The Chosen

The pain first hit me on a Wednesday.

I was in the middle of German class, listening to my teacher, Frau Conner. Half-way through a sentence, a sharp pain, beginning in my head, shot through me. My whole body cramped up, and everything went black.

I opened my eyes to see the faces of my German class - all eleven of them - looking down at me.

�What happened?� I asked.

�You fell off your chair,� said Daena, my best friend.

�Huh?�

�You blacked out,� explained Clara, my other best friend.

�Oh.� I squeezed my eyes shut, as another wave of pain wracked my body.

�Nicki? Nicki!�

I�m so thirsty, I thought suddenly. Out loud I said, �Water.�

My drink bottle appeared in front of me, held out by Aroha.

�Danke,� I whispered, and Aroha lifted the bottle to my lips.

As the first drops touched my lips, and trailed down my throat, I felt the pain lessen. Each sip made the pain subside a little bit more.

Finally, it stopped, and I could think clearly again.

That was when the ambulance officers knocked on the door.

I was as weak as a kitten after what had happened, and so one of the officers had to carry me out. As he picked me up, his partner asked Frau Conner, �Have you contacted her parents yet?�

Frau Conner shook her head. �No. They�re in Hawaii.� She knew this because the week before had been parent-teacher interviews, and I had to explain - yet again - why they couldn�t come.

I didn�t hear anything more between Frau Conner and the other officer, as I was carried out the door, the other students trailing after me.

One of the science labs is next to our German class, and as we passed it on the way to the lifts, I noticed that a commotion was going on inside. Girls and a teacher were racing around, and the floor was covered in water.

Lisa noticed my look, and said, �The pipes burst. It happened all over the school.�

I didn�t pay much attention to that piece of information just then, but I tucked it away for future reference.

*

The doctors at the hospital diagnosed me with �severe dehydration�, which I thought was absolute nonsense, as I am hardly ever seen without a glass or bottle of something in my hand. I take the whole eight glasses of water a day thing really seriously. But I listened to what the doctors said, and thought that they knew best.

The idea that I was a mutant didn�t even cross my mind, as there had not been a mutant in New Zealand before, and we all think that is something that happens to someone else.

Not us.

The doctors ordered that I be given lots of fluids, and get a lot of rest. But I�m not the kind of person who can stay still for a long period of time, even when they put a television in front of me. The only interesting thing that was on was the news, and that was filled with reports about the mutant phenomenon.

I fell asleep, and dreamed of nothing, except the sea.

*

Clara came to visit me in the hospital the next day. Because of what had happened with the pipes, school was closed. She did know that the repairmen could find no apparent cause for the pipes to burst. She also brought with her my laptop, which she had gotten from my bedroom, as well as a few changes of clothes. She and her parents had access to my house, as when I was younger, they were like a second family, and looked after me when my nannies couldn�t. Even now, I would pop �round every now and again for a decent meal.

�How�s life at the zoo?� I asked her. The zoo was my nickname for Clara�s house, as there were several dogs, cats, birds and fish living there. Her sisters also had a horse each.

She smiled. �Good. You seem better.�

I grinned. �No school. Always a good thing.�

�What did the doctors say was wrong with you?�

��Severe dehydration.� Can you believe that?�

�No. You are absolutely addicted to water!� Clara looked at her watch. �Sorry, Nicki, gotta go to work.�

�Already?� I asked. �It�s only three o�clock!� Clara didn�t start work until five.

�Yeah, but it�s a long trip back to town.�

I sighed: I didn�t want her to go. �Thanks for bringing my baby,� I said, referring to my laptop.

�You would have gone crazy without it,� laughed Clara. She left shortly after that.

*

The next day I was informed that my condition was good enough for me to go home, but only if I promised to keep taking fluids. Stupid doctors. I�d be drinking more than was healthy for a normal person to keep the pain away.

Thanks to Clara bringing me some clothes, I was ready to walk out of there carrying my laptop, and not wearing that stupid backless thing that is standard issue. I thought I would pop �round to Daena�s house once I was out, as she lived the closest, or maybe just go straight home and take a nice long bath. I should have kept my thoughts on what I was doing, because I nearly ran into a man in a wheelchair. Quite a weird looking man, too. He was completely bald, and he had a way of looking at you that made you want to close the curtains to your brain.

