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A Chapter by Dices
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Title says it all. Please help me with my grammar.

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Nicole was still invisible while we walked home, drenched. Nobody noticed her and she took care not to go too near anybody in case they saw. Alex, Lynne and me walked beside her. Non of us talked until we reached Nicole's house. My own house was only a few blocks away.
Nicole rapped at the door. The scene was eerie. Only the noise and no movement except the slight shaking of the door.
Aunt Philis opened the door. She had a nicely done hairdo and a perfect coat of make up that increased her natural prettiness. She saw only three of us at first, then she realized.
“Nicole?” she asked in disbelief.
“Long story, Mum. Let us in. We're all soaked.”
Aunt Philis just seemed to notice. She let us all in and handed towels to dry ourselves. Nicole kept drying her hair, but all we could see was a white towel going up and down. Either Aunt Philis found this as normal behavior or she hid it well because she showed no sign surprise.
“What happened?” she asked, gesturing us to sit down at the kitchen table.
Aunt Philis was kind, and unlike my mother, she had a lot of time for Nicole. Her
elder brother was my father. Nicole had no brothers or sisters, and her only
cousin was me. Aunt Philis also appear to know Alex and Lynne.
Alex explained it all, while she listened. Nicole went upstairs for a change of clothes and to 'get her hair done', although no one could currently see it.
My mother was a nurse and my father was an accountant. I have never been to their workplaces and they hardly took leaves even when I got sick, but these are not good enough reasons to assume that they, as Nicole said, Protectors. But if Nicole could be invisible by some trick or just by being a Protector, does that mean that Aunt Philis is a Protector too? And Uncle Jackson?
“Are you a Protector?” I asked, once Alex was done explaining.
“Well...” She took an apple from the fruit basket and threw it upwards. When she catch it again, it was a green color. Again, she threw it up, and this time, it was purple. She kept throwing it up and changing its color as if to prove her point.
“See? This is my Ability. Believing now?”
I nodded slightly.
She sighed and tossed the apple which was now pale blue back into the basket.
“Look, I 'm really confused now. What is an Ability?”
“You have to understand that I can't tell you everything. You can wait here until your parent come home.”
Not entirely unexpected. I was irritated, nonetheless.
“But,” she went on, “you are really lucky. Your parents thought you might not make it.”
“Make what?” I asked sharply. “Become a Protector?”
“Yes.” She had been taking only to me, but now she looked at Alex and Lynne as well, who were silence as if expecting me to start throwing a tantrum. “Did anybody tell you the Academy starts this month?” she asked matter-of-factually.
“Say what?”
Nicole had appeared by the kitchen threshold in dry clothes looking shaken. But at least she was visible.
“Oh good,” exclaimed Alex. “You're yourself again.”
“This month?” Lynne asked. “This month?”
“Apparently.” Aunt Philis shrugged. “That's what Jackson told me.”
“What's the Academy?” Everyone ignored me, much to my annoyance.
“This month when?” Lynne inquired.
“Don't worry,” Aunt Philis assured. “I think it's about the end of the month.”
“You think?” Nicole drew a chair and sat down. “I'm so nervous. I have to do some shopping before that.”
Aunt Philis nodded in agreement.
“How is it?” asked Alex. “The Academy?”
Aunt Philis plunged into a tale describing this Academy in a poetic mode.
“What is this Academy?” I asked from not one particularly. As expected, nobody answered, so I stood up and went to the living room. I felt lonely, and it was not for the first time.
❄❄❄
There was a long silence over the table. My parents were sitting in front of me, and I stared at my shoes without speaking.
“So...” my dad broke the silence. He had brown hair and dark blue eyes that I had inherited. Aunt Philis was my father's sister.
“So what?” My voice had a dangerous edge to it.
“Look, honey, we are terrible sorry,” my Mum tried for an excuse, “but-”
“Sorry?” I asked, my voice slightly cracked. “Sorry? Why? Why didn't you tell me about all these?”
“You were too young and-”
“I am not a child!” I sat straighter. “All the others knew, didn't they? Nicole never even mentioned anything. You all knew and why not me? All these years, you've kept this a secret”
“We thought you might not become one,” Mum said, raking her hand through her honey blond
hair. “Don't you see? We thought you might not stabilize with you Abilities. You never had any sort of unnatural things happening to you. We thought it would be better-”
“To keep me in the dark?”
“We promise,” said Mum, glancing at dad for support. “We won't hide anything from you anymore. You can ask all your questions.”
