I brought the textbooks for each subjects to every class, even when it wasn’t required. Using my sixth sense, I was able to look through the entire textbook and find the answer to any question without even opening it. I used that ability for tests, pop-quiz’s, research assignments, book reports, presentations, etcetera, etcetera… That’s how I kept my grades up without doing much work. That's why I was put into class 9-A.
The 9 stood for the grade, and the A, for our academic average. There were classes 9-D, 9-C, 9-B, 9-A, 10-D, 10-C, 10-B, 10-A, so on and so forth, all the way up to 12-A. It was a small school; only around four hundred students. The class we were placed in was based on our previous year.
Katherine was in class 9-A, as well. Her seat was right behind mine and she had been attentively staring at me for quite some time. She didn’t know that I noticed though, because I didn’t have to turn around to see her. I couldn’t figure out why she was looking at me of all people. I felt uneasy being watched by a girl, especially since I didn't have much social experience. I wanted to say something but I was afraid, mostly of her money.
When I got to my locker, my phone started to ring. It was my father. I answered the phone with a cheery voice like I always did.
"Hey dad, what's up?"
"I have something urgent to tell you! You have to hurry home!" I detected a slight quiver in his voice. He sounded a little frightened but mostly exited.
"What's going on dad?" I asked feeling a bit worried. When my father was exited about something, things got out of hand.
"I'll explain when you get home so just hurry up and get here!"
"Okay! See yah!" I chirped (lol no chirping) as I hung up the phone.
I switched back to my usual attitude; the gloomy guy on the wall. I turned to leave when I noticed Katherine coming around the corner of the hallway. She looked determined as ever.
"W-what do you want?" I stammered. "Why are you stalking me?"
"Stalking?" repeated Katherine. "That's not how it is at all!"
"Than what do you want?”
Katherine stared at me a bit longer before speaking, "I'm curious.”
I made a gulp. Somehow this delicate crybaby was causing me to sweat in anxiety. (is he really that afraid of girls?)
"About what?" I urged, half knowing the answer.
“About your eyes,” she answered as she reached out for my sunglasses!
"St-stop!"
I knocked away her hand. I couldn't let my eyes be exposed to the light. I hit her a bit too hard though. I wasn't thinking about her sensitive condition and didn't realize how much power I put into that swing. She fell to the ground, holding the back of her hand, sobbing and whimpering like a tinny child.
"I-I-I'm S-sorry. I really am. I didn't... I didn't mean to. I..."
People around me started to stare. Some rushed to Katherine’s side to help her. I looked around and saw the faces that people displayed. I could hear them whispering about me; their quiet hate. Everyone had a look of anger and disgust on their faces. I couldn't take it. Not again... Never again! So I ran. I ran home, away from those faces.
All their eyes were glaring at me. I’ve been afraid of receiving that kind of attention since that day when my community learned about my power. It was while I was still living at my old house. They feared and hated me for something that I had no control over. It wasn't my choice to be this way, but people treated me as if it were my fault! As if I was some kind of demon!
I ran in hopes that my father would have some good news for me that would brighten my dark-filled day. In hopes that somehow, I would wake up from a bad dream.
I was panting and completely out of breath. I looked back to the direction of the school and was happy to see that it was too far away to be seen. I felt relieved when I saw the view of my house from where I was standing. Its black roof was unique to the rest of the houses. All the neighbors had dark-brown-coloured roofs, so it was easy for anyone to find my house. All I'd have to do was point them in the general direction and say to look for the black rooftop.
As I approached the mailbox, I could make out every detail about my home. The white picket fence outside of my house stopped the neighbor's dogs from doing their “duties” on our lawn. It was a two-story townhouse with a basement and an attic. The outside bricks of the wall were a brownish-red that relaxed me every time I got home.
It was time for my “Daily Sixth Sense Exercise!” My father named it, of course. My parents always hid the key to the front door somewhere that no one without my ability could ever find and they'd keep the door locked. That way, if I wanted to eat dinner and have a bed to sleep in, I'd have to use my sixth sense. This was their way of making sure I didn’t get rusty. This time, it was underneath the soil of the potted silk orchid plant that was on the steps in front of the door.
"I'm home!" I called out as I pulled the key out of the socket.
My mother was already waiting to welcome me.
"Welcome back, Sweetie. How was your first day of high school?"
Confused … did Jack and Kat, and that other guy go to middle school together or something… or else how would he have known so much about everything on the first day … maybe im just going crazy …. Oh well . . .
