And suddenly, just as abruptly as it had started, the kitchen timer in the staff break room dinged. An echo of sound volleyed from the frozen cafeteria, like the universe had remembered that silence was only a temporary glitch. My watch lunged forward—tick-tick-tick—its second hand racing to catch up. The dust motes in the sun light swirled for a moment and then settled back into normal lazy drifts. Julian exhaled in the same instant I did.
He rubbed his eyes as though he'd just woken from a twenty-year nap. I rubbed my temples, trying to chase away the vertigo that threatened to tip me over onto the floor.
"Heh," Julian said softly, as if neither of us had just pulled off a cosmic stunt. "Time resumes."
I swallowed, my mouth dry enough to sandpaper the roof of my mouth. "Yeah." I managed to croak. My throat felt hoarse, even though I hadn't spoken. "Resumes."
We both glanced at my wristwatch. Sure enough, the second hand was racing as though it were late for a very important date. I checked my pulse—and it was still hammering like a faulty engine.
In the cafeteria, chaotic lunchtime sounds returned to normal: trays clattering, students shouting for more ketchup, chairs scraping. I swallowed hard, trying to ground myself back in reality.
Julian gave me a small shrug. "So, now you know."
I narrowed my gaze. "Know what? That you can stop time? That you can read minds? That you can rearrange the laws of physics?"
His lips quirked. "Technically, I reshaped space and mind too—just didn't do it right now."
"Oh. Right. Of course." I tried to muster a sarcastic laugh, but it came out as a hiccup. "So…what the hell are you doing at Kinsley High, Mr. Time-Lord?"
Julian folded his arms and leaned his back against the brick wall behind the trash cans. "My business is my business."
Straightforward. Blunt. Unhelpful. My instinct—and every fiber of my psychic training—screamed that he was holding something back, and exactly what that was wouldn't be a bland confession, but a full reveal worth a Nobel Prize in Awkwardness.
I closed my eyes, willed a wave of energy to surge through the cafeteria, and worked to sense his aura. Normally, a living, breathing human had a spark around their head—an aura of warm or cool color that pulsed with emotion or intent. Today, I felt…a flicker, a tiny glimmer, like a firefly caught in a mason jar.
I opened my eyes. "You're still not…human. I mean, that's obvious. But—"
He bristled. "I'm not a demon, a ghost, or an alien. I'm just…me. Julian."
I let out a breath that felt like it had been knotted under my ribs. "Okay. Julian. You can stop time. You said you can control space, too. What else can you do?"
His expression flickered with something I almost recognized as amusement. "I can erase minds. Not just read them—erase them."
I sucked in a lungful of air. "No. No, you can't. That's—too much."
He shook his head. "You're right. It's way too much. Hence why I don't do it lightly."
I could feel my cheeks flushing. Nobody else could have any clue what was happening here: me, standing in the back of a bustling cafeteria, quaking because a boy had basically admitted to having god-like powers. Maybe if I were a normal teenager, I'd laugh at how absurdly epic this was. But I wasn't normal. At home, my three siblings had freaked out over mere mind-tickling. And Julian—Julian—could actually snuff out someone's identity with the flick of a mental switch.
"Why…why are you here?" I asked, voice small.
He stared at the brick pattern on the wall, as though it held the secrets to the universe. "Because of you."
Heat rushed to my cheeks. "Because of me? How—?"
"I felt your aura the moment I walked into your school," he said without looking at me. "There's something different about you. You're a psychic. Strong. And I needed someone who could—"
He broke off mid-sentence, as though he wasn't sure how much to reveal. I licked my lips, brain whirring. "You needed someone who could what?"
"I'm being vague so you don't freak out," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "But yes. There's a war going on. Psychics are being captured—some by rogue agencies, some by other psychics who see them as threats. I've been trying to track down safehouses and find allies. You…fit the criteria."
I blinked, shifting from foot to foot. "I—what am I doing in this war? I'm a— I'm a seventeen-year-old girl who can translate thoughts into cartoons in her head, not exactly a strategic mastermind."
His gaze snapped to mine, and the world felt sharp again. "You're a rare breed of psychic. I won't pretend you and I aren't similar, but you still don't know your full range. I want—no, I need—to show you."