�I�m sorry,� I said. �Wasn�t watching where I was going.�

The man smiled. �It�s quite all right.�

I smiled back, but more to hide my nervousness. This man was making me uncomfortable. �Such a hurry to get out of this place. Don�t like hospitals.� I wasn�t lying about that: when I was little I stuck a fork in a toaster. Not only did I lose my eyelashes, but I had to spend weeks in the hospital to boot.

�I understand.� He was still smiling.

I got out of there as fast as I could.

*

Turned out that Daena wasn�t at home, so I went home and had that bath I had been dreaming about. Being submersed in water made me feel a lot better, but when I got out I noticed that a lot of the water that I thought had been in bath was not there.

I just brushed it off as just part of my getting over being in the hospital.

I was dressed, and in the middle of drying my hair when the doorbell rang. Running a brush through my damp hair - so that I would look semi-presentable - I walked down the stairs to the door. What stood behind the door surprised me.

It was the man from the wheelchair. And he had brought friends.

One of them was a strikingly beautiful woman, with flawless skin of a chocolate brown. But that was not what made her striking. Her hair was as white as snow, something which I had never seen before, nor did I think could be real. But a gut instinct told me that it was.

The other person with the man in the wheelchair was a man, who wore sunglasses, even though it wasn�t too bright outside. And the odd thing was that the glasses had red lenses, and when I say red, I mean red . The lenses were opaque, and I could not see his eyes.

Something inside me - probably the same thing that made me weary of them all - told me that I did not want to see his eyes.

�Nicoletta Wilson?� asked the man in the wheelchair. �I am Professor Charles Xavier.�

�Nice to meet you,� I said cautiously. �How do you know who I am?�

Xavier ignored my comment. �This is Scott Summers,� he continued, gesturing to the man with the red sunglasses, �and this is Ororo Munroe.� He gestured the white-haired woman. �We would like to talk to you, about your unique - gifts.�

For some strange reason, I stepped aside, and let them come into the house.

*

They went straight to the kitchen, and sat at the table. �Would you like something to drink?� I asked carefully.

�No, thank you.�

I went to the cupboard, anyway, and got out a glass. I turned my back on the three adults - unwillingly, of course - and filled it with water from the tap. I sat down at the table with them. They looked at the glass, then at me. �Doctor�s orders,� I said, looking straight at Xavier.

�Of course,� he replied. �Now, Nicoletta. . .� he began, but I interrupted him.

�Nicki. My name is Nicki.�

�Of course,� he repeated. �Now, Nicki, you must realise that you are not like everyone else. You are special, and you have the most wonderful gift.�

�I don�t know what you are on about.�

�I run a school for people like us, people whose gifts may not always be assets. A school for people like you.�

�People like me?� I asked. �What kind of people are you talking about, anyway.�

Xavier looked straight into my eyes. �Mutants, Nicki.�

I almost leapt back. �Mutants! I am not a mutant! Get out of my house!�

Xavier just kept looking at me. �Then how do you explain everything, Nicki? You are taken to hospital with �extreme dehydration�, even though you drink water all the time. The pipes burst when you are in pain.�

�Coincidences,� I said quietly, watching the glass on the table. It was rocking slightly.

�You make water move of its own accord,� continued Xavier, gesturing to the glass, �and you get sick when you are away from large bodies of water.�

�How did you know that?�

�The same way you make pipes burst. Because I am a mutant. And I can read minds.�

�Get out of my head!� I screamed, jumping up from the table. Behind me I could hear the tap come to life, water pouring out from it. �Get out of my head!�

�One last question, Nicki: where did the bathwater go?�

Time seemed to stop, and then, with a faint whooshing sound, it started up again. �Get out of my house, you freaks! I am not a mutant!� With that, I slammed my fist down on the table.

And it smashed into a thousand pieces.

�Omigod!� I screamed. �What�s happening to me?! Help me!� I begged, turning to Xavier.

�Now do you believe that you are a mutant?�

�I believe! I believe!�

�Calm down, Nicki.� It was Xavier�s voice. �Just focus.�

�Focus on what?! The fact that my hand has just exploded, or the fact that you are telling me to calm down!�

�Focus on your hand, picture it whole, and normal. And made of water, but becoming flesh,� he ordered.

Slowly my hand reformed. But before it went perfectly normal, it looked like an ice statue, all clear and see-through. A small gasp escaped my throat, which quickly closed around whatever else I was going to say.

