Penny for Your Thoughts

[Jace Webster]

These socks are ripe.

Maybe I shouldn't have eaten that other poptart.

Now watch me whip.

Fuckshitdamnbitchwhore.

What is that kid doing?

A flurry of thoughts, some more harsh than others, some more random than others. Jace had opened his mind - just like Charity told him - and was now tuning in to whatever channels he could gain access to. Every thought was different, but they all seemed to be tinged with the same teenage annoyance. The student lounge hadn't been Jace's first attempt, he'd started smaller, the courtyard, then the training field. Eventually he realized the best way to really subject himself to his ability was in an area where he wouldn't be able to escape it. There were easily twenty people's thoughts circling around the room, doing a dance around him, in one ear and out the other. Tuning in and projecting were his goals for the day.

He'd successfully tuned in. Although a few thoughts had him wishing he hadn't as he was seated in one of the lounge chairs, headphones in with no music playing. It was the only way he could remain inconspicuous. Of course there were people that still passed by him that offered a wave, asked how he was, but they didn't try to talk much more outside of that. For that, Jace was thankful. He was all chatted out for the day, as far as his actual voice went. If he could get this down, maybe he could finally communicate with a non family member without having to stammer through his sentences!

Jace tried clearing his head this time. Tuning out temporarily so that he could try projecting. Now, this was going to be slightly more difficult than what he had been doing. If he were to project, he had to either pinpoint one specific person to project to, or he'd project to the whole room and confuse the heck out of everyone. Although comical, would probably not be his best idea. His eyes swept the room for a familiar face, one that at least knew of his ability well enough. None came, so he decided to just project to the first person he looked at. With his eyes closed, he shook his head back and forth slowly before stopping in one direction and opening his eyes. He found his target, a familiar face, the name would come to him after he hoped. With a deep breath, he arranged his thoughts into a sentence, making sure not to jumble it up too bad.

Penny for your thoughts? He projected and he waited for a reaction. Jace felt a little clever at his question and tried to hide his own satisfaction as the person's face registered the question and confusion seemed to sweep over them. At what he couldn't quite make out.

[Callie Montgomery]

The student lounge wasn’t Callie’s favorite place. No. She’d much rather be outside, but she decided to take a break. She was getting close. She was almost ready, but the mental strain had given Callie a headache yesterday. So today, she stayed inside and therefore no headaches. It was torturous, especially since it was nice out. If it was raining or something maybe she could play it off like that was the reason she was inside (even though she loved the rain).

It was the comfy lounge chairs that got her to stay. She had no interest of whatever crap was on the TV, nor was she in the mood to play any games. No, she just wanted to relax in the comfy chairs. Callie had her head thrown back relaxing comfortably on the back of the chair. Her eyes were closed, and she had her head phones on. The noise cancelling kind. They were huge, but so worth it. She had invested in a pair after having difficulties to find a place that was one hundred percent silent. It was next to impossible. With these it allowed to go literally almost anywhere and once she put them on she didn’t hear a thing (aside from what she was listening to, if anything).

Right now, she was playing some soft country music. A song her daddy loved. It was something you could always catch him listening to, and if he didn’t having it playing he’d either be singing or whistling it. It was his favorite. Callie was reminiscent of her past. Her thoughts were silent, but her mind was filled with images of her home back in Texas. She felt herself breathing slowly, she was lost in the imagery. She thought of the long dry dirt road that led to their house on the ranch. The driveway was about a mile long. To get the mail you literally had to drive. Callie would usually ride her horse down. She thought of Shadow. He was a majestic black stallion. Simply gorgeous.

As her mind continued to fill with images of her home she was confused when she heard a voice not of her own. It was unsettling. It was clear as day in her head. She knew it couldn’t be someone talking to her, she had her head phones on. No, it’s impossible. Keeping her eyes closed, she ignored it. She began thinking again of her long drive way once more.

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Tag: Jace Webster

[Jace Webster]

The girl, her name still escaping him, didn't seem to register what it was that she was experiencing. Jace had been told that it was hard to discern what was someone's voice and what was a projection of the mind. People would only know if they were open to knowing. That and through several trainers, Jace had found that his mental projection left behind a prickling sensation in the back of the person's head. Like the feeling of a limb falling asleep but it was pin-pointed to one spot where the spine started. Not an uncomfortable or painful feeling, just a nagging sort of feeling. Jace got it too when he used his ability to both read and project thoughts, so he was used to it enough to ignore it.

After no response from her, he figured he should try again. Maybe she didn't quite hear him. Or maybe she thought it was something her own mind conjured up? Jace tried again, focusing on who she was. He had to know. Most of the guys in his group of friends knew any and every girl that went to this school. Whether it was intimately or just a first name basis, they all could at least point out to him a girl and her name. Last name, perhaps not as easily. Taking in account for how many blondes his guy friends seemed to know intimately, Jace found that she didn't look like one that any of the guys talked about that way. Which was good because he got uncomfortable knowing so much about a person by way of descriptive details of intercourse that was probably wildly exaggerated.

Then his mind clicked and he remembered her by way of the nickname the guys had used. Dallas Cheerleader type was how they'd referred to her. Due to her accent and where Jace imagined she was from. He didn't take anything the guys said seriously, half expecting them to be guessing most of the time. However, he was happy that they had given her the nickname because it gave him a way of remembering. Callie, that was her first name. Her last name hadn't been given, but he didn't need it.

Jace looked down at his hands and tried arranging his sentence again. Listening to anything good?, he projected after noting she too had headphones. Hers were probably for a different reason than his own, but whether it was music she was listening to or just the people, there was bound to be something good to come from it.

[Callie Montgomery]

It was truly amazing how clear she saw everything in her mind. Her white house with a wraparound porch, the old creaky screen door that was barely hanging on by one door hinge. It hadn’t occurred to anyone to perhaps fix it. Nope, everyone just knew to be gentle with it, because one day soon enough it would fall down. The two old rocking chairs that sat side by side overlooking their vast land. Her daddy had made them himself, one for her and one for her mama. Callie’s was teal, because it was her favorite color. Her mama’s was bright firetruck red, with a white design that she had painted herself on the back. It was times like this she missed her home. Normally she’d be so preoccupied with whatever was going on that her home rarely came to mind, but when she actually let her mind rest, that’s when everything always hit her hardest, like it was doing now.

There it was again. A voice, not of her own. She couldn’t ignore it now. There was no way someone was talking to her, her headphones worked perfectly. She remained calm. Her images of her home no gone. She felt an odd sensation in her head, something she hadn’t quite felt before. It wasn’t her headache coming back, which usually was more painful than this. This was different. It was…tingly. Almost as if her head was falling asleep. Bizarre.
 
Callie remained as she was, head still back resting on the chair, her blue eyes still hidden under her lids. Her soft lips turned upwards and revealed a soft smile. She tended to forget what school she went to sometimes. She wasn’t the only one here with a special power. As much as she wanted to she kept her eyes closed, knowing that someone was nearby. This could be fun. Her mouth unmoving she answered the question. Some country music. She thought, the music was low but just loud enough that she could make the distinction between songs, but the voice was much louder, much clearer, as her own thoughts were. Her interest was piqued.

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Tag: Jace Webster