My mother's name was Andrea, She was a stay at home mom type. a stay-at-home mom. She’s been a sort of a control freak since the day of her sweet sixteen. Her party was a complete disaster, but I’ll spare the details. That’s what my father had told me, at least. Since that day, if she wasn't satisfied, no one was happy. She had short, frilly, mahogany hair that passed her ears by an inch or so. Her eyes were a sky-blue.
"It was great mom!" I exclaimed, trying to cover up my dramatic experience. Lol his happiness is depressing me.
"Ah! You're home! Finally I can fill you in!”
I tried to smile as my father blasted out my eardrums with his incredibly loud voice.
My father’s name was Kevin. He was loud. He always had a say in everything. If he overheard someone saying something that strikes his interest even a tiny bit, he'd burst into their conversation, giving them his two cents-worth. He worked as a banker. A pretty boring job if you ask me. But it gave a decent pay check so he stuck with it.
He had black, curly hair that was starting to turn white. He kept it short because if he were to grow it out, his white hairs would be more noticeable. His eyes were grayish-green and for some reason, his left eye was always a tiny bit shut compared to his right eye.
"Come! We'll talk about it over dinner!" my father exclaimed.
"What are we having?" I asked.
My mother grinned at me and said, "Your favorite."
As we sat down at the dinner table, my mother brought out the dish. We were having spaghetti and meatballs!
"You know me all too well, Mom," I said. Yea, wayyyyyyyy to … happy
Spaghetti and meat balls surely were my favorite food of all times.
"So about that thing I wanted to tell you!" my father exclaimed.
"I'm all ears," I replied. Although I’d lose my ears if he went on like that. Omg no lol too who talks to their parents like this?
"It’s about your ‘gift," he said, quieter than usual. I knew that he was talking about my sixth sense and I immediately stared at him to show that I was paying attention. "It’s about the prophecy of the five senses as well.”
I didn't say a word but kept showing my interest.
"You, my boy, are attracting the five senses because you are the sixth. They are attracted to you by fate."
I gave a curious and puzzled face to show that I didn't quite understand but I still said nothing.
He continued, "The five senses that I speak of are five people that have been granted one abnormally powerful sense of the five senses each. One has such a sensitive nose that they can smell anything from roses to water. One has powerful nerve impulses that can pick up on the slightest change in wind direction in the calmest winds possible. One can see clearly for miles past the distance the eye can see. One can hear a ninjas footsteps as if he were stomping his feet. The last can taste each individual particle of the most complicated recipe. These are five people that were born around the same time as you. They share your destiny! At least, that’s what the prophecy says..."
"So these people are attracted to me? Does that mean they're all females, or homosexual?" I reasoned. Harharr
"You idiot!" he screamed. "Not that kind of attraction!"
"Sorry, sorry."
My mother giggled.
"They are attracted to you by fate!” he repeated, loudly. “In other words, they will meet you because destiny will send them, because you’re alive!"
I thought about it and then nodded to show that I understood.
"These two prophecies, the five senses and the sixth sense, intertwine!" he barked. “You must find these five senses and become allies! It is your destiny and your reason of existence!"
"So what do I do once I've found these so-called ‘senses,” I questioned. “What am I suppose to tell them?"
"Just tell them that it is their destiny to follow you," he replied, “or something like that, anything will do!”
"How is that going to work? If I was in their shoes, I’d never listen to something so far-fetched!" I protested.
"It doesn't matter what they think of you!” he assured. “They'll have no choice but to follow you, for it is their destiny!"
"...What ever you say...” I agreed. “But where should I start?"
"It doesn't matter where you start! Just keep on living! The senses will come to you. All you need to do is keep an eye out and your mind open!”
“You can pull it off Jack,” my mother said softly. “I know you can.”
It felt like a wild goose chase at first, but it was my mother’s kind words that helped me to go along with it in the end.
When I was finished dinner, I went upstairs to my bedroom and sat on my bedside. I thought back on the passing day as I always did before going to bed. I remembered what I've done to poor Katherine and the way everyone looked at me. Oh, how she reminded me of an innocent little child who had fallen off of a bicycle on their first try without the training wheels. I didn't mean to hurt her. I was just trying to protect my eyes from the light–rather, that wasn't the reason after all. Perhaps I just didn't want to look at her strait in the eye after becoming the sad excuse for a human I was.
I reached into my pillowcase and pulled out my switch blade. My heart longed to be relieved of the pain that I felt inside. A simple movement of my knife would put my mind at peace. I slowly moved it to my arm and pressed it against my flesh. It felt good when it pierced my veins as I watched my blood slowly seep out of my arm. Trickles of blood slid down the edge of the blade. I knew that I couldn't go any deeper or it would never stop bleeding. If I made a mess, my parents would surly find out what I've been doing. For them to find out would be the worst. Anyone but them would be better. I didn’t want them to worry any more for me than they already did.
