*Can you stop thinking so loudly?
Sorry. I’ll try.
Valeria chuckles, eyes still closed.
“What’s so funny?” I say.
“Oh, it’s just… uh, you and Elise. It was kind of funny.”
“Elise?”
“Yeah, the lady in your thoughts? It was Elise. She’s the supervisor—”
“Of Cabin 1. In charge while Li is gone. Yeah I hear,” I say. “So she’s telepathic? That must come in handy when dealing with kids.”
Valeria suddenly opens her eyes wide. “Oh my gosh, I’m sorry,” she says quickly, like she’s tripping over herself. “I shouldn’t have told you that. I shouldn’t—”
She gets up.
“Valeria?”
“I’m sorry,” she says, and runs away, towards the cabins.
Whatever that was, I doubt Valeria would want me to chase after her and confront her about it. I go back to my thoughts.
Hey, Elise?
*What?
Where are you? I need to talk to you.
*About the clothes? Sure, I can arrange something.
I look around. Who is it? Everyone looks engaged in the match or in chatting with others around them. No one looks like they’re lost in their thoughts. I return to my own.
Is it okay if we meet in person? This mind thing is kind of strange.
*Do you know ASL?
ASL?
*Sign language?
No…
*Then we’d have to talk like this anyway. Unless you want to write everything down and I’m not a fan of that. Too slow when you can just think, you know?
Ah okay…
*By the way, check the board in the Main House lounge. I’ve put you on laundry duty this afternoon.
Fantastic…
*I’m waving at you.
I look around again. A woman across the field is waving. She’s sitting with that man that Remington called Shikoba yesterday—the man who brought him here. All I can see from here is blunt cut black bangs and a bob just past chin length. She’s in a yellow sundress with a white daisy pattern that reveals her olive arms and legs.
*Meet me here after the game.
I feel an emptiness in my mind, like she’s not listening anymore. She’s looking at Shikoba, so maybe she’s talking in his mind now.
I stare at the kids playing, trying to make sense of it. Most of all, trying to figure out when it’ll be over. But I have no clue. And it’s almost noon now because the sun is beating down on me overhead. I wipe some sweat off of my forehead and list out the things I need to do, the things I need to get from Elise. It keeps me busy for a while.
Then, a huge cheer. People standing up.
I look around. Remington is surrounded by his team. They’re all hollering and laughing. The other coach is patting a crying kid on the back, and the rest of his team is cleaning up the field. They must have lost.
The crowd disperses, so I head over to Elise and Shikoba.
“Uh, hi,” I say.
She smiles and waves.
“Chrys,” Shikoba says, “it’s nice to meet you.” He has a deep voice that sounds like it’d be perfect for narrating a nature documentary.
He takes one of my hands in both of his and squeezes gently.
“I was honored by your bravery last night,” he says.
I pull my hand away, heart pounding. “Uh, thanks, I guess.”
“It is okay,” he says. “You are in control.”
“Yeah, but I remember when I didn’t have any control, and that scares me,” I say, surprising myself. Where did these words come from?
He nods solemnly. “Yes, remembering… It can be more painful than the moment itself. There are things I, too, wish I could forget but I can’t forget anything, not even the tiniest detail. So, at the very least, you can feel grateful that you don’t remember it exactly as it happened.”
He looks at Elise and nods.
“I’m afraid there’s work to be done,” Shikoba says. “Good day, Chrys.”
“Uh, sure. Good day,” I say.
He heads toward the building where I met Li yesterday.
*Follow me.
Elise starts walking in the opposite direction of Shikoba. I follow.
*Memory.
What?
*Shikoba’s gift.
Oh. But plenty of people have a photographic memory, don’t they?
*Sure.
Then how is he different?
*The laundry room is in that white building over there. There are a lot of clothes in there. I’ll show you which ones you can take.
The change in topic is jarring. Did she not hear what I asked or is she just ignoring me or something?
*The second one.
Great. Thanks.
*Any time.
We arrive at the white building and go inside. The air smells divine, like buttery pastries.
*Food is made in here. Most wake up really late so we only serve brunch and dinner. Brunch is usually between ten and one, but today it’ll go until two because of the game. Dinner is from five to eight.
We walk through the kitchen into another room. There are four washing machines stacked two by two on one wall and four driers on the other wall. Two of each are whirring and shaking. It’s deafening. In the middle of the room is a large wooden table with ten boxes of clothing on it and hampers surrounding the tables. A shirt from one of the boxes is lifted up, spread out for a moment, then thrown down into one of the hampers on the ground.
I turn to Elise, shocked, and shout over the machines, “You-you guys have magic here? How is that happening?”
Elise laughs. It’s like a high-pitched chirping. She points.
I turn back to the table. Now, there’s a short, stick-thin boy standing there with skin almost as dark as his huge afro, and a gloomy look in his eyes.
“Sorry man,” the boy says. He goes back to moving the clothes into the hamper.
I start to wonder what just happened, but Elise pushes aside my thoughts with her own.
*The clothes in that red box next to the driers are free for the taking. Darius will show you what to do. Have fun.
Elise starts to leave.
Oh, wait, Elise. I also need some toiletries and a phone charger and—
She doesn’t turn back, but as she walks through the door, she sends another thought.
*Next to the laundry room, there are two storage rooms. The one with food is locked but the one
