The school building was one of the biggest places Viv Mitchell had ever been in. Her noise-cancelling headphones sat over her ears, her sunglasses perched on her nose, and her nose plug situated in her pocket in case she had to use it.

The building had definitely been a castle, she marvelled. Her eyes were wide as she stared across the field of new and returning students. Vivienne Mitchell was firmly in the realm of the former, a new student at Titan's Academy for Powered Teens. Her parents had dropped her off that morning and, after speaking to the headmaster and founder of the school for a while, they'd finally left.

Viv was finally on her own here and it felt glorious. They'd never been alone like this before, left to their own devices, allowed to make their own choices. Sure they were 18 and like an actual adult now, but her parents had always been controlling and it'd only gotten worse as she got older.

Coming back to her body, Viv looked across the large grassy area in front of the school, covered in kids hugging their friends and people talking and people shoving and it felt like a crowd but Viv knew there were exactly 142 students, 4 teachers, and the headmaster. She could hear all the heartbeats and all their breaths moving in the air around them.

Viv heard the Headmaster take in a breath and preemptively braced for the shushing sound that would roll across the crowd.

It was chilling and settled in her bones as it penetrated her headphones, but Viv stood strong in the face of the shrill sound. She heard every intake of breath in the wind-up and every slow inhale again after. She saw the pollen in the air moving with the amount of air being displaced. She smelled the chicken cacciatore the girl next to her had eaten for lunch. She felt every single exhale of breath on her skin.

Vivienne hated it.

But it quickly slowed to a stop and she tried to reign in the feelings. Bring her back to herself. Stop focusing on others' sounds and focus on her own. Her smell. Her mind. Her body's sounds. She breathed in her scent and exhaled slowly.

"Good morning students," Headmaster, and school founder, Titan Jones spoke, his voice strong and calming, washing over the crowd of students. Returning students clapped and some even cheered. New students nodded and watched carefully, most of them still unsure what was happening.

Viv looked closer at Titan, her eyes seeing him as if he was right in front of her. She had met him once before but seeing the man in his office, sitting down, comfortable, was very different from seeing him leading a crowd of students. His black hair was swept out of his face, his eyes sharp and his stance powerful. Viv saw every wrinkle on his face, the slight twitch of his fingers against the podium. He didn't have any paper with him and seemed to know exactly what he was going to say.

"It's a new year here at Titan's," He paused, as returning students roared with excitement. Waiting for it to die down, he smiled softly, Viv seeing the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes slowly become more prominent. "And there's a lot to look forward to, from returning students who have been here before, to those of you who have never had the pleasure of a class with Ms Hoops." Another roar of laughter from students who got the reference.

Viv braced for each sound but it still felt explosive.

"I started this school 7 years ago," Titan's tone changed, from a joking one to something more solemn. "To create a safe space for children and people with powers and special abilities. The world, the one out there–" he pointed towards the gate. "Isn't made for people like us. It's made for people who see themselves as normal and everyone else as other."

Yes. Viv understood what he was saying. The world wasn't made for people who could see it all, who could hear every heartbeat, every piston moving up and down. It wasn't made for those who could smell every person's scent on everything they touched. The world wasn't made for people like Vivienne.

"We are other." Titan paused. The crowd was silent, thinking, breathing, still as a deer in the road. He continued, his voice was strong but not booming. "We are different. We are different and other, but we should not be forgotten. We should not let them push us away. My school is not for us to hide in. We are not hiding here. You are learning. You are learning and one day you will leave here and I will rejoice because that's what you've been learning. The teachers here are teaching you how to leave and I cannot wait for graduation this year, to see who is ready to fly from the warm and loving nest into a world not made for you but that you are now ready to bend to your will."

The crowd clapped, nearly roaring, as Titan gave a small bow with his head and moved to the side of the podium. Ms Hoops, a stern-looking woman, clapped her hands once, a loud and sharp sound, causing Viv to almost double over.

The woman began talking about emails sent that morning, about when food would be available, and how curfew worked.

Viv was done with all of this and slipped slowly around the crowd, heading back to her peacefully soundproofed room.