Free Mind Over Easy by Bryan Cohen Page A

against the wall and tried to dissect what just happened.
    He's terrible . Why did I even let him near me?
    Natalie wondered if Ted was right that being alone was getting to her. She ignored the thought and walked back into the main area. Chairs had been set up for some kind of presentation, and Natalie found an empty one toward the back. The seats were pointed toward a makeshift stage and a man who seemed to think he was important. When he spoke at the microphone, the tone in his voice was one of vanity and self-congratulation.
    "Ladies and gentlemen, you have gone above and beyond the call of duty tonight," he said. "Your recent recruiting efforts have gained us more than 200 local members. Give yourselves a round of applause."
    To describe the clapping as thunderous would be selling it short. Fanatical might be the better word, with a few hollers thrown in for good measure. The man at the front of the room held up his hand, and the crowd grew silent.
    "Since Ted Finley has emerged with powers seemingly plucked straight from the devil, we've lost a local landmark and several jobs in the process." The man moved across the front, as if trying to connect with every row and column of the group before him. "We've also lost two teens who were very near and dear to our hearts."
    Natalie wasn't sure if the man had seen much of the last few years at high school, but the closest the Torellos got to most people's hearts was when they were punching them in the chest.
    He continued.
    "Truth be told, we don't know what Ted can do. We've seen that he can move objects with his mind, turning anything into a weapon. But who knows what else he can do? Can he control people's minds? Turn a safe area into a radioactive wasteland? And if he can do more than meets the eye, how do we know that he's on our side?"
    The man stopped his pacing. "Until we know more, Ted Finley needs to go."
    The last bit got a rise out of the crowd. Natalie considered how her life in Treasure would change if Ted were gone. She had trouble convincing herself that it wouldn't be much, much simpler.
    "I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that with your help, we will get Ted out of Treasure and protect you and your families from the menace that he has wrought."
    Natalie joined into this round of applause, which matched the fervor of the first. She wondered what Ted would think if he saw her clapping at a man who wanted to uproot and dispose of him.
    She resolved to no longer think of Ted's feelings and sat on the edge of her chair to listen to the rest of the speech.
     

Chapter 13
     
    Ted flipped through his old social media photos using his mind to control the keyboard. Erica had told him to practice using his powers for fine motor skills whenever possible. She didn't say he couldn't use that practice to look at pictures of his ex-girlfriend. Dhiraj had taken many of the shots during multiple third-wheel date situations. Ted kept flipping back to a picture of Natalie sitting in his lap at a bowling alley with a goofy smile pasted on her face.
    We were happy , he thought. She was happy.
    Ted kept the picture up on his screen and leaned back in his computer chair. While Natalie was his current top concern, he had a lot that he was still trying to process. There was a growing mob of people who hated him and wanted him to get out of town. The federal government was willing to help him deal with the problem if he left his normal life to fight bad guys full time. And he still had yet to secure his girlfriend as his date to prom.
    He was so lost in his thoughts that when his mother knocked on his bedroom door, the computer chair fell completely backward. Ted stopped himself from falling before the chair reached the ground. His mother walked in to see him hovering several inches over the carpet.
    "You know, I'm not sure if I'm every going to get used to that." Ted's mom picked up a few stray socks and tossed them into the hamper. "I've called you down for dinner three