E.A.A. (Enhanced Abilities Anonymous) - Chapter 1

Fiction Friday is finally a real thing!!!

So, remember in that post a LONG time ago, I asked you for useless super abilities, and then said I'd write a story and update it on Fridays, and call it Fiction Friday?

Yeah, so I finally got around to that. First, thank you for the superhero suggestions. Second, I don't know how long this story will be, but I'll be updating it in about 1000 word chapters "every" Friday. I'm going to try really hard to do this. Third, feel free to add suggestions, edits if you want, whatever. I'm pretty much just uploading this as I write it, so there will be typos and whatnot.

I hope you enjoy.

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E.A.A. (Enhanced Abilities Anonymous) - Chapter 1

Kent was sprawled out on his couch, the windows open and the radio on to cover most of the sound of the city below. He was bored, but worse than that, it was the middle of summer and the hottest on record. He honestly didn’t mind the heat, it was the clothing that went with it.

Given a choice, he would wear only black pants. Thick, black pants, but that was nearly impossible when it was sunny and 100 degrees. He couldn’t go out like this, not in just a tee shirt and shorts and especially not at night. It was best to stay in and be bored.

The song on the radio changed and the lyrics caught Kent’s attention. …yoooouuu light up my liiiifeeee. With a frustrated growl, he threw a throw pillow at the radio and knocked it to the floor where it was silenced.

His cell phone rang from his pocket and he was tempted to just let it ring, but he was bored and hot and had no plans. “Hello?”

“Kent, what are you doing tonight?” Imogene sounded way too excited.

He had known Imogene since middle school, they bonded by a similar “talent”, but she had found a use for hers and Kent, well, he hadn’t. She was successful, well liked (though she could make anyone like her) and had a great boyfriend who was also successful. She had her life together at age 25, Kent was either at work in a greenhouse for a floral arrangement company or at home, alone.

“Dex knows of-” She gushed on.

Kent ran a hand over his sweaty face. “I don’t care what Dex knows.”

“I know you two don’t get along, but he’s just trying to help. I care about you, Kent.”

“None of your mind tricks.” He sat up and sighed. “What does he know?”

He could practically hear her smiling over the phone. “There’s a group. They meet tonight, well every Tuesday, and today is Tuesday. People like you, Kent.”

“Like me?”

She paused, shifted the phone. “You know, with talents that, well, are unused…”

“Worthless. Talents that are worthless.”

“Kent.”

He slumped back into the couch. “No. Thanks, but no.”

“I’ll come over there and make you.” She wasn’t kidding.

He was beat and he knew it. “Fine. What time?”

“Eight. The basement of the community center.” She paused. “I’ll know if you do show up.”

“Tell Dex to stay out of my business.”

She sighed. “He can’t help it, Kent. You should know that. Talk to you later, yeah?”

“Yeah, talk to you later.” He hung up and took a deep breath.

Kent wavered back and forth between the pros and cons of not going. This wasn’t Imogene’s first attempt to prove his usefulness to himself, but he wasn’t easily convinced. In the age where people can read minds, lift cars like feathers, fly without planes, enjoy the benefits of laser vision and all of the other things that the X-Men predicted ahead of their time…he was one of the unlucky ones that got stuck with something nobody needed. It made sense, not every enhanced ability could be considered super. Some people had to be stuck with the useless talents, like that kid in elementary school who could lick his elbow. Fascinating, but after a while nobody cared and he became the punch-line to jokes and fists. Most often, when asked if he had an enhanced ability, he denied it. Most people didn’t do things out of comic books; it was more like people who were brilliant musicians or athletes or artists. Some people had it and they were special and some people were just people.

Then there were the few people like Kent, special, but desperately wishing they weren’t anything at all.

He might as well go, he had nothing to lose at this point. He found the darkest pair of jeans in his closet, tucked his black shirt in and put on a button shirt. He had to roll the sleeves up because it was still hellishly hot. He glanced in the mirror, he didn’t look too out of place now that it was evening. He was thankful that it was socially acceptable for guys to wear tight fitting jeans again, that JNCO jeans fad in the early 2000s was his worst fashion nightmare.

His last minute wardrobe check involved him stepping into his closet and shutting the door. In the complete darkness he looked to where he knew the mirror to be and waited to see if he saw anything of himself. If he didn’t, he was good to go out.

Kent grabbed his keys, his metro pass and his wallet from the counter as he left. It was two subway stops to the community center, a total of ten agonizing minutes.

The community center had been built forty years ago in an effort to give kids a non-violent outlet after school. It offered basketball courts, an assorted collection of athletic equipment, rooms available for classes or meetings and an auditorium. The hallways were dim and echoed footsteps, the ceiling tiles were water stained, but at least it was air conditioned to the point of being reminiscent of a walk-in freezer.

Anxiety tightened in Kent’s stomach as he kept walking. The sign on the bulletin board said room 217, right after the Weight Watchers meeting. The door opened just as he arrived and a handful of women left. They glared at the man holding a bakery box of cookies who stood a few feet away from Kent. The man looked normal, nothing that would identify why he was waiting for the same meeting Kent was. He was tall, skinny and wore a baseball hat.

Kent had heard about some people who were permanently lime green, or had gills and had to live near the ocean…but he was fairly sure that a lot of those stories were from tabloids and gossip. He hoped anyway, he didn’t want anyone to be cursed with anything worse that a useless ability.

“Here for E.A.A.?” The man smiled.

Kent nodded slightly.

“Everyone’s nervous at their first meeting.” He waited for the last Weight Watching woman to leave the room. “Come on in.”

The man set the box of cookies on a table next to an industrial coffee maker.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Kent surprised himself by asking.

He turned. “Set the chairs up in a circle? I’m going to get this coffee going.” He extended his hand. “Everyone calls me DJ.”

“Kent.” He returned the handshake.

DJ left to fill the coffee maker with fresh water and Kent set up the chairs in a circlesque shape. He didn’t notice the two other people enter until he had turned around. All the sudden he had the feeling that it was a bad idea to leave his apartment at all.

“I’m, I’ll be right back. Get a drink of water.” He mumbled and left the room.

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To be continued next week...