Chapter 3

Dallas managed to push the morning’s strange events to the back of his mind for his entire first period. By the time his second period rolled around, he found himself thinking about it.   

Second period was his study period in the library, but it seemed to Dallas that the other people in his block did just about everything but study. He had an English paper due, and a biology text next block, but his mind kept coming back to this morning. He sat down at a computer, pulled up google, and quickly typed in “is mind reading possible”.

Dallas scrolled through a few results. Most of them were articles were just forum threads asking the same questions. He thought he finally found something when he came across an article titles “Mind reading is very possible, scientists say.” He clicked on it, hoping it would shed some answers, but it turned out to only be about understanding body language and emotions. Talk about a misleading title, Dallas thought bitterly as he clicked back and returned to his search.

He finally settled on lurking in forums. He clicked the first result and began the first posts.

rebelfire317 says:

Ok, so I was watching this tv show the other day about these people who had superpowers because they could use more than 10% of their brain? I know it’s just fiction, but it got me thinking. Do you think that something like that could actually be possible?

Dallas was pretty unsatisfied with the thread’s discussion. The second post of the thread said that superpowers would be a bad thing for the world, and most of the other posts agreed. He scrolled through a bit more, until he eventually found a post that caught his eye.

SuperAra says:

Actually, people use 100% of their brains. The 10% thing is just a myth, and is often used in sci-fis. As for whether it’s actually possible, well I suppose it could be. Science is so advanced these days I wouldn’t really be surprised if they found a way to get people to have superpowers.

rebelfire317 says:

It’s a myth? Hm. I don’t think I’ve ever heard otherwise. What do you think it would take to make someone have superpowers?

SuperAra says:

I’m not sure. Probably something to do with genetic engineering, but I’m not too sure. That’s not really my field of study. If you want to find out, your best bet would probably be to talk to someone who is into genetics. Likely though, they will probably tell you that it’s not possible.

Dallas stopped reading. He exited out of the forum and sat back, thinking about what he had just read. So it was probably just his imagination. He had probably just imagined it all. None of it had probably happened. He sat at the computer for a bit longer, almost tricking himself that the entire morning had just been a strange hallucination. A dream, maybe.

He had almost started to believe it when he heard a voice.

Hello Dallas.

It wasn’t a voice that he was familiar with. No, he had never heard this voice at all in his life. He turned around in his chair, looking for a source. But the only other people in the library were either playing cards at one of the tables or checking facebook. And all of them were fellow students that he was familiar with. Besides, the voice had belonged to a man. It was difficult to pinpoint the age, but it was much older than all of his classmates.

Then it hit him. The voice was in his mind, just like his mother’s voice had been earlier. What the hell is going on, he thought.

He didn’t expect anyone to respond. Why? Are you scared?

Dallas frowned, and looked around the library once more. Everyone was still engaged in their activities, and no one new had arrived. He might not have been scared a few minutes ago, but he was starting to feel a bit uneasy now. Was he being watched?

I’m sorry if I scared you, The man’s voice said, That wasn’t my intention.

You said my name and I have no idea who you are, Dallas thought, hoping the man would hear, I guess you could say I’m a bit freaked out right now.

My name is Ara, if you wanted to know.

I didn’t, Dallas responded harshly, And what kind of a name is that anyways?

It’s an Armenian name if you must know, Ara replied in a haughty tone, But you’re the one named Dallas.

Dallas rolled his eyes. Wow, that’s hilarious.

Listen, Ara said, I need to talk to you. It’s really important.

I’m a bit busy right now, Dallas responded, Can it at least wait until after class?

I make no promises, Ara said, I’m a busy guy, you know.

Dallas sighed impatiently. Well I’ve got stuff to do. I don’t have time to talk right now. Just leave me alone, ok?

Fine, Ara said, But you’re making a huge mistake. There are things you need to know, and---

I don’t have time for this crap, Dallas snapped back, I’m in school right now. Back off and leave me alone!

He half expected Ara to come up with some witty comeback, but he was relieved when he got no response. He put his head down on the table, grateful to finally have some peace and quiet.

It was nice while it lasted. Only a few seconds later, he began to hear voices in his head again. This time, they definitely belonged to his classmates.

 Is he ok?

What just happened?

Should I get someone?

Dallas heard someone sit down beside him. “Hey, Dal.”

He didn’t look up. It was his best friend, Mitch. Dallas had met Mitch in grade eight, the first year of high school. They had become almost inseparable since then.

“Are you ok?” Mitch asked him.

“Yeah,” Dallas mumbled, “I’m fine.”

“Hey, look at me, man,” Mitch grabbed Dallas by the back of his shirt and pulled him up. “You were screaming at someone a few minutes ago. I don’t think you’re as fine as you say you are. Is this about your parents?”

“I…” Dallas wasn’t too sure how to answer the question. Was it about his parents splitting up? “I don’t really know,” He said finally.

“Dallas,” Mitch said in a serious tone, “I just want to know what happened. You were like, full on screaming. If you want to talk about it…”

“I don’t.” Dallas hated that he was so bitter, but talking about what just happened was the last thing he wanted to do. Maybe he’d tell Mitch about everything later, but right now he still needed time to think about everything. About this morning. About Ara.

“Fair enough,” Mitch said, “If you change your mind though, the dudesters over there are playing Cards Against Humanity. Also, not that I support this sort of thing, but maybe you want to skip next period. I don’t think you’re ready for that bio test.”

“Are you even ready for it?”

“I studied for five minutes last night,” Mitch said, “I’ll be fine.”

“Whatever man,” Dallas said. He put his head back down on the table.

“I’ll see you around,” Mitch said as he got up.

So, Ara said, Are you ready to talk now? You know, that whole thing could have been avoided if you had just listened to me.

What is your problem? Dallas replied furiously, I said leave me alone, ok? I don’t want to talk with you now.

You know you’re talking out loud again, Ara said, You knew that, right?

Dallas looked up, and saw that everyone in the library was staring at him. Mitch looked especially concerned. He sighed, and put his head back down on the desk. He was definitely skipping his next period.