Alex

“So, here’s my apartment.” I led Lilly inside.
“Wow.” She spun around slowly, taking it all in.
I smiled. “Glad you like it.” It was pretty nice. Hardwood floor, spacious living room, gourmet kitchen… The Lab really went all-out on it.
“You’re back early.” Zack got up from the couch and walked over to us.
“Yeah. We’ve got the rest of the semester off.”
“And… you’re not alone.” He stared at Lilly.
“Relax. I brought Lilly back because she needs help controlling her powers. She just found out she’s a powerful spirit.”
“Powerful spirit? You mean…”
I nodded.
“Right.” He smiled at Lilly. “Nice to meet you, Lilly. I’m Zack.” He offered his hand.
Lilly hesitated for a moment, then smiled and shook.
Might have been her first time shaking a hand covered in fur. Angels tend to live a bit… closed-off. In cities/villages that only allow angels (and select humans) inside. A few even kill any other species that gets inside.
But Lilly was different. She was nice. Open-minded. Beautiful. I smiled. I never expected to find an angel who could accept me. Could she? If she knew the truth, would she be okay with it? Would she–
“So,” Zack turned his attention back to me. “You said you got the rest of the semester off? How’d that happen?”
“Huh?” I snapped back to reality. “Right. We got transferred to a special program for prophets. Doesn’t start until next semester, so they let us leave.”
“Prophets?” Zack struggled (and failed) to contain his laughter. “Seriously?”
“It’s not funny,” Lilly insisted, “They expect us to tell them what God wants, and… we can’t. I can’t speak for God. I–” She looked down. “It’s all my fault. All because I can’t control my–my power.”
Zack looked at me for answers.
“Mind control.” I turned back to Lilly. Put my arm on her shoulder. “And it’s not your fault. You just wanted the priest to buy my ‘born-again’ story, and… it worked a little too well. Stop beating yourself up over it. I can teach you to control it, make sure this doesn’t happen again. Okay?”
“Do you have any idea what they’re going to do to us? Once they find out we’re not really prophets?”
“She has a point,” Zack said, “I can’t imagine the news will go over very well.”
“That’s why we can’t let them find out. We need to play along. Tell them what they want to hear, along with some stuff they seriously need to learn, like love and forgiveness.”
“And then what?” Zack. “You gonna keep pretending to be a prophet for the rest of your life?”
“We can figure out long-term plans later. Right now, we need to help Lilly get control over her power.”
“Suppose you’re right.” Zack sighed. “Take her to a practice room, see what you can do. I’ll alert the higher-ups, see if they’ve got any advice.”
“Sound good to you?” I asked Lilly.
She nodded. “Sooner I get control over it, the better.”