A three-day suspension was too long. Yeah, I caught up on sleep and vegged on the couch, for the most part, but being away from my friends sucked. And thinking about all the homework I’d have waiting for me, especially from Mrs. Bryson, made my angst skyrocket.
I also thought about the conversation I had with Ryan, about Jessica being fully aware of my ability. Deciding to play it off like she was crazy would be my best option. Nobody could know my secret, not even Jessica. And if that meant pretending she was senseless and convincing others of that truth, then that’s the exact route I’d take.
Creeping into the school parking lot, I drove toward my usual spot, the one near Liz and Dee’s vehicles. My foot punched the brake pedal. There was a truck in my designated parking space. Great. I drove on by, my car slinking along as I avoided using it as a battering ram. I reached the dirt-and-gravel lot at the back, the place students who didn’t want to pay for a reserved parking spot parked.
I marched toward the main doors, fists balled at my sides. Jessica had to be involved with this. Didn’t she mention making my life a living hell if I didn’t stay away from Ryan? Didn’t she mention me kissing my parking spot goodbye? I bet she’d make it worse now that she and I physically fought. Why hadn’t I thought of that over my mini break? Ugh.
Students grouped around their lockers in the hallways, and every time I passed one of those cliques, they stared, leaned into a huddle, and whispered amongst each other. So, this was how it’d be. Jessica had more than likely spread gossip, and this was the result. I’d have to deal with yet another problem on top of everything else I was going through.
Mrs. Bryson glanced up at the clock on the back wall as soon as I entered the room, and then narrowed her eyes at me. Ryan was in his usual seat next to mine, which was, thankfully, not taken. I slid into the chair and dropped my shoulders, relaxing.
“You look like shit,” Ryan said.
Turning my head toward him, I glared. “Someone is parked in my usual spot, so I had to park in the back for the day, which means I have to stop by the office and let them know, but they probably won’t do anything since I’m already on their shit list. Then, everyone’s gossiping about me. I don’t know what they’re saying, but I can only guess what your girlfriend might’ve told them.”
“Dude, I don’t know what all she’s said. I can’t keep up with her shenanigans half the time.”
My head fell back, and I stared up at the spotty ceiling tiles. “I want to go home.” And I wanted to escape, but that wouldn’t happen, not unless having my imagination erased was a priority.
Sighing loudly, Ryan twisted in his seat and faced me. “Okay, so, Jessica may or may not be telling people you have a special power.”
That pulled me out of my slump. I sat up and glared at him. “Oh, my God! Are you freaking kidding me?”
“Miss Ashling,” Mrs. Bryson started in, “is there a reason why you’re yelling?”
“Yes, actually, there is.”
Mrs. Bryson’s head jerked back, like I had slapped her from across the room.
Focusing my attention on Ryan, I asked, “What all has she been saying?”
He shrugged. “Just that you can disappear into thin air, that she saw you do it in the library. It’s the same thing she told her dad.”
How could anyone believe that I’d just vanish? Maybe it was pity they felt for Jessica. From what Liz and Dee told me, Jessica paid a visit to the hospital after we had our brief scuffle in the library. And I was sure she played up her injuries, so she could receive all kinds of attention and sympathy. I’d be willing to bet what little I own that her locker was covered in get-well-soon cards and flowers, like I killed her rather than beat her ass.
“And she may or may not be telling everyone that you lost the fight,” Ryan added, cringing.
Oh, that was it. Fists clenched, knuckles white, I breathed in and out, slowly, while I processed Ryan’s words. I needed to think of a solution to my predicament with Jessica. How could I officially wipe out her social status as queen bee of Central Falls High? I decided to wait until lunchtime, or even after school, when I could have time alone to process what was going on and think of a solution.
At lunch, Liz and Dee sat across from me, and the moment I plopped down on a seat, they asked about twenty different questions in rapid succession.
“Guys,” I said, “my suspension was boring. Nothing happened. And Jessica’s spreading lies like she always does. I mean, do you honestly believe her?”
Liz and Dee shook their heads.
“But she sounds convincing,” Liz supplied.
“Sounding convincing and being a total idiot are two different things,” said Dee. “I never believed her for a second. She’s making you sound like a superhero or some shit.” Dee chuckled. “And we all know you can barely get by Mrs. Bryson without her noticing, let alone vanish into thin air and shoot laser beams out of your eyes.”
Liz and I giggled.
“You guys have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”
“Um, you could’ve come by my house, loser,” Liz said.
Dee piped up. “Yeah, why didn’t you?”
“I wanted to sleep,” I confessed.
Liz rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t require an entire three days of skipping out on us. What happened, anyway, after the fight?”
I filled them in on my trip to the jail and Tabitha’s reaction. Obviously, I wasn’t going to tell them about my visit to the Ministry, Dom, or the ensuing, secretive conversation I had with Ryan. That’d be a little too much for my friends to take in—and it’d lend credibility to Jessica, which I most definitely didn’t want to do.
