Chapter 9: Tiny Balls
"Ugh... I don’t feel right."
Bella groaned, her body aching in protest as her eyes fluttered open. Nausea rolled through her stomach, making her blink rapidly to fight off the dizziness.
"Ben. Boy. You out there?"
She stared up at the massive translucent dome covering the skies of Mega Academy. She called for her brother, but when no response came after a few seconds, she forced herself to sit up.
Her surroundings were unchanged—she was still on the examination field, and students were still demonstrating their powers.
"Ugh..." Bella clutched her head, groaning again as she swallowed down the urge to puke. "Man, don’t tell me I passed out again... What the hell goin’ on?"
Her eyes finally landed on Benjamin and the others in his group, all of whom were locked onto something in complete silence. Bella staggered to her feet, making her way toward them. But the moment she saw what had their attention, she raised an eyebrow and draped an arm lazily over Benjamin’s neck.
"Yo, why y’all starin’ at my fork like that? It ain’t for sale."
Indeed, Hera, Hannah, and every other examinee were all focused on the fork Bella had used in her demonstration—the same one Hera had tossed aside and embedded into the platform earlier.
And standing in front of it was Riley, his palm outstretched toward the utensil.
"White-hair’s tryin’ to move it with his mind," Benjamin whispered, leaning closer to his sister. "Boy been at it for five minutes now."