Norms?”
“Norms?”
“Normals,” Hayden sighed.
“Yeah, we weren’t allowed outside.” I placed my plate in my lap, ignoring the fact Hayden chose to sit on my rock.
“Neither are we,” Phoebe said, her voice cold. “But it doesn’t stop us.”
They were talking to me only because they had to, I realized. Hayden had probably made them, but there wasn’t an ounce of civility in their tone.
Hayden took a bite of his pizza. “Things were different at her old school, Phoebe.”
Staring down at her nails, she shrugged. “Whatever.” She nudged Gabe’s arm and whispered something.
I nibbled on my pizza, keeping my eyes on the patchy field grass, trying not to show how uncomfortable I was with them.
“So what’s it like to have the touch-of-death gift?” Gabe rolled up a wrapper and shoved it in a fast food bag.
“She’s not gifted,” Phoebe snapped before I could respond. “Not like us.”
“Phoebe,” Hayden warned.
“What? I’m just stating the truth. She died. We all know that. She wasn’t born with a gift.”
Between Gabe’s question and Phoebe’s obvious bitchiness, I lost the ability to speak.
“She’s just like us, Phoebe. It doesn’t matter how she got her gift,” Hayden said. “Give it a rest.”
Phoebe flicked her hair over her shoulder. “The only reason she’s here is because of his failure. He’s obsessed, like you. Do you think that’s fair to any of us?”
Finally, I found my voice. “Whose failure? And how is it unfair to you?”
Phoebe wouldn’t look at me. “None of us want her here, Hayden. Do you understand that? She’s going to screw everything up—ruin everything.”
Hayden’s eyes snapped fire. “Phoebe, just shut up.”
“Ruin what?” I asked, but no one was listening to me.
“Don’t. Tell. Me. To. Shut up! You’re the only one who wants her here!” She paused, finally looking at me. “Kurt should’ve wiped her.”
Moving lightning-fast, Hayden was in front of me. The heat from his body blocked the chill in the breeze. “Don’t.”
One word spoken so low, so powerful—everyone froze.
Then Hayden turned to Phoebe. “Get out of here.”
Blazing green eyes locked onto Hayden’s. “You’re going to be sorry, Hayden. All of us are going to be.” Then she grabbed her bag and stalked across the field.
Gabe stood, his eyes were wide and lips thin. “Well, this went just as planned, huh?”
Hayden whirled on the younger boy so quickly my head spun.
Gabe threw up his hands. “Don’t blow anything up, Hayden. I’m just sayin’.” He turned to me, actually looking sheepish. “Sorry. I think your little sis is pretty cool, but we all got a lot to lose.”
I barely heard him. I was still fighting the urge to take off after Phoebe and sink my hands deep into her glossy black hair.
Lunch quickly fell apart after that. Gabe followed Phoebe; only Hayden and I remained on the rocks.
Fury still radiated from him like gusts of hot air. I stared down at my half-eaten pizza.
“I’m sorry about Phoebe—about all of them.”
Shaking my head, I picked up my bag. “What am I ruining being here? Like, is the world going to implode or something because I’m here?”
“No,” Hayden said as he ran his hands through his hair.
“Why is she freaking out so bad?”
He pushed off the rock and folded his arms. “They’re worried you’re going to do something that will draw attention to us.”
I stared at him. “Like what?”
“All of us have been trained to control our gifts, Ember, and Olivia’s gift isn’t dangerous, but…”
“But mine is?”
“They’re afraid the Facility will come, and we’ll all have to go to South Dakota—to the Facility. We like it here, and trust me, you wouldn’t like it there.”
A cold shiver lifted the fine hair on my neck. “What happened there?”
His face turned distant, cold even. “Nothing—it’s nothing to worry about now. Look, all of our lives are affected. I mean, we all have to be careful.”
“I don’t get it. How am I supposed to care about the Facility if I don’t know what or who they are?”
“Okay. The Facility is like… like the police of the gifted. I know that sounds stupid, but they kind of create the rules and make sure we follow them.”
“What kind of rules?”
“There are a lot, Ember, but the most important is that we don’t lose control of our gifts and expose ourselves to the outsiders.”
I pressed my lips together. Looking at Hayden now, I wasn’t too sure he had a firm grasp on his gift either. Even now he looked like he wanted to destroy an entire town.
“A lot is riding on you, Ember. It might not be fair, but if you can’t control your gift, something
Chapter 11
Pressure.
My palms were sweaty the rest of the day. Gross. I’d always thought my curse wouldn’t affect anyone else as long as I didn’t touch them, but I couldn’t continue to hide from the fact one day I might zap someone again—by accident… or on purpose.
And that’d bring the Facility down on everyone.
All I knew about the Facility were the little tidbits dropped here and there. They existed somewhere in South Dakota. If gifted people acted up or did something that brought unwanted attention, they ended up there, and finally, they took the gifted who couldn’t control their abilities.
I did sound like a prime candidate when I thought about it, which put me in a fog the rest of the day. In bio, I got the seat next to Cory.
“How do you like it here?” Cory ran a hand over his cropped hair.
I stopped fidgeting with my pen and looked at him. He blinked and leaned back an inch or two. “It’s really nice,” I said.
“That’s good.” Cory looked to the front of the class and bit his lip.
“What’s the teacher’s name?” I asked, hoping that was a normal, appropriate question.
“Coach Ashford. He’s a nice guy. Coaches the football team,” he explained. “I’m the quarterback.”
Go figure. I tried not to yawn in the guy’s face. “Oh, that sounds interesting.”
Cory nodded eagerly. “Yeah, I’m hoping to get a full ride at the University. Coach says I have a good chance as long I don’t blow it.” He laughed as if he that would be funny. “Gotta keep this arm…”
I zoned out at that point and stared at the front of the class. Actually, I stared at Hayden’s back. His lab partner appeared to be just as talkative, but he did a better job at listening. And that kind of made me feel like a bitch, so I made myself focus on what Cory was saying.
Coach Ashford showed up late, immediately turned on the projector and sat behind the desk.