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. In that instant, I thought of my family—Mom and Dad's sharp intuitions, Harley and Charley brawling with unsuspecting neighbors' minds, Justin's uncanny knack for projecting his movie soundtracks into the skulls of anyone within ten feet. I thought about how I'd discovered my own psychic gift—how I'd once "borrowed" my siblings' memories of embarrassing childhood moments in a bid to annoy them (it had not worked, because they just mind-swapped their stand-in memories with my own, but still).
And now…Julian was telling me that the same gift that let me hear stray thoughts could be unlocked into something more.
An odd thrill skittered through me. My stomach felt like a hummingbird's wings, but in a good way. "If I agree—"
"—I'll teach you," he said, cutting me off. "But I need you to trust me."
I swallowed. "And if I don't?"
His lips curved in that small, inscrutable way I was starting to recognize as a half-smile. "Then we go back to business as usual. I vanish from your life. And nothing changes."
I stared at him, trying to weigh the pros and cons.
Pros:
Learn how to broaden my powers beyond mental eavesdropping.
Possibly figure out what exactly "being the same" meant.
Protect my family (because if there's a psychic war, my siblings are in the crossfire whether I like it or not).
Score major cool points by being the teenage sidekick to a cosmic powerhouse.
Cons:
Potential to accidentally erase someone's mind because I get distracted by TikToks.
Dad might finally realize "teenage rebellion" isn't Cam Newton stats, but "dabbling in forbidden powers" instead.
The possibility that Julian is keeping major secrets, and trusting him too much could blow up in my face like a runaway fireworks display.
My pulse steadied as I made my decision. "Okay," I said, surprising myself by how calm I sounded. "I'll trust you."
Julian's gaze softened. "Good."
Suddenly, the bell rang for the end of lunch period. Students filed back in through the back door of the cafeteria; trays began piling up on the counter; a group of cheerleaders launched into an impromptu chant that rattled the plastered ceilings. We both startled—the spell of our conversation shattered.
I took a shaky step back toward Julian, who offered one last nod. "Meet me at the old observatory after school tomorrow. Don't be late."
He turned and carried on walking toward the main hallway—almost as though he glided, not walked. I watched him go, feeling as though half of my world had just been rearranged and I was immune to vertigo.
I clasped my hands over my heart and took a deep breath. Then I whirled around, ready to go back to my own war—of psych homework, chaotic siblings, and Mom's infamous garlic-garbanzo bean stew. But this time, it wasn't going to be the same old routine. Not by a long shot.
When the final bell rang at 3:30, the hallways erupted into a carnival of sound—lockers slamming, students cheering about weekend plans, sneakers squeaking on the linoleum. I nearly got bowled over by Tammy who thrust a flyer in my direction
"Obsessive Space Club Meeting tonight!" she shouted. "We're practicing constellations in the gym!"
I blinked. Did I want to learn about constellations when I was about to meet a Time-Space-Mind controller at an observatory? The irony was almost too perfect. I half-contemplated tearing the paper into a million pieces and yelling, "My agenda has changed!" But Tammy probably would have demanded I join a Hundred-Year Star Gazers Society or something. So I simply grabbed my bag, smiled politely, and navigated my way through the walls of lockers toward the auditorium entrance.
"Julia!" Kim spotted me from across the floor. "What's up? You look like someone just forked your brain into a blender."
"Guys," I blurted. "After school, you have to listen to me, okay?"
Kim peered at me curiously through her thick-rimmed glasses. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Or maybe that YouTuber who eats wasabi."
"Worse," I said in a whisper that made Jake lean in. "Julian's a psychic god. He just told me I—"
Jake's eyes popped to cartoon proportions. "Wait. What? He told you you're—"
"Stop it." I shoved him lightly. "I need you two to come to my house. Now."
They exchanged wild-eyed looks, but both gave me a quick nod. Within minutes we reached my street. I sprinted up the front steps like I was being pursued by a pack of velociraptors—clearly not my finest moment in composure.
"Slow down, Jules," Kim gasped, grabbing my arm. "We're not fleeing from a natural disaster."
"I might as well be," I said, yanking the door open.
_________
The familiar soundscape greeted me: Mom's animated humming in the kitchen, Dad's occasional quips, Charley and Harley bickering in a symphony of psychic one-upmanship, and Justin's muffled yells at the TV. I burst in and immediately called out, "Mom! Dad! I need—"
Mom peeked around the counter, her apron dusted with flour. "What is it, honey? I'm about to flip the omelet."
