Alora Funk- The Deliverance: Book 1

  Chapter 15

  The Awakening-

  “Ahh, it’s the new girl. I am Thor.” A tall lengthy boy said. He had a head full of bright blond hair. It was beautiful how thick and curly it was, tempting me to run my fingers through it. I kept getting locked in his stunning blue eyes, capturing me as he spoke. His magnetism intimidated me.

  My left arm wrapped around the front of my body. I was ticked at Mike. Why had he insisted I join the chess club? It was all boys, and I didn’t feel like I belonged. They seemed off to me, different than other boys I had met with my peer support. I noticed most of their auras were violet, or emerald green in color. I looked at mine. It was an ice-blue. Ice-blue meant scared, and I was terrified.

  “Do you play chess?” another boy asked. He looked like Thor, most likely his twin.

  I wanted to be silent. That had been my crutch when I didn’t feel like answering questions, but I couldn’t start out like that. I didn’t bring my eyes off the floor when I responded. Peggy had been trying to teach me to look people in the eyes when I spoke to them, but it was painfully hard to do. “No, but the office said you would teach me how,” I said with my eyes still on the ground.

  “Why do they do that to us?” Thor’s twin whined. “Why do they keep sending us kids who can’t play? They keep bringing popular kids into our club, and I can’t figure it out. We eat them for dinner. They don’t belong here. There should be a criteria for this club to join. If you can’t play chess, you can’t join the club.”

  Thor punched his twin in the arm, “Shut up, Zachery.”

  “No, I mean it.”

  Thor punched him again, “Shut up.”

  “Let’s sign a petition,” Zach said turning to the other four boys. “Come on, Kayson, I know you are with me.”

  Kayson had long brown hair and deep brown eyes. He looked at me and blushed. “I think she is kind of cute.” he said without hesitation. I blushed.

  “Fine, if you think she’s cute, you waste your time and teach her while the rest of us men play chess.”

  Kayson came over and grabbed my hand with his wet one. I tingled to his touch. Why did he make me feel funny? Hand in hand, he led me to a table.

  “Sit,” he said, “and learn from the master.”

  The other boys paired off, leaving Zachery without a partner. “Great,” he bellyached. “Just great. Now we are uneven.”

  “Play against the computer while you wait,” Thor told him.

  “That is so stupid. She doesn’t even belong here,” he responded to Thor.

  Kayson explained the rules. I must admit, he lost me with all his talk about pawns, kings, knights, bishops, queens, and such. I couldn’t keep them straight or what they did. Zachery couldn’t stay away, and soon he was leaning over my shoulder dictating to me what moves I should make. Eventually, Kayson won.

  “Now you know how to play, don’t expect any more help,” Zachery warned me. He went to Kayson and tipped his chair forward, dumping Kayson out. “My turn to mop the floor with your girlfriend.” Kayson and I both blushed.

  Zachery took the chair and scooted it up to the table. He rearranged all the pieces and told me to start. As I looked blankly at the board, Kayson whispered into my ear which one to move. His breath against my neck sent chills up and down my body.

  “Hey,” Zachery squawked. “No helping her.”

  “But you helped her,” Kayson protested.

  “Yeah, because it was her first round of chess. She is on her own. I want her to get humiliated and not come back.”

  Kayson put his hand on my shoulder. His touch made my mind go numb. “Don’t worry, Jane, you are welcomed back any time you want. Don’t listen to Zachery, he is a prick.”

  “A prick who can beat you at chess any day,” Zachery chided back.

  “Alright, after Jane beats you, you’re mine.”

  “Jane will never beat me, not in a million years.”

  “Actually, my name is Alora,” I weakly informed them.

  “Oh, Alora,” Kayson trilled on his tongue. “I like the way that sounds. I had thought the teacher called you Jane in our English class.”

  “He does,” I replied. “It’s a long story. But, my name is Alora.”

  “Back off, dork, you are distracting us,” Zachery said to Kayson. “We aren’t here to mingle, we are here to play chess.”

  Kayson and Zachery stopped their arguing, and the game of chess began. Meanwhile, the other two boys in the club continued playing each other and ignored us.

  I looked at my pieces, and I can’t explain what happened at that moment, but suddenly, with clarity, I understood each chess piece. I could remember what they did and how they moved. When I viewed the board, images formed in front of me. Pieces moved on their own, but only in my mind. As they did, their aura left a trace of light behind. My mind anticipated moves and the open possibilities left for Zachery. In seconds, I could configure the perfect move for each piece, and which moves to avoid. It astounded me as to what was happening, but I didn’t want to lose the ability, so I went with it, not trying to figure it out or understand it. As I let the game work itself out in my head, it only took a few quick turns until I was declaring checkmate.