***
Walking to school the next morning, I was remembering what my dad had told me. There were five people with strong senses, born around the same time as I, who were destined to some day soon cross my path. In order to find out their identities, all I had to do was keep my mind open. I thought over the five senses, trying to figure out who could possibly posses them. That's when it hit me. Katherine had to be the most sensitive high school student in the word! Why didn't I think of it earlier? It was so obvious that she had the gift of powerful nerve. The fact that it took me that long is proof that my grades contradicted my actual intelligence. I decided that I would confront her about it. I was glad that it was, Katherine who didn't call me a vampire and accepted me for who I was. Besides, she wanted to learn more about my eyes. Every one’s happy. On the other hand, I made her cry the day before. How could she want to have anything to do with me after that? How could I look her in the eye and blurt out all that nonsense about the prophecies? On top of that, everyone at school was definitely going to treat me extra awful for what I did to Katherine. She was really popular, after all. They wouldn’t let me get near her.
I got to school early. I sat down by a tree, far from all the other early birds, and enjoyed the area surrounding me using my sixth sense. I sensed the grass underneath me; the way it swayed back and forth in the wind. I sensed the bark on the trees; it took on many different patterns and shapes. I sensed all the insects that lived within the tree trunk and underneath the soil.
I really hate bugs. It’s not that I'm scared of them. It’s just that everything about them is disgusting: the sound they make when they crawl around, the little details of their appearance, how they feel; furry, slimy, rough, and mushy; they smell awful. Just like a wild dog, they won't bathe on their own because they're too busy trying to survive. Lastly, they taste disgusting. I don't know why some people eat chocolate covered insects just because they're healthy. To endure that putrid taste just to have a few extra vitamins is idiocy. No matter how much sugar you slather it with, you'll still taste their guts. There are some things in this word that I think we could do without.
I tried not to focus on the insects and enjoyed everything else.
Just as I was appreciating the leaves on the branches, I sensed someone’s feet enter my sense's field of view. I stood up and turned around to see who it was. I was shocked to find Katherine standing there, staring at me with a determined expression on her face for the second time. Was she mad at me? Was she going to try and find out about my eyes again?
"L-look," I said hesitantly, "about yesterday–"
"Forget it," she said, cutting me off. "It’s too embarrassing to bring up."
"I'm sorry."
"No. I'm the one who should be saying sorry."
Her remark shocked me even more than the fact that she wasn't mad. None of it made sense to me at all.
"I'm the one who was butting into your business out of selfish curiosity,” she said, “I don't know why you wear sunglasses but that's none of my concern. I'm truly sorry for that."
She bowed her head.
I couldn't believe my ears. My sixth sense must have been toying with my sense of sound. Never has anyone my age apologized to me for anything! Not since elementary school, and that was only when teachers told them to. Only adults wasted their breath on my mistakes. Not my eyes, but my sixth sense was surly reliable though. She bowed to me, asking for forgiveness. And what was with that bowing thing? Is that something that rich people do?
Katherine knew that she wasn’t at fault, yet she took the blame for my sake. I'm the one who over reacted that day. I realized that. All I'd have to do if my sunglasses did come off was close my eyes. Katherine acted like an adult and took responsibility for someone else’s actions. She was truly a kind and mature person. I stood there, speechless for a few seconds more with my mouth wide open.
"Thank you," I managed to say. “I appreciate it but you and I both know that I was to blame... But you’re still curious, aren’t you?"
“Yes!” she exclaimed.
"I'll tell you; not here though. I want to be able to look you in the eyes. That way, you'll take me seriously. Meet me at the janitor’s office after school."
Thinking back to what my dad had said I knew that it didn't matter if Katherine thought that I was a nutcase or not in order for my “mission” to be complete. In fact, just knowing that she was one of the senses was enough. The path of destiny would never change for anyone, but out of all people, I didn’t want her to think of me badly.
***
After school was over, I rushed strait to the janitor’s office. Katherine was already waiting for me outside the door.
The janitor was a nice enough fellow. He let me make coffee with his coffee machine everyday at lunch. Coffee was, by far, my favorite beverage. The janitor's name was Jim. He let me eat lunch in his office anytime I wanted. That’s why I had a duplicate of his key. He was busy inspecting the classrooms at the moment. He did that at the end of every day.
I opened the door and let Katherine in first.
"So, why did you pick the janitors room out of all places?" she asked as I was taking off my sunglasses.
"It’s clean, no one comes in here, and the lighting is always dim.”
