If I Had A Choice by Abigail Livinghouse (book recommendations based on other books txt) 📖

five. Her name was Kayla, and she was softly weeping at the very end of the line. Swallowing my fear and discontent, I kept my eyes locked on one of the stained glass windows near the ceiling, wishing so much that I was somewhere else.

 

“Hi everyone.” Kelly’s sickly sweet tone caught my attention, and I realized that she and Jasmine had shuffled everyone inside.

 

I looked over, not daring to move anything but my eyes, and saw them. There were only five, which was less than usual, and their ages were all in the teens. My heart fluttered in relief. No children. Taking a deep breath through my nose, I observed them all. The shortest was a girl about five feet tall, she had straight red hair falling just below her ears, and eyes a peculiar butterscotch color with a faint orange hue. Her eyes nearly matched her hair. She was thin and petite, very delicate looking. She reminded me of some kind of fairy or elf.

 

The second tallest was a boy, with long shoulder length curly black hair, and wide brown eyes that seemed to follow you everywhere. He was thin, his movements jerky. He seemed nervous and very fidgety. I exhaled, shaking my head, thinking, aren’t we all nervous.

 

The third one was another boy, with a short light blonde buzz cut, and pale green eyes. His eyes were flitting everywhere, seeming to try to take everything and everyone in.

 

The fourth was a girl, who was fairly tall, with long honey gold curls, crystal blue eyes, and the body of a model. Right now, she stood nervously, her shoulders slumped in an attempt to make herself invisible.

 

The last one was a very tall, lean boy, who was definitely the oldest. He seemed to be about sixteen or seventeen, with black hair in a choppy cut that partially hid his eyes and covered his ears. His eyes were odd though, a mix of pale green and ocean blue, they were bright and vibrant, which was the complete opposite of him. He stood with his hands in his pockets, his bright eyes looking at nothing in particular, seemingly bored with what was going on around him.

 

I pursed my lips, considering the new kids. They were all very different, no one resembled someone else. Their odd appearances made me wonder what their abilities were.

Chapter 5

“Everyone”, Kelly took the shoulders of the elfin girl, and pushed her forward in front of the small group. “This is Circa Lilith. She’s fourteen years old and she can change her appearance.” Kelly stated.

 

This was the norm for whenever someone new arrived. Kelly would give the description of the individual, and then their special power. They would also give a demonstration of their technique. Circa stood there, with her arms crossed, staring dully back at us.

 

“Well”, Kelly hedged, “go ahead and show everyone.”

 

The girl eyed Kelly with a burning intensity, her jaw clenched, and then she changed. The shift was almost instantaneous. If you blinked, you would’ve missed the transformation. Her features molded into one of mockery, her hair changing color, her clothes even altering. The only thing that stayed the same was her distinctive eyes. When the change was done, it was clear who Circa was imitating, from the cropped brown hair to the short stockiness. Two Kelly’s stood before us, the bewildered and flustered real one, and the smirking, smug fake one. The group behind the two Kelly’s began laughing, but none of us dared to. My eyes flicked right to Eliot, whose face was one of calm composure. He emanated nothing but coolness, which was when you should fear him most.

 

Kelly hurried to try to cover up Circa’s little misstep. “Very funny.” She mumbled.

 

Circa sneered, then changed back into her red haired, petite self. The others’ laughter quieted down, and while Circa returned to her original spot, Kelly grabbed the next in line, the boy with the long black hair and wide brown eyes. With a hard smile, Kelly introduced him.

 

“This is William Carson. He’s sixteen and has visions of the future.” She said, her tone icy. After a few moments of silence, Kelly snapped. “Well?” She quipped irritably. “What are you waiting for?”

 

William just stood there, his face drawn. “I can’t exactly control what I do. I have to have a vision first, and I can’t predict when they’ll occur.” He said in a deep, rough voice. Annoyed, Kelly pushed him back in line, taking hold of the next. The boy with the buzz cut.

 

“This is Leonard Vincenzo. He’s sixteen, and has the power to expand his molecules so that he is able to walk through walls and make himself virtually invisible.”  She said, grinning a tight smile.

 

Without any encouragement from Kelly, Leonard suddenly began to slowly fade, until there was nothing left of him, and Kelly’s hands that had been on his shoulders gripped air. Then, in an instant, he reappeared, standing in front of us as if he had never left.

 

“Very good.” Kelly praised, then she motioned for the thin blonde girl to come forward. She did, however her shoulders bunched up even further, making her look even smaller.

