Katie, let them fight their own battles, Zach interrupted. You’re killing my fuzz, here.
Simon pulled out his black mindware phone and bent over it. He must have sent a scrit, but when I gave him a questioning look, he pocketed the phone and ignored me.
The four of us chatted idly, pretending the tenseness didn’t exist. Right before the final bell Simon’s phone buzzed and he checked and re-pocketed it. He ignored my questioning look again. When the crew got up to leave, Simon shook his head, indicating I should stay. I seriously debated marching off with Katie, but decided I had already angered Simon enough for one day.
When they were out of mind range, he glared at the bleachers for a moment before speaking. “People like us don’t follow the rules, Kira,” he said. “People like us make them up.”
I had spent an entire week passing for a reader. I was finally getting a taste of normal, and I liked it. A lot. I didn’t want to think about the freaks that we really were.
When I didn’t respond, Simon asked, “What are you thinking?”
“That I’d rather not be a mutant?” I tried to say it with a smile, but it came out sour.
“We’re not, Kira.” He pulled me up from the bleacher seat. “Come on, there’s someone I want you to meet. If I can’t get you out of the house, then we’ll have to meet him at school.”
“Who is it?” I followed him down the steps.
“Mr. Gerek.”
“The shop teacher?” I vaguely remembered him talking to Mr. Gerek in the hall. But why would Simon want me to sneak out to meet his buddy, the shop teacher?
Simon gave a short laugh. “I wasn’t sure if you’d recognize the name.” His voice had lost its seriousness. “You never took shop, did you?”
“No.” Mr. Gerek’s class was famously popular, second only to Mr. Chance and his animated sims of the past. But I was seriously disinclined toward tools of any kind. I had taken Advanced Topics Biology instead, which was more useful to a doctor anyway.
“I wondered how you had escaped his notice.” The grass crunched under our feet as Simon led me toward the building for our strange after-school meeting with the shop teacher.
“Wait, what?” I said. “What are you talking about?”
“Just come see him?” His voice softened. “He wants to talk to you. It won’t take long.”
I sighed, but kept following him into the building and out of the heat. The shop class was near the back of the school, crammed with tool chests and instruments that seemed designed to torture wood. Mr. Gerek teetered on a stool next to a giant laser saw and swept a thick-fingered hand over his prematurely balding head. He seemed too large for his seat. Everything, including Mr. Gerek, was covered by a thin film of sawdust.
I reached toward his mind, hoping to get a heads up about this bizarre meeting, but I was shoved away before I could even link in. I whirled to Simon, wondering why he was trying to keep me out of Mr. Gerek’s head, but he was busy pulling over a tall stool. I tentatively climbed up, my feet not quite reaching the floor.
“Mr. Gerek, this is Kira Moore,” Simon said with great ceremony. Why was he speaking out loud, when everyone at school thought I had gone through the change?
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. Moore,” Mr. Gerek said. A polite smile graced his face, but his stare was intense and kind of creepy, like he was trying to drill a hole into my head.
“Hello,” I said carefully. Something was wrong with this entire situation.
“Simon has some very flattering things to say about you.” I shot a look to Simon. He had already retreated to the shop entrance, like he wasn’t planning on being a part of the conversation.
“Um, okay,” I said. “He hasn’t told me anything about you.”
Mr. Gerek broke his stare to give Simon a short nod. “Well, if he had, I would have been disappointed in him.”
It seemed like I should be asking questions. “What is this is all about?”
“I’m a jacker, Kira,” he said. “Like Simon. There are more of us than you probably realize.”
My jaw dropped. Simon’s face was blank. He had known Mr. Gerek was a jacker all along, but he had let me believe we were the only ones. “Who else?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
My hands clenched the stool. “Why not?” Mr. Gerek appeared about thirty-five, and if he was a jacker, anyone could be. There could be hundreds, maybe thousands of them. “Are there more at our school?”
“No. At least,” he glanced at Simon, “not that I’m aware of. We’re rare. But there are many of us in the New Metro area. I can’t tell you any more until you’ve joined the Clan.”
