me go out to get some water, but when I got back, he asked me about the reading again, and so I started coughing again, and then. .’
Ken seemed to be hanging on to every word. He kept his eyes on her, he nodded and made the right comments, like ‘no kidding’ and ‘wow’. Amanda couldn’t believe it. Here she and Ken had just experienced this incredible day, and now he was acting like Nina was telling him something exciting.
How many more ways could she feel sick that day? she wondered as she slid into the booth at the ice-cream place. Was it possible that Ken was really into Nina? She couldn’t bear this — she had to do something to turn him off her. And it dawned on her that she had the means to do this. She just had to come up with a reason to feel sorry for Nina. .
‘. . and if I don’t get at least a C in history,’ Nina prattled, ‘I’ll have to go to summer school, which means I won’t be able to go to the beach. .’
A summer without a tan. That was all it took.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
DR PALEY WAS NOT happy with Paul. He didn’t yell, and he didn’t threaten to punish him, but on the way back to Harmony House, he gave Paul a lecture on what he should not do.
‘You must not leave Harmony House without permission,’ he warned Paul. ‘You are not a prisoner there, but this is the one place where you are safe. Never forget that you are still in danger. The people who killed your parents are still out there, and they may still be looking for you. Do you understand?’
‘Yes,’ Paul said, and he was pleased to hear the word come out correctly and clearly.
‘And you must not shape-shift, except under controlled circumstances and in my presence. Your gift could put you in danger too. If you became, say, a lion and went out into the street, people would become frightened. You would be shot. Do you understand?’
‘Yes,’ Paul said again. Why did Dr Paley keep asking him if he understood? Paul wasn’t stupid.
‘Madame told me that you have always obeyed her orders,’ he continued. ‘You must obey my orders too. Do you understand?’
‘
‘Your voice is improving.’
When they arrived back at Harmony House, Dr Paley told him to go to his room. ‘I have an important meeting with my colleagues,’ he said. ‘I would like them to meet you. I’ll send someone to get you when we’re ready. And don’t forget what I’ve told you.’
Back in his room, Paul lay on his bed, stared at the ceiling, and thought about his little adventure. Visiting the gifted class had brought back all kinds of memories, mostly bad ones. He remembered himself sitting there day after day, not speaking, not thinking, responding to commands, following every order he was given, doing nothing on his own. He had been something not quite human.
Now he was human — and more. He could speak, he could think. He had a gift. And he didn’t have to follow orders any more.
Like the orders Dr Paley gave him just now. He knew the doctor was trying to protect him, and there was a time when Paul only wanted to be protected. That was why he followed orders, because he was always afraid.
He wasn’t afraid any more. And he didn’t want to stay in this room and wait for Dr Paley to send for him. There was so much to see, so much to explore. And hear. He was curious about Dr Paley’s meeting with his colleagues — people who believed in unusual gifts and what could be done with them. He could learn more about himself. Clearly, Dr Paley thought he wasn’t terribly intelligent, or he wouldn’t be constantly asking Paul if he understood. So he wasn’t going to get a lot of information from him, not right away at least. He wanted to hear Dr Paley and his colleagues speaking freely.
He considered his options. What could he become? He didn’t particularly want to be a cockroach again. True, he had to be small so no one would notice him, but he wanted to try something new. A spider? No, he could easily be stepped on and crushed. A snake? No. A worm. . but they couldn’t move very fast. His plan was to go to Dr Paley’s office, listen to their conversation, and then, as soon as the doctor sent for him, return to his room and shift back.
He was going to have to be a mouse, he decided. There were mice all over this building — the doctor had said so himself. And they weren’t all shape-shifting humans. If by any chance he was spotted, no one would be too shocked.
Maybe a white mouse, not the ordinary grey kind. White ones were nicer looking. After he shifted, he wished he could get up to the mirror over the washbasin so he could admire himself, but it was just too high.
He slipped out under the door and looked around. No one was in the hall, but even so, he kept close to the wall. As he approached Dr Paley’s office, he heard voices coming from around the corner, so he dived under the door of the office next to the doctor’s.
Big mistake. ‘Eek, a mouse!’ someone screamed. So people were just as freaked out by white mice as they were by grey ones. Paul raced along the edge of the room until he came to a hole just big enough to squeeze through. He spotted another mouse in the cavity, but he didn’t pay any attention to Paul. That was good — Paul had no idea how mice communicated with each other.
He could hear people chattering excitedly through the wall of the room he’d just left.
‘Those traps we set are not working,’ one person said. ‘We have to call in some real exterminators.’
Paul shuddered. Well, he didn’t have to stay being a mouse forever. But he would have to keep an eye out for those traps. What was it people put in traps to attract mice? Cheese, right? Paul wasn’t too worried. He didn’t like cheese. It would be no temptation for him.
He followed a narrow tunnel in what he thought was the direction of Dr Paley’s office. Sure enough, after a moment, he was able to make out some other voices, including one that he recognized.
‘It’s a phenomenal situation,’ the doctor was saying. ‘Nine students, and each one has a different gift.’
‘Which ones are coming for the procedure tomorrow?’ another voice asked.
‘The body-snatching girl and the boy who talks to the deceased.’
‘What about the controller? She’s the most intriguing.’
‘Supposedly, according to the subjects I spoke with, she wants to lose her gift too, and I encouraged them to bring her along.’
Then a third voice, a woman this time. ‘Is it really necessary to perform the procedure? We could learn so much from these kids. And think of their potential for investigation, advances in medicine and psychology, diplomacy. . These kids could end wars!’
‘Or start them,’ Dr Paley said. ‘They’re too young and immature — they can’t be trusted with these powers.’
‘But we could work with them,’ the woman said. ‘Keep them in a controlled environment, train them, so they’d want to use their gifts for positive purposes.’
‘That’s what the teacher is trying to do,’ Dr Paley said. ‘But it’s impossible, the subjects are too strong, they can’t be contained. Already the subjects have fallen into the wrong hands on several occasions. They’re dangerous.’
‘The potential is frightening,’ the other male voice concurred. ‘We really have no option. Their gifts must be eliminated.’
‘And we need to begin immediately,’ Dr Paley said.
He must have moved further from the wall because his voice became fainter, but Paul could still hear him.
‘Miss Callow? Would you send a resident assistant to bring Paul Carter here?’
This was Paul’s cue. He needed to take off, get back to his room and shift before the resident assistant appeared.
