Crystal's Powers [The Weird Ones, #1]

Crystal's Powers [The Weird Ones, #1]

by Rick Coleman

public domain: https://pixabay.com/en/tree-storm-sky-lightning-rain-164025/

The book moved, all on its own. It didn't just move, it flew off Crystal's desk, straight up into the air.
Then it fell with a loud thump onto the carpet of her bedroom. Of course, at just that moment, her
mother happened to be walking by the open door.

"Crystal!"

Her mom stepped over the threshold, eyeing the overturned book on the floor. Naturally, it had to be a
math book. Her mom stood there, all five foot four of her, even counting the curly Afro atop her dark,
unsmiling face. Everyone said Crystal was the spitting image of her mom.

"This is not the way we treat books, Crystal," her mom said. "Is it?"

"No, Mom."

Crystal slid out of her seat, scooped the book up, and placed it back on her desk, all in one motion.

Her mother's stern expression softened. "Are you having trouble with your homework? All you have to
do is ask."

"No, no. The book just... slipped."

Her mom raised one eyebrow and pursed her lips. She considered Crystal's response for a moment,
then she replied, "If you're confused, don't be afraid to come to Dad or me. Just because your parents
are mathematicians doesn't mean you are automatically going to be good at it."

"I know, Mom! But I am good at math. It's fine. The book just slipped."
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 Crystal's Powers [The Weird Ones, #1]

"If you say so, hon." Her mother smiled. "I guess I know that." She turned, stepped back into the
hallway, and disappeared.

Whew. That had been close. A second later and her mom could have seen the whole thing-she
would have known.

But known what, exactly? Crystal couldn't say, and she was living it. Was she some kind of mutant?
Infected with an alien virus? Could she really move things just by looking at them? Or was she
hallucinating?

"No, those weren't hallucinations," she said out loud. What happened was definitely real, she thought,
and it was happening more and more. She remembered clearly when it had started: about six weeks
after they'd moved to Clearwater, a way-too-cute town in upstate New York. Crystal had definitely not
wanted to move, but both her parents had gotten jobs at a big-time lab called the Stephens Institute.
The sleek, modern buildings were behind a tall fence on the outskirts of town.

"It's a major leader in bioengineering research!" her mother had explained excitedly. It wasn't much of
an explanation. The one time her mom had taken Crystal inside for a 'Take Your Child to Work Day,'
she wasn't impressed. The rooms were bland and boring and there wasn't even a lot of fancy science
equipment.

"What did you expect?" her father had joked. "A scene fromSpider-Man?"

Anyway, her parents were really happy about the move, and the town wasn't half as bad as she'd
expected. There was a state college just a mile away, so there were plenty of restaurants and places
to hang out. The kids at her middle school were from all over. A lot of them had parents working at the
college or at the Institute. She hadn't made any close friends yet, but she didn't feel totally out of
place.

Yeah, everything was just peachy keen... except for the thing she could do with her mind. If she
looked at something and focused, just the right way, she could make it move. It was like she could
feel it with her brain. So far, she was a lot better at pushing things away, but she was starting to be
able to pull them closer, and even lift them.

Crystal experimented, trying to see what else she could do, like read people's thoughts. But she'd
been too scared to try on a human. What if they could hear her? She tried reading the mind of her
dog, Buster, but didn't pick anything up. Maybe Buster didn't think much... or maybe her powers were
limited to moving objects from place to place. Probably just moving stuff, she thought, laughing a bit
at herself for even trying to parse Buster's thoughts.

Why didn't she just tell her parents? "Uh, Mom, Dad, I have telekinetic powers." Because what if she
really was hallucinating it all? And what would her parents do if she wasn't? They'd for sure want to
tell the whole world. And even if the government didn't send agents to dissect her or lock her up in a
vault, she'd be a freak for the rest of her life.

No, better to keep it a secret... for now, anyway.