The remainder of lunch was spent answering Liz and Dee’s questions, and an agreement that we needed to hang out soon.
Ambling down the hallways and entering the library at the end of the day, I slogged to one of the tables. Head pounding, I lay my cheek against the chilly surface and closed my eyes. My mind screamed at me, Depart to a fictional land and visit imaginary friends you haven’t seen in ages! But I resisted, throwing up a wall in an effort to block my brain from communicating with my conscience.
“Oh, there she is,” whispered a female, who sounded like Brittney.
“I can see. I’m not blind,” Jessica said.
Keeping my eyes closed and pretending to sleep, I eavesdropped on their not-so-quiet conversation.
“Okay, confession time: I’ve never actually seen her disappear,” Brittney said. “Are you one hundred percent certain that’s what you saw?”
“Yeah, it kinda sounds stupid, if you think about it,” said another one of Jessica’s groupies.
Jessica barked, “Shut the hell up! I know what I saw. I’m not making it up. Besides, I’m not going to worry about it; my dad will be taking care of her.”
My heart thudded so loudly inside my chest, I was afraid they’d hear.
“What do you mean?” Brittney asked.
“She’ll be sent off soon.”
“To where?”
“A mental rehab facility,” Jessica responded, her tone perky, upbeat.
I made a valiant effort to swallow the boulder-sized lump in my throat. Jessica had confirmed everything Ryan told me—her father would be coming after me, and I wasn’t safe. What the hell was I going to do? I couldn’t just pack my bags and run, could I?
“That’s so sad,” Brittney whispered.
Jessica scoffed. “Whatever. She deserves it.”
“God, Jessica, nobody deserves it. That’s stupid,” Brittney reprimanded.
“She does,” Jessica persisted. “But, oh well, right? I won’t have to worry about her much longer.”
Before all was said and done, I’d personally see to the destruction of Jessica Lyons, her father, and the Ministry. People like her shouldn’t quip about sending others off to have their imaginations erased. If the majority of our society knew what was really going on, I’d be in a totally different situation.
Hearing the click of the door
behind them, I raised my head, eyes scanning the room. Nobody was present other than me. Well, except for Mrs. Stamell, but she was always in her tiny office at the rear. Now would be a good time as any to conspire, but with a throbbing headache, I wasn’t thinking clearly.
Liz and Dee expected me to hang out this afternoon, but scheming sounded like a better idea. Several various locations flashed through my mind, and Valley Falls Park seemed like the best place to relax in my car and plan my next move. If I wanted to be five steps ahead in Jessica’s games, I needed to be prepared.
Disregarding the school’s office the entire day, I decided to stop by once the final bell rang. Principal Gibbs’ secretary, Lorene, was on the phone when I entered. Her white hair was short and perfectly curled, and the gold studs in her ears glinted under the florescent lighting.
“Can I help you?” she asked after placing the phone on the receiver.
“Yeah, I just wanted to let you guys know that someone was in my designated parking spot this morning. If they’re in the same spot tomorrow, should I just come in here and let you know or…?”
Lorene squinted at me, like she thought I was inventing a story. “And your name?”
“Kearly Ashling.”
“Let me check. Hold on a second.” She rummaged through a file cabinet, plucking out a folder. “Here we go.” Opening the folder, she scanned the contents. “Well, I don’t see the paperwork in here for reserving a parking space. Are you sure you paid the fee and signed up?”
Oh, my God. “Of course I’m sure! I’ve had that spot reserved since before I got my license last year.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, sweetie. If we don’t have the paperwork, then you’ll have to wait until the end of this school year to fill out the application and join the wait list.”
Slamming my fist on the counter, I said through gritted teeth, “Look again.”
She shuffled through the papers in my file, then shook her head. “I’m afraid it’s just not here.”
Pivoting on my heels, I marched through the office door, clenching my teeth so hard they could crack. Cheeks burning, I stomped through an exit and trudged outdoors. I ignored anyone and anything, much to the irritation of fellow students, whose cars and trucks I traipsed in front of as they were trying to leave. Horns blew, a few cuss words were shouted, but I wasn’t bothered. My mind was only centered on the fact that Jessica Lyons had to be responsible for one of the worst days of my life. She had to sneak into the school’s office at some point and remove my paperwork. Or maybe her dad paid them to accidentally remove the evidence. What else had she been up to? More importantly, what else was she capable of?
I stopped and bought fast food on my way to Valley Falls Park. I couldn’t think straight on an empty stomach, and mine was grumbling like an old man who couldn’t find his glasses. Driving into the miniature parking lot beside the rec area, I pulled in between the white lines. The sun beamed onto my dash, and I rolled down my window, welcoming the cool breeze.
With my belly content roughly ten minutes later, meandering seemed like a good idea; I craved fresh air and a hike. Pavement gave way to gravel and train tracks. I stepped onto the steel ties, careful not to get one of my feet stuck in between. The tracks crossed over Blackstone River, where, below me, water slopped against the shore as the tide shifted. Emerald-colored trees hovered at the banks, and the sky-high chimneys from a factory nearby stretched toward the sun. This was where I needed to be to clear my head.
