My Life As A Freak by Karla Morales (great book club books txt) 📕

chapter 1
I ran out of the school bursting through groups of teenagers murmuring on what had happened just an hour earlier. What happened? Let’s rewind it a bit to catch you up. I woke up on this ordinary Monday, or so I thought. I got dressed, ate breakfast, and rode off to school on a bus that smelled like the school’s gym. I went to all my classes. It seemed pretty normal from there until last period. We had gym, which meant soccer. No offense to soccer, I’m good at it and all, but it’s the guys I play with I have a problem with. If you miss just one ball because it’s miles away from you then you get glares all semester. Back to the story…
“Hey! Xanthee!” Oh yeah, did I mention my name is Xanthee? It sounds like Zan- thee. Weird eh? I’m just your typical teenage guy, well… maybe. “What do you want Chris?” Chris is my best friend. He ran across the field straight at me, panting. “Have you seen the new girl? My God she’s hot. You have to see her.” I turned to face him. “Seriously man, what is with you?” he looked at me weirdly. “Are you okay?” he took a step towards me, hand out as if going to touch my shoulder. I stepped back but he was too fast for me. He grabbed my arm and looked around, and lowered his voice as if someone were to hear. “And why are you so far from the soccer field? We can’t ditch today, I’m still in trouble from last time.” I looked around noticing I was in the edge of the woods. My face must have been blank because he waved a hand in front of my face. “So what is it you were saying?” I said to him to calm him down. “Oh, this girl that I saw but it doesn’t matter. Are you okay? Your arm is very warm, hot even.” He touched my forehead and sharply took his hand away. “Ouch, what the-” He looked at me in terror. “What?” I said a bit harsher than what I meant. “Your burning, and big time bro’.”
We went to the nurse’s office and nothing unusual. I wasn’t sweating, or had a high fever. The nurse touched my forehead and didn’t flinch away like Chris did. The nurse dismissed us, and scolded us for trying to get out of gym by faking a sickness. I just rolled my eyes, and stomped down the hall to gym with Chris close behind. I had no reason to go to the nurse anyway. I wasn’t ill at all. I don’t know why I’m even reacting this way. I brushed it off as a mood swing. Being sixteen meant mood swings you don’t even see coming. I went towards the center of the field until this rage hit me. Not a mood swing, I made this rage come upon me. One of the guys took my backpack and threw it to a branch low enough for me to reach since I’m so tall, but high enough to make the guys laugh their butts off. The one who threw it was named Ethan. He was the captain of the volleyball team. He looked like the typical volleyball player tall, shaggy brown hair, built arms, and black eyes, or at least he’s going to get one.
“What the hell are you doing?” I yelled at him as I walked over to him. He had his arms crossed and just barley glanced at me when he said “thought your bag would like to climb a bit.” He wasn’t the best at talking, or telling off, but I was. “Why would a bag want to climb? It’s a bag, inanimate object, lifeless like your jokes.” This time he looked at me. He shook his head and clicked his tongue. “Watch it Xanny. Wouldn’t want to get fussy now would we?” I took a punch at him but he side stepped and I missed. A twisted smile spread on his face. “Too slow for the E man aren’t ya?” he threw a punch but I also dodged it. Before he could pull his hand back I grabbed his wrist and twisted. This sudden strength came and I heard a snap. I dropped his hand, and Ethan crouched on the grass cradling his hand. He gave out a loud scream. I backed away from him but he looked up with rage in his eyes and came at me. I bent down and threw him behind me. Now I was filled with rage. I felt heat rush through me and I grabbed his wrist again and this time I didn’t squeeze his wrist I just held it and then he gave out a piercing scream. I let go and I saw second degree burns on his arm. What have I done?


