Ray Dhawan, a 26 year old High School Math Teacher

Ray knew from a very young age, that the men in his family had a special talent. His father explained it to him, that this power passed down from father to eldest son, and that he needed to know what was going to happen. Some day, he'd be able to focus his mental energy and **snap** his fingers just like his father did. Anyone within a four or five feet of him, perhaps further if they were weaker of will, will fall into a deep obedient trance.

The only thing was there really wasn't anyway of knowing when his power would unlock. For his father, the power had come shortly after turning 18. His grandfather at 21, his grandfather's grandfather, back in India, was nearly 50 when it came. The origins of this power were unknown, or lost to history, according to his father, though no one thought it was a mark of holiness. It was, most likely, a horrible shameful story that earned their family this boon.

The Dhawans had decided a long time ago that they should not be flaunting their power. It was better to use their abilities and embed themselves within society at large. Better to be the power behind the throne than the man sitting on it. His father was successful, and rich, but he didn't own his own company.

Ray had hoped he'd get his power in college. It turned out it hadn't happened that way. He honestly wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his life while he waited. He had, basically, fallen backwards into a job teaching math at an elite private school. He was in his 4th year of teaching. It wasn't too bad. The students' socioeconomic status made sure that he didn't have too much trouble; it wasn't like what he heard from friends at public schools, where fights and homeless students were common. The most challenging part of the job was dealing with all the strivers in his class who wanted him to write letters of recommendation.

It was a teacher's in-service day, the last day before their winter break started. The students had theirs the day before. Really, the only thing on their agenda was to grade final exams, papers and projects and get their grades in at the end of the day. Ray was sharing his classroom with his closest friend at the school. Katie Marecki started the same year as he did as a French teacher. She was a pretty young thing with light brown hair, but she had a boyfriend, whom she was starting to pressure into proposing. She was attractive, Ray thought, but she was also his friend. They relied on each other a lot in the last couple years.

They had a shared love of 80s hair metal so the classroom was filled with the sounds of Twisted Sister and White Snake. He was taking a small break from his pre-Calc finals to air-drum along with "Jump" by Van Halen. It made Katie giggle. As the song ended, and Spotify went to the next song, Ray **snapped** his fingers and pointed at the laptop. The snap was different. High and clear-sounding. Ray's eye dilated. He could suddenly feel the ticks of the clockwork mechanisms of the universe pulsate through him. This was it. He could feel his mental energy leech out and around him.

Holy shit, this was it.

"Katie?" he said, unsure of himself.

"Yes?" she said with a flat affect.

What was he going to do? This was Katie. His friend.

"Can you stand up for me?"

She smiled.

He breathed in and out and tried to think of what he had always planned to do. No, he couldn't do it here and now. "Katie, when I snap my fingers again, you'll leave the trance, act like a chicken for ten seconds and then sit back down and forget what you just did."

He **snapped**.

She stuck her hands beneath her armpits, flapped her elbows up and down. "Buh-bawk! Buh-Bawk!" she chirped, kicking her legs behind her. She bowed at the waist, looking like she was pecking at the ground. Then she stopped, sat back down, and adjusted her bun back to where it was supposed to be. She looked at Ray, a little expectingly. He was still pointing at the laptop. "You're a goofball," she said with a giggle.

Even though he had been expecting this for most of his life, he still didn't quite believe that it happened.