Shelly gives a loud sneeze, interrupting the guide.
He continues. He’s starts talking about Sapphire Ward, an abandoned ward inside the Mutant Forest compound, when Shelly sneezes again.
“Are you ok miss?” he asks.
“Not feeling so good,” Shelly says. “I think, I think I should go home.”
The tour guide looks relieved. “If you need to leave the tour early, the exit is located directly to your left. Just follow the hallway down.”
“Can I go too, we rode together?” I ask.
Aaron lifts his arm up. “And me.”
“Yes, yes, fine,” the guide waves his arms to steer us away as if we were houseflies.
When we get a safe distance away, Aaron asks us what we found. I relay the information as best I can of what we found in Maddock’s office.
“How did you get in Maddock’s office?” Aaron asks as we enter the reception area, the windows now showing a starlight sky. It reminds me of my bedroom ceiling. And my father.
“Rose has many talents, as I’m sure you’re aware,” Shelly says, patting me on the back a little too hard.
Aaron tilts his head.
“I was lucky enough to watch someone enter,” I say.
“That’s some awesome eyesight,” Aaron says.
Shelly giggles, “It sure is.”
“Shelly, he knows already.”
Her face drops. Clearly, she had hoped to get some mileage out of torturing me. As we exit into the parking lot, Aaron gets into the car first and Shelly holds me back.
“All secrets have a price,” she says, and flashes a wicked grin.
My insides drop as she enters the car. Aaron was right. I shouldn’t have trusted her. It would be nice if he could be wrong once in a while. I made a deal with the devil. What happens next is entirely up to her.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
We park at Fowler’s Grove, waiting for Zach to arrive and hoping his plan went well. I get a text from him.
“Coming now.”
Whew. I’d feel guilty if anything happened to him. “Probably will take him a little while to fly all the way down from the sky deck,” Aaron says. “Bet he spent the last half hour chilling up there, looking down on the Basics. Hobnobbing with the Fliers.”
I glare at Aaron. “He’s not like that.”
“There he is.” Shelly points at the sky and I see Zach flying towards us.
His wings float in the sky like a majestic bird and I sit back to fully appreciate him in flight.
“He’s hot,” Shelly says.
Aaron groans.
Though Shelly is biased towards Fliers, I can’t argue. The way he drifts down from the clouds, with his turquoise feathers flapping in the wind, isn’t unpleasant in the least. He lands quietly on his feet in the grass and walks over to us. Even on the ground, each step has a gliding quality to it. Shelly opens the door and smacks the backseat, beckoning him to join her.
“My apologies for the delay,” he says as he climbs in. He combs back his hair, tossed from the breeze. “The wind resisted me the entire trip.”
“Pesky wind, always in the way,” Shelly says, reverting to her flirtatious voice.
I gulp. I’m going to have endure her routine the entire way home. Aaron directs the car to Zach’s house, and then swivels his seat around to face Zach. “Must be windy up there at the sky deck.”
Zach shrugs. “I wouldn’t have any idea, I’ve haven’t seen it.”
“Never?” Shelly asks.
“Nope,” Zach says quickly.
“Why not?” Shelly asks.
Zach stretches his arms. “The plan succeeded. Lillia’s counterfeit third arm worked like a charm. You were right about the restaurant manager, Rose. He phoned the GEMO Control Department within minutes. He must have thought he’d be swimming in reward money. Of course, he was disappointed when he found out it was only a costume. How did it go for you?”
Our frantic retelling involves a lot of overlapping speaking and jumping in to finish each other’s sentences.
Zach leans forward. “Were you aware your father worked with Jason?”
“No,” I answer. “I knew he liked teaching GEMO in science class. At least, that’s what Mom always said. I didn’t know if she was lying or not. Guess she was telling the truth.”
Shelly crosses her arms. “I want to know what’s up with that Unsound Migration Report.”
I snicker. “Mitigation.”
“What?” she asks.
“Mitigation involves lessening the impact of an outside force,” Zach says.
