“Okay.” I tried to shrug off Colleen’s stupid comments, pretend they didn’t sting. “This better be good,” I whispered to Shanda.
“You’re telling me.” Her three-inch sandals clicked against the metal treads as she clacked up the spiral steps at a steady pace, like the dizzying contraption didn’t faze her one bit.
I gripped the sleek wrought-iron railing until my knuckles went white. Under my feet, the steps groaned and squeaked like an out-of-control carnival ride. Butterflies on caffeine flocked to my stomach. So I focused on Shanda’s concert t-shirt. Phoenix, Denver, Shreveport. The name of each city numbed my swirling brain all the way up. At the top, my feet landed on a solid hardwood floor and practically squealed their thanks.
Somehow the white-domed meeting room felt airy and dark all at the same time. Moonlight slanted in from a giant panel propped open for the telescope. “What kind of club meets in an observatory?”
“The really cool kind, obviously.” My brand-new friend pulled me over to a cluster of folding chairs.
“Obviously.” My bare knees wobbled as I plunked down in the cold metal chair. Maybe jean shorts weren’t the best idea for a nighttime meeting in an observatory tower. But it was August in New York.
Dean Frederickson sat in the back row with a notepad on her lap, looking out of place in her wool skirt in the middle of a bunch of teenagers and folding chairs. If the dean was the supervisor of this group, I was in the right place.
The Nexis Guy from orientation stood at the center of the room. That so-messy-it’s-cool sandy hair and those gunmetal gray eyes flashed at me like they had this afternoon. My pulse quickened. No, that couldn’t be the guy Mom picked out for me.
“Welcome to the Nexis Society induction meeting. I’m Will Stanton, club president for the Montrose chapter.”
Polite applause erupted, but I just sank deeper into the chair. Of course the Stanton boy was the current Nexis president, just like my brother was three years ago. Before he disappeared.
Suddenly, the entire room faded into darkness and all the light from the moon refocused around Will’s golden head like a spotlight. When I blinked, I saw my brother’s face. Then I blinked again, and James vanished. My stomach roiled as I curled my fingers under the cool metal seat until the room stilled back to normal. What in the world just happened? What did this guy have to do with James? Maybe this was just my second-born powers trying to tell me something. I needed to talk to Will after the meeting.
“We’re an elite secret society of gifted students. All of our graduating members have been able to attend the Ivy League college of their choice and gone on to exclusive jobs in the upper echelons of society. That’s because we only recruit the best of the best. We have invited each of you because of your academic or family status. Most of our new recruits are freshmen, but a few transfer students made the cut.” The cleft in his chin waved at me as he looked around the room. “If you decide to join, you’ll meet the rest of the Nexis members during initiation.”
His lips were still moving, but I lost myself in those eyes. “In the outside world, the Nexis Society is committed to serving the community at large. But behind-the-scenes, Nexis has a more long term view of bringing peace to the world. And eventually, Utopia.”
I quirked my head at him. Did I hear that right? Will’s eyes sparked silver in my direction, but he just kept talking like his last sentence wasn’t completely weird. Maybe Nexis was stranger than I thought. But if they really wanted to create a Utopian society, why would my mom join up? Something didn’t add up.
Questions buzzed in my brain, but Will’s velvety voice lulled my objections into silence, until the patter of clapping jolted me back to reality.
How had I missed the whole speech? Wow, I must be losing it. I needed to pull it together and focus on my mission.
“You got it bad.” A cackle escaped Shanda’s throat as the applause died down.
“Do not.” But I couldn’t help stalking Will with my eyes across the room as the Barbies circled. Then I caught Shanda’s staring at me like she could read my mind. “Why, is it obvious?”
She snorted, but didn’t say a word as she glided like a swan to the enormous telescope. I followed close on her heels. Anything to escape the strange feelings flocking in my stomach over some guy I didn’t even know. Still, I watched the guy as he talked to a trio of blonde girls. I resisted the urge to growl.
“Down girl. Let’s just wait until the herd thins out.” Shanda’s lips quirked as her fingers slid down the white cylinder, caressing the eye piece. “Come, look at this.” She gazed up at the night sky, then moved the scope with a swift flick of her wrist.
“Thanks for that.” I pressed the viewfinder against my eye socket. Three bright dots formed a glowing triangle. “Pretty. What stars are they?”
“I got your back, girl.” She counted it out on three fingers. “One star, two planets. Saturn and Mars with a star called Spica. I’m calling this formation the August trifecta. They’ll be in different orbits by next week when September comes. Enjoy it while you can.”
“We aren’t talking about stars here, are we?” I tilted my head, studying her black profile outlined by moonlight.
“We both know this isn’t a social club. All three societies have an agenda and this one is no exception.” Her almond eyes flashed as she stepped away from the telescope. “Don’t get your hopes up about these guys. You’ve got to have family ties
