The Girl With Metal Claws

The Making of Powers

ELLIOTT

As he stood outside the cafeteria door, looking straight at Meraki Knight, everything started looking real. He was about to trick her into making her experience something even Gabrielle had no idea about.

The potion.

The first way was consumption. Elliott had to find a way of spilling a few drops of the potion on the food she was eating.

But that'd mean talking to her. Which was a major issue for someone like Elliott.

Meraki had a hideous black jacket on, her grey eyes set down on her food. Her mind was wandering somewhere else.

Even if she got away with the fight at the cafeteria, the rumours that were spread around by Sandra and her broken nose after that, really brought Meraki down from her limelight.

Elliott took a deep breath. It shouldn't be a big deal. He walked into the cafeteria and directly to Meraki's table.

"Hey," Elliott said, awkwardly smiling. Meraki looked up at him and then looked back down. Then her head shot up to look at him.

"You? What do you want from me?" She said, looking back down.

Meraki and Elliott had their literature together.

"I heard you're great at history. I just.. uh.. needed a little help." Elliott said, holding out the book he had in hand.

Meraki's confused expression told Elliott that he had messed up.

"I got 6 in history. Are you mocking me?" She said.

The history topic was meant for the third girl, Nish Wilson. Now he had to fix the mess he was falling deeper into.

"Oh, might've been a misunderstanding then," Elliott said, awkwardly running his hand through his hair.

"Okay. Go." She replied, annoyed by then.

The last resort, Elliott repeated in his mind. If he loses this chance, it'd be the worst. He looked around trying to think of anything and everything.

Suddenly, he looked down and his eyes fell on a watch that was neatly placed beside her food. Without thinking enough, he picked it up.

"Hey! Don't just touch -", Meraki started but Elliott cut him off.

"I love this watch. It's antique." He said, turning the watch over. He surely didn't know a thing about watches, neither did he ever bother to buy one.

He saw Meraki's gaze soften.

"Not that you need to know, but it was my grandfather's. It was his favourite watch of the collection he had." Meraki's face had turned thoughtful at that moment like she didn't even care who she was talking to. She was just getting it off of her chest.

It took everything inside Elliott when he threw the watch across the room. Never had he imagined doing something that brutal, like hurting someone's feelings while they were talking about their feelings.

Elliott didn't even have the time to look at Meraki's face because she had already sprung up from her seat and bolted to get her watch. While everyone watched the drama, Elliott hurried and spilt three drops of potion into her food and coke.

It was only logical that someone wouldn't be eating their leftovers after someone played with their trust but Elliott was being all about risky baits.

He ran out of the cafeteria door, with his life in his hands.

~

There was a guy named Benjamin who had a huge crush on Nish Wilson. He'd be perfect for the vague plan Elliott had created on spot.

"I should... do it? Are you sure?" Benjamin said, blinking rapidly.

"I think today is your chance. What if Harold falls for Nish soon? What are you going to do?" He asked.

"That'd suck." He said.

"So go and do it. I'll arrange all the necessary things." Elliott said, forcing a smile.

"But why are you doing so much for me, man?" Benjamin asked.

"Because my friend has a crush on Harold. I don't want just anyone to take him away from her." Elliott said, blatantly lying.

"You're such a good friend, Elliott. I'll see you then." Benjamin said, propping up and walking away.

Elliott ran towards the library to find Nish Wilson. As he stood behind a bookshelf, he could hear the conversation between Nish and Rose.

Elliott and Rose were friends since his freshman year. She had always been persistent and a go getter but she was also someone incredibly naive. Rose had a major crush on Harold Stevens, the school bully. So much that Rose would make handmade placards to go to his basketball matches and steal his stuff just to get the chance to return it back to him herself. She was obsessive about him and thought anyone around Harold was a sworn enemy.

What was Rose doing there, he thought. But then he remembered they used to be good friends until the day Nish confessed to Harold in front of the whole cafeteria.

Nish had a very distinct appearance. She had honey-brown eyes and deep brown hair. She would easily be considered one of the most beautiful girls in school if it wasn't for her reputation. Elliott didn't understand the big deal about confessing to someone. Why did that turn into a nightmare for her?

