Finding my appetite fled, (who would blame me for that?) I quickly dressed, and left the apartment for class.
I decided to drive, not feeling strong enough to walk this cold morning.
The streets were only slightly snow packed after the storm the other day, but I made it to the campus without any accident. I was trying to figure out the best ways to exercise my ability, and I made little switches here and there, some with people, some with inanimate objects, but I was trying to stay inconspicuous, till I noticed Old Mrs. Stiles, the campus nurse. Fat, old, and ugly, she would be a great experiment in changing someone's nature. Up till this point, all my switches had caused very little pain. I felt them, and they weren't as easy as that first day, but they were much nicer than the second day. I decided to go big with the nurse.
Making a 'metabolism' switch, I flipped it feeling some resistance, but it moved. I flipped another switch to restore her hair color from grey to... Well, to be honest, I really didn't know what her natural color was, and thought she might look good as a redhead. I turned on the elasticity to her skin, hoping to get rid of her wrinkles, and even tried to flip a switch to slow her aging. The last was the hardest of all to move, but I was able to nudge it a little, before my head really started to ache. I would have to keep an eye on her, and see how things went over the next few weeks. With my head starting to pound, but a smile on my face, I headed to my next class; only to find myself stumbling forward as someone pushed me from behind.
"Think you're some hotshot, don't you," Dan Peters called. I regained my balance, and spun around to confront the bully. He stood there, laughing at me, with his hands on his hips, wearing a letterman's jacket.
"Leave me alone, Dan. I don't feel up to dealing with you right now."
"Ho! That's rich. YOU don't feel up to dealing with ME? Who do you think you are, dweeb?"
I could see that we were gaining an audience, but l didn't want to make a spectacle, and after modifying Mrs Stiles, I didn't think I would be up to much. I needed a way out of this, but something that wouldn't be too obviously me. I spied my escape route on the wall behind Dan: a white handle, within a red box. I pulled the fire alarm mentally, and felt my head give a mighty twinge of pain. The resulting noise from the alarm made my head hurt even worse, but by then, everyone was evacuating the hallway. I saw Dan go one way, so I stumbled the other, and right into someone else.
"You're going the wrong way," a familiar voice said, and I looked up to see Stephanie standing over me. "The fire exit is that way," she pointed down the way everybody else had gone. I laughed weakly, my head throbbing from over using my ability. Stephanie's smiling face quickly turned to one of concern, and I cursed myself, as I considered how weak I must look to her right now.
"Are you okay?" I nodded that I was, "Yeah, just a horrible headache is all."
"We need to get you off your feet."
The attractive brunette looked around, before grabbing my hand and pulling me after her.
"Come on, we can go in here. I doubt this is a real fire anyway."
I followed her into the room, holding my pounding head with my free hand. The room was thankfully dark, and I couldn't help but remember the other night in the freezer with her. Had that really only been two nights ago? This room was light enough to see in, and much warmer however, and as my eyes adjusted, I realized we were in one of the performance rooms. There was stadium seating slanting down to a small stage.
Stephanie led me to a seat in the front row, and had me sit. Her hands fussed at my head, and cheeks, and I realized she thought I was sick.
"It's just a headache, really," I tried to assure her, and was surprised by the mischievous smile that crossed her face.
"Just a headache, huh?" She placed her hands on the armrests on either side of me, and leaned in close, our noses almost touching.
"I know a cure for headaches."
Before I could think to respond or act, she tilted her head, and mashed her lips to mine. My surprise quickly wore off, and I kissed her back. I didn't know what her cure was, but if it started with kisses, I was willing to give it a try. Her tongue was darting in and out between my teeth, while her hands felt across my chest and stomach. She pulled away unexpectedly, and looked me in the eyes.
"There, how is your headache now?"
I couldn't help but laugh a little at her attitude.