 

“This is Chelsea Cox. She’s fifteen, and has the power to make you see things only she wants you to see. In other words, she can manifest strong illusions of the mind, which makes you feel, see, smell, and hear anything she wishes you to.” Kelly announced, then gazed impatiently at Chelsea, waiting for her to perform. Chelsea however, shook her head in refusal.

 

The shock of this was so strong it was nearly tangible. If you looked around, you’d see everyone’s eyes were the size of dinner plates. Everyone’s, except the new group’s. Refusing to show any emotion in response to this little delay, Kelly just simply shoved Chelsea back into the lineup, and grabbed the last one, the tall boy with the vibrant green-blue eyes.

 

“This is Alexander Lancaster. He’s seventeen and he is very unnaturally gifted. He has the power of mental manipulation, he can move objects using his mind, and can scramble your thoughts until you are in a state of utter disembodiment. He can change your thought process as well, and your entire reasoning.” She described.

 

I wet my lips in consideration. His ability sounded very much like my own, only a much more advanced version. Awaiting Alexander’s demonstration, I was anxious. If his power was much more useful, and all the more better than mine, it could cost me my life. Eliot didn’t like to keep copies of others. But, like Chelsea, Alexander just shook his head, a teasing smile turning up the corners of his lips.

 

“I’m sorry, but I do not perform. Especially not for the likes of you people.” He said in a velvety tone, his head held high. At Alexander’s cockiness, Kelly’s brow twitched in anger, a vein throbbing in her neck as she turned a dark shade of red. But before his sister could explode like we all wanted to see, Eliot stepped forward, spreading his hands wide in welcome to the new crowd.

 

“Well, I hope you all enjoy your stay here at Carom House. I think you’ll come to find it a very invigorating experience.” He said smoothly, then gestured at Jasmine and Tanya, who flitted quickly to the edges of the group. “Tanya and Jasmine will show you to your rooms. Dinner’s at seven.” He said brusquely, then guiding Kelly out of the room with his hand pressed into the small of her back, the two workers ushered the group up the stairs, all except for one.

 

The crowd around me dispersed, however Sam stayed behind. “I’ll see you upstairs.” He said quickly, then left up the staircase, not wanting to attract any unnecessary attention.

 

I began to follow, until I heard a very loud throat-clearing behind me. I turned to see Alexander rocking back and forth on his heels, the same cocky grin planted on his face as before when he had refused to let us view his powers. He was staring at me expectedly, almost as if I was meant to do something. I looked to my left and right, before my eyes rested on him.

 

“What?” I asked. He smirked at my question.

 

“What? No warm welcome like I was promised?” He asked snidely.

 

I gritted my teeth at his smug remark, but, who was I to deny his request? With my lip curled in a sweet smile, I stared at him icily, and said, “Welcome to hell. Enjoy your stay.” 

Chapter 6

I sat cross legged on my bed, too wired to lie down but drained emotionally. I was shocked to say the least that William, Chelsea, and Alexander had refused to show us their gifts. It was something that rarely happened, and when it did, severe punishments would follow. I worried that Eliot would demonstrate his power to the new arrivals, and I was very grateful when he didn’t. But that just meant he would perform something even more horrendous the next time someone stepped out of line . . .

 

My door suddenly cracked open, and I jumped up off the bed in surprise. A flaming red head peeked through the crack, a small grin on the person’s face.

 

“Hi”, Circa said in a high, melodic voice that resembled a bird singing.

 

“Hi”, I said warily, “is there something you need? Do you need help with anything?” I asked tonelessly.

 

This happened a lot. New kids would get lost in the large house, not be able to find things they need, or just plain old were bored and decided to annoy someone random. That someone usually ended up to be me. Circa looked at the ground as she came into my room without an invitation, and then shut the door behind her.

 

“No, I don’t necessarily need anything. I just wanted to talk.” She said softly. My brow pinched together in confusion and surprise.

 

“Um, ok.” I said hesitantly, sitting down on my bed and patting the spot next to me. She walked forward and sat down Indian style, folding her hands in her lap. I pursed my lips, not sure how to begin.

 

“So, is there something wrong?” I asked her. Circa shrugged.

 

“Depends on how you look at it.” She said, her face unreadable. I sighed, crossing my legs.

 

“Well, is there something I can do for you?” I asked again. With a sigh of her own, Circa pulled her legs up and hugged them to her chest, giving another shrug.

 

“This isn’t something I wanted to do.” She grumbled. “I’m not the touchy feely