Advanced Psionics

Your second day begins with the class you missed the first day, Advanced Psionics. You are a bit confused as to why you are in this class, as it is normally reserved for third years and AP second years only. It seems to have to do with the magical outburst that caused you to be discovered in the first place as well as your liniage (despite what Susan claimed about that not being scientifically proven yet to have value). You will just have to hope that the summer reading text and the notes Harmony brought to you yesterday will be enough to keep up with everyone else.

As you take your seat you look around and notice that all but two of the other students are members of Phoenix House and while those other two look to be fellow Wyverns, they are not ones you have personally met yet. In the front row of the class, sitting in the center chair, is Harmony Ashcroft. You cannot help but notice both seats next to and the one directly behind her are vacant, giving her an isolated appearance. She does not seem to mind, however, as she stares blankly at the board and makes no effort to try and socialize with the other students.

Professor Grinder, a dwarf in a grey suit with a bright red bow-tie, waddles into the room, the class instantly quieting at his presence. "Good morning, students," he says, though not with his mouth.

The booming voice, which you can only presume is coming from the teacher's mind given the purpose of the class, is at total odds with his physical appearance but you cannot deny its effectiveness at getting ones attention. "Today," his psychic voice continues, "We are going to continue the lesson of one-on-one telepathic communication from yesterday but I will expect you to find a different partner this time. Each mind works on subtly different wavelengths and unless you are doing widespread communication as I am right now, you must account for those differences so that your mind-to-mind messages can be sent most efficiently."

You bite your lower lip nervously, not really knowing anyone else in the class and the prospect of opening your mind to a stranger not being an instantly appealing one. However, you are not given much time to reflect on those worries, as Harmony stands up from her desk and practically makes a beeline for yours, looking at you with an intense scowl.

"I hope you remembered to study the notes I gave you," she says, "because you are going to be my partner today, Worm."

Before you can make a word of protest, Harmony sits down at the desk right next to yours, glaring at you intently with her sparkling green eyes. "And I'll warn you now," she says, "Yesterday the Professor was the only one who could keep up with me, so don't disappoint me TOO quickly."

You already feel a slight headache building and you have not even started the exercise yet. It is not like you know anyone else in the class to approach and at this point, even if Harmony's public display had not caused others to back away, everyone else is spoken for in terms of partners. You try not to sound too annoyed (even though you are) as you growl, "Fine."

After that, the classroom falls silent as any conversations move from the verbal to the mental.

The sensation of Harmony's mind connecting to yours is difficult for you to initially parse. One second, you know your thoughts are your own and the next, as Harmony's eyes are glossed over with a blue light, you can feel that someone is THERE, like they were standing over your shoulder but somehow closer than that. After what feels like the barest of moments to get used to that feeling, you hear Harmony's voice inside your head.

"You can obviously hear me," she thinks at you, "Now let me hear you, Worm."

It takes you another moment or two but, eventually, you let your mind relax and, remembering what you read from her notes last night, seek out the "push" of Harmony's thoughts into your own. Your eyes in turn begin to glow with blue light as well as your mind quickly figures out how to follow that "push" and press back into it Harmony's mind with your own thoughts.

"Yes, I hear you," you think back and cannot help but grin as you add, "Cockatoo."

"Excuse me?"

Harmony's lips thin into a grim, intense line in response to your thoughts and then you add, "Cockatoo. A pretty, intelligent but also very loud, shrill, and annoying bird. I figure if you're going to insist on calling me 'Worm', I may as well have a nickname for you too."

Harmony audibly lets out a snort of air through her nose. "I will let that one go for now," she thinks at you, "as you obviously do not understand how things work around here just yet."

You decide to not think too deeply on any particularly nasty retorts, just in case any of them leak through your connection. You have not yet fully gotten the hang of compartmentalizing your mind so you can have shared and hidden thoughts and it seems best to not let tempers get too hot on the first day of doing this. Harmony crosses her arms under her chest and the light in her eyes flashes just a little bit brighter as her mental voice grows in volume ever so slightly as she thinks, "I am curious about one thing though. Despite your score, you were not considered worthy of Phoenix House, which means you cannot be TRULY special at all as all who will hold the title of 'elite' must be a Phoenix. Yet I have seen and heard many of the teachers acting as if you were the most important student to walk through this school's gates in generations. Why? What makes you so special, WORM?"