The Ability (Ability, The)

by M. M. Vaughan

  “Miss Sonata forwarded a list of items you’ll need. We’ll just put together a selection for you to choose from and bring them up to you. In the meantime, enjoy your breakfast.”

  “Great, thanks,” said Chris, standing up as Victoria walked out of the room. He looked over at the feast on the table and picked up a croissant. Taking an enormous bite, he took the car magazine on the top of the pile and sat back on the sofa. Maybe this isn’t so bad after all, thought Chris as he began to relax.

  • • •

  Two hours later Chris walked out wearing crisp new jeans, a white shirt, a green sweater, a black jacket, and a pair of brand-new sneakers. Behind him Julian and another member of staff carried bags laden with new clothes and shoes and loaded them up in the trunk of the waiting car.

  “Thank you very much, sir. I hope you’ve enjoyed your time with us, and, well, I’m terribly sorry for the misunderstanding earlier,” said Julian, shaking Chris’s hand.

  “It’s fine,” said Chris cheerfully, getting into the car. “I had a great time. Thank you.”

  Julian bowed his head gratefully. “No, thank you. I very much hope you’ll visit us again soon,” he said, closing the door behind Chris.

  “Thanks for waiting for me,” said Chris to Ron and John, as the car pulled away.

  “Not a problem,” said John cheerfully, clearly trying to make up for Ron sulking in the seat next to him.

  “Can’t believe it,” muttered Ron, looking out the window. “He really was doing some shopping.”

  John leaned over and turned the radio on, much to the relief of Chris, who was for once quite happy to sit back and listen to country music.

  • • •

  Maura greeted Chris on his return to Myers Holt and helped him carry the bags down to his room, cooing the whole way about how handsome he looked in his new clothes. Chris had to admit he felt good, although a bit embarrassed at all the attention.

  “The other children will be here in a couple of hours,” said Maura as they hung up the clothes in his room. “Are you looking forward to it?”

  Chris shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”

  “You’ll get along grand,” said Maura, reassuring him, but Chris wasn’t convinced. He always felt like an outsider around other children, partly because he didn’t know anything about the latest films or toys and partly because he knew that none of them were worrying about paying bills or taking care of their parents. Maybe this time would be different, he hoped.

  • • •

  Chris spent the next couple of hours watching television and playing pool against himself. Finally, at half past eleven, the door opened, and Sir Bentley walked in with a girl in a pink dress and pink cardigan following behind him, sniveling.

  “Good morning, Christopher,” said Sir Bentley. Chris laid the cue down on the table and walked over.

  “This is Daisy Fields. Daisy, this is Christopher Lane.”

  “Hi,” said Chris. “Cool name.” The girl took one look at him and burst into tears.

  Sir Bentley patted the girl on the back awkwardly.

  “Daisy is a bit upset about saying good-bye to her parents. Perhaps you could reassure her. I’ll, uh, leave you to it,” said Sir Bentley, making a quick exit.

  Chris and Daisy stood awkwardly facing each other, not speaking. Daisy looked down at the floor, her straight blond hair covering her face, and brushed the tears away with the back of her hand.

  “It’s all right here,” said Chris, trying to reassure her.

  Daisy nodded but didn’t look up.

  “Look at this,” said Chris, and walked over to the button by the armchair. He pressed it, and the television appeared from behind the painting.

  He turned back to Daisy, who was looking at the screen. She smiled weakly and sniveled.

  “That’s nice,” she said quietly.

  “You can watch whatever you want,” said Chris, handing her the remote control. Daisy took it and walked over to the sofa. He watched her take off her shoes, pink also, and curl up on the sofa. Chris stood for a moment, wondering what to do next, then finally walked back over to the pool table and resumed his game.

  Ten minutes later the door opened again, and Sir Bentley walked in behind a boy and a girl. The girl was wearing a blue tracksuit and had light brown skin and piercing green eyes, which were framed by a mass of wild dark hair. The boy next to her was chubby, and his face was covered in freckles. His hair had been shaved close to his head, and he had an air of confidence about him that was immediately obvious.