Clan? Alarm bells started ringing in my head. “What is that, like, your secret club?”
“The Clan is like a family, Kira,” Mr. Gerek said. “We know what it’s like to be different.” He spread his hands wide. “We only want to extend our welcome. You don’t have to be alone anymore.”
The alarm in my head cranked to full alert. Simon had lied to me. Mr. Gerek was a jacker, which meant he was a liar too. I didn’t know what this Clan was all about, but I doubted they were only concerned about my loneliness. I slid off the high stool and put it between me and Mr. Gerek. I didn’t know if either of them intended to let me go, but it was definitely time to leave.
“Okay.” I edged away from the chair. “That’s a very nice invitation, and I appreciate it, but I should be going now.” A quaver had found its way into my voice.
Mr. Gerek remained in his seat, which eased my panic a little. I backed into something solid and let out a yelp.
“Kira, it’s okay,” Simon said, his face unreadable. “There’s nothing to be worried about.”
His words didn’t reassure me at all. “I’m leaving!”
“It was nice to meet you, Kira,” Mr. Gerek called from his seat. “That invitation is open, whenever you’re ready for it.”
I slipped around Simon and shoved open the shop door. Simon shuffled behind me.
“Kira, stop.” He tugged at my elbow.
I wheeled on him and pounded my fists into his chest. “You lied to me!” He shrank back from my blow, which certainly didn’t injure him. But he still seemed wounded.
“I didn’t lie,” he said harshly. “I just didn’t tell you everything.”
“What’s the difference?” I held my fists at my side and resisted the urge to hit him again. Of course he lied to me. Simon was an expert liar.
“You know the difference.” His face hardened. “Besides, I couldn’t tell you about the Clan. The code of silence is real, and the Clan takes it very seriously. They don’t let just anyone in. They have to be careful.” He looked me up and down. “I told Mr. Gerek that we could trust you. That you wouldn’t tell anyone.”
I swallowed. What would the Clan do if I said no to their offer? What had Simon gotten me into? “What do they want with me?”
Simon studied the floor for a moment, and then looked into my eyes. “It’s like Mr. Gerek said. It’s a family. We take care of each other. It’s a place where everyone understands what you are.”
What I am? I was just a girl who wanted to be a reader like everyone else. I would take being a zero any day over these layers upon layers of lies. The tears started to tickle my throat, and I clenched my teeth against them. They spilled out anyway.
Simon reached to wipe away a tear that had run down my cheek, but I leaned away before he could touch me. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I don’t want to be like this.” I couldn’t keep the words in. “Why are we like this?”
“I don’t know.” His voice was soft, almost kind. “I know you don’t like it. But in time, you’ll see. We have to stick together. And you know you can’t tell anyone about the Clan, right?”
“Code of silence?” My voice was bitter.
His smile was grim. “Yeah.”
I left him standing in the hallway, unsure if I ever wanted to see him again.
chapter T
WENTY
I ignored about a dozen scrits from Simon.
As the weekend lurched along, my anger about his secret society of mindjackers fizzled. Of course Simon and I weren’t the only two jackers in the world. If I hadn’t been adjusting to everything and trying to pass for a reader, I would have figured that out. According to Mr. Gerek, there were jackers all over the Chicago New Metro area, which included half of Illinois and millions of people. Were there hundreds of jackers among those millions? Thousands? Our high school had almost 4,000 students, yet Simon and I were the only jackers. Were we a one-in-two-thousand mutation? Or was it a fluke that we were in the same school? I tried to do the math, but it seemed impossible to know how many jackers were hiding in plain sight, like Mr. Gerek and Simon—and me.
And what was up with this mysterious Clan anyway? Simon claimed they were a family, like some kind of support group for freaks. Did they recruit jackers for their cause, like a band of super-heroes? Shop teacher and secret jacker Mr. Gerek didn’t exactly fit the super-hero stereotype, but he didn’t seem like a super-villain either.
