Nellie spun and saw the boy from earlier, the one who had tried to warn the teachers, standing beside her. He was young, like really young, probably just starting grade school. He greeted her with a gentle smile and Nellie noticed how well it accented his cheekbones and round face despite the shyness in his deep, brown eyes. She muttered a quick Thanks but the rest of the students fired a second volley at them before he could help her up. 

The boy whirled on them, using his rangy body to shield Nellie. He winced and grimaced with every blow but like a tree, he stood strong. A gray ball whizzed by his ear. It grazed him just enough to knock the half-framed glasses off his face, eliciting a mocking laugh from the crowd.

Nellie pushed herself back onto her feet then. The onslaught was merciless and didn’t look like it would end any time soon. So she jumped in front of her friend, using the cast on her arm to ward off any more dodgeballs as the younger boy snatched a languid throw from the air and flung it back at their attackers. 

The beating went on like this until the school bells rang and teachers emerged to corral their students. Huffing and puffing, the boy with the fat nose wiped some of the blood off his face and said, “I hope you learned your lesson.”

Then they all turned away. 

Nellie and her friend blinked in surprise, sharing a glance. They could see the shellshock and bruises on one another, but after a moment, they each cracked up with laughter as relief washed over them. “Dude, that was a blast!”

“I feel like that’s not how we’re supposed to play that game,” said the boy, grinning. He held the glasses up to his eyes. The right lens was broken across the middle. He sighed, panting almost. Beads of sweat dripped from the edges of his hair, hair so dark and nappy that it perfectly accented his nut-brown skin. “Is there water anywhere?”

“Yeah.” Nellie couldn’t contain her smile while answering her friend. Her friend, those words would never get old. “There’s a fountain over here, behind the courts.”

As they each drank from the fountain, the school bells rang again, signaling the start of the next period. The boy grabbed his backpack from where it rested against the wall and began rifling through its insides. “I have to get going,” he murmured hastily, “I’m gonna be late.”

“You and me both,” Nellie grinned, glancing over her shoulder at where her own backpack and posterboard lay. “Is your class at lunch too?”

“No, we already ate. I think Chorus is next.”

“Oh.” The deflation was evident in Nellie’s voice. “Okay. What about after school? Want to meet up then?”

“Sure!” The boy replied. He swung the bag across his back, having retrieved a black marker from it. “But could I sign your cast first?”

Nellie blinked in surprise. “Yeah, of course!”

The boy grinned again and went to work on her outstretched arm. Nellie tensed, her heart racing as she watched each stroke leave behind a stark letter on the maroon casing. Once finished, she read his name aloud, “Max.” 

Max nodded in reply, his smile gallant and indefatigable across his face. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

… 

Nellie never did get the chance to give her presentation. When the dismissal bell rang, she was among the first students to make it outside. She waited atop the school steps, searching high and low for Max. 

Older kids gathered in cliques before departing for extracurriculars or fast-food restaurants. Others would catch local buses or migrate to nearby hang out spots to decompress, laugh, and catch up with friends. The rest flooded the parent pick-up lot, waiting anxiously to return home. 

It wasn’t until most of the kids left that Nellie caught sight of a boy with glasses and nappy hair. He was searching for someone by the parking lot. She raced to meet him, the crowd jostling her with every step. 

By the time she reached him, Max was talking to two students who she’d never seen before. A boy and a girl, each around Nellie’s age. The boy was tan and dark like Max, with waves of coarse black hair packed into a bush atop his head; Nellie couldn’t see the girl’s face, just an easy grin hidden behind masses of tight brown curls. She wore shorts with a sleeveless t-shirt and held herself with a confidence you couldn’t fake.

Nellie was nervous to approach all of the sudden. She could make up an excuse – I left my poster board in class – but before she had the chance, the older boy’s gaze drifted away from Max and fell on her. 

“Max, is this your friend?”

The boy with glasses raised an eyebrow and turned to find a meek Nellie waving in greeting. “Hey! You made it.”

“Hi.” Nellie felt herself slouching, retreating back into herself. Was this another closed friend group? She wasn't sure that she'd be able to handle it if they too started making fun of her. 

