Over the next week, June made every attempt to keep herself busy. After Inferno left the apartment every morning, so did June. The quietness of the rooms drove her out and she took the opportunity to go sightseeing and became familiar with the city. Her time spent alone wasn’t something that bothered her most times but the steady lull of having nothing to do slowly affected her mood.
Not that she would admit it. She experienced waves of emotions in her nineteen years and she considered her handling of her current situation good until one evening Inferno made mention her solemn disposition.
Inferno sat on the lounge, reading a magazine. The soft volume from the television played in the background and June sat nearby knitting a scarf. The weather had begun turning cooler and June hoped to make several scarves for her friends.
“You seem a little distracted, are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” June told her, “a little bored maybe. I don’t like having nothing to do.”
“What is it you are doing now?” Inferno asked.
June smiled. “Knitting doesn’t count. I do this when I want to forget about my problems.”
“Knitting equates to stress reliever.”
June laughed, an unfamiliar sound in the quiet apartment.
“You could say that. My mother taught me to help distract me from using my power as a child.”
“Being a Special is not a bad thing,” Inferno told her.
“Try telling that to a person who’s not a Special.”
There was bitterness in June’s voice, although she tried to hide it.
“Did someone say something to you regarding Special’s?” Inferno asked.
“Nothing I haven’t heard before.”
“Don’t let it bother you. Even if you were to make a mistake, there are people who do help us.”
“Really, because if someone told me that before I came here, I would never have believed them.”
“Unfortunately, parents who have Special’s who are not Special’s themselves, make it more the worst. Their ignorance, and often hatred, makes it harder than necessary. You were lucky your parents only made you suppress your power, many more are either punished from a young age or even worse killed.”
June didn’t want to consider the children murdered by parents and never punished. The current laws in many countries allowed parents rights over any child they gave birth to as Special’s. So threatened were many countries over the existence of Special’s, parents were often given incentives, such as freedom from prosecution, if they found any one of their children born a Special. Some gave their child up and what became of them was often never known. Yes, June was lucky but her life was no less any easier.
“Why not practice your skill?” Inferno changed the topic.
June immediately shook her head, no.
“You should consider it. You’re safe here to practice. It will give you something else to focus your attention on and might save your life one day.”
June couldn’t look at Inferno. What she told her contradicted everything June had been taught by her parents. Years of living in fear affected her emotionally and mentally. The time spend with Inferno was not enough to convinced June any different about her power. It was bad to be exposed as a Special. That was what almost had June killed in the first place.
“Think about it. Repressed powers can be brought back in to use.”
June paused her knitting and without looking up she quietly replied, “It scares me.”
“It scares us all. But knowing how to control your power is better than not. Once you come to accept this is who you are, your guilt and fear will no longer have a hold over you. Don’t let your past dictate your future. In your position, all the power you can use will make the difference between life and death. As you already know.”
Inferno leaned forward, placing her magazine on the coffee table.
“There won’t always be someone there to protect you. Your position is already a fragile one. Please consider what you need to do to protect yourself. Especially now that you are working for me.”
June’s head jerked up as she looked at Inferno.
“Am I in danger?” June asked.
Inferno leaned back in the lounge, remote in hand, turning the volume up on the television.
“No. And you likely won’t be. But if for any reason I am compromised, it may fall back on you. I’d like to think you might survive in someway if they were to come after me.”
“Who’s going to come after you?” June asked, worry in her voice.
Inferno laughed, “No one. Yet. Right now we don’t have anything to worry about. But Governments and power change, and when they decide I’m not needed anymore, they’ll come looking for me.”
June looked down at her knitting needles. She always knew there were elements of danger working for Inferno but having it told by Inferno herself, emphasised June’s concerns.
“If it’s discovered I have a power, I may not be able to have my operation. I can’t risk having that taken away from me. It’s all I live for.”
Inferno placed the remote down and standing asked, “Cup of tea?”
June nodded getting accustomed to Inferno making them tea on the evenings when she was home. While the kettle boiled Inferno stood at the end of the kitchen table to continue their conversation.
“When the time comes for your operation, you won’t need to worry. There are people who I trust who will ensure your surgery goes ahead regardless of the fact you are a Special.”
June stared at Inferno, unsure what to make of the super villain. As yet, Inferno had done nothing wrong by June, but with all the positives for working for Inferno, June couldn’t help but wonder if there was a catch.
“You would do that for me?” June questioned.
Inferno’s expression changed to one of annoyance, something June noticed when Inferno realised she was helping others unintentionally. Her frown had June control the smirk threatening to break.
“We have an agreement.” Inferno huffed.
At the sound of the kettle, Inferno turned to make their tea and the momentary humour June experience faded. Regardless of their agreement, there were still moments June suspected more was going on she wasn’t being told about and for that reason her trust in Inferno continued to waver.
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