�Nicki? Now do you understand?�

�So. . . thirsty,� I whispered, and then everything went black.

*

I opened my eyes to find myself under water. I broke through the surface to find myself sitting up in my bath, fully dressed but soaking wet. I wiped the wet hair and water from my eyes and looked around. Ororo Munroe was sitting on the other side of the room, watching me. She must have placed me in the bath.

�Feeling better?� she asked.

�Yes, actually. Why did you put me in the bath?�

�You used up a great deal of power with that display. We guessed - correctly - that you needed a large amount of water in a short amount of time.�

Still in the bath, I looked at her. �So, you�re a mutant, too? What�s your power? Or am I not allowed to ask?�

She smiled. �Yes, I�m a mutant. I can control the weather.�

�Really?� I had to admit, that was a cool power. So I did. �That sounds so cool.�

�It can be. When you can control it, and use it for good.�

�Is that a not-so-subtle hint?� I asked, smiling.

�Perhaps,� she replied.

�Can I get changed now?�

�Of course.�

The ice between the two of us had shattered.

*

I went back to school for the weirdest Monday I had ever had. Because over the weekend, I had come out of hospital, been offered a place at a school, had my hand explode into millions of drops of water (which is so not fun), and had to change my whole outlook on life, all because my DNA had made me a mutant.

Whoopee for me (that was sarcasm by the way).

But I went to school on Monday, and tried to make things seem normal.

I had German class again, and as soon as I arrived, I was bombarded with questions.

�Did they find out what was wrong with you?�

�Is it serious?�

��Severe dehydration�? That�s crazy!�

�Can I borrow your red pen?� (The last one was Daena, after Clara had informed her that the red pen she was using was mine).

�All right, all right,� said Frau Conner, coming into the classroom. �You can ask Nicki all about it later. But not now.�

�Awww. . .� (That was also Daena. She really does not like Mondays).

*

At lunchtime, a few friends and I left the school grounds to go to the supermarket, which was about a hundred metres up the road. They got a lot of business from the three schools in the area, so they weren�t moving any time soon.

But I was a little out of it, as I was thinking about what had happened over the weekend. I was contemplating whether or not to accept Xavier�s offer, and if I did, how I was going to tell my friends.

Luckily (or perhaps not so luckily) one of my friends gave me the opportunity.

�Hey. . . who�s the hottie?�

�What hottie?� I asked blankly, still lost in my thoughts.

�The hottie in the dark glasses!�

My blood suddenly went ice-cold. �What colour are the glasses?� I asked, my voice high and squeaky.

�Red, why?�

My head snapped around. There, on the street corner, was Scott Summers, looking as if he had every right to be there. �Oh, no!� I cried under my breath. �Not here! Not now!�

�You know him, Nicki?� asked my friend Jacqueline. �I must say, you have good taste.�

�Gross! He�s a teacher!�

�He�s a teacher?� asked Daena. �Where?�

�And how do I sign up?� added Natalie. �What?� she asked, when we all stared at her.

�He�s a teacher at this private school over in America. The guy who runs this school was working with some of the people in the hospital, and I met him there.� I sighed. Better to get it over and done with now. �I�ve been offered a full scholarship.�

My friends did not take it the way I had hoped.

�You�ve been offered a full scholarship?�

�At this elite private school in America?�

I nodded, not saying anything.

�Why?!�

�Why, what?� I asked, confused.

�Why would anyone offer you a full scholarship to this private school in America?�

�Oh, thanks, Daena, you are making me feel much better.�

Clara looked at me oddly. �You�re really considering this, aren�t you?�

I nodded. �I don�t really want to go, but I know that I would be an idiot not to take this offer. And don�t you look at me like that, Jackie,� I said to Jacqueline severely. �I know that you of all people would be the first to accept an offer like this, especially if it was one of those art schools you�re always yabbering on about.�

�Yes, but I actually have a chance of getting in.�

�I guess.� I looked over at the street corner. Scott Summers was gone.

*

�What do you think I should do, Clara?�

�I can tell you to do anything.�

�I know. But can�t you at least try?�

It was Tuesday afternoon. The previous evening Professor Xavier and his friends had returned and tried to convince me to come back with them. But now Clara and I were walking along the waterfront not far from the centre of town. We avoided the tourists taking pictures of themselves in front of the fountain, and continued walking.

