He was right. I wouldn’t have believed them, but now— “Are my parents in danger?”
Dryden swallowed down a cookie and answered, “Your parents’ home is more fortified than any other location in your world.”
“Sasha?” I hadn’t even considered her. “Wait, is she even really my friend or does she work here too?”
“She’s a civilian and as blind to all this as your parents. Your classmates are under surveillance, and security around Sasha is nearly as high as your parents. Barton is more secure than Boston. That is why Wilbur, Hincho, and Naugle have arrived.”
“Well, if Barton is safer, I’ll go home, thank you.”
“You would put them in more danger by going home.” Rudolf spoke up.
“But you said home was safer.”
Dryden nodded. “You are an untrained Merric, and an untrained Merric is a prime target.”
“I don’t know what you mean by untrained.” I had no clue. “And I’m a Wilson.”
Dryden nodded. “Untrained in the art of… combat.”
“Well, then, my mom is also untrained, right? She would be an easy target. And Grandma is hardly in any shape for a fight.”
The wait staff wheeled the cart of food out of the room.
Dryden shook his head. “Your mother is fine. It is you the Galvantry wants. They believe you, Waverly, will be a formidable, impressive person soon.”
Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. “Not if I go home. I won’t be trained, and I can get my normal life back.”
They looked at me and then at each other like I was out of the loop. They knew things they weren’t sharing.
“What?” No one answered. “What is it now?” My ex-teachers shook their heads. “Great, so you’re going to keep your secrets under your hat.”
Manon spoke up. “Waverly—“
“What? Talk—any of you—feel free to let me in on what you are all thinking.”
Hincho shook his head. “We can’t, Wavy. We would if we could, but—”
“But you can’t, is that right?”
“If we told you the truth, you’d think we were making it up,” Wilbur said. He opened his palms and shrugged.
“Oh, I might believe anything at this point,” I said, and stood up from my chair, my dessert falling from my lap to the floor. I grabbed a tissue from a table and kneeled to clean it up. Within seconds, a maid took over.
Frustrated, I balled my fists. “Are you people just spying on me? Is that it?” I paused. With that many people watching me, they’d witnessed so many embarrassing moments. I turned on the three traitors. “Since you apparently observed my entire childhood, what did you tell these people?”
“Oh,” Mr. Hincho said, catching on to what I meant. “We mainly watched around you to make sure you weren’t in danger.”
“I’m guessing there were cameras too. Are they on me right now?” I searched the ceiling for cameras.
“Yes. They were strategically placed around Barton.”
Manon stood to join me. “They only wanted your safety. No Merric is ever without security.”
“These three men have been tailing you since kindergarten,” Dryden responded with pride in his voice. “It’s a record for time spent in the secondary earth.”
“Primary, and I was five!” I said.
Mr. Wilbur smiled. “You were the cutest little girl with those curls.”
“Those chubby cheeks,” Naugle added.
“No, you don’t.” I’d heard enough. “You don’t get to act like the fun uncles again. Don’t pretend you cared.”
“Oh, Waverly, we cared. It’d be impossible to be that close and not care about you and your family,” Hincho explained.
I was close to crying, and I refused to do it. I took a deep, angry breath. “Later.”
I left the room, and Manon followed. “Wait! Please don’t be upset.”
I rushed down the hall. “You work here. I didn’t get a choice. Bollard had men watching me, and I didn’t have warning or anything.”
“This isn’t my job. I’m here for you. No pay.” Manon ran to catch up. “I understand.”
“I don’t think you do. I just found out the Merrics spied on my whole life and that my family is in danger from some terrorist organization. I mean, how can I trust that my family or Sasha are safe?”
“Waverly, please.” Manon sprinted out and stopped before me. “You’re looking at this the wrong way. Did you not have a good childhood? You have been in grave danger your whole life. Not knowing this is a gift. Bollie only ever wanted what was best for you. The Merrics have protected you your whole life. They’ve watched out for and given you a great opportunity. Bollard didn’t send men to spy on you. He sent them to make sure you had a future. There has never been a Merric that hasn’t needed protection.”
“But I didn’t know, and I should have. My life was in danger. People should know when they are being threatened. My parents should know.”
“I do not know your parents, but I know mine,” Manon said, and she placed her hand on my shoulder. “I know my parents wouldn’t have let me out of the house if they knew people were after me. They’d have called the police and people would say they were crazy. Worse yet, they could’ve run from their safety zone to escape the enemy and straight into danger. Would your parents act differently than mine?”
She was right. My parents would have high-tailed it out of Barton, but I was too irritated to admit Manon had a point.
“Look, Manon, go have your dessert with them then, and you can all discuss how wrong I am for feeling betrayed, okay? I’m going to bed.” I walked around her.
Manon’s voice trembled as she called from behind me. “Please don’t be mad at me! Forgive me and Enzo and Rudolf. You wanted to speak with Dryden, and he thought you should know.”
“Forgive you?” This made me stop, and I turned to see Manon on the floor. “You did nothing, and neither did Enzo. I’m not mad at him or you. I’m just mad, okay. I’m going to bed. Good night.”
Chapter 15
Where Aspens Fall and Other Tales of Woe
Fed up with
