Hope

Mrs. Miller didn't answer Merry's question, she only gave her a knowing look. She infact didn't speak for a whole minute. The silence was deafening for Merry.

After the whole minute, it looked like that much of time was enough for Mrs. Miller to straighten out her thoughts.

"Don't lie to me. If you remember anything else, you need to tell me."

"I'm telling you, I remember nothing else."

"Okay, fine. This time around I'll take your word for it. But if I find that you are trying to deceive me, the consequences will be dire."

Merry didn't think that the conversation would take a sudden change in direction. It was becoming more like an interrogation. She was flustered for a second. Mrs. Miller had never spoken to her like that.

Before Merry could speak anything, Mrs. Miller spoke again,"Have you felt anything different in your body these days?"

"Like what?" Merry asked in confusion.

"I mean, every friend of yours has some kind of powers. You were also enrolled in the same program as them. So, you might also have powers."

"Are you saying that I have powers?"

"Not necessarily. I am just saying, there is a chance that it could be true."

"Thus, if you find anything out of the ordinary, you need to talk to me."

During the week when Merry had learnt first that Cole and all the other kids have superpowers, she was expectant of at least having some kind of superpower. But even when she tried various methods to test herself, she didn't find a hint of having any kind of superpower.

All this information from Mrs. Miller, actually brought a glimmer of hope in her heart. However, she was terrified at the same time.

She was totally engrossed, thinking about all the possibilities as well as the fears that came with them. Suddenly, she remembered something that Mrs. Miller had mentioned earlier.

'She had talked about a program. I should ask her regarding that program,' Merry considered.

"Mrs. Miller, you said we were signed up for a program. What kind of program was that?"

'HEHE..HE' Mrs. Miller snickered. "You have gotten a lot comfortable with me. Just a few weeks ago, when you first met me, you had your guard up. You even hesitated to look me in the eye."

"Are you not afraid of me anymore?"

'I am. I am scared...so scared that my stomach churns and makes me want to puke. But I have to know. I need to get any information that I can. We are held here without our choice. We don't know anything about ourselves nor our families. Maybe we could use the gathered information to get our freedom - who knows!' Merry pondered but didn't voice out her thoughts.

"I can answer your question. It's not a big deal. You were all chosen based on a test conducted. If anyone showed any signs of having powers or there was a likelihood that one could get powers in the future, they were picked. And enrolled here in the institution to enhance and practice their powers."