting than worded prompts somehow), so this was a challenge for me. Hammered it out in a hour or so, and have been sitting on it for days. I had to distract myself to keep myself from editing it. 
But, anyway, I wrote a thing. Here goes: Skipping school, whether it was for the last fifteen minutes of class, was a punishable offence in the Araceli household, so it was imperative that Samira?s escape went flawlessly. After shuffling along walls to remain in the blind spot of cameras with Enya close behind her, they were finally speed walking away from the campus with urgent purpose. Though they'd changed out of their uniforms into plain clothes, Enya was still tossing furtive looks over her shoulder.
?Would you relax? You acting nervous is gonna make us look suspicious,? Samira chided as they bent a corner.
Enya scoffed and looked over her shoulder again. ?Excuse me if I'm not an expert delinquent.?
Samira shook her head and reminded herself that she needed Enya with her. School rules dictated that students travel in pairs with either their Balancer or Enabler, and since Hudson knew nothing about what had happened, she was stuck with Enya. Even though they?ve been paired Enablers for three years straight, Samira still hadn?t gotten used to Enya?s passiveness and fear of confrontation. Which were two things that would see to the failure of today?s plan.
They stopped in at the library across the street from Hopewell High, planting themselves at one of the wide panel windows with full view of the school. The air conditioning, clearly set to Arctic Circle, forced Samira to slip on the windbreaker tied around her waist. At the sound of the bell, they both looked over at the building and waited. After fifteen minutes, Enya?s nerves were getting the better of her, much to Samira?s annoyance.
Forty minutes later, Enya muttered, ?He probably has practice of some sort. We?re probably not gonna see him.?
?That guy? He doesn?t look like he practices anything but being a public nuisance.?
Enya fell silent and kept watch. Most of the students had left and only small groups remained.
Internally, Samira hoped her friend wasn?t right. She'd skipped school just to confront this guy. Make him back off. And it?d better be worth it. She didn?t even know his real name. She only knew him by screen name, which she and Enya had used to track him down two weeks ago. She'd almost killed him in an abandoned building and now he was―she was certain it was him―trying to intimidate her with a video of the incident. There wasn?t even supposed to be electricity there, which meant he had to have had an accomplice.
?Is that him?? Enya perked up, pointing at two boys standing near the letter sign. One was thin and tall, wearing a black hoodie and denim; the other was of equal height, wearing a white sweatshirt and a smug grin.
?Yeah, that?s the prick,? Samira agreed. Enya began fiddling with her bracelet and grabbed her hand to leave before she changed her mind. It had taken way too long to even convince her to come along. No way was she missing this opportunity. She did her best to ignore the dirty looks they received upon leaving the library. Following white sweatshirt and his friend would have been less stressful had some Ordinary people not gone out of their way to hurl insults at them, making the boys occasionally look back. Samira ignored Enya?s requests for her to remove her windbreaker, which was embossed with the school label. ?They can kiss my ass.?
They trailed the boys to a deli called Deli Shus and waited for a few minutes under the awning of a laundromat across the street, watching until the boys sat with their sandwiches. It was now or never. Samira strode across the street and straight into the deli, then took the empty seat next to sweatshirt.
?The hell??
?Oh, you?ve got to be fucking kidding me!? white shirt exclaimed.
?No, you?ve got to be kidding me! You think you can blackmail me??
?Blac---Wait, Rams, is this psycho air chick?? his friend chortled, learning sideways to get a better look.
Rams―apparently― grinned. ?I don?t know what you?re talking about, miss.?
Enya entered the deli and took a seat at the next table, nervously looking around at the empty shop.
Samira charged on, ignoring the psycho comment for the time being. ?Listen, your little video won?t change the fact that you came at us first.?
?And where?s your evidence to prove that?? Rams challenged, unwrapping his sandwich carefully.
Samira thought for a moment. He had her. But she wouldn?t be cowed down. She couldn?t let an ordinary see her sweat. ?Do you think I'm scared of you??
?You should be. You're on our turf acting tough,? the friend chimed in, while Rams?s mouth only curved into a smirk that only served to irritate her even further.
She spun on the friend. ?How about you shut the hell up and mind your business??
?Or what?? he challenged, standing. Samira stood as well, not to be outdone.
Rams scrambled from his seat at the window and stood between them, begging his friend to calm down. The insults began flying. Enya was at her side now, prodding her to leave. The owner was making her way from the sandwich station at the far end. Before she?d realized, the friend had pushed past Rams and was reaching toward her. Samira had only seen Enya?s hand rise for a fraction of a second. A burst of flames suddenly erupted on the left side of his face, and he staggered back, letting out an agonizing bray as he clutched his face. Rams grabbed Enya?s arm and she instantly dropped to the ground, screaming.
Samira was, for the first time, frozen.
The boy was pouring his coke onto his face, which was bubbling from the elemental heat, and the owner had retreated to cower under the bar seating. Finally, her brain clicked into action, and she stepped toward him, palms upturned. She breathed deeply and concentrated. She pulled on the air as hard as she could, watching the flame flicker into nothingness as it lost its oxygen. Once the last of the flame went out, she forced the energy back toward him, a cooling wind that saw a thick white curtain of smoke wisping from between his fingers, still planted on his face. He was now whimpering. Ramsy was staring at him wide-eyed; Enya was on the ground, a thin black bruise traveling up her arm. Samira dropped her hand at her side.
What had they done?
Topic: Tenn's First Draft (Read 1098 times)