Max continued, “These are my, umm—” 

“Brother and sister,” the girl finished for him. Her brown eyes glimmered with the late afternoon’s light. “Cool cast. I’m Yuève.”

The older boy stuck out a hand. “And I'm Raul.”

Nellie shook it, feeling her cheeks warm. “Raul and Yuè. Nice to meet you, I’m Nellie.”

They both offered a welcoming smile in return before Max interjected, calling for her attention behind hopeful eyes, “So we’re having pizza for dinner tonight. Did you want to come?”

Nellie blinked, surprised, and stammered out an answer, “Umm, thanks. But I–” What would her father say if he came home and she was nowhere to be found? She didn’t want to be grounded again for supposedly running away. “I’m not sure.”

“Max, do you still have that marker?” Yuève began rummaging through his bag without waiting for an answer. It took her a moment, but once she found it, she immediately reached for Nellie’s arm and stroked her name on the underside of the cast. Yuè. She had embellished it with several hearts and flowers to make the signature as noticeable as possible. 

“What was that game you played at recess?” Yuè asked, her attention on Nellie as she passed the marker to Raul. “Max told us about it.”

“Oh, it’s called Instruments and villains,” Nellie said and ventured into a retelling of their experience. “It didn’t go well for us.” Once Raul had finished etching his name onto her arm, she asked, “Do you guys know which Instruments you’d like?”

The three of them stared back at her, looking like they didn’t understand the question. “What are Instruments?”

Nellie frowned at them. “The Instruments. You know, the ones that come from meteors?” 

They shook their heads.

The gesture was sincere enough, but she didn’t believe them. There was no way that they didn’t know what the Instruments were. Everyone in the world knew about them! She took a closer look at the siblings, studying them carefully. Yuè had said that they were related, the similarity in their complexions proved as much, but aside from that, their faces and features were all uniquely different. Max’s were round and smooth; Yuève, with high cheekbones and larger eyes, had a more delicate but mobile roster; while Raul, the most angular of the group, had a sharp nose, square jaw, and long thin fingers. 

She addressed them once again, maintaining a wary gaze. “You’re not aliens are you?”

Panic flashed in Max’s eyes, who turned to his sister. Yuè simply chuckled, a wry grin on her face. Nellie was kidding and she knew it. “No, we’re not aliens.”

“That’s a shame,” Nellie crossed her arms, returning an equally playful grimace. 

An engine approached from down the street. Raul turned at the thunder of churning gears and found a silver two-door pickup pulling into the school. Yuève then followed his line of sight and cheered, “Mom’s here!” 

Nellie perked up at the announcement, suddenly unnerved. It felt as if someone had started blaring sirens between her ears, as if invisible walls were closing in around her. She hadn’t known many people’s mothers and she wasn’t sure if she ever wanted to. Which sucked because a slice of hot and cheesy pizza sounded like an absolute treat after the day she’d had.

The truck, with its windows down, rolled to a stop near the curb. “Hey guys!” A Tennkā woman waved from inside. “How was your first day?”

Nellie’s eyes widened. The woman was young, younger than Andrew had been. She had caramel-toned skin to compliment her soft, fine-boned face and wore a pair of thin-framed glasses atop her head, held in place by sleek black hair pulled into a bun. A name tag pinned to her all-white lab coat read, ‘Dr. Sorairo.’

“Mom! Guess what?”

Max ran up to the passenger side window as she looked him over with sky-blue eyes that only added to her beauty. “Max, your glasses!” She rushed out of the vehicle and to his side. “What happened?”

“I made a friend!” He cheered, beaming innocently. “She’s incredible. We played dodgeball together and she wants to have pizza with us! Can she come?”

The boy’s mother took her eyes off of him then and turned to find a blushing Nellie standing beside her other children. “By the stars,” she gasped, catching sight of the bruises marking her body. “Are you all right?”

Nellie nodded in response but the woman hurried to her regardless, taking a knee as she brushed a loose strand of hair behind the young girl’s ear. Nellie couldn’t help but back away. 

The woman paled. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“You didn’t.” Nellie couldn’t take her eyes off the ground, “It’s just that– I’d better wait for my dad.”

“No!” Max cried, “Come with us! Please mom? Tell her she can come.”

