Maverick (Maverick Academy Series)

by Layman, Tate

  The more Whit listened to the headmaster, the more fearful she became. She had already decided to start at Maverick in about a month. That gave her plenty of time to accept her situation and the idea of living at school, instead of just going for the day. But Whit hadn’t considered that her gift would become stronger and scarier. She knew that Mr. Tolman was only speaking the truth.

  Glancing at Mona, she made the decision before she could back out. “I guess a week then. If that will be okay?” she said. Her aunt just nodded her head with understanding and sad acceptance.

  Chapter 5

  Whit stared at the ceiling in her bedroom and thought about the fact that by this time next week she would be living at Maverick with four hundred other students. She still felt confused and lost about the entire situation. Everything was happening so fast, but she knew it was probably for the best, like Mr. Tolman had said. Next week she would be in classes with witches, vampires, werewolves, psychics, and who knew what else. But it would mean that she was learning how to use her own gift. How to control it.

  No one at the school had ever actually mentioned the reason students went to Maverick, but Mrs. McFaddin had alluded to it. She had even tried to get Whit to talk about it, and that pretty much made it official. Whit pulled the yellow piece of paper out of her pocket with a sigh. Mrs. McFaddin had handed it to her and told her to call if she wanted to talk or had questions. She didn’t want to go into Maverick blind, so maybe the best plan was to get as much information as possible. She knew that the easiest way was to call Mrs. McFaddin, but every time she tried to dial the number, she lost her nerve when it started ringing. She wanted answers, but deep down she knew she wasn’t ready for them.

  Whit booted up her computer and decided to try searching Maverick Boarding School. Maybe she could get the information she wanted that way, without having to talk to anyone. When the search came up, she saw that the school was mentioned on several websites, but only as an exceptional school with limited openings to students. In other words, it was hard to get accepted there. And Whit knew why. You had to be “gifted” to attend.

  In the end, none of the websites helped at all. They didn’t even have an address for the school or how to contact Maverick. She gave up on the search and settled into bed, hoping that sleep would come quickly. As she lay there, trying to find positive aspects to the situation, she thought that at least she was moving before she’d gotten comfortable in Martin Bradley. This transition would definitely be easier than the last one had been. That move had been almost too difficult to live through. Whit wondered if she would’ve ended up at Maverick regardless of whether she’d come here. Were there other schools for people with gifts? It was just one more question to add to the pile. As she lay there, she worried about her visions and dreams. Would she ever be able to control them or would they eventually drive her mad? Would she always get glances of horrific events that she couldn’t stop? Good grief, she hoped not. The guilt at not be able to help was awful. How would she live with it? How did her aunt? Her mother? She finally exhausted herself after an hour and fell into a light sleep.

  Mona stood in her kitchen, reading the newspaper. She started laughing at something she read, and immediately turned and picked up the phone. She started to dial, but then her face crumpled. Her hands covered her face as she started to sob.

  Whit woke from the dream of a crying Mona with tears on her cheeks. She knew that this particular dream wasn’t just a prediction. It was something that happened regularly. Mona had just wanted to talk to her best friend. Without knowing how she knew, Whit realized that Mona had turned to call her sister, before she remembered that she longer could.

  ******************

  As Whit peddled to school the next morning, she couldn’t believe that in one week she would be living somewhere else, surrounded by monsters. She thought about the vision Mrs. McFaddin had told her about. If that vision was true, she would be happy at Maverick. At least that was something to hope for.

  Once she locked up her bike, Whit glanced at her watch and realized she needed to hurry if she wanted to avoid being tardy. As she walked speedily through the halls, she watched her fellow classmates hurrying to class. She wished she was one of them, with their regular problems and issues, like who their latest crush was, or what they were going to do on Friday. Those were issues that didn’t even show up on her radar. Her issues went far deeper than that.

  As she settled into her desk in homeroom, Whit saw Seth race in, barely making the bell. Mentally, she prepared herself for his questions.

  “You sick or something yesterday?” he asked, dropping into his seat.

  Whit tried to think of something to say. She knew she needed to come up with a good reason for leaving – one that didn’t include him finding out about Maverick – but her imagination was failing her. “Yeah, I wasn’t feeling too good. I’ve been having headaches a lot lately because of the dreams, so Mona took me to see some specialists.”

  “Is everything okay?”he asked, concerned.

  “They ran a bunch of tests and plan on running some more next week. The doctors think I might have a bad concussion or something like that. They even recommended that I be admitted to a special hospital for teenagers with head injuries. It sounds a lot worse than it is though,” she finished, hoping he would believe her lies. She’d managed to give a reason for not only the headaches but also maybe the dreams, and was pretty pleased with how quickly she’d come up with it.

  “So when’re you moving?” he asked with a frown. “You at least get to finish cross country season, right? I mean, you’re not moving for a few weeks.”

  Well, here it went. Now she’d also have to tell him that she was leaving quickly. Just get it over with, she told herself. The quicker, the better. “No, actually. The doctors think that the sooner I get help, the better I’ll be. So I’m probably leaving next week,” she said as she started digging around in her backpack. She wasn’t looking for anything; she just needed to avoid his eyes as she told her lies.

