Ace didn't even notice when the thought ended.
It passed through his mind and was gone. He kept walking. The scissors stayed where they were.
Nothing fell. Nothing broke.
He felt relieved. Then, strangely, disappointed.
He shook his head. It was just a thought. Everyone had thoughts like that. Things didn't happen just because he imagined them.
Still, another memory came back to him.
The robber.
He had thought something then, and it had happened.
Ace slowed down.
This time was different, he told himself. Maybe it was just luck before. A coincidence. His mind was trying to connect things that didn't belong together.
He looked back at the scissors.
They were fine.
Ace turned away and kept walking, telling himself his thoughts had no power at all.
But the feeling of disappointment stayed.
So the P.E. instructor went from classroom to classroom, checking the boys who didn't have proper haircuts. When he reached Ace, he stopped.
"Too long," the instructor said.
Ace didn't argue. He was taken outside with the others. A pair of scissors was passed around. When it was Ace's turn, the instructor cut a small part of his hair.
Snip.
The sound made Ace stiffen.
For a moment, a strange thought crossed his mind again. Quick and quiet.
What if I get hurt?
The scissors moved away. Nothing happened.
Just a small cut of hair fell to the ground.
Ace did not get hurt when his hair was cut. Nothing happened then.
But on his way back to his seat, it did.
One of the chairs was not in the right position. As Ace walked toward his desk, the corner of another chair bumped into his knee.
ack!! "aaaaahhhhh" At the back of Ace's head
Pain shot through his leg.
Ace clenched his jaw and kept walking. He didn't stop. He didn't make a sound. He reached his seat and sat down, acting like nothing was wrong.
He didn't want his classmates to notice.
He holds his knee gently, breathing slowly, enduring the pain in silence.
Ace didn't expect that to happen. He thought he would get hurt by the scissors, not by a chair.
As he sat there, he wondered again. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe he was only clumsy. Not every bad thought had to mean something.
When the class was over, Ace didn't wait around. He stood up, careful this time, and headed straight to the barbershop to fix his hair.
He told himself it was better not to think too much.
Still, the question followed him all the way there.
Ace reached the barbershop and waited in line. While waiting for his turn, he watched the television on the wall.
The news was on.
It showed the bank robbery. A video played again and again, the robber slipping and falling. Some people in the comments were laughing. Others were thankful that no one got hurt.
Ace watched quietly.
After his haircut, he headed home. As he walked, his thoughts felt heavy.
Maybe I'm just overthinking, he told himself. I'm about to graduate. I need to clear my mind. He took a deep breath and kept walking, trying to leave the thoughts behind.
Before going home, he stopped by the store to buy something to eat because his mom messaged him that she would be home late. "Take care of your sister; there's some money inside the fridge," Ace mom said.
You're probably wondering why there's money inside the fridge! :D
Ace's mom is very clever; she hides money in places a robber would never think of so that it won't be stolen. (-o-) Sometimes she even hides it inside the washing machine without telling us. By the time we use the machine, the money is already spinning! :D Luckily, it hasn't torn apart yet.
The sad part? We still get a scolding (or "a beating") afterward. >.<
While at the store... By the way, we call it a "Tindahan" in the Philippines, more commonly known as a sari-sari store. It's a small neighborhood convenience store where items are sold in small, affordable quantities (tingi) rather than in bulk.
"Ayoooo!" Ace shouted, a common way to call the owner's attention when you want to buy something.
While waiting for the tindera (the store owner), Ace noticed a girl approaching. It was his high school classmate and his ultimate crush. She was coming from a corner down the road where her friends were having a drinking session.
An awkward silence filled the air...
When the tindera finally appeared, she asked bluntly, "Yes? What do you want to buy?"
Ace and his crush spoke at the same time. You could see the shyness instantly take over Ace's face.
"You go first, since you were here first," the girl said kindly.
Ace spoke awkwardly, "No, it's okay. You go ahead... ladies first."
"What?! Are you two going to buy something or not? I have so many things to do!" the tindera shouted, losing her patience.
The girl quickly bought what she needed and headed back to her friends, never even realizing that Ace was her former classmate.
When it was Ace's turn, he asked, "Can I get one can of sardines and some instant noodles?"
As the tindera gathered his items, Ace suddenly realized he didn't have enough money. He had spent most of his cash at the computer shop to print his report and on a fresh haircut. Embarrassed, he asked the tindera for a favor, promising to bring the payment back later since they were neighbors and frequent customers at her store.
Ace rushed back home to get the money from the fridge so he could pay the store right away. He grabbed the "cold cash" (literally! :P) and ran back toward the store.
Along the way, he spotted his crush and her friends in the distance. As he got closer, he noticed that the chair his crush was sitting on was a bit shaky; it looked like it could break at any moment!
Instead of walking past, Ace headed straight toward them, trying to act natural. He was thinking that if the chair finally gave way and his crush fell, he would be right there to catch her in his arms. (But it's without knowing about his power, he sees only the chair as literally weak)
Ace walked past the group, but nothing happened. He continued straight to the store to settle his debt. While he was paying, a sudden burst of shouting and laughter erupted from the corner.
Ace hurried back to check what had happened. There, he saw one of his crush's friends on the ground; her chair had collapsed, and everyone was laughing. Ace took a deep breath, feeling relieved that it wasn't his crush who fell.
But as he walked away, a strange thought crossed his mind. Was it really just a coincidence? He was so sure his crush's chair was about to break because the chair she sat on was so weak, and then seconds later, a chair of his friend collapsed.
He looked down at his hands, still cold from the fridge money, as a chill ran down his spine. He had predicted the accident perfectly, just with the wrong person. Ace began to wonder: was this just a lucky guess, or did he somehow see a glimpse of the future before it happened?
Ace didn't realize he had a power yet. To him, it was all just a series of strange coincidences.
Maybe I will become like Nostradamus or Baba Vanga, who can see a glimpse of the future.
Ace didn't know that his power was far superior to theirs.
He didn't connect the dots that his intense focus on the "weak chair" was what actually caused a chair to collapse. He just figured he was lucky or maybe a bit unlucky for the person who actually fell. In his mind, he was just a regular guy who happened to be at the right (or wrong) place at the right time.
Back at the corner, he had focused so hard on the idea of a chair breaking that the universe made it a reality, even if it was the wrong chair.
But he couldn't control the weather or trigger an earthquake; those things were far too big and "OP" (overpowered). His power was more subtle. If he looked at a door and thought about it jamming, it would. If he looked at a glass and thought about it tipping over, it would fall.
He had no idea that his thoughts were physically manifesting in the world around him. He didn't know that as long as it was something "touchable," like a chair, a glass, or a door, his mind could trigger a change.
He just continued his walk home, wondering why the world felt a little bit more unpredictable that day.
But he forced himself to push away the strange things happening around him. He chose to ignore them all. Because of that, he never learned to use the power he carried inside him, unaware of what would happen when it finally awakened.