  “Oh, oh, oh, Alora, you mopped the floor with Zach. You punished him. PUNISHED HIM! Everyone, come see the board. You have never seen Zach lose this badly, and to a girl, a girl who doesn’t know chess.” Kayson was enjoying making Zachery angry.

  As the rest of the club rushed to our table, Zachery stood up and flung the board across the room. The pieces scattered everywhere. His aura, which was at first was an emerald green, was now an orange red.

  “She was hustling us,” he said. “She knew what she was doing this whole time. I was going easy on her because I thought she needed it. I guarantee she will never win again.”

  “Settle down, Zach and pick up the pieces,” Thor said.

  “No, the hustler can pick them up.”

  “Pick them up, Zach,” Thor warned.

  Zach threw the whole table over. “I’m out-a-here,” he said as he stomped out of the room.

  I dropped to the floor and picked up the chess pieces. Another boy grabbed my hand and pulled me up.

  “We might be nerds,” he said, “but we are always gentlemen. We can get the pieces. By the way, I am Robert.”

  “Zach ain’t a gentlemen,” Thor mumbled.

  “Well, he ain’t welcomed back until he apologizes to Alora,” Kayson said.

  I sat back at the table, and Kayson pulled a chair next to mine. “Were you hustling us?” he asked with a wink. “You can be honest.”

  “I don’t know what hustling means.”

  “Do you really know how to play chess, then you come in here and pretend you don’t to make a fool of us?”

  I was shocked, “No way, I would never do that.”

  “Why not. It would be fun to do to someone,” Kayson said, and winked again. My nerves tingled.

  “I promise, I have never played before, well, at least I can’t remember if I played before. Maybe I did before my memory was taken.”

  “What do you mean?” Robert asked. He had bright red hair and was wearing a red and black checkered flannel.

  “Well, I can’t remember my past,” I quickly explained my origins to the club. I was surprised, for none of them seemed to have heard my story before. I had naturally thought the whole school knew about me.

  “It looks like you must have been a chess player, and that is why it came so easy to you. You might not remember doing it, but your brain does.”

  His words enthused me. What else did my brain remember doing?

  …

  I couldn’t go to sleep that night. The events at the chess club really stoked me, and I wanted to think about them, so I insisted I slept alone and kicked all my sisters out of the room. It had become a habit, them sleeping on my floor. The room probably was originall
y theirs, but Child Protective Services had strict rules I had to have my own room. With their nightly company, it no longer felt like my own room. They were bothered I didn’t want them there but I didn’t care because I needed time to think. If I was a chess player and had opened a link to my past, could I still access it? I tried all night to attain it again. Unfortunately, I couldn’t come up with anything. I couldn’t even open memories of me ever playing chess before. I wasn’t going to let it get me down, for at least I had linked into my past through chess.

  …

  Sunday morning, I was jolted awake by London hovering over my cot. Her presence had initially frightened me. Taz barely looked up at her, then snuggled his head between my armpits. I had always thought if an intruder came into the shed while I slept, Taz would protect me. I guess I was wrong. Or maybe, Taz could see auras and could tell London’s bluish-violetish aura meant she was safe to allow near me.

  After I took a moment to wake up, I proudly told London all about my chess game, expounding on how it seemed I could see every move with complete accuracy. It was the first time with London I did most of the talking. She seemed so tickled that she didn’t even tell me about herself. At 6:45, she left, saying she had a busy Sabbath ahead of her, and she didn’t want to be there when Peggy came to wake me up. After she left, I went into the house.

  “Well good morning, Alora. Nice of you to wake yourself up for once,” Peggy said when she saw me come in.

  Sunday was Sunday, with its three hours of church. I hated how much time was spent there, but I found myself enjoying some of the lessons, however, I would never tell Peggy that. Thankfully, Peggy took me out on the boat in the evening.

  …

  Monday was end of the year test day. The teachers had been preparing us for them for weeks. My tutors had also. My stomach hurt, and I felt like I might puke. I really wanted to do well on the test so they didn’t kick me out of seventh grade. As I fretted, I noticed my armpits were wet and sticky. Some of the girls in my gym class wore deodorant. I had to remember to ask Peggy to buy me some.

  In first period, the teacher handed out the tests. “Don’t worry, Jane, do your best,” he said. He dropped a test, an answer bubble sheet, and a number #2 pencil in front of me. I picked it up with shaking hands. The first problem was about area. I didn’t remember learning area. I skipped it. The next problem was about marking coordinates on a grid. How did one do that? What had my tutor been teaching me? It looked like I was getting a big fat F on the test.

