x
“That was Tate?”
Minnie let out an exasperated groan.
“Yes, it was.” She dug through her bag, letting her fingers run over the worn textbook spines as she attempted to find the pen she had carelessly thrown in right before leaving her dormitory. “Where did I leave it?” she muttered.
“You said he was fairly good-looking!”
“Is he not?”
“No! He’s like…the perfect match for you!!”
“Meaning?”
“You guys would make the most attractive couple!”
Minnie found the pen shoved into the corner of her bag, and she smiled victoriously as she pulled it out. “Who said anything about a couple?”
“My intuition.”
Minnie rolled her eyes. “And my eyesight. I saw the way you were blushing yesterday.”
“I was not blushing.”
“You so were. And it was adorable.”
“I will smack you, Jazzy.”
“You love me too much, Min-Min.”
“I will physically show you how much I love you if you say that one more time.”
“What? That you were shy—”
Aurelia sighed softly as she flipped through her book. It was a spontaneous choice from the massive library. She was hovering in the air a few days prior, searching the shelves for the sequel to her favorite series. The fiction section was always buzzing with people inside and outside the books, each with their own dramas worth watching.
She noticed the book, ‘Powerless’ seated on the shelf. The book seemed to be in mint condition by the sight of it. It looked as if nobody had ever read it. She pulled out the novel and opened to the last page to see the library card. Nobody had ever borrowed it before. She figured, it was a chance to explore something new. Besides, she needed a break from her series.
She was intrigued by the look of the front cover, depicting a magnifying glass zooming in on the pair of beautiful brown eyes of a young, black haired woman. The word ‘Powerless’ was written in a huge cursive font, and below, in a slightly smaller font, she saw the name of a woman, ‘Alumina Rubidium’, the author of the book. She had heard of the author before from her mother, who always loved books. Alumina was a criminology student who studied at their university before her, whose minor was English.
“Sitting in the middle of the classroom, with his head bent, and a textbook laying open on his desk, she hadn’t been able to take her eyes off him since he walked into this classroom. She’d never seen him before, but he was too beautiful to ignore.
Meet Minnie Alaina Jeffries and Tate Thompson, the protagonists of a powerless world you won’t soon forget.
After the Great Lock-down of 2020, the world as they knew it turned upside down. Humans lost their powers, and were back to living in the old days. In 2024.
In the midst of it all, Minnie, Tate and their friends have just begun college. Will they get through it? Read to find out more.”
Aurelia decided that that was exactly what she would do. She would read the book to find out more about the world without powers. And here she was, seated on Selena’s comfy black beanbag, reading her book. Jasmine reminded her of Selena at times when it came to everything related to Nick, and she was sure that Selena would say Jasmine reminded her of Aurelia when it came to Gallus.
As Aurelia continued to read, she found herself drawn into the world of Minnie and Tate. Their struggles, their triumphs, and their undeniable chemistry were captivating. She could see parallels between their story and her own life, especially when it came to her friends.
Meanwhile, in the real world, her friends were engaged in their own activities in the room. Selena was practicing her metal manipulation skills, Thalia was studying C coding for an important pop quiz, her eyes scanning the pages with intense focus. Nickolas, on the other hand, was watching Aurelia with a soft smile on his face, his thoughts mirroring the unspoken affection between them. Gallus was watching Nickolas, smirking as he pointed the sight to Lead, who spoke up. “Dude, you’re simping like crazy. How has she not noticed?”
“I… uh…”
Lead continued, “Even if I shouted out to the whole college during assembly that you liked her, she still wouldn’t understand what I meant.”
“She knows, dude.” Gallus said, an unamused look on his face. “She’s always known.”
“Really? Does she like him back?” Lead whispered to him.
Gallus nodded. “And he knows it too.”
“Then why aren’t they together yet?”
“Beats me,” Gallus shrugged. “I’m no expert at Aurelia and Nickolas 101.”
