Page 22 of Black Hollow: Awakening

Dan stared at him with concern, then sighed deeply and said, “I hate it when you keep secrets from me, you know?”

October 29 | Tuesday

Will didn’t know what exactly he had expected, but it certainly wasn’t… this. This complete radio silence. Aside from brief greetings when they passed in the hallway, he barely spoke to Norma and the others. Liam never sat with him again, Abby kept a low profile, and Blake was as unapproachable and nasty as ever. On top of that, he still looked at Will as if Will had killed his mother.

With Dan, obviously, Will couldn’t talk about what was bothering him, and because of that, he felt them starting to drift apart. Because Will was constantly thinking about things he couldn’t speak about openly, Dan could see something was troubling his friend and would ask. In turn, Will would have to make Dan feel like an idiot by insisting everything was fine or by making up some nonsense. Neither of these solutions had a positive effect on their relationship.

As if that weren’t enough, he was still having accidents.

Those accidents.

He had gym class. He wasn’t particularly fond of sports, but he had to complete at least four hours of physical activity per week, so for lack of a better option, he’d chosen volleyball.

Winded and sweaty, he ran around the gym, trying to get into the game. At one point, he saw the ball flying toward him. He jumped, intending to hit it. Dave Hammil apparently had the same idea. They collided in mid-air.

Will fell to the floor, hissing in pain.

“You okay?” Dave asked, extending a hand to him.

Will was about to take it, but then a familiar jolt shot through his body, and a second later, the lights throughout the room went out.

“Shit, again?” Becca groaned. “That’s the third time this week!”

“What do you expect?” Sabrina replied. “This school is ancient. It probably has ancient wiring.”

“This is fucking bullshit! What if there’s a fire?”

Taking advantage of the commotion, Will slipped out of the gym. There were only five minutes left of class, so he didn’t think anyone would notice his absence. He stopped by the locker room. He grabbed his things but didn’t change. He went outside, sweaty, in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, even though the weather was already typically autumnal.

He sat down on the narrow steps in front of a side entrance. He sighed in frustration, rubbing his sore shoulder.

God. He was hopeless. And dangerous! It was scary to think what would happen if he had different powers. The school would probably be up in flames. Though he could still cause that now. What if he caused a major short circuit? What if it sparked and started a fire? Or what if some piece of equipment exploded?

Hearing voices nearby, he turned his head and saw Norma. She was standing a few feet away, talking to some guy who was smoking, probably a junior. At one point, she glanced in Will’s direction. She smiled, but he couldn’t return it. She said something to her companion and then walked over to Will.

“Everything okay?” she asked casually.

“Yeah.”

“Really? Because you don’t look like it’s okay.”

“It’s fine, okay?” he snapped. He really didn’t feel like talking to her. Not now, anyway. A week or two ago, he had been eagerly awaiting the moment someone would finally pay attention to him, but apparently, no one gave a damn about him.

“Uh-huh. Sure. I use that same tone when things are fine too.”

Will didn’t answer.

“Wanna talk?”

“Now? Seriously?” he exploded, and Norma looked at him in surprise. “You ignored me for weeks and suddenly you remembered I exist? Thanks a lot!”

Norma let out a pitying snort.

“No offense, Willy, but I’m not your mommy,” she declared condescendingly, crossing arms over her chest.

“Yeah, right. You’re just the girl who told me I have some superpowers and then left me all alone with it!” Will shot back, not hiding his resentment. “I thought… I don’t know… I imagined you had some kind of club or assembly…”

“Assembly?” she repeated, amused.