behind a silver pendant

Michael closed his eyes and sighed. It has been a long day.

A classroom full of students eyed him carefully as their homeroom teacher stood before them and coughed, probably trying to get their attention, and failing at it miserably. It took a few moments of hushed murmurs and a few stern looks of both the homeroom teacher and the class president for the students to fall quiet, and during that time, Michael had to wander: Was he like that as a highschooler? If he was, he felt as if he should apologize to some of his teachers. In the back of the class, somebody chuckled, and the winged man raised his heads immediately, finding the telepath. His face immediately fell dark as he banished the boy from his thoughts. After what had happened with William, he had become extremely good at that.

As I said. the homeroom teacher-Mr. Marks or something like that, he thought-continued to speak. As of today, there would be no homeroom an immediate cheer of happiness, followed by a loud thud as the last period would be taken over by Mr. Griffin here. The students let out a general sigh of disappointment, and Michael frowned once again. He hated his last name and had said as much on introduction. What possesed the man to still introduce him as Mr. Griffin he did not know.

He will be teaching... Well, there is no name for what he will be teaching. the homeroom teacher sighed, and smiled at last. Though I think many of you will benefit from it. So be nice and hear him out. He's a bit quiet, so I don't want to hear any yelling or laughing! Understood?!

Yes, Mr. Stark. they sang, and Michael thanked heaven that he didn't try to address the man by the falsely remembered name. He waited for him to leave the classroom, before taking a deep breath, and slowly taking the pendant of his chest.

My name is Michael Griffin and this is what I can do...

For forti five minutes... or at least forty... alright, it couldn't have been more than half an hour, for they kept asking him to pet his wings for at least 15 minutes... 20 students listened to him in awe as he explained to them the basic of what he could do. In the end, he offered to make a pendant for anyone who would so wish, and ended the class. Nervously, he waited to see how many of them would stay after the bell.

Hi! I um, I need your help with something?

He turned around, opening his eyes in the process, and smiled, listening to her speak. Getting used to talking to people had been hard, but once one of his teachers found out what he can do, he had no other choice. Having been seen taking flight and then hiding his wings again, he had been dragged to the faculty office immediately and made a student-teacher that very day. However, the didn't even think of letting him into the classroom until he at least learned to talk.

I think you have misunderstood me.... Ania, was it? he said, his voice still quiet as it ever was. There was no way to change that, not after 25 five years of him not using it for months at a time.

I can not shut away your powers. he said, reaching for his pendant. I can only make one of these for you. he showed her the pendant, before hiding it under his shirt again. And it will only stop your powers from manifesting as long as you are wearing it. So, if that is what you need, I will gladly make one for you. That is why I'm here.

And it was. He had always wanted to become a teacher, ever since he was perhaps thirteen years old, but now, his wish had gained a deeper meaning, for through his power he would be able to help many troubled young people who were still growing into their powers.

Suddenly, he sighed, rubbing his eyes. Teaching him to talk by making him have tea with some of the faculties older teachers has had some unfortunate consequences, one of them being he always talked, and often thought these days, as if he was reading from the Oxford Dictionary. He just hoped the students wouldn't make too much fun of him.

Overwhelmed by the onslaught of questions the girl shot his way, Michael had to take a mental step back.

Ah, could you please...slow down? he said, raising his hand and rubbing his forehead. I have trouble keeping up with people speaking too fast. Taking a deep breath once more, Michael nodded his head.

I do not have a spare one, as they have to be made specifically for one person, the experiments his Pedagogy teacher made him do during his months of 'therapy' revealed that much and not only you can come with me as I make them, your presence is, for now, required. He made dozens of them during those months as every single one that wasn't made while the person for which it was meant was present in the room with him lost it's powers hours after the finally 'step'. Those that were made with the person simply being present worked better, but only those he had made while talking to the owner of the targeted power worked for more than a few days.

I am still unsure of why I am able to make them, he said, standing up, grateful that his 'class' required no books that he had to pack of him, and while it in itself isn't hard, it required focus, and time, anywhere from just a few to the full twelve hours, depending of the strength of the power. Do you have that kind of time today?

I can see that. Michael said a bit bitterly, though he had tried to hide it, sighing as he looked over the rest of the classroom. There were a few students lingering around here and there, but nobody seemed certain enough to approach him. Perhaps after Ania has prove them that his pendants worked.

I, as well, have nothing else to do for today, so we might as well start now. he said, showing her to the door. As far as for how long I have been able to make them... For myself, my whole life. For others, not that long.

He wasn't sure how long has it been himself. A few months at least, but how much, he didn't know. He was never good at keeping track of time, but for a few weeks after a fight he was a bit of a walking, and often flying, mess. He remembered turning to ice inside and then nothing for about a week for sure. After it, senses started coming back to him, but sporadically and disconnectedly, all the way until his Pedagogy teacher saw him take flight, figuring out in one go what sort of gold Michael has been hiding within himself all along.

After that there has been a flood of fast-learning courses, covering the last year of his education, plus the tea parties and talking sessions, which he had come to think of as Therapy altogether.

It was all behind him now, though, and he had a task before himself: help Ania. For that, he needed a quiet place fist, and has thus headed for what used to be a broom closet but was redecorated into a sitting room just for him.

So, first things first. What is your power

Well, I can certainly see the problem there. Michael said as the girl answered his question. Not to be able to kiss at her age must be a horror like nobody could imagine. Especially if she has a boyfriend.

And I would imagine it is so much bigger because you have somebody you would like to kiss. he said, reaching for the top shelf of a book shelf positioned right behind his bright red chair. Why did they have to be so bright? And why of all colours, red?

Shaking his head, Michael tried to return his mind to the right path of that was needed for creating a pendant rather than wasting his, and the girl's time, thinking about furniture.

From the shelf he retrieved a box full of silver coins, each decorated in a different way. They were made for him by one of the retired teachers he had been having tea with, and even though each of them took a second with her power, the love one could feel radiating from them was no smaller than the one lingering around similar object that have taken hours, maybe even weeks to make.

Pick one. he said, putting the box on the table between two chairs. Here, he felt safe, and much more capable of talking to her properly than he had felt in the classroom.

Just be careful. You will probably be wearing it for the next few years or so. he couldn't be certain that was true, of course, for even the most successful of experiments were only a few months old, but they were doing good, and stayed strong, and his own pendant has lasted him ever since he was thirteen. Hopefully, it would last twice as much for Ania.

As I said before, that is why I'm here. There is no need to thank me.

Having confirmed that that was the pendant the girl was most comfortable with, Michael took in carefully into his hands, and took a deep breath.

Don't get scared. he said, feeling the rusting of his feathers growing stronger behind him while his wings took on their ghostly-looking form. In all honestly, it was, in a way, completely logical that they wouldn't be able to stay hidden while he focused his power somewhere else instead of on hiding them, yet it still felt weird every time it happened. He was so used to the fact that his wings would be stay hidden as long as the cold metal was touching his skin that it was a little bit disorienting to find that it wasn't so. That's why he took on practise of closing his eyes after the third time.

About a dozen or so that worked. he said, answering her question once the first step was over. However, they were all made for teachers as the part of my training, so you and your friends wouldn't know about them. Shifting a bit, he found a more comfortable position for himself to sit in. This was going to be a long afternoon in the end.

Tell me about your boyfriend. he said, feeling that that was the story than needed to be told here, considering that was why she had wanted a pendant in the first place.