  I was stumped, feeling the tears burn behind my eyes. I tried to hold them back, so none of the other kids would see me cry. I was so angry and disappointed. It appeared all of my studying had done nothing for me. I was about to give up, but decided to attempt one more problem. Instead of trying to figure out the question, I looked at it the same way I had the chess game. I closed my eyes and mediated for a moment, clearing my mind, then opened my eyes and looked at the problem. I didn’t try to understand it, just observed it and waited. As I did, I could feel something in my head shift. After the shift, I looked again at the test. The numbers moved. Streaks of light followed their movement, the numbers lining up, the problems solving themselves! I was frightened. I peered around to see if anyone was seeing what I saw. No eyes were on me. I didn’t know what to make of the phenomenon happening before me. Once in science, we had learned about a brain disease called schizophrenia. Was I getting it? Had I stressed myself out so much I was having a hallucination? I was about to fight it, but I remembered the chess game. In a way, there was something very linking about the two events. I couldn’t process what it was, but it was similar. I decided to allow the vision, or whatever it was to play out.

  When the problem finished solving itself, I was left with an answer, and I felt pure clarity. It was really hard to explain. I could see how the answer had to be right, without a shadow of doubt. It all made perfect sense. I could check the work, moving the numbers and graphs around in my head. I was so sure my answers had to be right. Either I had suddenly become a genius, or I was having one heck of a psychotic episode. I found this happened to every problem. When I was done, I knew I had gotten everything right.

  I finished the test way before most of the class. With nothing else to do, I laid my head on my desk. The teacher walked up to me and tapped me. I sat up. He took the test and whispered to me.

  “Don’t feel bad, I am sure you did your best.” His words distracted the test takers as they angrily glared at him. “If you want, you can go to tutoring now.” I tried to quietly get up and walk out of class. I felt on fire. I can’t really explain what I meant, but I felt a sort of burning in me, one filling me full of power.

  I went to tutoring, and when the bell rang, to my next class. It was in geography. Since the school year was coming to a close, I would be testing the rest of the week in various classes. There was a test waiting for us. I was no longer nervous about any of it.

  The geography test was given to me. Just like the beginning of the math test, I stared at in a complete stupor. I guessed my grandiose hallucination wasn’t going to help me through that one. I hadn’t been studying geography with Mandy. While I tried to make sense of the questions, I decided to do the same thing I had done on the math test. I closed my eyes and meditated and reopened them. I looked at the problem and waited. And then, with pure explicitness, a map appeared in my mind. I could see every landmark and topography of the map, being able to zoom in as close as I wanted, almost as if I was a satellite in space. The images were brilliant. I wanted to stand up and share my discovery with everyone. The anomaly thrilled me so much. In a way, I felt like I was cheating, for I had the best answer key in my own brain. I finished the test in twenty minutes then put my head on my desk. The teacher didn’t excuse me to go to tutoring, so I let my mind wander. That was my last test for the day.

  When I tutored with Mandy after school, I didn’t tell her about my tests. I wasn’t ready to share my experiences yet, sure that no one would believe me, besides; I was a tad bit afraid they would turn out to be sick hallucinations. I didn’t want anyone to think I was crazy.

  Peggy picked me up late from Mandy’s. That night, she took me out on the boat. I didn’t talk much, for my mind was occupied with the events of the day. For the same reasons I didn’t tell Mandy about the tests, I didn’t tell Peggy. We caught five fish.

  Once home, instead of sleeping, I pulled up maps in my head. I could see them right in front of me. There were rays of light surrounding the maps. I pulled up a map for everywhere I could think of. I didn’t sleep that night, filled with excitement of my new found abilities. What else was I capable of?

  As I got ready for school the next morning, I could hear banging as someone was climbing up the stairs. The whole house shook; I wondered what had made Mike so mad. Unexpectedly, my bedroom door flew open. To my surprise, it was Peggy. She was fuming.

  “That was the school that called. They said I better come in with you this morning. They won’t tell me what it is about, but they said I should plan on bringing you back with me after the meeting, because you are suspended.”

  Her words made me choke on my spit. “What are your talking about?” I asked as I felt my stomach churn in fear.

  “I don’t know,” she screamed. “But whatever it is, you know.”

  Peggy turned on her heals and marched out of the room. The house shook as she bounded down the stairs yelling, “I don’t have time for this. I can’t believe I have to leave today of all days. Today is when Jessica wakes up from the coma and realizes Rick has been seeing her sister during the coma.” She was upset because she was going to miss her soap. Some mother!

  We entered the school office, and all eyes were icily on me. I couldn’t imagine what I had done. Principal Schmidt, Ms. LeAnn, and two of my teachers were in a conference room around an oval table. “Come in,” Principal Schmidt said. We we
nt in and sat down. I almost felt like I was in a meeting with the stuffy people.

