day for nothing. ‘I guess I’ll go then.’
‘Hang on a minute. Let me see if I can put you in touch with someone who’s working with your friend. What was your name again?’
‘Amanda Beeson.’
Jack Fisher went over to the receptionist’s desk. ‘Could you check and see if Doctor Paley is available for a moment? One of Carter Street’s classmates is here.’
The receptionist picked up a phone and made a call. A moment later the police officer returned to Amanda.
‘He’s coming out to see you. I have to go now. It was nice to meet you, Amanda.’
‘Nice to meet you,’ Amanda echoed. She sank down in a chair and mentally cursed Jenna for getting her into this business. What was she going to say to this Dr Paley?
A plump, balding man in a white coat came into the reception room. Since Amanda was the only person waiting, he strode towards her with a smile.
‘Amanda?’
Amanda forced a smile. ‘Hello.’
‘I’m Doctor Paley. Are you from Carter’s class?’
Amanda nodded. ‘How is Carter doing?’
‘He’s making progress. I can’t tell you very much, of course. Do you know what doctor-patient confidentiality means?’
‘I’m not sure,’ Amanda replied.
‘It means that everything Carter says or does is just between him and me. Everything’s completely private. I can’t talk about him, not to you, not to anyone.’
Amanda shrugged. ‘OK.’ She wondered why the doctor was telling her this. It wasn’t like she was bugging him for information.
‘Madame has told me a little about your special class,’ Dr Paley went on. ‘You’re each quite unique.’
Amanda hated talking about the class. She wanted to get out of there. But she couldn’t be rude.
‘Yes, I guess so.’
He smiled. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you about your gift. I know it’s not easy for any of you though. Having any kind of special talent can be difficult to live with. I’ll bet sometimes you hate being gifted.’
No kidding, Amanda thought. She couldn’t help smiling.
‘I just want to let you know, Amanda, that I’m always available to talk with you about it. And of course, anything we discussed would be kept completely private, just between us. I wouldn’t even tell Madame, if you didn’t want me to.’
‘Really?’
He nodded. ‘Call me anytime, or stop by. OK?’
‘OK,’ she replied.
He left her, and Amanda went out of the building. He was nice, the doctor, she thought. And Madame said he could be trusted.
Maybe this adventure hadn’t gone according to plan, but she’d come away with something to think about.
CHAPTER NINE
DR PALEY MUST HAVE cancelled all his other appointments that day. He brought in sandwiches for himself and Paul, and then it was back to the videotape. The doctor left him in the room to watch it alone.
‘So you left your home as a gerbil and became a boy again,’ the doctor was saying. ‘Why did you decide to switch back to your real shape?’
‘I don’t know,’ the boy on the screen replied. ‘It just happened. One minute I was a gerbil, and then I was a boy.’
‘Interesting,’ Dr Paley murmured. And even though he was off camera and Paul couldn’t see him on the screen, he had the feeling the doctor was making notes. And then what happened?’
‘I walked. But I was so hungry. . I went by a building site, and some workers were outside eating lunches. There was an open lunch box, and I saw a sandwich inside. No one was looking so I took it. I had a bite, but then this man saw me. And he hit me.’
Watching, Paul saw himself flinch, as if he could still feel the blow.
‘And then. .?’ the doctor’s voice prompted.
‘I ran. He chased me, but he didn’t catch me.’ He paused. ‘I think maybe I turned into something that could run faster than me. Yeah. . I was a squirrel for a while. Then I was me again, and I was cold. I saw a shop, and there was a coat in the window. I went inside The boy in the video began to shake.
‘What happened?’ Dr Paley asked.
‘I tried to take the coat. A man — he started to yell at me. Then he took out a gun. He was going to kill me, just like those men killed my parents. I was really scared. But then I turned into a rat and got away.’
‘Where did you go next?’
‘I found some dustbins. There was food on top of the rubbish. I ate some of it. Someone saw me, he threw something at me. . I think it was a brick. I jumped off the bin and turned back into myself. There was a grate on the pavement behind the bins, and it was a little warmer there. I must have fallen asleep. A policeman woke me up.’
‘Yes, I have the police notes here,’ Dr Paley said. ‘The officer reported that you didn’t respond verbally to his questions, but that you obeyed his directions when he told you to get up and come with him. He took you to the police station where you were given something to eat.’
Paul saw a twitch of the lips on his face, almost as if he’d wanted to smile. ‘A ham sandwich. A bag of crisps. Two cookies — chocolate chip.’
Dr Paley continued. ‘The police were unable to identify you. You didn’t match any descriptions of missing persons. A representative from social services took you to a youth shelter. Her notes are almost identical to the police officer’s notes. You didn’t communicate at all, but you followed her directions. At the youth shelter, you were examined by doctors and psychologists. It was determined that you were in some sort of state of shock and that you’d eventually recover. You were then assigned to a foster family — a Mr and Mrs Granger who were already sheltering two foster boys. Is that correct?’
‘Yes,’ Paul said.
‘Have you shape-shifted while living with the Grangers?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘I’m not afraid of them. And they might not feed me if I was a rat or a squirrel.’
‘The Grangers. . Were they kind to you?’
‘Yes.’
‘They didn’t hit you, or yell at you, or threaten you in any way?’
‘No.’
‘But you didn’t speak to them either. Or to the other boys in the house. Why is that, Paul?’
‘I couldn’t. I was turned off.’
The real Dr Paley had returned to the room, and he must have heard that last bit. He picked up the remote control. ‘Turned off like this?’ he asked, and the screen went blank.
The real Paul tried to say ‘yes’, but it was too much effort. He simply nodded.
Dr Paley pulled his chair around to face Paul. ‘I think I understand, Paul,’ he said quietly. ‘It was easier to just stop — stop
Paul nodded again.