  “All right,” he said to Chris. Chris nodded.

  “Christopher Lane, this is Rex King and Lexi Taylor,” said Sir Bentley. Lexi nodded at him but didn’t say anything. Chris returned the nod.

  “Where’s Daisy?” asked Sir Bentley, and Chris pointed over to the back of the sofa. Slowly, they saw the back of Daisy’s head appear and look round. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she looked terrified.

  “What’s up with her?” asked Rex.

  “She’s missing her parents,” said Chris.

  “Blimey, it’s only been five minutes,” said Rex, and Daisy burst into tears once more.

  “Yes, well, perhaps you could try to cheer her up,” said Sir Bentley. “I imagine the others won’t be too long; I’d best get upstairs to greet them.” Sir Bentley walked out and left the children standing in the room.

  “Fancy a game?” Rex asked Chris. Chris nodded and walked over to the pool table to set up the balls.

  “What is this? Some kind of boys’ club? I can play too,” said Lexi, following behind them.

  “Actually, I think you’ll find you can’t,” said Rex, chalking up his cue.

  “What makes you think that?” asked Lexi, angrily.

  “Well, let me see. Oh yeah, that’s right—you’re a girl.”

  “Who you calling a girl?”

  “You,” said Rex with a smirk, “or aren’t you a girl?”

  A flustered look crossed Lexi’s face, replaced quickly by a frown.

  “Whatever. Just let me play.”

  Rex shrugged his shoulders. “Fine. Just don’t cry like Princess Snotty over there when you lose.”

  A loud sob came from behind the sofa.

  “Hey, come on,” said Chris.

  “Sorry. Didn’t realize she was your girlfriend,” said Rex.

  Chris rolled his eyes and passed the cue to Lexi.

  “Make sure you win and shut him up,” said Chris, standing back to watch.

  “Stay out of it, rich boy,” said Rex, looking Chris up and down. Chris looked confused for a moment and then realized that Rex was looking at his new clothes. For a moment he considered correcting him, then decided to keep quiet. “You can break,” said Rex, turning to Lexi. “Probably the only shot you’re going to get.”

  Lexi walked up to the table with a determined look on her face. The boys watched as she placed the cue awkwardly over her hand. She pulled back and slammed the cue forward, completely missing the white.

  Chris grimaced.

  “Ouch. That’s embarrassing,” said Rex. “Two shots to me.”

  Lexi looked at the cue as if it were to blame, as Rex fired off the balls in all directions, potting three. He took a couple more shots and then finally missed.

  “Feeling sorry for you,” he said as Lexi leaned down to try to line up the shot. She pushed the cue forward, but instead of hitting the red, the white ball went straight into the corner pocket.

  Chris put his hand to his forehead, shaking his head in disbelief and embarrassment for Lexi.

  “Argh!” cried Lexi in frustration. She kicked the table.

  “Oh, dear,” said Rex, laughing. “Looks like it’s going to be a short game after all.”

  “I’m sick of this,” said Lexi, putting the cue back in the rack.

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” said Rex.

  “Want to show the girls how it’s done?” asked Rex, offering Chris the cue.

  Chris shook his head.
“No, thanks,” he said, turning away.

  “Suit yourself,” said Rex, shrugging his shoulders.

  Lexi and Chris left Rex playing on his own. They walked over to the sofa next to the one that Daisy was sitting on and sat at opposite ends.

  “What are you watching?” Lexi asked Daisy. Daisy shrugged, still huddled in a ball.

  This is not going well at all, thought Chris. He couldn’t have been more grateful when Sir Bentley opened the door once more and walked in with two boys.

  “And these are the last two students. This is Sebastian White,” said Sir Bentley, placing his hand on the shoulder of a good-looking boy with olive skin and black hair. “And this is Philip Lowry,” he said, gesturing toward a skinny, pale boy in a three-piece brown suit and glasses.

  “Ready for a day at the office?” Rex asked Philip from the other side of the room. Philip smiled.

  “Dress to impress,” he said.

  “Impress who? My grandmother?” laughed Rex.