  “As you know, Jane took two tests yesterday. One in geography and one in math. Well, it turns out we have had a breach in our computer. We had been letting two students help teachers enter grades. They are both on the honor role, so we trusted those students by their academic merit. But, they taught us we must always use safeguards with students. If those two could betray us, any student could.

  “They had hacked into the test bank and had copied the answers to several of the seventh grade tests that will be going on this week. They sold those answers to students for five bucks a piece. Mrs. Sanibel, Jane was one who had bought those test answer sheets.”

  His words felt like a slap across the face. What was he talking about? I hadn’t bought any test answers. Who was spreading such wicked lies about me?

  “That’s not true!” I shouted. It was probably the loudest anyone had heard my voice. I was afraid at my outburst, and hung my head low.

  “Jane, there is no way you could have gotten a perfect hundred percent on both tests with your fourth grade level of comprehension,” Principal Schmidt said.

  “I have been studying hard and using tutors,” I wailed in my defense. I still didn’t look up.

  “Doesn’t matter. They might have helped you to get hundred percent on a fourth grade level test, but not a seventh grade level test.”

  “I don’t know why you would do this to us?” Ms. LeAnn said. She looked at me with disgust, and it hurt my feelings. “After all we have done, allowing you to stay in the seventh grade. Did you think cheating would help you from getting held back? We probably would have let you advance to eighth grade because you have been working hard, but we are not sure what to do with you now. This school holds a no cheating policy very tightly. We can’t accept this kind of behavior at our school, do you understand?”

  “I didn’t cheat.”

  “Of course you did,” Ms. LeAnn said smugly. “You didn’t even try to hide it by getting some of your answers wrong.” I really had to wonder about her counseling skills. There was something about her which always rubbed me wrong.

  “Don’t teach her better ways to cheat,” Principal Schmidt warned Ms. LeAnn.

  “Your right,” LeAnn replied. “Sorry.”

  “But I didn’t cheat,” I cried again. “Go ask your honor students, they will tell you I didn’t buy one of their stupid tests.”

  “Oh, it doesn’t matter now. Those tests have been sold and resold and are everywhere. You could have bought it from a number of people,” Principal Schmidt said.

  “Jane, I will tell you what we are going to do. If you can tell us who you bought the test from, we will take one day off from your three day suspension.”

  “I am suspended?” I bawled.

  “For sure,” Principal Schmidt said. “We have a no cheating policy.”

  Peggy sat there unusually quiet.

  “But I didn’t cheat,” I bellowed.

  “Tell us the names,” Principal Schmidt demanded.

  “I have no names,” I said, folding my arms into my lap in defiance.

  “Well, whatever. It is your suspension. You will be off for three days. When you return on Friday, you will need to bring back a three page essay explaining why you should be allowed to return to ACYI and the lessons you have learned from your mistake.”

  Everyone but Peggy and I stood up.

  “What about the rest of the tests this week?” I asked. “Am I going to miss them?”

  “If it was up to me, you would. I don’t think you should be allowed to advance to the eighth grade,” LeAnn said.

  “Back down,” Principal Schmidt warned Ms. LeAnn. He turned to me. “Jane, the tests are put on hold until next Monday. All teachers are going to spend the next few days rewriting the tests. Do you have any idea how long it takes to write a test?”

  “Next week is the last week of school, and some of the days are short. Heck, they aren’t even here on Monday for Memorial Day. Are you really going to have them test next week?” Peggy asked.

  “We have no choice. When they get back on Tuesday, it is our only full day that week. The kids will be testing in every period. This will leave the teachers with a ton of work checking them and getting grades in. This whole ordeal has really caused a lot of headache to all teachers.”

  Peggy grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the room. I had never seen her so mad, and it saddened me that she was mad at me. The car ride was uncomfortably silent. As soon as she pulled up to the house, she slammed the car in park and stomped inside the house. I slowly followed behind. What I really wanted to do was to run to the campground and have some alone time. But, I was afraid and decided I probably should go talk to Peggy first.

  She was sitting in her chair, fuming at the TV. “I missed it,” she growled when she turned it on.

  I went and stood by her chair. She didn’t look at me. A four year old looking boy dragged in a bottle of peanut butter from the kitchen. Peggy had left all the kids she babysat, again. Peggy looked down and quickly grabbed the jar from the four year old.

  “Oh no, Thomas, you are allergic to peanuts.” Peggy jumped up and scooped Thomas off the floor. She ran him into the bathroom and washed his hands for fifteen minutes. When she was done, she came back to her chair and sat down. A young kid came over, and said, “I’m hungy.” Her small voice was so cute.