Crystal had to be careful, that's all. She had to make sure she didn't focus on a plate in the cafeteria
and send it spinning into someone's lap (although that might be fun).

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 Crystal's Powers [The Weird Ones, #1]

So, she was careful. She went to school and came home and didn't move things with her mind. It
wasn't so bad... but she wished she could tell someone.

Crystal's family had moved in the summer and now it was fall. The leaves were turning, and the sun
went down earlier every day. Crystal rode her bike to school most days when it wasn't raining. It was
one of the things she liked about the new town, the freedom to ride her bike.

One morning, on a windy day just before Halloween, she got a late start. She pedaled hard down the
winding road to the low, modern school building. Most everyone was inside. There was just one other
kid at the bike stand, a tall, skinny guy with a narrow, tan face and dark hair. He was wearing a bright
green puffy vest and dark jeans.

Crystal skidded to a stop just next to him and pulled her bike to the rack. Then she leaned over to
fumble with her lock. She was going to be late.

"Hey, watch it!" the kid grumbled.

But she barely heard him, because there was a big gust of wind and a very loud crack, right over their
heads-and then a strange sound, like a large and heavy item colliding with something. It all took
place so fast that it was only afterwards, when she saw what had happened, that she got scared.

A giant branch had snapped off the tree right above them and had fallen straight at their heads. They
should have been dead. Only they weren't. Because the boy next to her had his hand up... and the
tree branch was floating about six inches above his palm.

---

Ed. : The tale continues in Part 2, "Not Alone."

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 Crystal's Powers [The Weird Ones, #1] - Comprehension Questions

Name: ___________________________________ Date: _______________

1. What object flies off of Crystal's desk at the beginning of this story?

A. her glasses
B. a phone
C. a pencil
D. a book

2. What caused Crystal and her parents to move to a new town?

A. Her parents thought that the city was too chaotic for Crystal.
B. Her parents wanted to move closer to her grandparents.
C. The new town had better schools than their old town.
D. Her parents both got jobs at a bioengineering research lab.

3. Read the following sentences from the text.

"If she looked at something and focused, just the right way, she could make it move.
It was like she could feel it with her brain. So far, she was a lot better at pushing
things away, but she was starting to be able to pull them closer, and even lift them."

What can you conclude about Crystal and her powers based on this information?

A. Crystal has to close her eyes and focus in order to use her powers.
B. Crystal uses her mind and her vision to experiment with her powers.
C. Crystal's powers only work at night, when there isn't much light.
D. Crystal wants to research her new powers but doesn't know where to start.

4. What scares Crystal about her powers?

A. She is worried that she'll lose control and hurt someone.

B. She is worried that the powers will change her personality.
C. She is worried that people will think she's a "freak."
D. She is worried that she'll have to leave home.

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 Crystal's Powers [The Weird Ones, #1] - Comprehension Questions

5. What is the main idea of this text?

A. Crystal develops strange new powers when her family moves to a new town, and as
she's trying to decide what to do about her powers, she meets someone else with similar
strange powers.
B. Crystal's family moves to a town because her parents are mathematicians and they
want to work at the Stephens Institute, a powerful research center for technology,
bioengineering, and math.
C. Crystal's mom thinks that she throws a math book onto the floor at the beginning of
this story because she is worried that Crystal doesn't like math very much, which
concerns her mom.
D. Crystal has a scary experience while she is biking to school one windy day when a
tree branch crashes down off of a tree and almost falls on her.

6. Why does the author choose to end the story with the tree branch falling?

A. to make readers angry

B. to create suspense
C. to make readers laugh
D. to create enemies

7. Choose the word that best completes the following sentence.

A giant tree branch almost hits Crystal, _____ she is saved by another kid with
powers.

A. eventually
B. for example
C. at first
D. but

8. Why does Crystal decide to keep her powers a secret from her parents?

9. How does Crystal figure out the limits of her powers?

10. How does Crystal feel about her powers in this story? Use evidence from the text to
support your answer.

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