Quick recap. I'll make this the final one. My dad is back home, my mother gave me a massive pep talk, and to top it all off, I somehow invited Erica to my house. I had to; otherwise, my mom would have picked a day. Wait, didn't she say she originally planned to come tomorrow? What's weird is she brought a bag with her. I hope she's not planning a sleepover. I have a bad feeling about this. We just got acquitted a few days ago. It feels as if five years never happened. Things between us seem weird and unorganized. Even early in school today, that was the case. That was probably due to what happened earlier this morning. I wonder what kind of thoughts were going through her head? But it's not like I'm going to ask her that. I invited her because of that feeling I felt in school, and I have some questions to ask her. Then I'll move on to the ones about the past.

"Your game room has changed a bit since the last time. Everything in this house has changed and is much bigger than before."

"I guess. We had it remodeled at least three times, but it's nothing special."

"Nothing special? I guess you would think that when you're a billionaire."

"What are you talking about? Your family has money as well."

"We're millionaires; there is a difference. Although…"

"Thanks to us for that."

"Did you just…"

"Read your thoughts? No, I just knew what you were going to say. So, do you mind telling me why you used your giftedness in school? You know what my father said a long time ago, right?"

"Yes, I know. It just happened; I didn't mean to read Dave too well. I'm sorry."

Since it's come like this. I might as well tell you what happened that day.

A few years ago, seven years to be exact. My father's company was working on brain medication. Back when Erica and I were close as peas in a pod. We used to stay at one of my father's facilities.

→ Seven Years Ago

"Hey, Erica, we aren't supposed to be in here."

"What do you mean? Doesn't your dad own this whole building?"

"Well, yes, but we still can't be here even if I am his son. I can still get in trouble at home."

"Aaron, when are you going to stop being a baby. We have been friends since we were five, and you always must act this way. You have to take some risks in life."

"But we're only ten years old."

"Why does that matter? Besides, this will be fun, and I've never been to this part of the building. What is behind that door?"

"I think dad said it's research medicine for the brain."

"For the brain? Did he say anything else?"

"It's supposed to help older people keep their minds together. I think he said it was called dementia. Yeah, that's what it's called. People can remember things from years ago, but sometimes not what they had for dinner or lunch. I think the symptoms include difficulty with communication, anxiety, hallucinations, mood…."

"Ok, ok, I get it, Mr. Smarty Pants. Let's go inside. Maybe we'll find an actual brain in there."

"Huh, a real brain? That sounds so cool. Do you think we can experiment on the brain if we find it?"

"Maybe."

We were just kids back then; what did we know? We entered the lab room without any thought. I was way too invested in learning everything that I had never heard of, and Erica was curious as a cat from a story my mother used to read to me. I always thought back then nothing would ever happen to us. Unfortunately, I was wrong. For the first time in my life, I was wrong about something. That day would go on to change a lot between Erica and me, especially our families.

"What are these chemicals?"

"Erica, I don't think we should touch those."

"Don't worry; I'll be careful. Huh, Aaron, come look at this."

"That's a cupcake. What's so special about that?" 

"I'm not talking about that; I'm talking about the brain in the water."

"Wow, you were right, Erica. We did find a brain, and I wonder whose it belongs to."

"What do you mean who it belongs to?"

"Well, I was reading the piece of paper earlier on the desk, and it said something about donations. It's people who are willing to donate human body parts for research. But I never knew they even had brain donations."

"That's cool and gross. Hey, Aaron, do you want to explore around more here? 

"You can go ahead; I'll look around here some more."

"Suit yourself. I'm going to see what's in the other room. Huh. Aaron, did you hear me? He's not even paying attention to me, oh well." 

"Yes, I heard you. Hey, try this cupcake, and it's perfect."

"Why would you eat food that's lying around? And besides, isn't it rude to eat other people's food?"

"Well, I figured they mustn't want it if they left it. And having it sit out in the open, it was bound to be eaten. Here, I'll give you the other half."

"Thanks, I guess. Mm, you're right. It is good, but it has a weird aftertaste."

"Hmm. Now that you mention it, it does."

→ Today

After that, I remember having the best nap of my life. Although for, our parents' faces said something else. Our family's relationship went downhill, especially between my father's and Erica's. We hardly saw one another after that. And for the other two years, well, that for another time.

By the way, if you think Erica and I have some superpower, we don't. But we do have a strange connection ever since that day we snuck into my dad's research building. Now is a good time to tell you what we mean when we say gifts. Ideally, we can use different parts of our brain than most people, but we can choose which features we want to use. In our case, we usually use it on other people or more like different things people do trigger it. What we can control is stopping it from detecting others' behaviors or actions. There is no term for it, so she and I refer to it as our gift. Just like you, it's entirely a mystery to us, but we know it had something to do when we went to the lab. Something you'd typically hear from a comic book.

She and I can feel when the other uses it, and I can tell more than she can with me. Most likely why she didn't address me using my gift and why she can't read me all too well. When I found out I had this, I first tried to learn as much about it as possible, and I also ended up learning more and discovering more than she did. Hench is why I have a lot of secrets I'll never tell. 

Now that's all out of the way. I need to ask her some questions and hope to receive truthful answers. 

"Huh, why are you using your gift, Aaron?"

"Because I have questions for you, and you're not going to lie…."

"Can you shut up for a moment and not make things about yourself?"

"Excuse you?"

"You heard me. I'm just going to tell you what you want to hear."

After I sat there for what seemed hours, which it was. I became very silent after Erica told me everything. And there was this never-ending pain and anger that built up inside me. I've never felt this much hate towards someone. How could some do that? How do I process what I've just heard? I felt like such a baby the way I was acting and feeling like I was the real victim. How can I ever look at Erica again?

→ Erica