Nellie clenched her teeth together, her head hurting. This was too much. She needed to get away. 

“I’m Arashi,” the woman said. Her voice was gentle, patient, almost at a whisper. “It’s your choice, but know that we’d be more than happy to have you join us for dinner tonight. I’m sure your dad would understand.”

After a moment she added, “We could give him a call if you’d like?”

Nellie shook her head. If they called they would not only learn that her father wasn’t coming, they’d learn that she didn’t have someone like Arashi at home. She stroked her ponytail, her eyes stinging. 

A tender hand landed on her shoulder. Yuè. Her eyes met Nellie’s and didn’t waver. “Please Nel? We just want to be friends.”

Nellie blinked back the tears and drew in a breath. Seconds later, a trace of a smile revealed itself at the edge of her lips. “Fine,” she said in a choked voice. Everything was going to be okay. “But I get to pick the place.”

Yuève grinned. “Sounds like a deal.”

The others sighed with relief. Arashi thanked Nellie and wrapped her in a warm hug before she rose to her feet. “Let’s get moving. It’s going to be a tight ride.”

“Is Tei in the back?” When Arashi nodded in response, Raul took Nellie by the hand and hurried to the truck. “Come say hi.” 

They peered into the cabin and saw a two-year old Tennkā boy waving at them from a car seat strapped onto the back row of the truck. His features resembled his mother’s – wheat-colored skin with thin lips and a wide button nose – but he had dark eyes and smokey black hair which set them apart. 

“He’s our youngest brother.”

“Aww,” Nellie cooed, “Look at his cheeks!” She climbed into the cabin beside him, her hazel eyes shimmering. “Who’s a chubby boy?”

Raul laughed as the others joined them and squeezed into the small truck to take their seats. Max and Yuève were able to fit in the back with Nellie, while Raul rode with Arashi in the front. The engine roared to life after idling for so long, and just like that they were off. 

They had crossed through most of the neighborhood when another question popped into Max’s head. “Mom, do you know what the Instruments are? Nellie says they come from meteors.”

“Ah crap,” Arashi realized, “I forgot to tell you, didn’t I?”

Nellie’s jaw all but dropped to the ground. “You guys really don’t know?” 

Her friends shook their heads once again and this time Nellie didn’t hold back from exclaiming, “They’re powers! Eight different powers that have literally shaped life as we know it. You get them from the meteors. How have you not heard about them?”

Raul turned towards Dr. Sorairo. “Can we tell her?”

Arashi hesitated. “I don’t know guys…” 

“Mom c’mon,” insisted Yuève, “We can trust her.”

“Yeah, but–” Arashi furrowed her brow. “This can have serious consequences. It isn’t something that anyone can know about.”

“Tell me!” Nellie tried to sound as innocuous as possible. “I won’t say a thing.”

Arashi stared at her through the rearview mirror. “No one can know, okay? Not even your father.”

Nellie did her best not to laugh. Perry was the last person she’d go to with a secret like this. “I promise, I won’t tell anyone.”

Arashi sighed, not looking pleased with her decision. “Fine.”

“Yay!” Max cheered.

Raul turned to face them in the back seat. “Okay, this may seem hard to believe, but we can’t remember a thing since last Friday.”

Nellie raised an eyebrow. “How come?”

“Their parents ran into an emergency,” Arashi said. “It was a life or death situation so–”

Yuè cut her short, unable to hold back her excitement. “They teleported us here to Comet Hill and she took us in!”

“But that's not possible.” Nellie shook her head, “If people could teleport, then everyone in the world would know.”

“No, it's true.” the Tennkā woman said. “That's how I knew their parents. They were on a team of scholars assigned to find a way to make teleportation work. I was a test pilot back when it was first decided that the project would take place in space.”

“But there was something wrong with the machine,” Max went on. “I don’t think it was quite ready for live subjects to use it. That’s why we lost our memories.”

 “And how Arashi found us in the observatory,” said Raul. “All because of a desperate attempt to get us away from what was going on at their end.”

“Wait.” Nellie stared at them, her mind working as she recalled the flashes she’d seen on the night of her flight from Comet Hill. “That was you?”