“Thanks, Mr. Dictionary,” Aaron says. “We knew that. Or I guess, most of us did.”
I stifle a chuckle. Usually a comment like that from Aaron earns him a punch in the arm. Since he picked Shelly this time, I stifle my complaint.
Zach clears his throat. “I presume the Unsound Mitigation Report is used to determine who might become an Unsound.”
“So you’re saying I would be an Unsound?” Shelly asks.
“Maybe. Maybe they were trying to protect you,” Zach says.
Shelly crosses her legs and stares out the window. “It’s not true. The report messed up. I would be a Flier. Like you.”
Zach mutters something under his breath. I’m not sure what he says, but it sounds like, “Hope not.”
Shelly remains silent for the rest of the trip. I should probably feel sorry for her, but I don’t. She doesn’t deserve to be a Flier. If she had an ability like that, I expect she’d end up like Tessla. And the last thing the school needs is more bullies.
***
These math problems make me contemplate throwing my head into my desk. Try as hard as I can, I’ll never be good at them. Aaron coasts through the multiple choice form like he’s playing connect-the-dots. Lillia speeds through as well. Maybe I can pick up some tips from her. They both finish and begin to tap on their desks in boredom before I’m even halfway through.
The only reason I want to go to a university is to complete my studies in botany. Thankfully, no ability gives anyone a distinct advantage over me in the subject. Sure, Scenters can track plants from miles away and Jumpers can climb trees, but it’s the knowledge that truly makes one successful. Somehow, I think that’s one of the reasons I’ve always enjoyed it.
No way Orbison University would want to recruit me now. Doubt they want a girl who struggles through basic math problems. And the condition of my garden at home embarrasses me. With my attention channeled towards the hunt for my father, my plants already have one foot in the grave.
My mind throbbing from the problems, I catch Shelly stretching behind me. I turn around and she grins. It was in my head. I’ve been getting so comfortable with my sonar that sometimes I can’t tell what’s in my head and what my eyes see. Her shadowy form stretches again and smiles, before bouncing her foot up and down. As I watch it, my head instinctively bounces along with her. Her face lights up. She’s doing this on purpose. Torturing me. My mouth closes tight, my teeth gnashing together.
It’s an excruciating hour before the end of the quiz and I can leave. The hallway feels like a sanctuary in comparison to the classroom. Away from math problems and, more importantly, away from her.
Aaron comes over. “Are you ok?”
I shake my head. “Shelly keeps making faces, making me scan.”
“Ignore her.”
“You try doing that when you’re stressed. This test is awful.”
He puts his hand on my shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Botanists don’t need a high score in math anyway.”
He meant his comment to be encouraging, but it stings.
Aaron nods to the door and I have to force my legs to march back into the classroom. As I enter, a devilish smile punches into me from the back row. Taking my seat, I focus on anything I can to avoid seeing her.
But there she is. Now moving her foot around in a circle. My head starts moving in rhythm. My only hope is that she’ll get bored of this soon. If not, I may be the first person e
xpelled from this school for murder.
***
At the end of class, Shelly snakes her way up to the front. Trying my best to ignore her, I start towards the exit.
“Rose, I need to ask you something,” she says.
I keep walking.
Her voice gets sing-songy. “I really think you should listen.”
Flames ignite inside me. I turn and face the monster.
“So, I’m having a birthday party on Saturday. You should be there.”
I breathe a heavy sigh. I can’t conceive of any reason why she’d want me there except to torment me. Is it my destiny to be persecuted by this witch until I graduate?
“Yes.” I’m proud I can say it so calmly, considering the circumstances. But I’m not going to give her the satisfaction of seeing my frustration. “I’d be happy to go.”
Shelly smiles and darts into the hallway.
Aaron shakes his head. “Shouldn’t let her get away with that garbage. After all, she was sneaking around too.”
“She’s not an undocumented mutant.”
His eyebrows rise. “I’m not sure. Avoiding a birthday party with her has to be worth a stay in prison. Maybe a lifetime.”