I ignored the omelet. "Can we talk? It's… urgent."
"Of course," Dad said from the living room, where he was reading the newspaper while hovering around the snack cabinet. "But I'm mid-disaster here—your siblings have turned dinner prep into hogwash."
"What are they doing?" I asked, poking my head into the living room. Charley was levitating a cereal bowl a foot off the coffee table, while Harley was psyching Charley's mind so intensely his hair was standing on end.
"Harley is trying to force Charley into spilling the last gummy bears, but Charley's mind shield is going up like a tank turret," Dad explained with a straight face.
I sighed. "I'm going upstairs for a minute." Indeed, I needed the calm of my room—at least until I could figure out how to break the news that I was now—suddenly—a raging mind controller.
Upstairs, I shut my bedroom door with a decisive click, leaning against it as if bracing for an explosion. My heart hammered against my ribs. I could feel the tension in my skin: the knowledge that soon, things would never be the same.
Kim and Jake filed in behind me, looking suitably anxious.
"Okay, go," I said, sitting on the edge of my bed. "All of you. Sit. This is going to be a long night."
Kim perched on the floor in a cross-legged yoga position. "Are you okay? Do we need to call in emergency ice cream?"
Jake flopped onto the bed next to me. "Spill."
I took a deep breath. "Julian… told me I'm a mind manipulator."
Jake snorted before even pretending. "That's… well, that's insane."
Kim's mouth formed a perfect "O". "I'm trying to wrap my head around it. You—"
"I can't—" I held up my hands, trying to rein in the storm of emotion. "I still can't believe it myself. But this morning—well, technically, yesterday afternoon—Julian froze time at lunch to show me. He literally snapped his fingers, everyone stopped talking, gravity paused, even people's blinks got stuck."
Jake rubbed his temples. "Let me get this straight. You saw the entire cafeteria freeze? Like cartoon style?"
"Exactly," I said, forcing each word out. "And then he told me: 'I control time, space, and minds. You can't read my mind because… because we're the same. You're a mind manipulation.'"
Jake's eyes were dark pools of fascination. "Dude, that's… wow. Are you scared?"
"Terrified." I dropped my head into my hands. "I can't control it. It just—happens when I feel something too strongly. Last week, Dominic Carter cornered me in the hallway, started yelling at me about how psychics are freaks, and suddenly I felt this pulse, and he just—calmed down. Apologized. Walked away. He spent the weekend on the football team, like nothing was wrong."
Kim's brow furrowed. "You saved him from a meltdown because you just told him to calm down?"
I exhaled shakily. "In mind speak. He didn't know what hit him. I didn't either. I felt a rush of adrenaline, my head hurt so much I thought it'd split open, and bam—" I made a popping sound. "—his mind just… changed."
Kim blinked. "That's… actually terrifying. You could do anything. Influence anyone."
Jake sat up. "But you won't, right? You have a conscience. And Julian… well, he seems to know what he's doing. He's not out to get you. He's more like… a friend who's just showing you the ropes."
I looked at them both, eyes blazing with fright and fury. "That's the thing, though. I trust Julian. But what about everyone else? What about the network of psychic traffickers he mentioned? They want to exploit people like me. Kidnap us. Drain our powers."
Kim jumped. "What?! What does that even mean—drain your powers?"
"He said they trap psychics in invisible cages, strip them of their abilities like dollar bills. The powers are sold on a black market, used to manipulate governments, armies, corporate CEOs—"
I swallowed. "And if they find out I can manipulate minds and maybe do even worse? There's no telling what they'd do. They'd drown me in testing, take my sanity apart, sell my organs to the highest bidder—"
Jake covered my arm, jaw clenched. "Not on my watch. We won't let that happen."
Kim patted my knee. "Yeah, you have two loyal—" She broke off and made a disgusted face. "Well… three loyal helpings of insanity."
"It's okay," I said, barely holding back a smile. "We'll figure it out. But right now, I need to tell my parents everything."
They both nodded. I climbed to my feet, hearts pounding with newfound purpose.
⸻
I padded down the stairs, Kim and Jake flanking me like bemused bodyguards. The kitchen was a cozy battlefield: Mom stirring something fragrant on the stove, Dad perched on a stool trying to read a manual titled "The Psychic Parental Guide: A Survival Handbook." Charley and Harley had temporarily paused their psychic feud to sniff suspiciously at each other's cereal bowls, and Justin was cuddled on the couch, game controller in hand, oblivious to world events.