  Peggy looked at the clock. “Yeah, well snack will be late today, because Alora made me go to the school, so you are going to have to wait.”

  “But, I hungy,” she said again, while her big brown eyes welled up with tears.

  “So be hungry then,” Peggy barked. She pushed the little girl out of the way so she could see the TV. The girl ran out of the family room crying.

  My heart felt bad for all the kids she babysat. She really was lousy at it. Since I didn’t know what to do, I sat on the poky couch for an entire episode of a talk show where they were fighting about boyfriends. My legs wiggled out of control for I was so anxious. Finally, I decided if Peggy wasn’t going to talk to me, then I was going to leave. I really needed some outside time to let the most terrible day of my remembrance blow away. I stood up and headed to the outside door.

  “Just where do you think you are going, Ms.?” Peggy called after me.

  I turned, “Uh, outside.”

  “Oh no you are not. You are grounded.”

  “Grounded, what does that mean?” I asked.

  “It is a term I have never had to use with my own kids, because they are perfect.”

  I had to hold my laughter in. Was Peggy really claiming to have perfect kids? They weren’t even close to great.

  “Grounded means you don’t go anywhere, you don’t even leave the house until you return to school on Friday.”

  Three days stuck in the house! I wanted to puke. I couldn’t stay inside consistently that long. I had to have fresh air. Did that also mean Peggy and I wouldn’t take the boat out? I couldn’t be trapped inside.

  Sadly, I headed to the stairs.

  “Just wait, we need to talk,” Peggy said.

  I stood with my back to her. “Turn around,” she ordered.

  Slowly, I turned and faced her.

  “Why would you do that? I understand you don’t want to be left behind, but that isn’t the right way to solve it. Do you realize all they have done for you? They let you stay in the seventh grade, even though they shouldn’t have. They provided you with tutors, and that costs them money to do so. They did all these things, then you cheat on a test. Why would you do that? It was almost as if you slapped them in the face.”

  “I didn’t cheat,” I said.

  “Don’t lie to me,” Peggy warned in a low voice.

  I wondered, “Why doesn’t she trust me? I’ve been a good kid since I moved in. Your kids on the other hand are constantly yelling at you and not following thro
ugh with promises. You never get after them, but here you are calling me hurtful things.” I thought that but didn’t dare say it.

  “If you will listen to me,” I pleaded. I needed her to understand me, to not see me as a cheater.

  “Oh no, I don’t listen to lies, Mrs. Sanibel never listens to lies.”

  “But I didn’t cheat,” I cried so intently that pressure swelled within my head. The tears were running down my thin cheeks, warm and slick.

  “You know what, Missy? Since you are going to insist upon lying, you are grounded to your room. Do you understand me? Go up there and stay until tomorrow. I will have a plate of food sent up to you for dinner.”

  I stomped up the stairs to my room -like Mr. and Mrs. Sanibel did when they were mad-of course, I lacked the weight to shake the house like they could.

  “And no sleep-overs in your room,” she called after me. I slammed the door. It was the first time I had ever slammed it. I was shaking so hard, the anger welling inside me, bidding me to slam the door again.

  How could she not trust me? Why would I cheat? I might not know much, but I was smarter than that.

  I hated those three days. They were lonely and miserable. Peggy said I could come out on Wednesday, but to spite her, I stayed in my room. I didn’t want to be around her anymore. If she couldn’t trust me, than I wasn’t going to trust her. I am sure Mike never noticed I was gone during those days.

  Thursday night, Peggy brought her laptop into me.

  “Write your essay.”

  “Sure,” I said tartly. I had learned how to disrespect from her children, for they were pros at it. “Why am I doing this,” I wondered. “Why am I being like a Sanibel kid?” But I couldn’t stop, the ugliness I was displaying ignited a fire of frustration and hate, a fire that had been simmering inside for a very long time. Power and control filled me as I talked nastily, and I loved the feeling.

  I knew what they wanted me to write. They wanted me to write how sorry I was for cheating, and to blubber on about how I wouldn’t do it again, and on how much I wanted to return to school. But, I couldn’t do that, for it would be a lie.

  Peggy seemed to linger. “You can go now,” I said in disdain. Her shocked look filled me with remorse, as much as I liked being a jerk, I hated it.

  I typed my essay, simply telling them I had a moment of enlightening and that my past education was returning to me.

  On Friday, Peggy waited until the last babysat kid was dropped off, then she locked up the house and drove me to school. I could feel her anger, with her eyes slit half-way closed, and her face contorted in rage. She probably despised being taken out of her house for the second time that week. Racing down the canyon, we ended at ACYI.