I didn’t know what or who to believe any more.
If I could pass for a reader, college and med school were possible, even if I had to lie to get there. I didn’t see how joining a gang of jackers would help with that.
But I didn’t want them angry at me either.
On Monday, Simon found me before school and pulled me into an empty hallway where we could talk. “You haven’t answered my scrits.” He seemed tense, like he thought I would announce the existence of the Clan over the student council’s morning tru-cast.
“I’ve been thinking about what a fantastic liar you are.” So maybe I hadn’t completely gotten over my annoyance with him.
He set his jaw. “Look, I’m sorry about that, okay? I couldn’t tell you anything until I got clearance from Mr. Gerek.”
“So, he’s the boss of you?” My smile seemed to irritate Simon further.
“No.” He let out a frustrated huff. “But he is my contact with the Clan, and I’d rather not mess that up.”
I couldn’t help being curious. “So what’s this business with Mr. Gerek? I mean, if I was a thirty-five-year-old jacker, I’m not sure I’d be a shop teacher.”
Simon shook his head and leaned against a paint-chipped locker wall. “He’s a great guy. He’s been a recruiter for a long time, and he’s taught me a lot.” He pulled a half-grin. “It still grates on him that I found you first.”
“He recruits jackers for the Clan?”
“Yeah. He watches for changeling jackers as they come through the school.” He gestured at the empty hall. “Most kids pass through his class around the time they change. He would have found you, but you hadn’t changed yet. And you didn’t take shop.”
“But he found you?”
“Actually, I found him. I changed early, before I got to high school. By the time I went through his class, I was already jacking everyone.”
“Show off.” I nudged his chest. Maybe I could forgive him. All of Simon’s lies were somewhat mitigated by my own half truths—about my mom, about Raf. “So, what does the Clan do?”
He glanced at the still-empty hall. “Well, you could join us and find out.” I scowled and he dropped his voice. “It’s a place where you can belong. Where you don’t have to lie about who you are.”
His words pulled at me. I didn’t want to admit how much the lies were wearing on me.
“Who all is in the Clan? Besides shop teachers and their students.” Maybe my dream of being a doctor didn’t have to mean staying away from the Clan. Maybe I could do both.
“There are all kinds of people.” He cracked a grin. “Depends on how good your skills are.”
I arched an eyebrow. “You mean jacking skills. I suppose your skills rock.”
“I’m not bad,” he said with false modesty. “Molloy has a soft spot for the younger jackers and wants the recruits to finish high school, or they would have taken me sooner.” It was the first time I had seen Simon boast about anything.
“Who’s Molloy?” I wrinkled my nose. That name sounded very familiar. “There’s that big building, off the T-41 Metra line, with Molloy Enterprises written on it. Is he related to that?”
His mouth dropped open, but he quickly shut it. “You can’t say anything about that. Look, you’ve got to promise me you’ll keep the code of silence. They’re really serious about that.”
“Who am I going to tell?” My skeptical look made him relax.
“Good.” He shuffled closer to whisper. “Kira, you belong in the Clan. You’ll see, if you just come join us. It’s a place where you can do what you’re meant to do.”
“What exactly does that mean?” If the Clan was all about using their jacking skills, that couldn’t add up to anything good. I doubted they were running around solving crimes or aiding the poor. All the secrecy probably meant they were shady, like Simon’s too-fancy car and stolen beers.
“Just come and see,” he said.
“Thanks, but no thanks.” His face fell.
I walked away.
I avoided Simon at lunch and chewed on the idea of the Clan. I couldn’t blame him for wanting to be part of them. Not having to lie, being with people who understood you. If Simon hadn’t been around to help me, I’m not sure what I would have done. Probably gone a bit demens.
But I was just getting used to passing for a reader and having a normal life.
By the time math rolled around, I was ready for a truce. I didn’t say anything, just sat next to him in class. During free period, we tamped down the swirling rumors about our impending breakup by hanging out in the library. Afterward, I air-kissed Simon in the hall and insisted I needed to go to band. He looked uncertain, but didn’t try to stop me.
