A/N: I wanted this longer, but I really wanted to give an update to you guys, since I've been absent so long. I was doing it on purpose, because I was trying to finish my stories one at a time. However, I've decided on updating all my stories, 'cause leaving them alone for long periods of time is unfair.

-x-x-x-

When the ringing signaling the end of class resounded throughout the school, Cornelia, sitting at her desk, looked down at the open notebook in front of her.

The page was devoid of writing.

There was a test coming up soon, and Cornelia hadn't written down anything the teacher had said. In fact, she hadn't heard a single word of what he had said.

Where was I during these last fifty minutes? she asked herself, blinking sleepily.

Yawning discreetly, she picked up her pencils and her notebook, and placed them in her pink bag. A long lock of blonde hair slid down on her face. Irritated, she threw her head back.

If only my hair wasn't so straight! She tucked the lock behind her ear, knowing it would fall back on her face in three seconds.

She shivered.

Yes, she remembered now, what had happened during class.

Recently, she had discovered that strange things tended to happen around her. If someone asked, she wouldn't be able to tell them exactly when it had started, but it was getting more and more frequent. She could remember the first time she had realized it.

She had been in English class. Martin Tubbs had been doing a presentation on the symbolism of the night in Huckleberry Finn. She had felt ready to kill herself. Martin had the ability to find the most obscure detail and analyze it for hours.

I can't wait for this evening - at least I won't be stuck here, she had thought with a melodramatic sigh. At that moment, there had been a sizzle just over her head… and then all the lights had gone off. The class had found itself in complete darkness.

Their teacher, Professor Nelson, had taken immediate action.

"The electricity must have been cut off for some reason… maybe it malfunctioned," she had said, pushing the blinds to the side to look out of the window. "It's strange, though. We seem to be the only class without electricity. Stay seated, I'll go get someone to take care of this,"

Prof. Nelson had left, and the students had immediately used the opportunity to chat, laugh and draw on the blackboard. To think, ten minutes of class shaved off thanks to an unplanned electricity cut! Cornelia, enchanted, had left her desk and gone off towards Elyon, to show off her new lipgloss (a discreet pink that looked natural, yet still caught the eye).

But, despite how glad she had been, Cornelia could remember looking towards the turned off fluorescent tubes and thinking; Did I do that?

Many other strange incidents came to mind: a dead plant turning green as she passed, the class bell ringing a few minutes early, a handsome guy that had smile at her just as she wished it.

And today,in Physics class, something even more extraordinary had happened. While she was looking out the window at the oranges leaves fluttering in the breeze, they had started to move and form images. First, she had seen a guy winking at her, and then her smaller sister Lilian, snorting. When she had wanted to see the cute guy again, he had reappeared.

She knew, deep down, what those peculiar events could be called. But then again, she refused to admit such a crazy theory. It was impossible. She had had enough science lessons to know that.

Cornelia knew what she had to do to distract herself from such thoughts: see her friends!

In the hallway, there was a gigantic crowd. Most students had already closed their lockers and were in the process of leaving, bumping into each other and pushing and shoving.

She noticed several boys eyeing her as they passed. She didn't deem it too important. She knew she was better than all those 'rebels' or 'gothics' or 'punks', who looked more like cheap imitations of the real style.

Okay, yes. She was popular. But it wasn't the news of the century. Cornelia knew who her true friends were, and that was all she needed.

Ah, there was one of them now! It was Elyon, who had just spotted her and was making her way over, her expression one of melancholia.

Cornelia was about to wave, when she was interrupted by Hay Lin and Irma, who were leaving their history classroom. Hay Lin seemed very agitated.

"Really!" she exclaimed, tugging at her jacket. "I don't get it! How d'you manage to do it again?"

"Hey, shaddup! It's a secret," said Irma, glaring at her furiously. "Stop shouting it at everybody."

They why aren't you doing something about your own volume? thought Cornelia.

"What's this secret she's shouting about?" she asked Hay Lin.

"Cornelia, hi! It's Irma… the interrogation trick, where she dictates the terms… she did it again!"

Cornelia hid a smile as she opened her locker.

Please, that parlor trick? She could do so much more. Irma thought herself special, but she was nothing but a beginner in the field.

For a moment, Cornelia saw the attractive guy that had appeared, shaped by the leaves. That face… she knew it from somewhere… But from where? Maybe a dream?

No, no, that was impossible!

Cornelia shook her head, trying to rid herself of those treaturous thoughts. She was a rational being, and she believed in science. Her face in the mirror against the door of her locker, it echoed that, the blue eyes narrowing and making her look stern.

She closed her locker, dropping her keys into her purse, and turned around. Hay Lin was saying goodbye to an afro-american girl wearing an orange pullover, her hair in braids with small colourful beads hanging from them.

"See you tomorrow," the girl said.

"Who's that?" asked Cornelia.

The unknown student had joined the crowds exiting the building, and she seemed to be trying to avoid being squished by the masses.

"Her name's Taranee. She's one of the new girls. The other one is in the same class as you and Elyon, right?"

"Yeah…" said Cornelia, trying to remember. "Her name's Will, but I don't remember the surname. Ask Elyon, because she always knows everything."

"Speaking of Elyon…" Hay Lin pointed at an approaching figure. "Here she comes now!"