Now You See Me

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

AS THE LAST CLASS period began on Monday afternoon, Room 209 was unusually quiet. Everyone seemed to be lost in their own thoughts as they waited for Madame to arrive.

There had been rumours and phone calls the day before and whispered conversations in the hallways of Meadowbrook today. But no one knew what was really going on.

Ken spoke quietly to Tracey. ‘So you didn’t find out what this project is all about.’

Tracey shook her head. ‘I didn’t get that far.’

Amanda had overheard them. Her comment was directed to Emily. ‘Why can’t you just look into the future and tell us?’

‘I don’t even know what to look for,’ Emily told her. ‘I have to know what the project is before I can see if it’s going to happen.’

‘Well, I’ll never be able to read it in their minds,’ Jenna grumbled. ‘Not if they know I’m around.’ She turned to Tracey. ‘Too bad we can’t combine our gifts.’

‘Maybe we can figure out a way,’ Tracey said. ‘Do you guys realize, this was the first time we’ve all pooled our gifts? Everyone did something.’ She ticked them off on her fingers. ‘I got into the house, Charles made the locked door open. Martin stopped Stuart from escaping, Jenna read Clare’s mind, Emily told us the police had arrived, and, and, oh yeah, Sarah moved Serena out of the dining room before the police could see her.’

‘Yeah, right,’ Jenna muttered. ‘After Madame asked her three times.’

‘But she did it,’ Tracey said stoutly, and she smiled at Sarah. ‘Thanks, Sarah.’

‘You’re welcome,’ Sarah whispered, but she didn’t seem proud of it and she looked away.

Amanda was offended. ‘You left me out. I provided the information about Mr Jackson.’

Which Tracey could have provided, but she let Amanda take the credit. ‘That’s right.’

‘And you left out Ken,’ Amanda added. She smiled warmly at the boy.

Tracey grinned. So that ‘sort-of ’ relationship was on again. ‘Ken did a lot.’

‘Not with my gift,’ Ken said. He turned slightly, and eyed the small boy at the back. ‘What about him?’

Silence fell over the room again as they all turned to look at Carter.

‘It wasn’t his fault,’ Tracey declared. ‘He was hypnotized.’ But the looks that Carter was receiving from his classmates were less than friendly. The boy, as always — almost always — seemed oblivious. But now they all knew he took in everything they said, everything that happened in the class. They could never trust him.

Madame walked in. She wasn’t alone.

‘Good afternoon, class. I’d like to introduce Doctor Paley. He’d like to say a few words to you.’

The plump, balding man faced them. ‘Hello. I met one of your classmates recently. She told me about her gift.’

A gasp went up from practically every student.

Jenna groaned. ‘Knock it off, guys. It was me, OK? I had to tell him or I’d have got tossed into a mental institution. But I didn’t tell him about anyone else.’

‘That’s right,’ the man said. ‘Logic tells me that you all must be special in some way, but I have no idea what your gifts are, and I’m not going to ask you about them. Maybe, someday, you’ll trust me and you’ll want to tell me. But I won’t be pressing you for information.’

Charles looked suspicious. ‘Why are you here if you’re not trying to find out stuff about us?’

‘I’m here because you have a classmate in need,’ he said simply.

‘Carter,’ Madame called softly. ‘Could you come up here, please?’

Obediently, the boy rose and came to the front of the room. He stood silently by her desk.

‘I have permission to take Carter back to Harmony House,’ Dr Paley said. ‘I’m going to try to help him there.’

‘Just keep him away from the rest of us,’ Charles said bitterly. ‘He’s a traitor.’

‘Don’t jump to conclusions,’ Madame said. ‘It may turn out that Carter can help us.’

‘He doesn’t have a gift,’ Tracey told her.

Madame smiled. ‘There are gifts, and there are gifts. There’s a lot we don’t know about Carter. Thank you, Doctor Paley.’

The doctor left with Carter. As soon as the door closed behind them, people had questions.

‘Can we trust that Paley guy?’ Charles wanted to know.

‘He got me out of Harmony House,’ Jenna replied. ‘He’s OK — I read his mind.’

‘But what if Carter tells him everything about us?’ Emily asked anxiously.

The conversation was stopped by a shrill buzz from the intercom on the wall behind Madame’s desk. Then they heard the voice of Ms Simmons, the office secretary.

‘May I have your attention? I have an important announcement to make. The Board of Education regrets to inform you that your principal, Mr Jackson, will be leaving his position due to personal reasons. Mr Jones from the History Department will be acting principal until the position is filled. I am sure you all join me in bidding Mr Jackson a fond farewell, and offering him our best wishes for future success.’

The intercom went silent, and silence remained in the classroom. But only for a few seconds. Then a couple of people let out a cheer, and everyone was talking at once.

‘Was that part of the deal, Madame?’

‘Is he leaving town?’

‘Where’s he going?’

‘Does this mean we’re safe?’

Madame rapped on her desk, and the voices died down.

‘This isn’t the end,’ she said. Her voice was calm, but serious. ‘And there’s no reason to cheer. Mr Jackson is only one piece of what I think may be a very big puzzle. Even if he’s out of the picture, you are not safe. There will be more challenges, bigger challenges, and we have to get ready to face them.’

‘What kind of challenges?’ Jenna asked.

‘I don’t know,’ Madame replied simply.

‘Then how can we get ready if we don’t know what we’re going to face?’ Ken wanted to know.

‘We’re going to work on the gifts,’ Madame said. ‘Harder and faster than we’ve ever worked before. It’s not simply a question of control any more, of fitting in, of being comfortable. You’re never going to be like other people, and there’s no point in trying. It’s a question of getting better at being yourself.’

‘I’m getting better,’ Martin piped up. ‘At that house, Jenna barely had to tease me at all to make my gift come out.’

‘That’s true,’ Jenna admitted.

Madame nodded. ‘Yes, you’re improving, Martin. You’re all improving. But you can’t just get a little better. You have to find the extent of your gifts — your true potential.’ She paused, and gazed at the room.

‘You can’t waste your gifts on trivialities.’ She looked at Charles.

‘Or run away from your gift.’ She looked at Ken.

‘Or fear it.’ She looked at Sarah.

‘Or—’

She was interrupted by the opening of the door. Tracey caught her breath. Mr Jackson was standing there.

‘Just wanted to say goodbye,’ he said, and smiled broadly. Nobody smiled back.

Madame eyed him evenly. ‘Stay away from us.’

‘Oh, I will,’ he assured her. ‘That’s part of the deal. But you know, Madame. . you can’t protect them for ever.’ He was still smiling as he retreated and shut the door.

Madame turned to the class. ‘You won’t need protection, from me or anyone else. OK, let’s move on. Are you ready?’

Heads were bobbing. Madame smiled a little sadly.

‘No, you’re not. But you will be.’

Tracey wanted to believe her. But deep in her heart she knew that in the end they only had to believe in themselves.