Carrie

Edward mulled it over, calculating in his mind.

Carrie the witch, a pitiful girl twisted by fear and bullying, had ultimately brought a devastating disaster upon the entire town with her Telekinesis on prom night.

Given a second chance at life, he was not here to watch the tragedy repeat itself.

Her power was a good thing. With just a little guidance, if he let her feel a bit of warmth from the "normal world," he could firmly grasp that razor-sharp blade in his hand.

"Hey, Edward! Let's go!" Frank patted him on the shoulder, interrupting his thoughts. "If we don't get to class now, Ms. Collins's chalkboard eraser is about to take flight."

Ms. Collins was lecturing animatedly in class as sunlight streamed through the windows, cutting paths of light through the drifting chalk dust.

Her gaze swept across the classroom and quickly settled on a figure sleeping soundly in the back row.

Ms. Collins frowned, grabbed the chalkboard eraser from the lectern without another word, and swung her arm.

"Whoosh—"

The eraser traced a precise arc through the air and hit its target with a sharp smack.

"Kaller!" Ms. Collins's voice carried a chill. "If you fall asleep in my class again, you can expect a big fat F on this year's report card."

Kaller jolted awake, rubbing his aching head with a dazed, indignant look.

He looked around, then, as though he had found a lifeline, pointed at Edward beside him. "Ms. Collins, that's not fair! Edward was asleep too! Why aren't you saying anything to him?"

The moment he finished, the whole class burst into laughter.

Ms. Collins adjusted her glasses, a glint of cold light flashing across the lenses. She could not even be bothered to look at Kaller as she said flatly, "Edward gets A+ grades in every subject. How exactly do you compare to him?"

Her voice was not loud, but the words landed like a heavy hammer, leaving Kaller speechless.

At that moment, Edward, whose name had been called, finally woke up. He rubbed his eyes, still a little groggy.

"Edward, since you're awake, come answer the question on the board," Ms. Collins said.

Edward instantly sobered up. He stood, swept his gaze over the long string of complicated calculus formulas on the board, and, with barely any thought, gave a clear solution method and final answer without a single mistake.

The classroom fell silent again, and even Ms. Collins nodded in satisfaction.

At last, the bell rang for class to end.

Today's physical education class was volleyball, and the students poured out onto the field.

The blazing sun hung overhead, and the air was so stifling it was hard to breathe.

Dressed in a faded old tracksuit, Carrie stood alone in the corner of the court, wishing she could turn invisible.

A volleyball flew crookedly toward her. She instinctively reached out to block it, but her movements were clumsy to the point of being laughable. The ball hit her arm and bounced far away.

"Hahaha! Look at that idiot!"

Several girls who enjoyed bullying others immediately gathered around her. Chris, the tall girl leading them, crossed her arms and mocked her in a shrill voice. "Carrie, did you skip breakfast or something? You can't even touch the ball. You're such a useless loser!"

Their piercing laughter pricked Carrie like needles. She lowered her head even further, her cheeks burning red as her fingers clutched the hem of her clothes and her body trembled uncontrollably.

Edward, who had just reached the field, saw the scene and his eyes lit up slightly.

The opportunity had arrived.

He headed straight for the volleyball court.

"Edward, are you crazy?" Frank followed behind him, completely baffled. "You're going to help that freak? Stay away from her. She always smells weird."

Edward did not slow down or look back. "You wouldn't understand. I'm saving them."

He walked over to Carrie and softened his voice. "Ignore them. I'll teach you."

Then he picked up the volleyball from the ground, turned toward Chris and her group, and said expressionlessly, "We're classmates. There's no need to act like this."

Chris and the others froze for a moment, clearly not expecting the school's star student to stand up for Carrie.

Chris recovered quickly. She looked Edward up and down, her tone provocative. "Well, if it isn't our A+ genius. What, trying to play the hero and save the damsel? Your taste is really something."

The girls beside her joined in. "Edward, if you're really that good, make her catch one ball! Just one, and we'll admit you're impressive!"

Frank anxiously scratched his head at the side. This is over. With Carrie like that, forget catching the ball. She'll be lucky if it doesn't hit her in the face.

But Edward acted as though he had not heard their taunts. He tossed the ball to Carrie and said gently, "Don't be nervous. Watch the ball. Pretend it's an apple, and reach out to catch it."

Carrie shakily held out her hands. Sure enough, the ball slipped through her fingertips again.

Chris laughed even louder.

Edward did not care in the slightest. He picked up the ball again and smiled at Carrie. "It's okay. Try again. This time, imagine it flying into your hands by itself."

The ball was tossed into the air.

In everyone's eyes, it was as if the ball had grown eyes of its own. It traced a perfect arc, neither too fast nor too slow, and landed steadily in Carrie's open hands.

"Smack."

A soft sound rang out.

The entire court fell silent.

Chris's smile froze on her face, while Frank's mouth fell open in shock.

Carrie herself was stunned. She looked down at the volleyball in her arms, then at her own hands, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Edward turned to Chris, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "One ball. She caught it. So, do you admit I'm impressive now?"

Without waiting for Chris to answer, Edward took the ball again and threw it forcefully upward.

"Carrie, hit it back!"

The instant Carrie swung her arm, it seemed as though some special power had blessed it.

Bang!

The volleyball shot out like a cannonball, howling through the air as it grazed Chris's cheek and slammed heavily into the wire fence behind her with a thunderous crash.

Chris's legs gave out from fright, and she dropped onto the ground, her face deathly pale.

Just then, the PE teacher happened to walk over. Seeing the scene, he assumed Edward's coaching had worked and patted him on the shoulder approvingly. "Excellent work, Edward! Everyone should learn from him and help classmates who are struggling!"

The girls did not dare make another sound. They helped the dazed Chris up and ran away in disgrace.

Carrie stood where she was, her heart pounding wildly. She looked at Edward, moved her lips, and only then managed to squeeze out a few words in a mosquito-like voice. "Th... thank you..."

"It was nothing." Edward winked at her, his smile bright. "If you want to learn volleyball, come find me anytime."

With that, he turned and left with Frank.

Frank was still in shock. He caught up to Edward and lowered his voice. "My God, how did you do that? That hit she made just now... she was practically a professional player!"

With his hands in his pockets, Edward strolled along leisurely, leaving Frank only an unfathomable silhouette from behind.

"I told you, I'm saving people."

Saving them, and saving her too.

Carrie remained where she was, repeatedly staring down at her palms. For the first time, a different kind of light appeared in those eyes that had always been filled with fear.

If you can't find the book by its title, try searching for the author. It may simply have been renamed!