Clara shook her head. �Nope. This is your decision. But I can give you some advice.�

I looked away from some guys who were mucking around on jet-skis in the harbour. �And? Hand it over! Spill it!�

�Follow your heart.�

�That�s it? That�s your advice?! I want my money back!� But I gave Clara a hug as a way of thanking her.

I looked up and saw, in the distance, Xavier and his two companions. They appeared to be waiting for me.

Clara noticed what I was staring at. �That�s them, huh? The people with that Scott guy.�

I nodded. �Yeah,� I said sadly.

�Well, aren�t you going to intro- oh, God!�

�What?!� I looked in the direction that Clara was staring at. The two idiots on the jet-skis were now racing towards each other, and were going to crash.

It happened all so quickly. Before I knew it, the two men were in the water. One of them was fine, and was swimming to shore, no trouble.

But the other guy was unconscious, resting on the ski, but starting to slide off. He was too far out for anyone to help him.

At least, for anyone who was normal to help him.

I dropped my bag, and began to walk to the edge of the water. I was vaguely aware of Clara behind me screaming. �No, Nicki! Don�t do it!� She must have thought that was going to swim out there. Granted, I am a good swimmer, but I was not going to swim out there.

I raised my hands over my head, and closed my eyes. I felt the power of the ocean itself fill me. This, I realised, was the true extent of my powers.

I opened my eyes, and began to walk forward, on the surface of the water. Everything was strangely quiet, except for Clara who was still screaming at me.

When I was a few metres out, I dropped my hands. And it was as if a small plane had flown just above the surface of the water, causing it to part slightly. I spread my hands apart, causing it to part even more, and by the time my hands were at their furthest apart, there was a path of dry land to the man on the ski.

�What the hell are you waiting for?!� I shouted. �Somebody get him!�

A man raced along the path of dry land I had created, and picked up the man, carrying him to safety.

Once the two men were on the beach, I dropped my hands, and the water came rushing back to fill the path. Slowly, I walked back along the surface of the water, to where Clara was waiting. Professor Xavier, Scott Summers and Ororo Munroe were with her.

I looked at the four of them. �Can we go home now?� I asked tiredly.

Then I blacked out.

*

�Here. Drink this.�

I took the glass of water that Clara had offered me, and drank it in one go. When Clara sat down next to me on the couch, I asked her, �Why are you still here? You know what I am. The whole country knows what I am now,� I finished quietly.

Clara looked at the television, which was playing the news. I was the headliner.

�Earlier today, New Zealand�s first mutant was revealed. Wellington school student, Nicoletta Wilson was revealed to be a mutant when she used her powers to save a drowning man,� read the newsreader. On the screen was footage taken by one of the tourists.

�You have to admit, Nicki, it does look really cool. Me, on the other hand, I look like a complete idiot, screaming away.�

�Thanks, Clara. So you�re still my friend?�

�Always and forever.�

I hugged her. �Thanks. You gonna help me pack?�

She hugged me back. �Of course, Water Girl.�

��Water Girl�? Please, I�m a living goddess, at least!�

*

�You ready for this?� asked Clara the next day, which was Wednesday.

�Hell, no. But ready or not, here I come.�

I was at school again. And, guess what? I had German class again. I swear, that is more than a coincidence.

But I went into the German class, only to be faced with ten accusing stares. Including Daena�s. I felt a pain in my chest when I saw the way she was looking at me.

�Ignore them,� muttered Clara, as we sat down.

I tried, I swear I did, but it made no difference.

They hated me.

*

I splashed water on my face in an attempt to clear my head. It helped a bit, but nothing compared to what I needed when I stood up.

Daena, Natalie and Jacqueline were standing there. �What do you want?� I asked them.

�To tell you something,� replied Daena. �I thought you were better than this, Nicki.�

�What do you mean?�

�I can�t believe that you�re one of those freaks. I thought you were my friend.�

�I don�t believe this, Daena,� I said. �I am you�re friend!�

�We�re not friends with your kind,� replied Natalie. �We�re normal.�

�Unlike you,� added Jacqueline.

�Oh, this sucks, you guys. I�m the same girl you were talking to yesterday. Only difference is I knew that I was a mutant, and you didn�t.�

�Well, we�ve got something to say to you, Nicoletta,� said Daena. �We don�t want you here. At this school, or anywhere near us. Got that?�

�Oh, I got that,� I replied coldly. �But you are making a huge mistake.�

�Yeah? I don�t think so.�

I smiled coldly. �You saw what I did on the news last night, but that was not everything. You see, I�m a hydrokinetic.� Hydrokinesis is what Xavier had called my power, and he said that my power made me a hydrokinetic.

