Out of Sight, Out of Mind

She could make the person put the gun to his own head and blow his own brains out!'

'I would never do that!' Sarah cried out.

'Maybe you wouldn't,' Jenna said, 'but you could!'

Madame took over. 'The point is, if people found out what you can do, they'd try to use you for their own purposes. You'd be taken away somewhere and studied, tested, examined. Imprisoned, possibly. Tracey, do you have an opinion about this?'

Amanda didn't know what to say. She was still trying to come to terms with what she'd just learned-that Emily could see into the future. That Sarah could control what people did. And she was bewildered by the way Madame was talking to them-she sounded like a parent reminding children why they shouldn't talk to strangers. It was a strange attitude for a teacher to have. And Amanda still didn't know what she herself--no, what Tracey-could do.

Madame was waiting for an answer, and she was gazing at Tracey with a slight pucker on her forehead.

'Uh, no, I don't have an opinion, Madame.'

'Typical!' Charles snorted.

From his reaction, Amanda gathered that Tracey didn't say much in this class. That was fine with her.

Madame continued. 'Let's get back to Ken's situation. Yesterday I asked you to think about a moment when you successfully controlled your gift. It's possible that Ken could benefit from your experience. Who wants to tell us about a particular incident? Emily? Emily!'

'Yes, Madame, I had a good experience last weekend. My aunt and her boyfriend were having dinner with us. They're getting married in a couple of months, and they were talking about where to go on their honeymoon. My aunt wants to go to Bermuda, and I don't even know where that is, exactly, but I closed my eyes and concentrated, and I saw a tropical storm going on there in two months, just around the same time as their honeymoon!'

Madame appeared concerned, but Amanda didn't think this had anything to do with the aunt's honeymoon. 'Did you tell your aunt?'

'Not exactly. I told them that I knew some people who went to Jamaica for their honeymoon, and they liked it a lot. So then they started talking about Jamaica. And it turns out that my aunt's boyfriend has always wanted to go to Jamaica, so they're changing their honeymoon plans!'

'Hey, that's pretty cool,' Ken commented. 'You got them out of the tropical storm, but you didn't have to reveal anything about yourself.'

Madame nodded slowly. 'Yes, that was creative thinking, Emily. But you were still taking a risk. You might have raised suspicions.'

'But she's my aunt, Madame! She wouldn't want to hurt me.'

'Not intentionally, perhaps,' Madame said. 'But the danger is there, Emily, and you must always be aware-'

'Wait a minute,' Jenna broke in. 'How about all those other people in Bermuda? Some of them might be on their honeymoons, too.'

'But I can't help everyone!' Emily cried out.

'Why not?' Charles challenged her. 'If you had seen the future before I was born, you could have told my parents that the doctor was going to make a stupid mistake when he delivered me, and they could have changed doctors, and I wouldn't be in a wheelchair!'

'I wasn't even a year old when you were born!' Emily wailed.

Madame clapped her hands. 'Class, class! That's enough. We're supposed to be talking about Ken's situation today.'

But just then the classroom door opened, and in walked the principal, Mr. Jackson, with a young woman Amanda had never seen before. Madame frowned slightly at the interruption.

'Good afternoon, Mr. Jackson,' she said politely, but there was an edge to her voice that Amanda found interesting. Whenever the principal came into classrooms, teachers behaved very respectfully and made a big deal out of welcoming him. Something about Madame's voice and expression told Amanda that she wasn't too crazy about Mr. Jackson. Maybe other teachers didn't like the principal, but they certainly never showed it. And once again, Amanda was intrigued by how different Madame was from other teachers.

'What can we do for you, Mr. Jackson?' Madame asked, but she sounded like she didn't want to do anything at all for him.

The principal's normally solemn face was unusually cheerful. 'It's what I can do for you, Madame. And for your entire class. I would like to introduce you all to Serena Hancock, your new student teacher.'

Madame was clearly taken aback. 'Student teacher? I didn't request a student teacher, Mr. Jackson. We've never had a student teacher in this class.'

The principal's face hardened slightly. 'Well, you do now. And I would think you'd be grateful to have the help. Your students are supposedly gifted, isn't that right?'

Madame looked at him cautiously. 'Yes.'

'Well, Ms. Hancock has a gift, too. She can perform hypnosis.'

To Amanda's eyes, Madame seemed alarmed now. 'And why would my students need to be hypnotized?'

The principal shrugged. 'Special children, special needs, special solutions. I'll leave Ms. Hancock with you now.' And he left the room.

Along with the others, Amanda gazed at Ms. Hancock curiously. She was actually pretty impressed with this new addition to their classroom. Like most student teachers, Ms. Hancock was young, probably in her 20s. Unlike most student teachers, she looked very cool. She had long, thick blond hair that hung down her back in perfect waves and a scarlet mouth. Her dress was amazing-short, figure hugging, and printed in bold colors, turquoise and deep violet. Being a loyal reader of Teen Vogue, Amanda knew that turquoise and deep violet were very big this season.

'Please take a seat, Ms. Hancock,' Madame commanded. 'I'm sure you'll just want to observe today.'

The younger woman smiled, revealing perfectly brilliant white teeth. 'Thank you, Madame. But please, call me Serena.' She turned to the students. 'All of you can call me Serena.'

Amanda could completely understand the startled expression that crossed Madame's face. No teachers, not even student teachers, were ever called by their first name at Meadowbrook.

Everyone watched as Serena took a seat at the back of the room. Then they turned back to Madame.

Amanda thought she looked flustered, as if she wasn't sure how to proceed. It was an odd expression for Madame-after only two classes, Amanda could tell that the teacher normally had an air of complete confidence. What was she worried about? Did she think she'd lose control of the class to a student teacher? No one ever paid much attention to student teachers.

Finally, Madame spoke again. 'I think this is a good time to do some silent reading. I'm sure you've all got books with you. Please take them out now.' She, too, went to her desk and opened a book.

This was very odd, Amanda thought. It was as if Madame didn't want to continue discussing their gifts in front of the student teacher. But surely the other teachers must know about the weird stuff these students could do? At least Mr. Jackson had to know about them-he was the principal! And surely he must have told this student teacher, Serena, before sending her into this room to work with these weirdos.

So why couldn't they go back to what they were talking about? If they did, maybe Amanda could finally learn what Tracey's gift was. Why was Madame suddenly acting like she wanted them all to be quiet? It seemed to her like Madame was always trying to protect them. But protect them from what-or from whom?

They didn't have to read for long. Moments later, the bell rang, and Madame dismissed them without even giving them homework to do for the next day.

Amanda gathered her books and walked out into the hall. She headed down the corridor toward her next class, and she didn't realize that Jenna was following her until Jenna whispered in her ear.

'You're not Tracey.'