Marilyn Kaye - Gifted - Now You See Me

Jenna looked at him. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I’ll have to consider recommending that you be sent to another facility.’

Jenna drew in her breath. ‘What kind of facility?’ she asked, but she had a sinking suspicion she already knew the answer to the question.

‘An institution that can provide the kind of therapy we’re not equipped to handle here.’

Jenna put it more bluntly. ‘A nuthouse. You want to commit me to an insane asylum.’

‘A mental hospital,’ he corrected her. ‘You’ve said you’re not a juvenile delinquent, and I believe you. But you’ve got serious issues that need to be addressed.’

‘I’m not crazy!’ Jenna cried out. ‘It’s just that I’m different!’

‘How?’

‘Because — it’s because — I can —’ she clenched her fists. She couldn’t say it. If he thought she was crazy now, what would he think if she told the truth?

‘Tell me, Jenna,’ he said urgently. ‘What makes you different? Jenna, I don’t want to send you to a mental hospital. But you have to give me an explanation, or I won’t have any alternative. Tell me! What can you do?’

‘I can read minds!’ Jenna cried out. Then she buried her face in her hands.

It was out. She’d said it. And now he’d pick up the phone and call for an ambulance. She’d seen movies, she knew what would happen next. Men in white jackets would put her in a straitjacket and carry her away. .

When nothing happened right away, she took her hands from her eyes. He was looking at her seriously, but she didn’t see alarm in his eyes. It was more like interest. .

‘I knew there was more to your case than meets the eye, Jenna,’ he said.

‘You did?’ she asked stupidly.

He nodded. ‘I didn’t know what, or why, but I could sense you had something extraordinary about you.’

Was he putting her on? Trying to make her dig a deeper hole to sink into?

‘Why did you think that about me?’ she asked.

‘It’s an instinct,’ he said simply. ‘Years of working with young people have given me a sense of what people are all about. You have a gift.’

‘Why did you call it that?’ she asked sharply.

He didn’t answer. ‘Tell me more about your gift.’

‘It’s just something I can do,’ she replied.

She wanted to look away again, but there was something about his gaze that held her.

‘What am I thinking about right now?’ he asked.

Still suspicious, Jenna eyed him warily. Then she began to concentrate.

It was almost too easy, like he was putting his thoughts out there in writing, in big black and white letters. ‘You’re thinking about food. Chinese food. You’re thinking about getting sweet and sour pork for lunch from a Chinese takeaway when you leave here.’ After a second, she added, ‘and cold sesame noodles.’

He nodded. ‘Very good. You’re absolutely right.’

‘I know,’ she said. But she thought his reaction was strangely calm. ‘Aren’t you shocked?’

‘No,’ he said. ‘I’ve done a lot of research into these kinds of extrasensory abilities. Some people have gifts that simply can’t be explained scientifically. There are people who can see into the future, people who can move things with their minds. .’

‘I can’t do that,’ Jenna said quickly.

But her expression must have told him something. ‘Does this have anything to do with your special class, Jenna? The one called “Gifted”?’

Jenna didn’t know what to say. It was one thing to give away her own secret. How could she betray her classmates?

‘I can’t talk about that,’ she said.

He didn’t press her. ‘I understand.’ He closed her file. ‘I’m going to look into this resident assistant. His name is Peter Blake, right? He cannot be permitted to continue in his position. His contract must be terminated immediately.’

‘You said you’d keep my secret!’ Jenna exclaimed.

‘And I will,’ the doctor assured her. ‘I can investigate this without revealing my sources.’

‘But he’ll know it’s me who told on him,’ Jenna protested. ‘The other kids — they don’t mind what he’s doing to them. He’ll tell them it’s me who got him fired. I could be in danger here!’

‘I realize that,’ he said. ‘Which is why I’m going to recommend that you be given an early release from Harmony House.’

‘An early release?’ Jenna repeated in disbelief.

He nodded. ‘There will be some paperwork involved. But I can make some calls, pull some strings. And with any luck, you’ll be home tomorrow.’

Home. Tomorrow. Jenna gazed at him in wonderment. So Madame was wrong. There were people in this world who could be trusted with their secret gifts. Not many, of course.

But she’d just found one.

TRACEY WAS WIPED OUT. Did invisibility drain her energy in some special, highly complicated cellular way? she wondered. No, she was pretty sure she was just normally exhausted. After all, other physical sensations remained behind when her physical self wasn’t present. She got hungry, she got thirsty, she had headaches. . why wouldn’t she be tired? And even now, at ten o’clock in the morning, after spending the night in an unusually uncomfortable position, she had every right to be extremely beat.

When she left the house-of-the-bad-guys, it was almost one in the morning. She’d taken a few more photos with her phone, and then the group inside disbanded. Only Clare remained in the house. She must live there, Tracey thought.

She made her way back to her own home, and there she encountered a problem she hadn’t counted on. The house was dark, everyone was in bed, so she assumed she could walk right in. What she hadn’t considered was the fact that her security-conscious parents would have locked the doors from the inside. And then it started to rain.

Invisibility did not protect her from natural forces, and Tracey felt cold and wet. She found shelter in the back yard, in the septuplets’ playhouse. It was a bigger-than-average playhouse, but it hadn’t been set up for sleeping, and Tracey had to attempt sleeping on a hard wood floor. This was not a restful experience.

Now, stiff and sleepy, she sat on the steps in front of Ken’s house and tried not to doze off. The rain had stopped, there was actually some sunshine, and she figured Ken wouldn’t stay inside all day. She just hoped he wasn’t the type who slept till noon on weekends.

He wasn’t. Just half an hour later, the front door opened and Ken emerged. Unfortunately, he wasn’t alone. A man she assumed was his father walked alongside him and they headed towards the car on the drive.

‘Ken!’ she called. Ken stopped, turned and looked around.

‘It’s me, Tracey. I’m still invisible. I’m on your steps.’

‘Ken?’ his father asked. ‘Are you coming?’

‘Yeah, sure.’ Ken mouthed some words. Tracey couldn’t figure out exactly what he was telling her, but she knew from his fierce expression that it had to be something like ‘shut up’ or ‘beat it’.

‘Ken, it’s important! I’ve found out something about the conspiracy. And I know who the real spy is. Ken, please , talk to me!’

He and his father had reached the car and Mr Preston was opening the door on the driver’s side. But Ken didn’t move.

‘Ken, let’s go!’ his father said.

‘Um. . you go, Dad. I’ve changed my mind.’

His father looked confused. ‘I thought you wanted me to drop you off at Mike’s.’

‘I’m going to take my bike. It’s OK, you go on.’

His father still looked puzzled, but he shrugged, got into the car and took off. Ken waited until he was out of sight before he joined Tracey on the steps.