We both laugh.
“I’m just saying,” he continues. “You let her treat you like this and she’ll be holding it over your head your entire life. Call her bluff; she’s not going to risk you getting in trouble. You’re the only source of the truth she’s got.”
He might be right, but I can’t gamble like that. If she revealed my power, it would be far worse than enduring her stupid distractions or attending a birthday party.
She’ll move on. I can’t fascinate her forever.
Then the terrifying thought hits me of what she would do then. Once I cease to be fun to torment, she’ll probably tell everyone. The secret of my power is too fragile. It’s going to burst open eventually. The question is, when?
***
When Jex turns his chair around to greet us, I already have the feeling that I’m in trouble.
“Mind telling me what’s going on,” he asks.
I’m taken aback. Does he know about our break in to Maddock’s office? I decide the best thing is to come clean and tell him everything. It’s been a night for confessions, after all.
He shakes his head and chucks his can of beer at the wall. “Stupid, stupid, Rose. Shelly is the last person you should have trusted.”
“I’m starting to agree with that.”
“Ditto,” Aaron says.
We both shoot him a dirty look.
“What?” he says.
Jex’s hands grasp the arms of his office chair and then he releases a long breath. “Can’t go back now. Now, about that e-mail.”
As I tell him the details of the e-mail, he types them up. I feel stupid for not writing them down before. I worry I’m not remembering it correctly.
“And you’re sure you didn’t see more?” he asks. “It cut off there?”
“There was more, but that’s when we had to go back,” I answer.
Jex grunts. “So close. With one more shot we could have his location.”
“His location?”
“Where your dad is now.”
My pulse quickens. “You think he’s still alive?”
“Maybe. Probably. Maddock is clearly manipulating things.”
“Maybe if we can figure out why, we can find my dad.”
“It’s not the why that’s important, it’s the what. We don’t know anything. All those e-mails, who knows what’s true?”
I shake my head. “But it all adds up. Shelly was kicked off the list. Something in my dad’s research must have bothered them.”
“Even if you’re right, how does that help us find him?” Jex asks.
“But why would it bother them?” I ask
Jex stands, towering over me like a grizzly bear. “It doesn’t matter. Don’t you understand? You’re trying to find logic where there isn’t any. The government wants control, that’s all.”
None of us say anything for a moment. Aaron steps forward, crushing a beer can under his foot.
“We’ll have to go back,” Aaron says.
“We can’t go back,” I say. “We’ll get caught for sure.”
“Sounds like thanks to your slip to Shelly, you’re already caught,” Jex says.
I bite my lip, flames igniting in my stomach. “I was just trying to learn what I could. And—well—I felt sorry for her.”
“Sweet, very sweet, I’m sure she’ll visit you in prison often,” Jex says, chugging down another beer.
“That’s not funny,” I say.
“Sorry,” he says, wiping his lips. “But time is against you. If there’s any hope of finding out the truth before you are thrown behind bars, we have to keep pressing on.”
“He’s right,” Aaron says.
I lean back on his desk, wincing at the feeling of cheese puff crumbs under my hand.
“Rose,” Jex says. “I want you to know that if they ever discover the truth, you can always stay here.”
He beams and I give him a hug, staining his shirt with specks of cheese puff. I laugh, thinking about what Jex’s bedroom must look like. My brain conjures up a vision of him sleeping on a pile of beer cans and cheese puffs. At least I know I’d never go without processed snacks living down here.
A part of me wishes I could move in tomorrow. I hate living with Mr. Roberts. And Mom, well, she hadn’t been my mom for some time.
“Elliott too?” I ask.
Jex flinches and after a heavy sigh, speaks with a heavy voice. “Elliott, too.”
“But he could zap you,” Aaron says. “Then all would be lost.”
Jex snickers. “It would take a lot more than that.”