I offered Katherine a chair and walked over to the coffee machine.
“Why does the lighting have to be dim?” she questioned.
“I’ll get to that in a minute. Coffee?" I offered.
"No, thank you.”
I sat back down when the coffee was finished.
"Have you ever heard of the prophecy of the six senses," I asked, “from your parent, perhaps?”
"Can't say that I have,” Katherine replied.
"That's going to make this a lot harder than. I'll have to explain everything."
I explained all that I knew about the prophecies in detail and made sure that she understood. Katherine seemed interested enough but I wasn't sure that she was convinced.
"I know that my nerves are ten times stronger than the average humans’. It’s the first case in history," explained Katherine. “Could this curse really be part of something big? How do I know that you're not teasing me with wild fairy tails?"
"I assure you, this is no fairy tail, and what you have is not a curse," I protested. I didn't know if this was a curse or not but I wanted to reassure her.
"Than show me this ‘sixth sense’ of yours," she demanded.
"Very well," I said as I finished the last of my coffee. “Pull a book from your bag and place it on the table."
Katherine reached into her bag and did as she was instructed.
"Now open it to any page, but don't show me which one it is," I continued.
She opened it up and showed the back of the book to me. I started to read what was on the page out loud using my sixth sense. Katherine’s eyes got wide as she read along. I felt like a magician performing an amazingly impossible magic trick.
"How did you–"
"I'm using my sixth sense to read the words on the page,” I explained a bit sheepishly. “I can see without my eyes."
"That's incredible..!" exclaimed Katherine in amazement. “But what if there's some kind of hidden camera in the room? Let's do it again and this time, if you do have the power that you claim to have, you'll be able to read it with the book closed. Let's see."
Katherine closed the book and placed it on the table.
"Alright, read page three-forty-one," Katherine commanded.
I kept my eyes closed and searched for the page. When I found it, I began to read once more. When I was done reading, Katherine picked up the book and flipped though the pages, searching for the page in question. She began to read page three-forty-one in her head and her eyes got even wider than last time.
"Incredible..." said Katherine, under her breath. “But even without this test, I somehow knew you were telling me the truth. Do you think that’s weird?"
I didn’t answer. I thought back to what my father had told me. They will have no choice but to follow...
"So what's the rest of the prophecy?" Katherine asked. “Why are you looking for the senses?"
"I'm only doing all this because my family told me to,” I answered. “They never told me why I have to do it. They just said that it’s the reason I live. How could I refuse something like that?"
"Have you ever considered that maybe they won't tell you because the prophecy ends badly?"
Her theory surprised me. She looked dead serious, but then suddenly, she became embarrassed.
"Oh just listen to me spouting nonsense,” she giggled. “Your parents would never put you in a position like that.”
"Of course they wouldn't," I agreed. “They care more about me than anything."
"What should I do, than? What's my part in all of this?"
"I don't know yet. Just keep living your life for now."
I didn't know why my parents never told me all of the prophecy themselves. I thought I was ready to know. Katherine's hypothesis about the reason why they haven't told me yet really made me think. It made me wonder where this adventure was leading and what the outcome would turn out to be.
***
I left the school with the contempt feeling that I had accomplished something. I made my first step into fulfilling my destiny, as my father would say it. I just needed to find four more of the senses before I could learn more about the prophecy.
I was walking home with Katherine, talking about this and that. It just so happened that she had to walk the same way to get home as I. Eventually, there was a fork in the road and we had to part ways.
When I turned the corner while waving good bye, I saw a group of juvenile delinquents from my school. They were hanging out by the run-down comic book store. It seemed that they were waiting for someone, or something. I didn't want to get in their way so I just kept walking.
To my surprise, one of them grabbed me by my chest!
"Where do you think you're going, kid?"
I shuddered. He threw me on the ground! My sunglasses fell off. I closed my eyes quickly and started to use my sixth sense to see. One of them kicked me in the rib! I groaned in pain.
"This is what you get for messing with Katherine!" another cried as he kicked me in the head!
"Let’s see how you like it! We'll make you cry louder than you made Katherine cry!" the last one exclaimed as he kicked me in my stomach!
I tried to get away but they grabbed me and threw me back down! At that rate, I thought they’d kill me! There was no escape! There was only one option left. I had to fight! It was a long shot but if I could clear a path for myself, than just maybe, I’d be able to get through.
I swung a punch at one of the guys with all my strength but he caught it one-handed! Then it was his turn. He grinned as he swung a punch strait at my face. My nose exploded on impact and I couldn't help but scream out in pain! Gushing out blood, I crouch on the ground holding my nose.
I thought to myself, I’m going to be late for dinner.