  After parking her car, we went into the school and were escorted into the conference room, but this time only Ms. LeAnn and Principal Schmidt were there. They didn’t stand up to welcome us as we entered. A reddish aura lingered around them.

  “Give them your note,” Peggy demanded.

  “Essay,” I smartly corrected.

  “Whatever, give it to them,” she snapped.

  I didn’t want to hand it to either one of them. Instead, I dropped it in the middle of the table. Both of them stared at it like a dragon coming to life, ready to eat them. Finally, Principal Schmidt extended his arm and grabbed it. He spent more time and energy reaching for it while sitting, than he would have if he had stood up to grab it. He handled it like it was poisonous, barely touching it with his fingertips, awkwardly opening it, skimming it, then demanding I read it out loud as he threw it on the table in front of me instead of handing it to me. It didn’t seem very professional in my opinion.

  I glared at him as I picked it up, noticing my own aura turning read. I didn’t like seeing red around me, but I wasn’t about to let go of my anger. I read my essay, and not once did I apologize or admit anything in it. I told my story of enlightenment. When I went to hand the essay back to Principal Schmidt, he wouldn’t take it.

  “You didn’t do it right.”

  “I did tell the truth.” I had meant to challenge him in a commanding voice, but it became a whisper as my eyes diverted to the table. Disappointment filled me. Why couldn’t I be more aggressive?

  “First you cheat, then you lie. Oh the tangled web we weave, when we practice to deceive.”

  “It’s the truth,” I whined.

  “Sit down, Jane.”

  I sat.

  “I think we were being kind, giving you one last chance. But, you couldn’t even take that. I sure hate to do this, but since you couldn’t comply with your restitution, you are suspended until you return for seventh grade next year.” The principal said.

  “No!” I screamed. “I don’t want to do seventh grade again next year.”

  “Maybe next year you won’t forget we have a strict no cheating policy,” Ms. LeAnn said. She flashed me a look of triumphant, as if she had one upped me.

  Principal Schmidt and LeAnn stood up. “That will be all,” Principal Schmidt said.

  They walked to the door, leaving Peggy and I dumbfounded. Sickness entered me. I didn’t want to do seventh grade again. Just as Principal Schmidt reached the door, I shouted out.

  “Ask me anything about seventh grade math.”

  “What?” he said, turning back in.

  “Ask me anything. Let me prove to you I didn’t cheat.”

  “This is ridiculous,” he said as he turned his back to me. I could hear Ms. LeAnn ahead of him say, “5678950 divided by 99891.” I couldn’t see her since she had already left, but I could tell she was trying to be a jerk. Her problem seemed way too advanced for seventh grade math. I detested her.

  I closed my eyes and focused my mind. I was surprised at how easy it was to shift into my intellectual field. When I did, the numbers aligned in my mind and effortlessly and quickly found the answer. “56.8574681002. It keeps going, but I will stop there.”

  Ms. LeAnn stopped walking, causing Principal Schmidt to run into the back of her. She stepped back into the room, holding her phone while she punched in the numbers to her equation.

  “What was it again? 567…something divided by something. I can’t remember what I said.”

  “You said 5678950 divided by 99891.” I said it slow enough to give her time to put it in her calculator app. She looked up in amazement.

  “Do that again,” she challenged. “How about, 951159 divided by753357?”

  The equation lined up and I saw all the steps in solving it. “1.262560, and this number keeps going.” I was so fast. Ms. LeAnn hadn’t even punched in all the numbers yet. When she did, she blankly stared at me. Principal Schmidt stared at the phone.

  “Give her something hard,” Principal Schmidt said. I couldn’t believe he said that. I bet he couldn’t solve that equation in his head. He left his office and came back with a paper, he showed it to me. “Here is a problem in one of my puzzles. A=PI*r2 if A=113.04sq ft and PI*=3.14 what is r?”

  Again, the equation lined up in front of me, solving itself. When it was done, the answer was right in front of me, and very obvious. “r=6,” I said.

  “Get me a scrap paper and a pencil,” Principal Schmidt said to Ms. LeAnn.

  She ducked into her office and came back with a piece of paper and a pencil. He sat down and worked through the problem. “Hah! You are wrong. The answer is not 6; it is 23.”

  “Then you did it wrong,” I said it with all confidence. “It is 6 and nothing else.”

  Principal Schmidt reworked the problem, then his head popped up. “Oops, I was wrong. The answer is 12.”

  “No, it is 6 and nothing else.”

  Principal Schmidt looked down at the paper. He had already used both sides. Just then, Marcus Skinner walked by, the sixth grade math teacher.

  “Hey Marcus, get in here and solve this,” he said.

