ticket. She couldn’t blame him for not telling the doctor. One decent experience didn’t make up for a zillion obnoxious ones.
‘Your gift could be dangerous too,’ Dr Paley told Ken.
‘How?’ Ken asked.
‘You might feel very sympathetic to someone’s plight, and get involved in something that could harm you.’
Ken considered this. ‘Yeah, I guess that could happen.’
Dr Paley gazed at them both seriously. ‘I can see that your gifts cause both of you a lot of problems. And I agree, your lives would be easier without them.’
‘Is it possible?’ Amanda asked. ‘Is there any way we can get rid of our gifts?’
‘It’s. . possible,’ Dr Paley said slowly. ‘There’s research going on now, and there are indications that a type of brain surgery could erase this kind of ability.’
Amanda made a face. ‘Brain surgery? That sounds pretty scary.’
‘Actually, it’s not as dramatic as it sounds,’ the doctor told her. ‘It’s a totally non-invasive procedure.’
‘What does that mean?’ Ken asked.
‘Special scans identify the brain element that’s responsible for the gift. The area is treated with a laser beam, no cuts or incisions are made. The patient wouldn’t even need an anaesthetic.’
Amanda still didn’t feel comfortable with the idea. ‘Would they have to shave your head?’
Dr Paley smiled. ‘No, that wouldn’t be necessary.’
‘Does it cost a lot?’ Ken wanted to know.
‘Actually, it’s all experimental at this point. The patients who have received the treatments were all volunteers, part of a research study. So there was no charge.’ After a moment, he added, ‘I’m a member of this research team.’
Amanda drew in her breath. ‘So does that mean you could do this laser thing to us?’
‘I would have to consult with the other members of the team, of course. But, yes, it is possible that the procedure could take place right here in this office.’
Amanda didn’t know what to say. Ken was speechless too.
‘Now, as I said, this is all experimental,’ Dr Paley went on. ‘There are no guarantees. But no one has been injured by the procedure yet.’
The word ‘yet’ hung in the air. Amanda tried to ignore it.
‘How come Madame never told us about this?’ Ken wanted to know.
‘Madame doesn’t know about it,’ the doctor said. ‘Very few people do. Let me ask you something. Do you tell many people about your gift?’
‘No, of course not,’ Ken said. ‘No one would believe it.’
‘And if they did,’ Amanda added, ‘they’d think we were weird.’
‘Exactly,’ Dr Paley said. ‘Most people don’t believe that these abilities exist. And most people aren’t intellectually or emotionally capable of dealing with such knowledge. Therefore, procedures to correct the problem have also been kept highly confidential. And that’s why you must not tell anyone about this procedure.’
‘Not even Madame?’ Ken asked.
Amanda answered before Dr Paley could. ‘Especially not Madame. She’d try to talk us out of it. Remember, she told us we’ve been blessed.’
‘Madame is a very fine person,’ Dr Paley said, ‘but she is not gifted. No matter how much she cares for you all, she can’t really understand you.’
Amanda thought of another reason. ‘And don’t forget, if there weren’t any so-called gifted students to teach, she wouldn’t have a job.’
‘Are there other students in your class who’d be interested in losing their gifts?’ Dr Paley asked.
Ken and Amanda looked at each other. ‘Sarah,’ they said in unison.
Dr Paley looked at his notes and frowned. ‘Sarah. . I don’t think Madame has mentioned her.’
‘She’s got the most powerful gift of all,’ Ken told him. ‘She can make anyone do anything.’
‘But she never does,’ Amanda said. ‘Well, maybe once or twice. She stopped a man from getting his hands on a gun. But I’ve never seen her do anything really big.’
‘Interesting,’ Dr Paley murmured. He made a note. ‘Well, I give you permission to tell Sarah about the procedure. And if she’s interested, you can bring her along on Friday.’
‘Friday,’ Ken repeated. ‘You mean — tomorrow?’
Dr Paley nodded. ‘I’m going to talk to my colleagues today, and if all goes well, we should be able to perform the procedure tomorrow. Leave me your mobile numbers and I’ll send you text messages later.’
Amanda was stunned. She had no idea everything could happen this fast. ‘Don’t we need to get our parents’ permission?’
‘Do your parents know about your gifts?’ Dr Paley asked.
Amanda and Ken both shook their heads.
‘Do you want to tell them about your gifts?’
They looked at each other, and then both of them shook their heads again.
‘Well, then. .’
They gave the doctor their phone numbers, Amanda picked up her bag, and they left the office. Walking back through the building, she still felt like she was in a state of shock. Ken finally broke the silence.
‘Wow.’
And Amanda responded: ‘Yeah.’
They entered the reception area, but before they could reach the door, a voice called out. ‘Well, hello again!’
Amanda turned. That good-looking police officer from the day before, Jack Something, approached her with a smile. Somehow, even though she was feeling dazed, she managed to smile back.
‘Hello. This is my friend, Ken.’
‘Hi, Ken, I’m Jack Fisher. What are you guys doing here?’
Amanda thought rapidly. ‘Um, I thought maybe I could try again. You know, to see Carter. We have to get back to school now.’ She tugged at Ken’s arm.
‘You’re at Meadowbrook Middle, right? I’m going in that direction, I’ll give you a lift.’
They walked outside together. ‘Hey, this is cool,’ Ken said. ‘I hope people see us getting out of a police car at school.’
Jack started the car. ‘Your friends will think you guys are the new Bonnie and Clyde.’
‘Who?’ Amanda asked.
‘They were a couple of bank robbers in the 1930s,’ Jack told her.
‘Oh. I wasn’t born then.’
Jack laughed. ‘Neither was I.’ Just then, there was a loud buzzing sound, and a voice came out over the car radio.
‘All cars in the vicinity of Dover and Crane, proceed to incident in the 500 block. I repeat. .’
Immediately, Jack made a U-turn and took off at high speed. The intersection of Dover and Crane was less than a minute away. When they reached the scene, just outside a tall office building, they saw an ambulance. Another cop came over to the car, and Jack rolled down the window.
‘What’s going on?’ he asked.
‘Suicide,’ the other cop said. ‘Guy who was just fired from his job jumped from the top of the building.’
‘Oh, that’s bad,’ Jack murmured.
‘Gets worse,’ the cop said. ‘He left a note. It says he left a bomb in the building and it’s set to go off in fifteen minutes. We’re trying to evacuate all the buildings on the street, but I don’t know if we can get everyone out on time. And we have no idea where in the building the bomb is located.’ His face was grim. ‘Fifteen storeys, Jack.’
Jack jumped out of the car and opened the back door. ‘Sorry, you two, I won’t be able to give you a lift. And I need you to leave the area immediately.’
Amanda didn’t need any encouragement. She climbed out of the back seat, and Ken followed her. More police cars were arriving, and they hurried to get out of the way.