"Mom! Dad! Jake and Kim are here, too." I said loudly, heart pounding in my throat.
Mom glanced at me over her shoulder, eyebrows raised. "Is everything okay, sweetie?"
I put on my best "I'm not going to burst into tears, but close" voice. "We need to talk. All of us."
Dad's spoon clanged against his bowl as he jumped up. "Oh boy. That face. That's the 'something dramatic is happening' face. Are you pregnant?"
I blushed in mortification. "Dad! Gross! No. Just… please sit." I motioned to the table, where Mom had laid out plates of steaming spaghetti with garlic bread on the side.
My siblings got momentarily distracted by the dinner invitation and slunk toward the table, as if that might make the upcoming conversation less terrifying.
Dad slid onto a chair. "Okay. Spill." He raised one exasperated eyebrow.
I swallowed, took a shaky breath, and dove in. "Mom, Dad—I found out today… well, yesterday—some things about our family. No surprise, right?"
Mom's expression stiffened, and she set down her wooden spoon. "Julia…"
"Yes, Mom, I know. We're psychic. I get it. But there's more. Much more."
Mom and Dad exchanged a glance so intense I almost felt guilty for interrupting their silent meeting. Finally, Dad leaned forward. "Go on."
I took a deep breath. "I found out that I'm… a mind manipulator. I have to admit, I'm terrified to even say it out loud. But Julian—" I paused at his name to gauge my parents' reaction—"Julian Reyes showed me. He froze time in the cafeteria. He told me that he's a time, space, and mind controller."
Mom paled. Dad's spoon clattered to the floor. Charley and Harley actually dropped their bowls and exchanged horrified glances. Even Justin paused his video game to gawk.
"He froze time?" Dad repeated, voice tight. "In the cafeteria?"
"Exactly," I said. "Then he told me that I was the same type of psychic—half-blood, mind manipulator. He said my powers are dangerous, addictive, sought after by traffickers. It's why you kept me in the dark."
For a heartbeat, the world was deathly silent—like the universe itself was waiting. Then Mom's lip trembled, and she rose from her chair. She crossed to the sink, turning her back as if she needed distance from the words I'd spoken.
Dad shot me a pained look. "Julia… we wanted to protect you. You're our daughter. We thought by keeping you sheltered, you could have a normal life for as long as possible."
"Normal life?" I whispered, tears pricking at my eyes. "Mom, Dad, you've never let me have normal. Not really. Every time I felt something, you'd look at me like you were terrified for my life. I would ask about what happened last summer when I knocked out Mrs. Perkins during her PTA rant, and you changed the subject to—"
Mom swiveled around, hand to her chest. "—the dinner. That dinner might have been your grandmother's famous tiramisu recipe—"
"I don't care about the tiramisu recipe!" I exploded. "It was a lousy dessert, anyway. I need to know why you never told me everything, why you didn't prepare me for this. How am I supposed to go to school as a normal teenage girl when I'm a walking mind bomb?"
Dad stood, gently touched my cheek. "Julia, you always were special. All of you kids are. We wanted to buy you time—to let you develop confidence, to protect you from… them." He glanced toward the hallway as if listening for something. "Your siblings told me yesterday they sensed you've lost control."
Charley piped up from beside Harley, rubbing his jaw. "I did tell her to see a therapist or something. Y'know, someone who deals with actual mental problems."
Harley shoved him, which he returned with a telekinetic nudge that sent her skidding across the floor. Both siblings ended up face-first on the hardwood, and Dad groaned. "Not now, you two. God help me."
Kim and Jake looked like they wanted to vanish into the walls.
Mom took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, her voice was trembling but firm. "We did everything we could to keep you safe. There's a network—a coalition of families like ours—but there are also… the Dark Circle. They traffic psychic kids. They'll stop at nothing to exploit powers. We hid the truth because we thought it was the safest path—until now."
I felt my heart crack. "But why not tell me sooner? I'm seventeen, not seven. How was I supposed to navigate life when every emotional spike might blow someone's mind?"
Mom's eyes filled with tears. "Because we love you. We thought ignorance was safety."
A sob caught in my throat. I swallowed and looked around the table at my family—my parents trying to cope with guilt, siblings still writhing on the floor, Kim and Jake hovering by the door, Justin half-distractedly wondering if he could get a second bowl of spaghetti. None of it seemed enough.