  Skinner sat down, and scribbled a few things down. “I need
a scientific calculator,” he said. Principal Schmidt ducked out of the room then returned with a calculator. Skinner worked the problem. “The r=6,” he said.

  “Are you sure?” Principal Schmidt asked.

  “Yup,” Skinner said as he was leaving the room. “Sorry, I need to get back to class.”

  Peggy watched in astonishment and so did Ms. LeAnn.

  “I tell you I didn’t cheat,” I said. “Let’s say I am getting some of my memory back.”

  “She has me convinced,” Ms. LeAnn said.

  “Listen,” Principal Schmidt said with a beet red face. His aura was teal. He must have felt stupid about getting bested by the ‘dumb seventh grader’. “We will let you back Tuesday for testing. Just to be sure, we will have you do all your tests up here in the office where we can keep an eye on you. If you attempt to cheat, you will be returning next year as a seventh grader.”

  “Thank you, thank you.” I said. “Am I now free to go to class?”

  Principal Schmidt looked at his watch. “There is going to be an awards ceremony in fifteen minutes. You aren’t getting any. I will throw that out there right now. After the assembly is lunch. We had planned to test this week, but because of the cheaters, and since we had to push the tests to Tuesday, we really have nothing going on for the rest of the day. You are free to join us, or you can go home and return on Tuesday.”

  I looked at Peggy. “Doesn’t matter to me,” she said.

  “I guess I’ll go home and come back Tuesday, that is, if I am not still grounded.”

  “You’re not grounded as long as you promise you didn’t cheat,” Peggy said. After what I proved, why did people keep telling me not to cheat? Wasn’t it obvious, I could do this on my own?

  “Thanks.”

  “Promise?” Peggy asked.

  “Yes, I have already told you a hundred times I didn’t cheat.”

  “Let’s go,” Peggy said.

  At home, Peggy sat in front of the TV. I was tired and decided to go upstairs for a nap. I must have fallen asleep quickly because I was woken to Peggy flying through my bedroom doorway.

  “Have you seen Emery?” she asked, her eyes were wild.

  “Which one is Emery?”

  “The three year old with red hair.”

  “Oh, she’s cute.”

  “Yeah, but have you seen her?”

  “No.”

  “Well get up and help me look. I can’t find her,” she said as she quickly left my room.

  We searched everywhere for Emery, in every closet, under every bed; everywhere. I went outside and investigated bushes and crevices, also checking the shed and car. She was nowhere to be seen. I even went to the reservoir, almost expecting to see her little body floating on the water. Thankfully, I didn’t find her there. A cold breeze from the water tingled against my skin. I hadn’t grabbed a jacket and was chilled.

  …

  “Do you know for sure she came today?” I asked as I went back into the house.

  “Yes, I know she came. Trevor is her brother. I remember they both came in eating jelly sandwiches.”

  “Have you asked Trevor where Emery is?”

  “Oh no. I don’t want him to tell him mom we lost Emery. So keep looking. She has to be hiding somewhere.”

  We searched for another hour then met back up in the family room.

  “What am I going to do?” Peggy looked worried. Her face was ashen and she had an expression I had never seen on her. Her aura was ice-blue. She must have been petrified. I knew one day she would lose a kid. I had wanted it to happen to teach her a lesson, but now I felt sick about the whole thing. I hated seeing Peggy so worried, and I feared for Emery. I felt bad for wishing for this.

  “I think you should call the police,” I offered.

  Peggy’s eyes got super wide. “No way. No way! The NEWS would get wind of this story, and I would be ruined, ruined.”

  “Maybe she ran off. We need to call the police.” I said again. Peggy needed to put her priorities straight. She bugged me sometimes.

  “Don’t you dare call the police,” she warned. “Keep looking.” Peggy’s aura suddenly changed black. It creped me out. I no longer felt bad for her. She deserved whatever she got for losing a kid.

  We searched until the rest of the Sanibel kids came home. They joined us, and we kept looking even while other parents were picking up the babysat kids. Then Peggy did something I had never seen her do before; she refused to allow any friends into the house. They were all sent home.

  Finally, Emery’s mom showed up for pickup. When she walked in the small entrance area, Trevor ran to her. “Mommy!” he called out as he flung himself into her open arms.

  “How did the day go?” she asked Peggy while her eyes searched the room; looking.

  “Uh, great, uh great,” Peggy replied.