  “Are you going to this special hospital because of the dreams?” he asked, stunned.

  “I told them about the dreams and how they come true. They thought it was best if I got away for a little while, and my Aunt Mona agrees,” she said quietly, feeling worse and worse about telling him. Maybe this had been the wrong idea after all.

  He scowled. “That’s not right. It’s not like you’re insane. Your dream about me came true, so there must be something to it. Did you tell them that?” he argued. It made Whit feel good to know he cared enough to be upset for her, but it only made the guilt worse about lying to him.

  “I told them about the dreams, but they think it could be stress related. The doctors are just trying to help, and I want the dreams to stop too. I think they might be right about getting some treatment, you know?” Whit felt horrible for lying to him, but it was the right thing to do. What was she supposed to tell him, that she was going to a school for monsters, where she’d fit right in?

  Unfortunately, he wouldn’t stop defending her. Throughout the remainder of the day, he watched her closely. Whit knew he was confused by her explanation of what was happening to her, but she didn’t have anything else to tell him. At cross country, he even slowed his pace to run with her instead of running at the front of the pack like he normally did. He babbled continuously while they jogged, and kept looking at her.

  “Seth, stop it. I’m going to be fine,” Whit muttered with a forced smile.

  “I can’t help thinking that this shouldn’t be happening to you,” he whispered.

  Whit knew she had to change the subject, so she began asking him about Debbie. He knew what she was doing, but played along. She sent a silent thank you to him, for realizing that she didn’t want to discuss her weird dreams or the treatment. She didn’t think he’d let go of it, but at least he wasn’t going to push her about it anymore for the moment.

  ***

  Whit felt exhausted when she finally made it home
. It was more than the running and the bike ride home; being around Seth all day had been an energy sap. She lay on her bed, hoping to relax for a moment before Mona called her down for dinner. But the dream took hold almost immediately.

  The restaurant looked like an old diner, with booths and a soda bar area. A man stumbled into the diner, wearing what appeared to be rags. On closer inspection, Whit noticed that his clothes had been ripped, and there appeared to be blood dripping from his arm and cheek. His mouth was moving like he was yelling for someone to help. Several people ran out of the diner, toward an old station wagon. The man’s wife was in the back seat, covered in blood.

  “Whit! Wake up! Whit!” Mona yelled, shaking her shoulders. Whit woke up and immediately ran to the bathroom to throw up. The vision of that poor woman covered in blood was burned into her memory. Mona sat on the bathroom floor next to Whit, rubbing her hand along Whit’s back.

  “What happened in your dream?” she asked.

  “There was a woman covered in blood and her husband was trying to get someone to help them. I don’t know what happened. It was at a diner somewhere,” Whit whimpered. “Are all the dreams true or are some of them just dreams?” she asked Mona with a look of defeat.

  “Most are true,” Mona said sadly. Then she tried to comfort her niece. “Whit this can’t go on. These dreams are tearing you up, I can see it. We need to get you help, the sooner the better.”

  “The dreams are just so horrible. Doesn’t anything good ever happen? Are they always so awful?” Whit cried.

  “No, they aren’t all bad. I have good dreams and visions all the time. You will too, when you learn to control your gift.” Mona hesitated and then continued. “Whit, maybe you should go to Maverick before next week. They’ll help you, honey.”

  “I’m not ready to go yet. I don’t want to leave you,” Whit groaned.

  “I don’t want you to leave either, but these dreams are going to destroy you if you don’t get help.”

  Whit paused for a long moment, thinking. Mona was right – the sooner she got to school, the sooner she’d learn how to control these visions. It couldn’t keep going this way or they were going to drive her insane. Finally she nodded. “Okay. I’ll move this weekend, I guess. I can call you from there, right?” She hadn’t thought about it, but the idea that she would be cut off from Mona horrified her the second it came into her mind.

  Mona laughed. “Of course you can. Anytime you want. You can also come home for breaks, and I can come up there to visit.”

  “Alright, I‘ll start packing after school tomorrow,” Whit said with a shrug. After a moment, she asked, “Mona, do we have any medicine that’ll put me to sleep without dreams?”

  “I think so. I’ll go look for something,” Mona said as she headed toward the door. “Whit, everything will be okay. I promise.” Turning, she left the room.

  ***************

  The next day, her last day at Martin Bradley, Whit realized that Seth was the only thing she was going to miss. She’d thought she was going to have a couple of days to say goodbye, but maybe this way was better. She’d get out of here quickly, without making a scene. Honestly, Seth was probably the only one who was even going to realize she was gone. She hadn’t really tried to fit in, choosing instead to isolate herself from everyone. Suddenly she felt sad about that. She understood why she had acted that way, but knew she needed to start living again. She had become a shell of the person she’d once been. Losing her parents did that, but they wouldn’t have wanted her to shut down and cut herself off from others.

  Maverick could be a new start for her, in more ways than one.

  During homeroom, Whit explained to Seth that the doctors wanted her to start her treatment on Monday. Seth’s face flashed several expressions, anger and worry being the most prevalent. Whit could tell he felt sorry for her and her situation, but it clearly angered him that she had agreed to go to this special hospital. There was no way to change that, and she thought maybe it was better that way. She didn’t say anything then, but moved on to her next class, trying to decide how to do it.

