Chapter 6: Carrie
As Edward thought about this, a plan began to form in his mind.
Carrie, the girl with telekinetic powers—a poor soul twisted by fear and bullying who ultimately brought catastrophic destruction to the entire town on prom night.
Reborn into this life, he wasn't here to watch a tragedy repeat itself.
Her superpower was incredibly valuable; with a little guidance, and if she could feel even a bit of warmth from the "normal world," this incredibly dangerous weapon could be wielded by his side.
"Hey, Edward! Let's go!" Frank patted his shoulder, interrupting his thoughts. "If we don't get to class soon, Ms. Collins is gonna nail us with her eraser."
In class, Ms. Collins was lecturing passionately, her voice carrying across the room as sunlight streamed through the windows, creating beams of light in the swirling chalk dust.
Her gaze swept across the classroom and quickly landed on a figure in the back row who was completely passed out.
Ms. Collins frowned, picked up the chalk eraser from her desk without a word, and with a practiced flick of her arm—
Whoosh—
The eraser traced a perfect arc through the air, hitting its target with a satisfying thwack.
"Caller!" Ms. Collins's voice was ice-cold. "If you fall asleep in my class one more time, you can expect a big fat F on your report card this semester."
Caller jolted awake, rubbing his aching head, looking both dazed and annoyed.
He looked around desperately, as if grasping at straws, and pointed at Edward next to him: "Ms. Collins, that's not fair! Edward was sleeping too, why don't you say anything to him?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire class burst into laughter.
Ms. Collins adjusted her glasses, a cold gleam reflecting off the lenses. She didn't even bother looking at Caller, saying flatly, "Edward has straight A's in every subject. How exactly do you think you compare to him?"
Her voice wasn't loud, but it hit Caller like a sledgehammer, leaving him speechless.
At that moment, Edward, whose name had been mentioned, finally stirred. He rubbed his eyes, still drowsy.
"Edward, since you're awake, come solve the problem on the board," Ms. Collins called out.
Edward instantly snapped to attention, stood up, scanned the complex calculus equation on the blackboard, and with almost no hesitation, rattled off a clear solution and the final answer.
The entire class fell silent again; even Ms. Collins nodded in approval.
Finally, the dismissal bell rang.
Today's PE class was volleyball, and students poured onto the field.
The sun beat down mercilessly, and the air was thick and humid.
Carrie, wearing a faded old gym uniform, huddled alone in a corner of the court, wishing she could turn invisible.
A volleyball flew wildly toward her. She instinctively reached out to block it, but her movements were awkwardly uncoordinated. The ball smacked against her arm and bounced far away.
"Hahahaha! Look at that loser!"
A few girls who loved bullying immediately surrounded her. Chris, the tall girl leading them, crossed her arms and sneered, "Carrie, what's wrong? Can't even hit a volleyball? You're completely useless!"
The cruel laughter pierced Carrie like needles. She buried her head even lower, her cheeks burning red, her fingers desperately clutching the hem of her shirt, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Edward, who had just arrived at the field, saw this scene, and his eyes lit up slightly.
Perfect timing.
He walked directly toward the volleyball court.
"Edward, are you insane?" Frank followed behind him, his face full of confusion. "Are you seriously gonna help that weirdo? Dude, stay away from her, everyone says she's creepy."
Edward didn't stop walking and didn't look back: "You don't get it. I'm saving them."
He walked up to Carrie, his voice gentle: "Don't listen to them. I'll help you."
After saying that, he picked up the volleyball from the ground, then turned to look at Chris and her crew, his face expressionless: "Seriously? Is this really necessary?"
Chris and her friends were stunned, clearly not expecting the school's golden boy to stand up for Carrie.
Chris quickly recovered. She looked Edward up and down, her tone mocking: "Oh, if it isn't our straight-A genius? What, trying to play knight in shining armor? Your taste is seriously questionable."
The girl next to her added: "Edward, if you're so great, make her catch just one ball! One ball, and we'll admit you're something special!"
Frank, standing nearby, was anxiously shifting his weight, thinking this was a disaster. Given Carrie's coordination, it'd be a miracle if the ball didn't hit her in the face.
Edward, however, seemed oblivious to their taunts. He tossed the ball to Carrie and said gently, "Don't be nervous. Watch the ball. Just imagine it's something light, something you can easily catch."
Carrie tremblingly reached out her hand. Sure enough, the ball slipped through her fingertips once again.
Chris's laughter grew louder.
Edward didn't care at all. He picked up the ball again and smiled at Carrie: "It's okay, let's try again. This time, imagine it will just float right into your hands."
The ball was thrown.
In everyone's eyes, the ball seemed to move with purpose, tracing a perfect arc, neither too fast nor too slow, landing steadily in Carrie's outstretched hands.
Thud.
A soft sound.
The entire court fell dead silent.
Chris's smirk froze on her face, and Frank's jaw dropped open.
Carrie herself was stunned. She looked down at the volleyball in her arms, then at her hands, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Edward turned to Chris, a slight smile on his lips: "One ball, caught. So, do you admit I'm something special?"
Without waiting for Chris to answer, Edward took the ball again and threw it sharply upward.
"Carrie, spike it!"
The moment Carrie swung her arm, it seemed to be charged with supernatural force.
WHAM!
The volleyball shot out like a rocket, whistling through the air, barely missing Chris's face as it flew past and slammed into the chain-link fence behind her with a thunderous crash.
Chris's legs buckled in terror, and she collapsed onto the ground, her face drained of color.
Just then, Coach Henderson walked over. Seeing this scene, he assumed Edward's coaching had worked and patted his shoulder approvingly: "Nice work, Connor! Everyone should follow his example and help out their classmates more!"
The other girls didn't dare make a sound. They helped the shell-shocked Chris to her feet and scurried away in humiliation.
Carrie stood frozen in place, her heart racing. She looked at Edward, her lips trembling, and then squeezed out a few words in a barely audible voice: "Th...thank you..."
"Don't mention it." Edward winked at her, his smile warm. "If you want to learn more, you can always find me."
With that, he turned and left with Frank.
Frank was still in shock. He caught up with Edward and asked quietly, "Dude, how did you do that? That spike she just did... that was like varsity-level!"
Edward walked casually, hands in his pockets, leaving Frank with an enigmatic expression.
"I told you. I'm saving people."
Saving them, and saving her too.
And Carrie, left standing there, was staring at her palms repeatedly. For the first time, in those eyes usually filled with fear, there was a different kind of light—something like hope.
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