Deep laughter from someplace nearby yanked me out of my scenery appreciation. From the southern side of the tracks, two men moseyed in my direction. They wore jeans and ragged, holey shirts. One of them smiled at me, and, by my count, he only had five visible teeth. The other man carried a brown-paper bag in one hand, a glass-neck bottle poking out of the end. This wasn’t normal, taking the railroad tracks from one place to another.
Guessing they were drunk and ready to harass me, I turned around and calmly treaded back toward my car.
“Where ya goin’, sugar?” one of them called out.
Oh, no. I bolted for my car. The heavy footsteps behind me didn’t elude my ears.
“Hey! We’re talking to you. Get back here!”
Please don’t let me trip and fall. Please, please, please don’t let one of my feet get stuck.
I disappeared from view once I ran off the tracks, the trees buying me spare seconds. Keys in hand, I frantically picked through them. Why did my car have to be so old? Why couldn’t it have been a newer vehicle with remote access? Dashing to the passenger side, I ducked.
Peering through the passenger side window from a crouch, I noticed the two men stopped as they entered the parking lot from the tracks, briefly pausing to search for me. Their eyes scanned the area, then locked with mine. I began screaming, hoping someone would hear. My passenger door lock was covered in a red-orange coating, which could only be corrosion, and the key wouldn’t budge. As a matter of fact, the key was stuck.
“Shit!” I shrieked, attempting to pull it out. Screw it.
Leaving my keys and car behind, I took off in the opposite direction, sprinting as fast as my legs could handle. My muscles were on fire, and a sharp, stabbing pain throbbed near my ribcage. I couldn’t keep up the running charade, but maybe I wouldn’t have to. Maybe someone would see me and call the police.
“Help!” I shouted. “Someone help!” Screaming the words was difficult, like someone poked holes in my lungs and all the air leaked out.
I surged forward, the asphalt greeting my hands and face. Having been pushed, the two men stood over me, laughing and catching their breath. Stealing a quick glance at my stinging palms, they were bloodied, and tiny rocks were embedded in my skin. I clawed and kicked and screamed, but the men continually mocked me, amused at my pathetic efforts to escape. The one who had the liquor bottle in hand reached out, his fingers grazing my cheek. I jerked away from his touch.
I hated to think it, but the action reminded me of Dom, of the way he tricked me in Glasslyn.
Dom.
Oh, my God. That was it. Surely he’d understand my predicament if I escaped from these guys.
Without second-guessing myself, and without imagining a secure location, I closed my eyes and vanished. My feet bumped against a solid surface, and my knees bent as a reflex. Peeking through one slit eye, I was surrounded by multitudes of trees. What the hell? Where was I? I hadn’t ever imagined a not-so-concrete location before.
All tension disappeared from my body, and my shoulders relaxed. I inhaled and exhaled deeply, the scent of rich soil flooding my nostrils.
“Okay, Dom, I know you’ll be here any second now,” I said. “I just want you to know, if you can somehow hear me, I had no other choice but to escape those guys, so can you please not erase my imagination?”
I waited for him to appear. Waited so long, in fact, I had to sit down. Eyes constantly scanning the forest, there was no sign of him anywhere.
Give it time, I told myself.
Leaves crunched, but I couldn’t place from which direction.
“Dom?” I asked, squinting.
A burly man, with a thick beard and broad shoulders, appeared out of foliage. “No, not Dom.”
“What the hell?” I licked my lips. “Where is he?”
“He’s been reassigned. Your file now resides in a stack on top of my desk,” he said, inching closer and closer with each new step.
“But my file was just on his desk a couple of days ago.”
“Which is precisely the reason he’s been reassigned your case. We have strict rules at the Ministry that we don’t associate with mutants, and we definitely don’t bring them inside our walls, only to release them.”
“I’m not a mutant. I’m—”
“A disgusting excuse for a human being, we know. That’s why we plan to rid the world of your kind.”
Every time he stepped forward, I stepped backward. It wasn’t like I could do much in his presence, though; my abilit
y wouldn’t work.
“Listen, I know the Ministry and its agents think we’re freaks, but we’re not. We’re just normal people with—”
“Normal?” he shouted, then followed his outburst with a maniacal laugh. “You are anything but normal. You will never be normal, not until we erase your imagination. Trust me, it’s for the best.”
“Best for who? The Ministry?”
“The world. It’s best if they never learn about the diseased.”
“You’re just as brainwashed as him,” I said, voice cracking.
The man grinned. “I’m just doing my job.”
“And what happens when there are no other imaginations to erase?”
“Didn’t Dom tell you?” He stopped walking and cocked his head. “After the complete and total annihilation of your kind, the Ministry moves on to Plan B.”
Rapid spasms vibrated my stomach. I was afraid to ask, but I had to know. “What’s Plan B?”
His lips peeled back, and there was a profound, satisfactory gleam in his eyes. “That’s for me to know and you to never find out.”
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