I was packing for school when I noticed a small paper note tucked in my backpack.
I carefully took it out, squinting at the tiny letters written into it.
The note said:
"For just one day, you possess a supernatural power. No one can know about it, and once the day ends, so does your ability.
Your power: Ink Manipulation."
I didn't recognize the handwriting.
But... ink manipulation?
What kind of joke was this?
I couldn't help but let out a small giggle.
Of course, I didn't expect anything to happen.
But out of curiosity, I picked up the bottle of ink from my desk. The moment I touched it, it somehow felt... alive.
I raised my eyebrows.
Why would they even give me this power? And who even were they?
I took a deep breath, narrowing my eyes in concentration. I smiled when the ink floated out of the bottle, levitating in the air.
"Just like the movies," I murmured, my legs burning from standing in the same place for too long. I shuffled toward my backpack as I hung it neatly over my shoulders.
Then the realization hit me.
Maybe I was dreaming.
The disappointment hit me then. Actually having this ability would be so cool!
"Okay, if this is a dream," I murmured, "I want a unicorn to appear in front of me."
When it didn't, I pinched myself.
"Ugh," It didn't hurt too much, but I hated being pinched.
How was this real though?
I shrugged and flashed a sheepish smile, "Oh well..."
I was definitely confused, but this was also going to be fun.
At school, I had an exam at the start of the day.
When I sat in the hall, looking at the questions, an idea formed.
I placed the pen down on my desk and began to use my power to draw ink from the bottle placed next to it.
I was careful not to let anyone notice, and I widened my ink to spread the particles, to make it look like nothing was there.
Then I secretly made the ink glide across the page, solving the exam without even lifting a finger.
I was honestly enjoying it, speeding through the answers while pretending I was staring cluelessly at the paper.
In about half an hour, the teacher walked up to me and murmured, "Celina, aren't you going to do the exam?"
"Oh," I said with a smug grin, "I'm actually done, Ms. Nara."
"I didn't see you do it..." She picked up the paper and scanned the page, her mouth slightly open
I smiled at her, "I just did it early, you probably didn't notice."
She grinned back, "Alright. You may review it now."
The teachers were always nice to me like that.
But I was confused sometimes, because I wasn't one of the star students, I was just average.
After the exam time was over, Ms. Nara stepped up to me, "Celina, your teacher Miss Silverwood wants to talk to you. She's in the staff room."
Inside, Miss Silverwood motioned for me to sit down the moment she saw me. After I got into a chair, she murmured, "Celina, I have to tell you something. Please listen carefully."
I bit my lips with a slight smile and she began, "You are aware that the new students are coming to this school today, right?"
I nodded.
"Alright, Celina, now listen carefully. These new students are actually zombies. We were told that you would have the power to stop them. And we knew you were the hero. But the question is, are you willing to stop them?"
"But how would I..." Wait- could ink be the key?
"I hope you have found a solution? Please enlighten me."
I gulped, "I don't think I can tell anyone." The note had said not to, and... I couldn't just break the rules, could I?
She nodded, "We were told as much. So Celina, I hope you will stay in class until you are called?"
"Sure..." I said, "But... Zombies are real?"
"They are."
The bell chimed for the next lesson before I could argue.
"Well, you better get going," she crinkled her eyes and smiled, readjusting her spectacles as I rose.
The lessons were so long and boring I would've fallen asleep if the adrenaline from the conversation with Miss Silverwood wouldn't have kept me awake.
I just kept playing with an ink ball under my desk.
The teacher who was giving the lesson kept glancing at me.
She probably knew.
But I still couldn't process that zombies were real.
I beamed when I thought about how Miss Silverwood had called me a hero.
What would I even do if the zombies were real?
Would I use ink to draw on their faces or something? I giggled softly, careful to be quiet enough not to let anyone else notice me.
After two lessons, I was called to the staff room again.
This time, I took my ink bottle with me just in case.
All the teachers stood in the staff room, their expressions horrified but hopeful.
Miss Silverwood looked at me expectantly and whispered, "The new students are here. Contact with them will infect us, and even you. But you have the cure, don't you? We are all aware that we are putting you through such a risk, but we know you are brave. They have already harmed their teacher. "
So this was why they were always so nice to me...
"Soo... Their teacher is now a zombie?" I asked.
"Yes."
"And... If I have the cure, I'll turn the teacher back. But what will the zombie students turn into when I use the cure on them?"
"They'll disappear. They're not even real people."
"Woah... I never imagined our school would go through a zombie apocalypse. And I never imagined I would have to fix it."
They showed me to the new class of fourth graders where the teachers all left and I stood alone.
I peeked through the window.
And the sight that awaited me was scary, but not enough to take me off guard.
All the students had a greenish tint to their skin and they walked strangely.
Even their teacher looked the same.
But what would ink do?
I clutched the ink bottle tighter in my hand as I reluctantly stepped inside on shaky knees.
Everyone was counting on me.
First, I looked at the teacher.
I didn't recognize her, but I felt bad for her. Who would willingly take a class of zombies knowing they didn't even have the cure?
What could I do?
The zombies were starting to notice me now, so I did the only thing I could think of. I opened the ink bottle and began to narrow my eyes and bring the ink into the air.
I made some of it glide over the teacher, but it didn't work. The teacher was still zombified.
I tried another wisp, and this time, I saw the color return to her cheeks.
"Argh," she murmured, "You're the one, right? They said a girl would come and save me."
I looked at her carefully as she walked toward me and muttered something under her breath. I couldn't tell what she was saying, but I caught the words, "Zombie students."
She turned to the door and went behind me. Suddenly, I looked outside and realized the whole school was gathered outside, watching. It looked like the teachers were telling them everything.
The zombies began to charge, and the teacher who I had de-zombified screamed, backing away.
I took some ink and spread it into the air in front of me.
I clenched my hands into fists, and muttered, "Solidify, solidify, please..."
Suddenly, it solidified and turned into a shield, like a barrier.
Then, I heard people saying stuff like, "So cool," and "She's a legend,"
But I was embarrassed. Someone gave me this ability.
I didn't know who they were but I knew something was off.
But then, one zombie came up from behind, trying to charge. I created a sword out of solidified ink, remembering that ink was the cure.
I slashed and just as it touched the zombie, it disappeared.
When I turned, I saw that almost half the school was now zombified!
My sword and shield fell out of my hands in shock as I saw my teacher and best friend had both been infected.
A classmate came closer to me, looking terrified.
I began to take action when I realized I had run out of ink.
"Save me!" My friend said as a zombie came closer.
"I need a bottle of ink," I said.
"I don't have one! Wait, let me ask someone," she ran away, leaving me afraid and clueless.
What would I do now?
A zombie was slowly coming towards me.
I leaped back to avoid it.
Finally my friend came back with some ink and I poured it onto the ground, expanding it.
It walked through the whole school, cueing them all. The zombies disappeared with tiny popping sounds, and a feeling of satisfaction went down the pit of my stomach.
Finally, everything was back to normal. Except everyone had ink on their clothes, which was funny, because nobody was even mad at me because of it.
It made sense that the students wouldn't mind, because they were all wearing our school's ugly navy uniforms, but not even the teachers mentioned it.
When I went home, I told my parents about everything except my ability because I was scared of the note.
The next day my ability was to leave.
I woke up and grabbed the new ink bottle on my bedside table, but it wasn't normal like I expected it to be.
It seemed to stir, almost like it remembered me.
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