Jake raised a hand. "Uh, sorry, side character here—can we rewind to the part where someone's trying to harvest her?"
Mom and Dad exchanged a look. Mom spoke first. "They're called the Crimson Veil. They specialize in psychic trafficking. They find gifted teens, lure them with promises of training or scholarships, then cut them off from their families. Some never come back."
Chills. Literal chills.
"And they… came after us?" I whispered.
Dad nodded. "Once, years ago. We moved across the country to stay off their radar. We dropped out of all psychic communities. We became… ordinary."
"But we're not ordinary," I whispered.
"No," Charley said cheerfully. "We're weirdos with superpowers."
Kim leaned over. "Julia, I know this is a lot. But… this explains so much. The weird dreams, the headaches when people lie, the fact you accidentally made Mr. Thornley apologize for giving you a B-minus."
"That was an accident!" I protested.
Jake grinned. "You're a supervillain in denial."
I buried my face in my hands. "So now what?"
Dad leaned forward, his voice low but resolute. "From today forward, we face this together. You are our daughter, and no one will hurt you. And yes—" he paused, tapping his temple thoughtfully, "—that includes guiding you as your powers develop."
I blinked back tears, swallowing hard. "You mean… actual training? Not just telling me to stay calm when my head hurts?"
Mom nodded. "We'll start tomorrow. Your father and I have lessons you didn't know about. Auric mind shields, energy flow meditations, identifying psychic signatures before they become overwhelming."
Charley groaned next to his sister. "Great, another family meeting. Can I go? I have a Fortnite tournament and a math quiz tomorrow."
Harley snorted, pushing herself up. "You're welcome to come sit in the meditation circle, too. I'll psychically zap you if you fall asleep mid-session."
Charley got to his feet and gave her a dagger look. "Oh yeah? Bring it, witch."
Dad sighed. "Siblings. Have we civilized you two at all?"
"You mean aside from telekinetically rearranging the neighbors' flowerbeds?" Harley quipped.
Mom placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Julia, I'm so sorry. We love you more than anything. We need to help you learn how to be both human and psychic. It's not easy, but you're not alone."
I blinked, overwhelmed by a wave of emotions—anger, hurt, relief, fear—and all I could do was nod. I sank into my chair, tears finally streaming down my cheeks. Kim hurried over with a napkin, dabbing at my eyes. Jake patted my back like some giant teddy bear.
Dad reached across the table and took my hand. "We start tonight with dinner. Then our plan begins tomorrow morning. Okay?"
Dad reached across the table and took my hand. "We start tonight with dinner. Then the plan kicks off tomorrow morning. Okay?"
"Uh, actually… she kind of already has someone who offered to train her," Jake said, finally breaking his long silence.
Kim smacked him on the back of the head.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"I thought it was supposed to be a secret?" she hissed, glaring.
Jake winced. "Oops…"
I just shook my head.
Dad narrowed his eyes. "Who is it? That Julian Rice boy? And you just trust him? How do you know he's not working for the dark side, luring you in?"
"Ugh, Dad," I groaned. "First of all, it's Reyes, not Rice. Julian Reyes. And second, I'm not sure I trust him. That's why I need to see what he's offering."
Dad frowned. "I don't like him."
"Me neither," Mum chimed in as she moved plates from the rack to the counter, starting to dish out dinner. "And frankly, we'd make much better trainers."
Dad nodded like they were the dream team of magical mentorship.
I folded my arms. "Well, as far as I know, neither of you can control time."
"Ouch," Dad said with a pout.
Mum glanced at him, then turned to me. "How about you bring this Julian boy over and let us assess him?"
"Oh hell no. You'll just embarrass me."
"No evaluation, no training," Dad said smugly.
I groaned. "Ugh, fine! I'll bring him. But you better not humiliate me."
"Of course not, sweetie," Mum cooed with suspicious innocence. Then she looked to Kim and Jake. "You two staying for dinner?"
"Yes, please. That omelette smells too good to pass up," Jake said with a grin.
Dinner was—predictably—chaotic. Two extra teenagers at our already loud table didn't help, but I barely noticed the noise. My thoughts swirled like a storm cloud above the laughter.
Whatever choice I made now, whatever path I followed… it wasn't just about me anymore. It was about protecting the people I loved. My family. My friends.