  When she spotted him going to cross country after school, she thought it was the perfect time.

  “Hey Seth, wait up!” she called.

  “So, this is it?” he asked, even though he knew it was. “You’re not coming to practice, I guess. I’ll miss you,” he said, grabbing Whit and hugging her tightly.

  “I’ll miss you too,” she whispered in his ear. “But I’ll be back to visit Mona and Luke, so maybe we can still hang out some time?” Another good bye was all she could think. He was a good guy and might have become a good friend, if she’d been different.

  “Yeah, that sounds like a plan.” Then he whispered, “I wanted to say thank you for the other day. You really saved my butt.” Whit hugged him once more before waving a last goodbye and heading toward her bike.

  She peddled home and thought over how many friends she had been forced to leave behind in the past six months. First in California, now here. There hadn’t been time for her to really get to know Seth and maybe that was for the best. Maybe it would make going to Maverick easier, but she still felt the loss of another friend.

  ************************

  Whit had already started packing, but it felt like an overwhelming task. Maverick's office had sent her a list of things to bring along with her, a list of classes offered, and information on her roommate. She looked over it as she packed. Nalini Barton was her name. The information listed her as a sophomore. That was it. Whit wondered what her gift was, and what she was like. Maybe the school paired up students with the same gift so they could help each other. That made sense. She guessed she would have to wait and see.

  She glanced over the packing list for the hundredth time. The categories on the list were clothing (like she would forget that), bedding, computer, and toiletries. The sheet noted that televisions were not allowed in rooms, but one was provided by the school in the dorm’s common area. Posters and decorative items or trinkets were allowed, if kept to a reasonable amount. Whit looked around her room. What decorative items or trinkets did she want to take with her? Definitely a couple of pictures of her parents, and also one of Mona and Luke. There was the little jewelry box that her mom had given her for her fifteenth birthday, and the stuffed elephant she kept on her bed. It was a souvenir from one of her family’s many trips to the zoo when she was little. That was really all she needed or wanted with her, she thought.

  Packing the jewelry box and stuffed elephant caused memories of her parents hit her like a ton of bricks. She had moments where the pain subsided and she could live almost normally. But there were moments, like now, that sucked the air from her lungs and made her feel like she would die from sadness. The past couple of days had kept Whit’s mind so full and busy that the grief had been dulled. Now it was back with a vengeance. She covered her face and cried quietly, not wanting Mona to hear. Mona would try to comfort her and it would cause her aunt more pain. Whit knew she missed her sister and had caught her crying several times, although Mona always tried to cover it with the excuse of a sad movie or weepy commercial. After she finished packing, Whit finally felt like she had her emotions back under control enough to go downstairs to eat.

  At dinner, Mona went over the plan for the weekend. On Saturday they’d spend some time together, shopping and hanging out, just the three of them. Then on Sunday, Mona would take Whit to Maverick and get her settled in. Mona told Luke that Whit had applied to an exclusive school and been accepted. Luke was clearly confused by this, but Whit played along, though she loathed lying to him. Mona and Whit had talked about telling Luke the truth, but they didn’t think he would understand. Luke had asked a lot of questions about the school during dinner, clearly surprised by this turn of events.

  After eating, Whit returned to her bedroom and gazed at the ceiling. Her head ached from lying to Luke and the action of the last couple of days, but there was still too much to think about. She reached towar
d her nightstand for the pamphlet she’d received in the mail, telling her more about Maverick. It had information on some of the courses available and extra-curricular activities. Whit was happy to see that there was a biking and running club – at least she could stay in shape at Maverick. But the pamphlet was very generic and gave very little information about the school itself. There was nothing about the special abilities of the students. That must be a security effort to make sure that the students remained secret and safe.

  Her headache had gotten worse, so Whit went to the medicine cabinet, shook out two ibuprofen, and quickly gulped them down with water. She went to lay down on her bed and closed her eyes, hoping to relieve some of the pressure in her head. She was asleep a few seconds later.

  The room was huge and vaguely familiar. There were ropes hanging from the ceiling and large objects arranged around the room. Whit glanced around and noticed four girls in the room with her. They were whispering; she could tell because their lips were moving. All of a sudden, the four girls started racing around. One girl started climbing the ropes and moving toward the ceiling. Whit glanced down and for the first time noticed that she was standing on a stack of crates. A girl was below her on the ground, pointing toward something to the right and signaling for her to be silent. Whit glanced over at the girl hanging from the rope and saw her grin. Whit grinned back and felt happy.

  Whit woke feeling confused, but not scared. That was definitely a relief. That dream hadn’t been bloody or frightening; it had been unclear, though, what the five of them were doing. It took place unquestionably at Maverick, and she was sure the people were real. In fact, now that she thought about it, she recognized one of the girls from her visit to Maverick. Ellie, she thought – the girl she’d met in the lunchroom. In the dream, they felt like friends. Even though Whit was unsure about the actions in the dream, it actually made her feel a little better about Maverick.