Aurelia was so engrossed in the book that she barely noticed the passage of time. The characters of Minnie and Tate were so vividly portrayed that she felt as if she knew them personally. The author had a knack for making the world come alive with her detailed descriptions. She realized that she never stopped to look around in the fast-paced, supercharged, elemental world she lived in.
As she delved deeper into the story, she found herself relating to Jasmine’s predicament, without ever experiencing a full-blown relationship. The scene where Jasmine was trying to navigate through the crowd, with Cairo’s arm casually slung over her shoulder, was particularly striking. Aurelia could almost feel the tension in Jasmine’s body as she tried to maintain her composure in front of the new boy.
The author’s attention to detail was indeed impressive. The way she described the classroom scene, the anticipation building up as the bell rang, and the subtle chemistry between Jasmine and Cairo was nothing short of captivating. It was as if Aurelia was right there in the classroom, witnessing the events unfold.
As Chapter Six came to a close, and Cairo was about to show Jasmine something, she closed the book, her mind buzzing with the events of the story. She couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next in the lives of Minnie, Tate, Jasmine, and Cairo. But for now, she decided to take a break and join her friends, who were eagerly waiting for her to finish reading. After all, they had their own stories to share, their own dramas to unfold. And Aurelia was more than ready to be a part of it.
“Done reading, Goldie?” Nickolas asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah,” she replied. “It’s this book about a college set in a world where nobody has powers.”
“I’d be more than happy to go there,” Gallus said with a chuckle. “Francium’s a pain.”
“Can’t relate,” Thalia chimed in, closing her own book. “But Thallium and Arsenic aren’t the most harmless elements out there either?”
“Neither is lead,” Lead shrugged. “But do I care?”
“Fair point,” Selena said with a chuckle, unfolding her phone case from a ball of aluminum foil into a phone case and slipping it over her phone. “Come on, let’s go have dinner, guys. And meet our adoring fan base.”
“Ah, yes, the public awaits…” Aurelia said, placing the book onto her bedside table. “So does my stomach,”
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The evening had passed in a blur of laughter and shared stories. Dinner was a lively affair, with everyone contributing to the conversation. The aroma of the delicious food still lingered in the air, a testament to the culinary skills of the chefs in the cafeteria.
Post-dinner, the group had dispersed to their respective corners. Selena was now lounging on her beanbag, engrossed in a new book she had picked up from the library. Thalia, having finished her coding assignment, was now helping Nickolas with his physics homework. Gallus and Lead were engaged in a heated discussion about the latest football match.
Aurelia, having finished reading for the day, was now seated at her desk, her thoughts still lingering on the world of Minnie and Tate. She couldn’t help but draw parallels between the characters in the book and her own friends. The friendship, the college struggles, and the unspoken affection were all too familiar.
As her friends proceeded to head to their respective rooms for the night, Aurelia waved goodbye to them, agreeing to meet at Nickolas and Gallus’s room the next day after school, before she pulled out her pajamas from her side of the cupboard and entered the bathroom to change her clothes and perform her usual night routine.
She left the bathroom not long after, allowing Selena to do so herself, and slid into bed. She pulled out her phone and began scrolling for messages.
“What’s 7 x 8?” came a message from her dad.
Aurelia rolled her eyes. It was her father’s favorite question to ask her, a memory of a long struggle to memorize the fact that seven times eight is fifty-six.
“56,” she replied, and soon enough, she got a quick good night from her father, as he too, dozed off.
It was indeed going to be a good night for her as she quickly fell asleep before Selena could complete her routine 30-minute night shower.
As Aurelia drifted off to sleep, she found herself transported into the world of her book. She was standing in the middle of a bustling college campus, the air filled with the chatter of students and the rustling of leaves. She looked around, taking in the sight of the old brick buildings, the sprawling lawns, and the students hurrying to their classes.
Suddenly, she spotted a familiar figure. It was Minnie, her hair tied up in a messy bun, her eyes scanning the crowd as if looking for someone. Aurelia approached her, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.