  “Rex, perhaps we could try to tone down the humor,” said Sir Bentley, sternly. He turned to the two boys next to him.

  “Philip, Sebastian, this is Christopher, Lexi, Daisy, and Rex.” Philip gave a small salute, and Sebastian bowed.

  “Encantado.”

  “Eh?” said Lexi.

  “It means ‘enchanted.’ I am Spanish,” explained Sebastian in a strong accent.

  “Knock it off! Your dad’s from Manchester,” said Rex, walking over. “You were standing outside when I came in—I heard him. You’re about as Spanish as a Sunday roast.”

  Sebastian curled his lip and glared at Rex.

  “Half-Spanish. My mother is Spanish, and I lived there until last year. You are . . . un idiota,” said Sebastian, waving his arm at Rex dismissively.

  “Boys, boys. Enough!” said Sir Bentley. “You are all going to have to learn to get on. And Rex, if you can’t say anything nice—”

  “Don’t say anything at all. Yeah, I hear that a lot,” said Rex, sulking.

  “Perhaps this will be the last time, then. If you don’t think you can manage to conduct yourself properly at Myers Holt, then we have no need for you here. Do you understand?”

  Rex nodded.

  “Right then, let’s start again. Why don’t you all take a seat and we’ll begin.”

  Rex plopped himself down between Chris and Lexi, and the other two boys sat next to Daisy, who by this point had managed to stop crying and was sitting up.

  Sir Bentley pressed the button by the lamp, and the screen flipped back round to the painting, which he stood in front of. All the children, apart from Chris and Daisy, who had already seen it, looked impressed. Sir Bentley walked over to stand in front of it and addressed the children.

  “Welcome to Myers Holt. I hope you’ll enjoy your year here with us. You have all been picked for your unique talents, of which you will all become aware very soon. In the meantime I’d like to remind you that you all signed the Official Secrets Act, and what you learn here is not to be discussed outside of this facility. This is very important. Do you understand?”

  The children all nodded in unison.

  “Good. You will learn more later, but I will say this. Your stay here will teach you many things, and you will leave Myers Holt with an academic foundation that will stay with you for life. Of that I can assure you. However, there are other reasons that you are here. To put it simply, as pupils of Myers Holt you will be expected to do some work for the government in addition to your studies. Some of you may not feel comfortable about this, and at the end of today, when you have been given more information, you will be asked to make a decision as to whether you choose to remain here or prefer to leave. That is a personal decision for each one of you, and I can’t stress enough that you are under no pressure to stay.”

  The children said nothing, but they were all leaning forward, intrigued, when the sound of the door opening disturbed them. Chris turned and saw Miss Sonata walk in, smiling. She walked over to Sir Bentley and, even though she was wearing a gray somber pinstripe jacket and skirt, she looked very young standing next to him.

  “I think you have all met Miss Sonata,” said Sir Bentley.

  “Good morning, everybody,” said Miss Sonata brightly.

  “Miss Sonata is my right-hand man, if you will. She will also be teaching your curriculum lessons. You’ll meet Ms. Lamb tomorrow—she was unable to join us today. She is deputy headmistress at Myers Holt and will be teaching you most of your other lessons.”

  “What other lessons?” asked Lexi.

  “Everything will be explained in due course,” answered Sir Bentley cryptically.

  “Miss Sonata, I’ll leave you to it. Once again, welcome to Myers Holt,” he said, and walked out.

  Miss Sonata waited for the door to close and then turned back to face the children.

  “So, let’s show you around,” she said.

  The children all stood and followed her out of the room and into the hallway.

  “This is the dining room,” said Miss Sonata, walking over to a door opposite. She opened it, and the children jostled to look inside. The room was rectangular and bathed in light. Large French windows ran along three sides of the room and looked out over fields. Chris recognized the view as one similar to the landscape in his bedroom. Between the windows, on bare brick walls, hung baskets filled with overflowing ivy and plants. Philip walked over to one of the windows and pressed his face up to the glass.

  “The windows are screens,” explained Miss Sonata, “designed to disguise the fact that you are living underground. The light comes from specially designed sun-replicating bulbs, which will give you plenty of vitamin D and make sure that the plants thrive. And, unlike upstairs, the weather is always fine,” she said, smiling.