***
When I wake up at my desk, I quite sure a bowling ball must have smacked me in the head. Not sure when I finally fell asleep last night, but the splash of water from my alarm broke a deep dream. As I now look around the classroom, it’s clear most of my classmates didn’t get much rest either. Except Aaron; he’s chirpy. I can’t fathom his enjoyment of tests.
The teacher marches by with a stack of papers and my stomach threatens to throw up the bagel I had this morning. Paper is always a bad sign. Only time you see paper is for the big tests, the ones they don’t trust to technology. Each paper seems to slam down my desk, reminding me of how unprepared I am. With a hit of her clicker, the screen behind the teacher lights up with time remaining. Three hours. Too long and too short.
The first section is English. Good, at least it will give me some confidence. As I tackle each question, I begin to think that this test isn’t a lost cause after all. Breezing through the section, I glance back at the clock. Only been 30 minutes. Sitting a little taller in my chair, I wonder how Aaron is doing. Then I see that he’s only a few questions behind me.
Wait.
I can see what Aaron is doing. Of course I can. I’m scanning. But I shouldn’t. Trying my hardest to ignore him, I turn the page to the next section.
Math.
Aaron is smirking right now. But I shouldn’t be scanning. I shouldn’t see that the first answer is A. I can’t seem to stop myself. The more I try to concentrate, the more my brain keeps traveling over to him.
This couldn’t have happened if they knew of my ability. Usually a Scanner takes the test in isolation. It wouldn’t be fair any other way. Otherwise, they can just copy off the smartest person in class.
Like I’m doing right now.
My mind invents reasons why this is ok. I’m only checking my answers, or that it shouldn’t matter to Orbison University if I have a high math score since I’m trying to get into their botany program anyway. When I focus on the test again, Aaron is ahead of me. Must have missed a few questions. It’s a relief in a way; now our tests won’t match. I won’t get caught. Wait, won’t get caught?
I am a cheater.
Miss Laura slinks through the classroom. I giggle inside at
her futile attempts to expose me. Thanks to Jex, I’ve gotten good at masking my open mouth to look like normal breathing now. I’m practically undetectable. There’s something fun about this, although a voice inside me tells me to stop. Aaron races through the questions. I knew he had skills, but I’m starting to wonder if he’s a mathematical genius. We finish the math section together.
History is next. It’s a good thing I studied those history books. Aaron selects 776 CE as the year for the founding of America and I have to force my mouth shut. He must have made a goof. It’s embarrassing, but at least the score is accumulative and he’ll never have to know. Unless I tell him.
The final section is Science, and I notice that I’m paying less attention to Aaron now. My thoughts travel to him when we reach a series of questions involving plant biology and I get a rush of pride when I see him put down a string of correct answers. He wasn’t ignoring my lectures in Fowler’s Grove after all.
At last, the ordeal is over. Miss Laura steps over to collect my test. She hesitates for a moment. Did she catch me? How could she know? She takes a minute to sneeze and then picks it up. Sighing, I push back on the hard chair, which refuses to let me relax. At least I shouldn’t have to worry about getting into Orbison University now.
Out in the hallway, Shelly slinks over.
“So, who are you bringing?” Her voice penetrates my skull.
Over her shoulder is Aaron. He’s shaking his head.
“It’s a surprise,” I say.
“I can’t wait,” she says and cackles like a kookaburra on caffeine. She skips away towards one of Tessla’s flying buddies.
“Figures she’d want Fliers at her party.” Aaron sips at the water fountain, still charred from a Sparker who “accidentally” scorched it showing off to his girlfriend.
Shelly’s eyelids flutter, trying to get their attention. They keep ignoring her.
“Oh, I have to get this,” he says, pulling out his phone to video it. “I need a record of Shelly getting rejected.”
Shelly leans up against one of the Fliers like an anaconda sizing up its next victim. He laughs and slams her backwards against the locker. My body flinches at the sight. They walk away but she pursues them. Suddenly, Tessla appears from around the corner. She grabs Shelly’s shirt and lifts her off the ground, then drops her.
Elevated (Book 1): Elevated Page 14