Chapter 2
I waited to be called to the principal’s office. I hung my head and let my shaggy blonde hair fall in front of my face. I just starred at my hands. Again and again I thought the same question. What happened back there? The secretary called my name and I looked up to see her brown eyes. We locked gazes for about five minutes. It was brown eyes against green/blue. I wasn’t surprised she was upset. She was Ethan’s aunt. She was the first to look away, and I just stood and walked into the principal’s office.
Principal Thantous stood in front of his desk. I sat on a chair a threw my bag on the other chair next to me. This wasn’t the first I have been here. “so what’s my punishment? Suspension? Detention? Saturday school? Outdoor?” he didn’t look as amused as I did. He sighed and put his face only inches from mine. “Do you think its funny burning people with lighters young man?” he barked. Lighter? Seriously? I only had a lighter at Chris’s birthday to light candles. “Lighter, sir?” I said innocently.
He was furious now. He backhanded my face. I turned my head so fast it surprised him. Without knowing what I was doing I charged. I hit him at the waist and knocked him back towards the wall length window behind his desk. We sailed across the room flying through the window with glass shattering below us and landing on an empty parking space. I got up quick and got ready for Principal Thantous to get up and fight, but he didn’t he just lay there motionless. I took the moment to check myself for any cuts from the broken glass. From the corner of my eye I saw him stir. I got in position and slowly Thantous only looked at me with such disgust he yelled “that is it! First you burn another student, next u flinch from me wiping away blood and you just knock me out the window into the parking lot! That is it young man, you are expelled! You little shits think it’s funny to just do anything you want and think we will let you get away with it? I have been enough but flexible with you Mr. Storms.” Only he called me by my last name. I trudged back into the building to collect my things. I felt stares as I walked through the halls. Being known as the guy who burned the volleyball captain wasn’t such a good title to live up to. I emptied my locker and bolted out the front doors just as the bell rang for dismissal.


Chapter 3
So now that you’re caught up I can go on with more of the good stuff. I ran home as it began to rain. I made it through the door as the thunder picked up. Just the weather to match my mood. I stomped upstairs to my room, I camped out there until my dad got home. No doubt that they called him from work and told him about my expulsion.
I quietly went downstairs. Dad was standing in front of the counter where a black piece of paper lay. On it was white letters, looked like an invitation, but it looked too long for an invitation, letter perhaps? I walked to the spot next to him to see the paper but he snatched it before I could read it. He glared at me and opened his mouth to say something but shut it. Instead he took a deep breath and said “why? Why did you burn him? Scratch that, why did you attack the principal? This crap can’t keep happening Xanthee.”
“but dad-“
“I don’t need excuses. Just answer my question.”
I took a deep breath and said “I didn’t mean to-“
“you didn’t mean to? Obviously you did if you burned him.” He barked.
I raked my brain all this time since I got home on how I could’ve burned him without a lighter. I had no clue. All I could do was just look at him. His eyes softened and he said “no video games for a year.” I didn’t protest because I knew that was coming. I nodded and hung my head. He put his finger under my chin and said “explain to me everything that happened.” When I looked into his eyes I saw worry mixed with hope. I didn’t know why there would’ve been hope but I wasn’t going to find out. I told him everything from the backpack to the part of throwing Thantous out the window. He looked at me in shock, with such horror as if living a nightmare. “dad, you ok?” I asked him. He just looked down and shook his head. “no, no, no, no, NO!” I stepped back and again asked if he was ok. He looked at me and grabbed my arm like Chris did. “Xanthee, I have to tell you something.” He took me over to the couch and said “you are a special type of kid, I hope you know that from what you experienced today.” No doubt about that “you’re from a line of ancestors that were demons.” He continued “at some point they grew up normal and at one day when their powers settled they became unbelievably strong, could shoot fire out of their hands, control objects with their minds, and can do one other special thing but that counts on the person. For instance, you like to study the weather; you probably can control it or send thunder bolts out your hands.” It took a while for it to sink in. He added “your great-great-grandfather was the first demon. He became that way from a science project gone wrong. He wanted to mutate cells in a human’s blood so he can increase the immune system. Something in the liquid he added to the blood didn’t cooperate well with the other chemicals. Once he gave himself the shot a sharp pain ripped through him.” Of course I knew what was next. “so from there he turned into a demon?” he held his hand up. He reached into his pocket and took out the black paper I had seen earlier. He handed it to me. It read:
Dear Maxwell,
Maxwell is my dad’s name
If you are reading this then your son Xanthee Storms has finally reached the stage in which he has his powers. They may still be settling in so be careful. It took you a while to handle your powers too so don’t get discouraged.
Hope all goes well,
Samuel
I don’t know who Samuel was but in guessing it’s my grandfather for my great-great-grandfather wouldn’t be around.
I just stared at the letter for