  Peggy pulled out two water color pictures. “The kids did these today,” Peggy said, handing them over. I had learned Peggy had a whole stack of crafts and papers. She would hand them out to the parents, claiming they had been part of the day’s activities. What she really did was hand out things her own kids had made at home and school. Her kids were always sitting at the tables, drawing or making crafts with their friends. Peggy would collect their artwork and later hand them out to the parents of her daycare kids. She was always careful to cut off her kid’s name, if they were on there. The worst thing I saw her do was make a whole pile of sloppy art work once. She took a paint brush and ran a few smears on a whole pile of papers. Later, she handed them out to the parents. She wanted to look as if she kept the kids engrossed in activities all day. It seemed to work, because the parents kept bringing their kids back to her. I had often heard lessons in her church about honesty. She must have been sleeping during those lessons. And she accused me of cheating.

  Emery’s mom took the pictures, but didn’t look at them, for her eyes were still searching the room.

  “I have something to tell you,” Peggy said. The mom must have been able to hear the desperation in Peggy’s voice, because she turned and looked at Peggy.

  “Oh man, how do I start?” Peggy moaned. The mom looked worried at Peggy’s hesitation.

  “Well, I don’t know how I did it, but I seem to have lost…” She stopped, she couldn’t finish her words.

  “Lost what?” the mom asked.

  “Lost Emery.”

  The mom looked confused. “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “Well, I have been searching and searching, but I haven’t been able to find Emery.”

  Just at that precise moment, Emery walked in the door from outside. She was coughing and a large ball of green snot ran down her face.

  Emery’s mom turned to Emery and shouted. “Back in the car. I told you not to come in here, because you’ll get the other kids sick.”

  “But did you find my shoes?” Emery whined.

  “I was about to ask Ms. Peggy about them. Now, get back to the car.”

  Emery’s mom turned back to Peggy. “What do you mean you lost Emery?”

  Peggy stammered for a minute, then she said. “I lost Emery’s shoes. I was trying to tell you yesterday I had lost Emery’s shoes. Well actually, I hadn’t lost them, Emery had, but I still haven’t been able to find them. I will keep looking for them.”

  “Please do,” Emery’s mom said tartly. “They cost a lot of money.”

  “Okay,” Peggy said. Her face was pale and she was breathing heavily. I could see wet spots form under her armpits.

  Emery’s mom looked at the pictures in her hands. “What are these?” she asked as she looked at one with Emery’s name scribbled on it.

  “Uh, those are pictures the kids did yesterday,” Peggy lied.

  “Emery wasn’t here yesterday,” Emery’s mom said. “She’s been sick for two days.”

  “Oh, okay, that’s right. They must have done the pictures earlier this week. Sometimes I ge
t confused because I hang up all their artwork to dry in my art room and sometimes I get confused when they were done.” Peggy sounded like she was burying herself.

  “Well, I gotta run,” the mom said. “Hopefully, Emery will be better Monday. Please keep looking for the shoes, because I really don’t want to buy new ones. Have a good weekend.”

  Trevor and his mom left the front door. Another parent slipped in and picked up the last kid. When all were gone, Peggy slid down the hall wall and landed pretty hard on her rump. Her weight left a small indentation in the wall.

  “Mercy me, can you believe that? We spent our whole day looking for her, and she wasn’t even here. Wasn’t even here! See, that’s why I told you not to call the cops. Can you imagine how embarrassing that would have been?”

  “I thought you said you remembered the mom dropping them off with jelly sandwiches today?” I said.

  “That must have been yesterday’s memory,” she concluded.

  “But, she wasn’t here yesterday,” I reminded her.

  “Okay, what are you getting at?” Peggy said as she ran her fingers through her brown hair and let out a long sigh.

  I looked at her still sitting on the floor, holding her head. Her brow was drenched in sweat. I couldn’t believe what an irresponsible babysitter she was. Emery hadn’t been there for two days, and Peggy hadn’t even noticed. I sure hoped the experience was enough to scare her so she didn’t ever leave all those kids alone again.

  Angela walked into the entry way. “Is her mom going to sue?”

  She must have not heard the conversation. She probably thought Emery was still lost. Peggy stared off into space.

  “It turns out she never was dropped off this morning,” Peggy finally said.

  “Ha, ha, ha!” Angela called out. “What a bonehead you are. Since it is over, can we have friends over now?”

  “No, not tonight,” Peggy said weakly. “I don’t feel too good.”

  “But Mom,” Angela whined. “It’s Friday Pizza Night.” For a teenager that was always trying to act too old for everything, Angela sure whined a lot.

  “Not this night,” Peggy said.

  “But Mom, Kevin…”

  “NOT TONIGHT!!!!!” Peggy screamed.

  “Bonehead,” Angela growled as she turned down the hall and went to the family room.

  “There is no pizza night tonight,” I heard her tell the others. “And no friends, either.”

  Immediately all the kids came running to where we were.

  “Mom, mom, mom…” They whined together.

  I think for the first time in Sanibel history, Friday Pizza Night was cancelled.