Free Cursed by Wendy Owens

friends.   He seemed to not notice the beckoning.
    “Gabe, wait!”   The voice called out again in a stern tone, breaking through Gabe’s mind.   Gabe turned around and quickly stopped to watch as Neru approached.
    He felt his stomach ache.   This poor girl was only trying to be nice.   But just by speaking to her, Gabe seemed to be enraging Sophie.
    “Hey, is everything alright?” Neru asked, the concern plain on her face.
    “Yeah, I just need to go check into something.” Gabe said, trying to dismiss her concern.
    “Your girlfriend seemed pretty mad last night and now you’re avoiding me.   Look, I didn’t mean to start any problems between the two of you.”   Neru continued, even though it was clear Gabe wanted no part of the conversation.
    “Neru, it’s fine.   Sophie is just… stressed out.   She’ll get over it.   I just have a lot to do, alright?”
    “Well, maybe I can help,” Neru added.
    “I doubt it.” Gabe said, becoming agitated by the delay.
    “Did I do something wrong?   I’m just trying to be a nice person here.” Neru said, looking down at the ground as if she were ashamed.  
    Gabe realized that, even though Sophie was jealous, it was not a rational feeling and surely not Neru’s fault.   He regretted making Neru feel like she was somehow responsible for anything that was going on in his life at the moment.
    “No, Neru.   You didn’t do anything wrong.   My friends all seem to be going crazy.   It's got me on edge.”
    “Do you mean Raimie and Dina?”
    “What?   You know about them?”
    “Who doesn’t, Gabe?   I think everyone was there last night for their fight.”
    “Everyone except me, apparently.” Gabe grumbled.
    “Seriously?   You missed that?” Neru asked in disbelief.
    “Yeah, I went to bed early.” Gabe wanted to kick himself now for that decision.
    “I don’t know how you could have possibly slept through that.   I was in the dining hall when it started and I heard it.   I have never seen two Guardians go at each other like that.”
    When Neru said those words, Gabe thought of the last two Guardians he had seen fight.   The result had been Anthony’s death.  
    “What did Michael do?” Gabe asked, thinking about the emotions it must have stirred in his mentor.
    “I don’t know exactly.   Just as Dina was about to attack Raimie again, Michael swooped in, dissolving her cast.   He is so powerful.   It was quite amazing to watch.   With just the swipe of his hand, he brought them both to their knees.”   As Neru retold the events, Gabe grew even more frustrated that he had slept through the entire thing.
    “You start to realize how powerful he is when you see that he can move you around like rag dolls.” Neru said in awe of their leader’s strength.
    “Yeah,” Gabe said, nodding.   He had seen Michael’s power first hand when he turned Anthony into a pile of ash on the beach all those months ago.   “I have to go.”
    “Wait, are you going to see Michael?” Neru asked, following Gabe as he turned and walked away.
    “Yeah,” Gabe replied, not slowing his pace.   “I have a few questions I need some answers to.”  
    “Can I come?” Neru asked, not losing a single step next to him.
    “What?” Gabe was surprised by her question.
    “Well, it’s just,” Neru struggled with her words for a moment.   “Nothing this exciting ever happens to me.”
    Gabe smiled at the notion that his life seemed exciting to Neru.   All summer as he trained for his tests, he had thought about how boring his daily routine was.
    “I’m not sure that's a good idea.” Gabe tried to dissuade her as they approached Michael’s office doors.   “Michael isn’t expecting me.   Honestly, I have no idea what his reaction will be when he sees me.”
    “Oh,” Neru replied, clearly disappointed by Gabe’s response.
    “I’m sorry.   You understand, don’t you?” Gabe asked softly.
    “Are you kidding me?”   Gabe’s heart sank as