At the end of band practice, Trina stood at the door. She was out of range, so I ignored her, but by the time I finished packing my instrument, she was still there.
Trina and I used to be in band together, a zillion years ago, until she quit when it wasn’t mesh anymore. When hanging out with me wasn’t mesh anymore. We hadn’t mindtalked directly since I changed. As I walked into range, I tentatively linked into her mind. Her thoughts were jumbled, like she wasn’t sure what to say. I wasn’t sure what I wanted her to say either. Maybe Sorry for ditching you when you needed a friend most? It would be a start. It was tempting to force an apology, but it wouldn’t mean much if I had to make her say it.
Hey, Trina, I linked to her as coolly as I could.
Her thoughts crystallized as soon as she heard mine. Message, she thought. Give Kira the message. Her thoughts had that hollow, repetitive sound of jacked mind. I scanned the hall for Simon, but found Mr. Gerek instead, staring me down, just out of range.
An icy fear trickled through me. My eyes locked with Mr. Gerek’s as I linked a thought to her. What’s the message, Trina?
We can make your life better, better, or much worse, worse, Trina thought earnestly, like a parrot repeating a phrase it had memorized.
My mouth went dry. Mr. Gerek tipped his head and walked away.
Hey, Trina thought. You’re still here. Still in band, I mean.
It took me a moment to realize that she wasn’t under his control anymore.
I coughed to clear the dryness from my throat. Yeah, well, some things don’t change.
Some of us are going to the Fuse after school, she thought. Would you like to come?
Still tense from the encounter with Gerek, I almost laughed out loud. Being invited to hang out at the gameplex was probably the last thing I expected her to think.
I laughed mentally instead, which wasn’t easy with lots of people shifting by. I don’t exactly have much practice with mindware games. Like none.
She gave me a bright smile. It’s time we got you up to speed then. What’s the point of changing if you can’t waste your skills on mindless games?
She sounded like the old Trina. Only I wasn’t the old me, not even close. But this
was what I had wanted all along, right? The way it used to be?
I arrived home late from school. The mindware games’ metallic aftertaste lingered on the back of my tongue. It had been a challenge to run the games while linking my thoughts to the crowded gameplex, but our synchronized Blue Devils team trounced the rival Stevenson High players. It was fun. Really great.
Except for the dread left behind by Gerek’s threat.
He’d obviously controlled Trina to deliver his not-so-subtle message. But did he jack her into inviting me to the Fuse too? She didn’t seem controlled, but maybe he only messed with her emotions. Was that what he meant by making my life better?
It gave me the chills.
Of course Gerek controlled people. He was a jacker. But did he make the threat because he thought I would blow the Clan’s cover? Or did he really want me to join the Clan that badly? Either way, like Simon, it was better to be on Gerek’s good side.
The next day, my gaming at the Fuse had finally killed my changeling status in the thought-rumor mill. I now routinely linked into everyone’s minds, passing for a reader without thinking. This caused a problem at the tail end of Tuesday, when I almost reached into Raf’s mind by accident. He was waiting for me at the school entrance. Simon had already left with Martin, to do something he vaguely explained as business.
Raf’s sudden appearance in Simon’s absence couldn’t be a coincidence.
I slowed my pace as I came into range. Part of me wanted to treat him like everyone else. Simon was right—it would be less suspicious if Raf thought I was a reader. But once I was inside his head, I didn’t know if I could keep from spilling my secrets. I’d had a hard enough time lying to him when he simply held my hand.
Then Gerek came out of the administration office, two doors down from the entrance. Whatever Raf was thinking caught his attention, and he swung his head toward us, narrowing his eyes. I stumbled to a stop, but it was too late—I was in range of Raf, and he was already frowning because he couldn’t read me.
I quickly jacked into Raf’s head.
Just want to talk, Kira, just want to talk. Why can’t I hear her yet? Raf’s thoughts burst into my head.
What Tomorrow May Bring Page 11