“Hey, Minnie,” she greeted, trying to keep her voice steady, concealing her excitement.
Minnie turned around, her eyes widening in surprise. “Aurelia? Is that you?” she asked, her voice filled with disbelief.
“Yes, it’s me,” Aurelia replied, a smile spreading across her face. “I guess I’m part of this college now.”
Minnie let out a laugh, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Well, welcome to our college,” she said, extending her hand. “Let’s go meet the others.”
As they walked through the campus, Aurelia couldn’t help but marvel at the simplicity of this world. There were no powers, no elemental manipulations, just ordinary people leading ordinary lives. And yet, there was a certain charm to it, a sense of peace and tranquility that she had never experienced before.
They soon reached a group of students, among them Tate, Jasmine, and Cairo. They all greeted Aurelia warmly, welcoming her into their world. Tate smiled at Minnie, a blush forming on his cheeks. Minnie smiled back and stood beside him.
“I love your hair,” Jasmine commented. “The blonde is really pretty on you.” She said, but her eyes looked slightly dull, as if she had faced something traumatizing recently.
“Thanks,” Aurelia replied. “I’ll show you something cool?”
The four nodded. Aurelia took a deep breath, and jumped up a bit. As she channeled her powers, she felt the jump come to an end. Instead of being levitated up effortlessly, she landed down on her feet due to gravity. “Huh?” Aurelia asked.
“No powers,” Cairo, or Kai, for short, deadpanned.
“Yo, you two look are kinda similar!” Minnie remarked. Aurelia looked at her own golden tanned skin, reflective of her gold powers, which were no longer coursing through her veins in this new world. Then, she glanced at Cairo’s similar skin tone.
“Yeah, but our eye colors are different,” Aurelia responded, pointing to her blue eyes. “And so is our hair.”
“You’re both just as playful, though.” Jasmine said, a cheeky grin on her face.
“Point stands,” Cairo shrugged, his black hair swaying slightly in the wind as he spoke.
Just as Aurelia was about to respond, the ground beneath them started to shake. The once peaceful college campus was now in chaos as the buildings around them started to crumble. Students were running in all directions, screaming in fear.
“What’s happening?” Minnie shouted over the noise, her eyes wide with terror.
“I don’t know!” Aurelia replied, trying to stay calm. “We need to get out of here!”
As they started to run, a bright light suddenly engulfed the entire campus. Aurelia shielded her eyes, but the light was too intense. When she finally managed to open her eyes, she found herself standing in the middle of a vast desert, the college campus nowhere in sight.
“Where are we?” Jasmine asked, looking around in confusion.
“I have no idea,” Aurelia replied, her heart pounding in her chest. “But we need to stick together and find a way out of here.”
She heard a familiar voice. “Aurelia, we have an elemental manipulation assignment! Wake up!” the girl yelled.
“Selena, we’re in a desert and that’s all you can think of?” she grumbled and rubbed her temple.
Suddenly, Aurelia’s eyes snapped open. She was back in her room, the familiar surroundings grounding her. The dream, or rather, the adventure, had felt so real. But now, she was back to reality. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, her mind still buzzing with the remnants of the dream. It was time to wake up and face the day.
For now, the real world beckoned. Or did it?
As Aurelia sat through her boring cytology class later that day, she pulled out a pen and flipped to a new page in her favorite rough notebook and began to write, continuing my dream once and for all.
“…But together, we’ll find a way!” I said, encouraging my new friends.
“Are you sure? How?” Jaz asked, cocking her head.
Guess both worlds weren’t too far apart after all. Alumina Rubidium would have been proud…
[Ok guys shoutout goes to the real Alumina for letting me do a crossover... and give her the ridiculous elemental pen name.
Unfortunately, Tate and Minnie's tale is still a mystery to me as well, so if any of you have the privilege to meet Alumina herself, PLEASE GET ME SPOILERS!!]
ns 15.158.61.8da2
