IN THE GIFTED CLASS, Ken ran in at the last minute so Amanda didn’t get a chance to talk to him before Madame called for everyone’s attention.
But before Madame had even said ‘good afternoon’, Ken’s hand shot up. Madame looked at him in surprise.
‘Yes, Ken?’
‘Madame, could I ask the class something? There’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.’
‘Of course, Ken. What’s on your mind?’
His classmates turned to look at him.
Ken was clearly uncomfortable at being the centre of attention, but he persevered. ‘I want to know. . If you could get rid of your gift, would you? I mean, most of you guys know how I don’t like hearing these voices. And I was just wondering if I was the only one who doesn’t like having a gift.’
‘It’s not always comfortable having a gift, Ken,’ Madame said.
‘Yeah, yeah, I know that,’ Ken interrupted. ‘I’m sorry, Madame, but I’m not talking about getting used to the gift. I want to know if anyone else wants to get rid of their gift.’
An uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Amanda hastened to break it. ‘I’d like to get rid of my gift. I know there’s no way I can,’ she added hastily, ‘but if I could, I would.’
‘Sometimes I wish I didn’t have my gift,’ Emily offered. ‘When I get these images of terrible things about to happen. .’ She shuddered.
‘You just have to learn to control it,’ Jenna declared, ‘so you don’t see the future unless you want to. That’s what I do. I mean, if I had to hear everyone’s thoughts all the time, I’d go crazy. But I’m OK with it now.’
Tracey agreed. ‘It’s like Madame says — we need to figure out ways to use our gifts well.’
‘That’s right,’ Madame said.
‘No,’ came a quiet voice from the back.
Everyone turned to look at Sarah.
‘I’d give anything to lose my gift,’ Sarah said.
Amanda thought Madame looked very upset. The teacher’s lips tightened, and she folded her arms across her chest. She seemed to be gathering her thoughts and choosing her next words carefully.
‘Class. . I want you to listen to me. I know there are many times when your gifts may seem like burdens — or curses, even. But they’re not, you know. Each one of your gifts is a blessing.’
‘Yeah, that’s what I think,’ Charles said. ‘It makes my life a lot easier.’
‘It’s not just that, Charles,’ Madame continued. ‘You were given these gifts for a reason, and we don’t really know what that reason is. But they’re not to be wished away! They have a purpose, and our goal is to discover the purpose. You’re here to learn, not to give up.’
‘It’s not like you have a choice, anyway,’ Martin commented. ‘You can’t lose your gift.’
‘But if we
‘No!’ Madame interrupted, and Amanda was startled by the tone of her voice. This was unusual. She always let the students have their say. And her voice was almost shrill. ‘You can’t! It would be like losing your heart — your brain. This gift is part of who you are. You must cherish it, even if you can’t understand it! Ken, I know you care about people, and with your gift you can help them. Amanda. .’ She practically glared at her. ‘Amanda, if you could stop thinking about your gift as a personal inconvenience, maybe you could help people too!’
Amanda couldn’t remember ever hearing Madame sound so emotional. It was weird. And how dare she pick on Amanda like that! Strong, conflicting emotions filled her, and she didn’t know which was stronger — her pity for Madame’s distress or her anger at being singled out.
Pity must have been the stronger one, because suddenly she was looking at the class through Madame’s eyes.
‘Madame, are you OK?’ Jenna asked.
Quickly, Amanda blocked her thoughts so Jenna couldn’t read them. Not that Jenna would even try — Madame was an expert at blocking Jenna.
‘I’m fine,’ she said. She glanced at robot-Amanda, who had taken out her make-up bag and was now examining her face in a mirror. Sometimes she wondered why others were so easily fooled by the robot version of herself. She wasn’t
The whole class was watching her expectantly. Amanda-Madame pulled her shoulders back, held her head high, and hoped she was doing a good imitation of Madame’s erect posture. It was time to have some fun!
‘Now, class, we’re going to test the level of control we have over our gifts. We will begin with Tracey. Tracey, make yourself invisible right now.’
‘Um, I can
‘Just do it!’ Amanda-Madame snapped.
Tracey didn’t seem very happy about the order, but she obediently closed her eyes and scrunched up her face, as if she was concentrating very hard. Seconds later, she vanished.
‘Very good,’ Amanda-Madame pronounced. ‘Now come back.’
Nothing happened.
Jenna spoke. ‘She doesn’t have as much control coming back as she has disappearing.’
‘Obviously,’ Amanda-Madame said. ‘Emily. . Look into the future and tell us when Tracey will reappear.’
Emily stared at Tracey’s empty desk for a moment. ‘Tracey will be back before the bell rings,’ she predicted.
‘All right.’ The fake teacher turned to Charles. ‘Charles, we know you can make things move. I want to know how precise your gift is. Please move my desk fifteen centimetres to the left.’
Charles looked at the desk and shrugged. ‘Sure.’ The heavy wooden desk rose slightly and moved to the left.
‘Does anyone have a ruler or measuring tape?’ Amanda-Madame asked.
‘I think there’s a tape in your top drawer,’ Emily said.
For a second, Amanda-Madame was confused and looked at the desk in which the robot was sitting. She recovered quickly. ‘Yes, of course, that’s right.’ She went into the drawer of the teacher’s desk and took out a measuring tape.
‘Hmm. . You seem to have only moved the desk ten centimetres, Charles. You must improve.’
‘Five centimetres, big deal,’ Charles protested.
‘Charles! We aim for perfection here!’
Charles shrank back in his wheelchair. ‘Yes, Madame,’ he murmured.
It was getting very hard for Amanda not to burst out laughing. This was fun!
‘Now we’ll test Jenna. Class, do not block her. Jenna, what is Ken thinking about right now?’
‘Wait a minute,’ Ken said quickly, but Jenna was too fast for him. She grinned.
‘He’s thinking about Amanda.’
Amanda could only hope her face didn’t reveal the pleasure she felt. Fortunately, Tracey chose that moment to reappear and distracted the class’s attention.
‘I’m back,’ she announced unnecessarily.
Amanda-Madame frowned. ‘It took too long. You need to work on that.’
‘My prediction was correct,’ Emily pointed out.
‘Yes, yes, very good.’ She moved on. ‘Martin, let’s test your strength.’ She looked around the room. The heaviest thing was the desk, but they’d already used that. She needed something more original.
Inspiration didn’t fail her. ‘Martin, pick up Sarah and hold her over your head.’
Martin was startled. ‘Really?’
‘Yes,’ Amanda-Madame stated.
‘That’s not much of a test,’ Jenna protested. ‘Sarah’s not very heavy.’
Amanda-Madame looked at her sternly. ‘He can’t just lift her, he has to hold her over his head. That would be impossible for a normal person his size.’
Martin got up and went to the back of the room. Sarah watched him apprehensively as he approached her.
‘Madame, is this really necessary?’ she asked.