Elliott had to do something even greater to get Nish to sniff the potion. That was the toughest. She had to sniff it on her own will and without someone asking her to do it.

He and Nish had no contact or way of communicating. They had no classes together and he even doubted if she knew him.

"I was your friend, that's why I'm asking you to leave him alone," Rose said, about to lash out.

"I don't get where all of this is coming from. I have nothing to do with him." Nish said an unpredictable look had spread over her face.

"Awesome. Don't try to creep up on him again." Rose said, again.

"I am not going to leave my ego behind and run after him. He's a jerk." Nish said. She focused back on her book, but she looked uneasy. She hated where the conversation was going and Elliott couldn't help but feel guilty about having to see her in that situation.

"Just because he didn't give a f**k to you doesn't make him a jerk." Rose scowled.

"Look around you, Rose. Almost all of the students here have been bullied by that bastard. I was your friend, I'm just trying to make you understand." Nish said, leaning forward. But Rose wasn't having it.

"Then why'd you still fall for him?" Rose replied. Nish went silent, her eyes looked troubled. "If someone you don't like, openly confessed to you, wouldn't you do the same?"

That was Elliott's bait and it was right on spot. If Nish's mind worked out the way Elliott thought it would, she'd reflect on it. She was being quiet which meant she was thinking about it.

"I wouldn't. I would've rejected them but like a mentally stable human being. I wouldn't do what.. he did to me. You saw what happened that day too, right?" Nish said, her jaw clenched.

The whole school had seen what had happened that day. It was a huge deal and remained as one.

"You know what? f**k you. I'm the one wasting my time talking to a loser like you." Rose snapped at her. She couldn't tolerate people speaking one word about Harold.

"Leave then. I don't want your unnecessary blabbering either." Nish snapped back.

One warning from the librarian made Rose storm out of the room. But whatever happened, Rose had done her job without even knowing about it.

Nish sighed and turned back to her book.

~

The cafeteria was crowded and noisy.

Elliot spotted Nish enter the cafeteria and look around for a seat. That's when Elliott walked up to her. He wanted to strike up a conversation with her randomly. He had to talk to her a little if they're gonna be working together later.

"Hey Nish, I think there's an empty seat." Elliott pointed at a corner table. Nish looked at him and nodded. Elliott followed behind her.

"Can I sit?" He asked. Nish nodded again, a hint of a frown on her face.

"How do you know my name? Don't tell me I'm popular at your Silent-nerds association." Nish said, with a strange expression.

"Uh."

"Look, if you're talking to me because you want my help to blow up the school with your other quiet friends, leave me out of it." Nish blurted out and then her hand jumped to her mouth.

"I think you took the quiet kid memes too seriously. I'm just -", Elliott tried speaking but suddenly a loud clatter of tables sounded nearby.

He turned his head to find Benjamin who had climbed up a table with a bouquet and paper microphone in his hand.

Why was he here? Elliott thought. Then his eyes widened. He didn't ask Benjamin to put up a show for the confession.

"Excuse me, everyone. Can I have your attention? I have a confession to make." Benjamin shouted.

Everyone in the cafeteria was hit by a deja vu and they started cheering. Videos started being recorded and people started calling out Benjamin's name.

"There's this girl I've always liked. She's literally the hottest b***h in the house. Make some noise." Benjamin yelled again.

Elliott's face flushed with embarrassment. That's not how confessions work, he thought to himself. If it got offensive, the plan would never work out.

The cheers got even louder.

"Nish Wilson. Will you be my queen?" Benjamin said, getting on his knees and handing out the flowers. Elliott closed his eyes, cringing.

Nish's face was full of terror and anxiety. The whole cafeteria started whispering and throwing shade.

Elliott tried reading her expression expecting her to be annoyed. But she had a different look spread across her face. Like she was taking a walk down memory lane.

Calmly she approached Benjamin, who was grinning ear to ear. For a second Elliott thought, she was about to put a slap across his face.

"I'm sorry. I don't feel the same way." Nish said. The crowd started booing at her. Her face didn't falter by that, she was stern with her words.

Benjamin was insistent and not willing to lose his face in front of the whole school. He came up to her and grabbed her hand when he could've dealt with it way better.

Nish's face turned into pure horror.