  “Breakfast is served at eight in the morning, lunch at twelve, and dinner at seven. There is always fresh fruit and snacks available here,” she said, pointing to a table in the corner with a white-and-red-checked tablecloth, on top of which sat an enormous bowl of fruit, cheeses, yogurts, and other foods that Chris couldn’t make out from where he stood, “so you can help yourselves at any time.”

  Rex walked over to the table and grabbed three oranges, stuffing them all into his pockets.

  “I could get used to this,” he said, picking up an apple and taking an enormous bite out of it.

  “I’m glad you approve,” said Miss Sonata, smiling, and changed the subject. “Why don’t I show you your bedrooms.”

  The first room they came to was Chris’s.

  Miss Sonata turned to Philip. “You’ll be sharing with Christopher,” she said.

  “Looks like it’s me and you, then, Pedro,” said Rex to Sebastian. Sebastian grimaced, while Chris and Philip smiled at each other in relief.

  Miss Sonata moved on to the next room without comment.

  “So this one is Rex and Sebastian’s room, and the one next to it is Lexi and Daisy’s. You can have a look around later. We’ll move on to the school area. I think you’ll like it,” said Miss Sonata, leading them back down the hallway and into the entrance foyer.

  Miss Sonata stood by the door directly opposite the elevator and waited for the children to join her, then opened the door. Chris walked in, and his mouth dropped open in amazement. He looked around him and saw that the other children had exactly the same expression on their faces.

  An enormous glass dome towered above and around them and extended all the way down to the ground. It was made up of the screens he had seen in the other rooms and projected a vast landscape of fields under a perfect summer sky, with gentle wisps of clouds passing by above their heads. In front of him was a large, gentle hill with an enormous blossom tree in full bloom at its top. Chris knelt down on the stone pathway that ran around the vast room and touched the vibrant green grass in front of him. He was shocked to find that it was real.

  “Oh, it’s beautiful,” said Daisy, and she smiled for the first time that day.

  “This is the
Dome. Over on the other side of the hill is the swimming pool and changing rooms. The classroom wing is over here,” said Miss Sonata, leading them to the right. They stopped at one of the glass screens, and Miss Sonata turned a handle, revealing another hallway with the same yellow-and-cream-striped walls and green carpets as the rest of the facility. She led them to a wooden door marked with a gold plaque: CLASSROOM.

  Miss Sonata led them into a large white room, with sash windows looking out over a river. At the front was a whiteboard and a long table that faced two rows of glass desks. The chairs behind them were large and comfortable with tall backs, and each one was covered in bright colors.

  “Oooh, I want the pink one,” said Daisy.

  “It’s all yours,” said Lexi.

  “What is this?” asked Sebastian, pointing to the wall behind them. Chris turned to look and saw a diagram that took up the whole wall. It looked like another map, but instead of buildings there were rainbow-colored boxes, each one labeled in ornate black script with titles such as LIES, FEARS & PHOBIAS, PEOPLE, BRIEF ENCOUNTERS, and even one called EMBARRASSMENT.

  “Ahh, this is your mind map. You will learn more about it later,” said Miss Sonata, looking up at the clock on the wall. “It’s nearly lunchtime. I’ll quickly show you your think tanks.”

  Miss Sonata led them back out into the corridor and into a dark room. The room, as far as Chris could see, contained only six large cubicles standing in a line, each one glowing a different color.

  “Again, all will be explained,” she said, closing the door. “Now, Maura will be waiting.”

  Miss Sonata led them back down into the Dome and up to the top of the hill, where Maura was laying out food on picnic blankets.

  “Lunch is served,” she said, handing them each a plate.

  “Enjoy,” said Miss Sonata. “Sir Bentley will be back in an hour; he’ll be taking you for your first lesson.”

  The children all nodded, their mouths already full.

  “So, what do you think those think-tank things are?” asked Lexi after they had stuffed themselves full of food. It was the first time any of them had spoken since they had sat down.