Dad nodded.
I breathed deeply, getting reading to fire my questions. “What exactly is a Protector?”
“There is an organization,” Mum replied. “An organization which meddles a lot with prodigious criminals. The organization is called the Protect. The members of this organization are the Protectors.”
“How come I'm one, then?” Even as I asked, I remembered Nicole said that both my parents are Protectors.
“Do you know how you got your powers?”
I shook my head.
“It's a reaction,” Mum explained. “You'll learn soon enough. It passes down from the family. After some time, you will be able to control your Ability.”
“So is this...” I hesitated, not wanting to sound childish, but seeing no choice, I said the word anyway. “...magic?”
As expected, Mum laughed. “No. I told you. It's a reaction. There is this substance. It's called 'Energy'.” My mom shook her head. “I'm not good at explaining this. But, somebody has to.” With a sharp look at my dad, she continued. “The Ability is the result of your body's reaction for the Energy. So as a result, you get supernatural powers. ”
I struggled to understand. “So, it's like an allergy for this 'Energy'?”
“Close enough. But in a good way.”
“Why do Abilities differ from each other?” I asked. “I mean, I saw Nicole's Ability. And Aunt Philis' Ability.” I recalled the impressed looks on my friends faces this afternoon. “I'm not even sure what my Ability is.”
Mum looked at me for a few seconds before answering. “Philis told me about it. I think it might be...” She looked at Dad for confirmation. He nodded.
“Your senses improved, am I right?”
“Yeah.”
“I suppose that is your Ability, then”
I took that as an answer.
“Why do they differ, then?”
“An Ability is there to cover up your worst weaknesses. But, it does not make you flawless. After you got your Ability, much more weaknesses could form. In a way, you must be... less observant, according to your Ability.” She smiled.
Not being much aware of my surrounding is a family joke. “Clear so far?”
I shrugged. “What's done by the Academy? Is it like...Hogwarts?”
My mother stared.
“You know...Harry Potter. But never mind.”
“Well, Academy is where you learn about these Abilities, and later, train yourself.”
“Train for what?”
“To handle the organization, of course. Reducing large scale criminal activities.”
“So what do you guys do, then? How could you be Protectors when you have jobs already. Please don't tell me you're living a double life,” I added.
“I'm not a nurse actually, Sam. I'm a medic. I work in the Base, and usually, serve wounded Protectors, unless I'm one myself. And David...” Mum looked at Dad. I had almost forgotten he was there. Not much surprising, because Dad doesn't talk much.
“I work in the Base, too,” he said, “under the Sector of Listing of Criminal, Outlaw and Terrorist Activities.”
“Right,” I said, confusion clear on my voice. “What's a Base?”
“The organization has people all over the world. Others, normal people, have no idea who they are, even if they knew of the existence of the Protect. For these people to gather, there are branches that are assigned to them, and they work in these. The main branch was the Base, but it's power was overpowered by Mintz, the second main branch. It is in Mintz that the Academy is situated along with a few other major sectors, but most of the sectors are still in the Base.”
There's a Base, I thought,and there's a Mintz. This Academy is in Mintz. Base
and Mintz are two branches to where Protectors gather.

I was quite for a few seconds.
“Is there any other questions? Anything you want to know?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but paused, wondering for a moment if this is the right time.
“What is it?” Mum asked concerned.
“Was...was my sister a Protector?”
My parents looked at each other before Mum spoke slowly.
“We think she might have been”
“What she said before she went, is it because of this?”
I remembered her voice. Goodbye, Sam. I'll see you later. It was as if she knew her fate. This thought was the very reason for my nightmares.
“Honey, I don't think this is a good time to talk about this. You've already
been through a lot already.”
I stood up abruptly. “I'm going to bed.”
Neither of them objected when I strode out of the room. I went to my room upstairs and sat on my bed, trying not to think over what happened today.
Sure, I've had worse days.
But, undoubtedly, this day was my most bizarre of all.


© 2012 Dices


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Added on December 17, 2012
Last Updated on December 17, 2012
Tags: Sam, Nicole, Alex, Lynne, Philis, Jackson, Frayde, Protector, Academy, Mintz, Base


Author

Dices
Dices

Kandy, Sri Lanka



About
English isn't my native language, so it would be a pleasure if anybody who read my work could correct grammar and spelling errors. more..

Writing
I'm a...what? I'm a...what?

A Chapter by Dices


Protectors Protectors

A Book by Dices