�Oooh,� said Natalie. �I�m so scared.�

�You should be. You see, I can control water, and we�re in the bathroom right now. And do you know what that means? Let me show you.�

All of a sudden, all the toilets flushed one by one, even though the cubicle doors were open, revealing them to be empty. Anyone who had wanted to use this bathroom had left when they saw me.

My former friends looked around, panicked. �What is going on?!�

�Me.�

All the taps began gushing water, and with a thought I summoned it to me, forming a swirling waterspout that surrounded me completely. But there was still a space for them to see my face.

�What are you doing?�

�What us mutants do best. Do things that you humans cannot.� I narrowed my eyes. �Pity that blazer they make us wear for uniform is dry-clean only.�

Their eyes went wide. �What?!�

I said nothing. Instead, I let the waterspout spread outwards, spraying everything in the vicinity with water. Finally it vanished, revealing Daena, Natalie and Jacqueline, all looking as if they had taken a swim with their clothes on.

Natalie and Jacqueline ran off at once. �You bitch,� said Daena.

�No. Mutant,� I corrected. �I suggest you get out of here before I give you a repeat performance.� Daena took my advice, and ran off.

And then I locked myself in a cubicle, and began to cry.

*

�Are you sure that you want to do this?� Clara asked me, after I came back from the principal�s office.

�It was my idea, remember?�

�Yes, but I still don�t like it.�

�It�s the only way.�

�I know.�

I looked around. We were on the quad, and there were people watching the two of us. But mainly they were watching me. Word of what I had done to Daena and the others had spread quickly, it seemed.

Loudly, so that everyone would hear, but not in a way that would make them suspicious, I said to Clara, �And so I blasted them with water!�

�You what?!� asked Clara, pretending (quite well, might I add) to be shocked. �How could you do that?!�

�I�m a mutant, remember? It�s what we do!�

�I thought you could be different! But you�re nothing but a. . . a. . . a monster!�

�I�m a mutant, you stupid human!�

I had gone too far, it appeared to the audience we had gathered. Clara slapped me, as we had planned, but it still hurt.

�I can�t believe I thought you were my friend! Fourteen years of friendship means nothing, then?!� Clara shouted. �You�re no different from all those others! I never want to see you again!�

�Well, that�s perfect!� I shouted back. ��Cause I�m leaving this stupid school, full of stupid humans, for somewhere else! I don�t need this! I�m a mutant! I�m better than you!�

With that, I stalked off, pretending to cry. In fact, I had forced water out of my eyes in a similar way to the way my hand had shattered on the weekend. A weekend that seemed like an eternity before.

But I really began to cry when I heard the other students congratulating Clara for finally doing what she should have done long ago.

*

�I am so going to miss you. I�ll e-mail you when I get there. I�ll set up a new address with a fake name, so no one will know, okay.�

Clara hugged me tight. �Me, too. Just don�t go becoming too powerful, okay? Just be crazy little Nicki.�

�All right. As long as you don�t go. . . don�t go. . . aw, nuts. I can�t think of anything. Just don�t let them know I�m still your friend. It�s for the best that they don�t know.�

�You�re more than my best friend, Nicki. You�re a sister to me,� she whispered.

I let out a choked laugh. �Well, let�s just hope you don�t inherit what I did. I love you, Clara.�

�I love you, too, Nicki.�

I finally managed to extricate myself from Clara�s hug. �They won�t know she was here?�

Professor Xavier nodded. �If they saw her, I will make sure that they do not remember it.�

�Thank you,� I said. �Goodbye, Clara.�

�Goodbye, Nicki. Are you ready?� she asked, smiling even though she was crying.

I was crying, too. �Hell, no.�

�Ready or not world, here she comes,� she replied, tears rolling down her cheeks.

I turned around. Xavier, Scott Summers and Ororo Munroe were waiting for me.

I got onto the plane. And said my final goodbyes to the old, human Nicoletta Wilson.

And welcomed in the arrival of the new Nicoletta, the girl who would return one day as a strong, confident and powerful mutant.

One day.

But until then, I was off to school!

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