Bloom Read Free Page B

looked up at him over his empty soup spoon right before he put it in his mouth. He pulled it out slowly and returned it to the bowl, starting the pointless process all over again.
    “My name’s Colton.” He extended his open hand. The homeless man looked at him suspiciously. “It’s okay, Henry. Shake my hand.”
    Henry slowly set his spoon down in the soup bowl and reached out his shaking arm. Colton grasped his hand firmly.
    Ever since he had first discovered what he could do with his ability, Colton had been searching for a way to put it to good use. His desire to make even the smallest difference in the world had originally led him to the homeless shelter, where he spent his time trying to help as many of the helpless as he could. The happiness he felt afterward briefly muted the sadness from his own past.
    Colton felt the warmth in his own palm move to the tips of his fingers and flow outward, toward Henry. He let the energy he had taken from the apple move into the homeless man—it felt like someone was pulling a strand of yarn from the tip of each finger. The dark circles on Henry’s face lightened and his arm stopped shaking. His breathing cleared and deepened. A tear rolled down his cheek.
    When Colton had no more to give, he stood up from the table.
    “Very nice to meet you,” he said.
     

 
     
     
    3
     
    “S he is an excellent student, Mrs. Kincaid. We just don’t understand why she continues to act out in such a manner. This is Scottsdale, after all—not Mesa or Casa Grande, for goodness sake! Children here just don’t act this way.”
    Principal Rivera sat behind her desk, hands clasped together atop a manila folder that contained Haven’s school file. She looked at Haven’s mother as if she expected a simple, all-encompassing answer.
    “I don’t understand it either, nor does my husband. Up until we received your call, we never knew that Haven was causing any kind of trouble whatsoever.”
    “Well,” said Principal Rivera with a sigh, “her grades are still exemplary, and if there had been any kind of drop in her performance, I would think there was more to worry about…”
    Haven let the voices drone away into the background. She turned in her chair and looked just past the office door to where her little brother Noah sat playing with a small toy car. He was pretending his legs were ramps and launching the car off one thigh and making it land with a screeching sound effect from his mouth on the other. Their mother had taken half a day off of work at the hospital to come to school for the meeting and picked up Noah from daycare on the way.
    Haven turned back to Principal Rivera.
    “…don’t think we have anything to worry about, really. Haven has indicated to me how bored she is in her current classes, which might be a reason for her recent impulsive behavior.”
    “Well,” said her mother, “she does have a short attention span when it comes to things she isn’t interested in.”
    No kidding, thought Haven.
    Principal Rivera smiled. “Which is why I’ve starting looking into our Advanced Placement courses. I know we are already a few months into the school year and it goes against protocol to change a student’s schedule, but I’m sure the teachers would be more than willing to make an exception in Haven’s case. I think she would do quite well with the added challenge offered by college-level classes.”
    “That sounds like just the thing!” said Haven’s mother. She turned and addressed Haven for the first time during the entire meeting. “I know we talked about this and you wanted to take it easy at your new school, but what do you say to a little extra challenge?”
    Haven barely tried to hide her sarcasm. “Sounds like just the thing.”
    “Excellent,” said Principal Rivera. “I’ll speak with the teachers and get the ball rolling. Unless you have any other questions, I say we let Haven get back to lunch so you can go enjoy the rest of your day.”
    They shook