“So what else did she say?” Christy asked.
Rey and Christy were sitting on the grass outside Pemota High. They’d gone through their Friday, ate lunch in woodshop with Fynn, and spoken to their teachers about their assignments for the following week. By the time afternoon rolled around they were both exhausted. Rey was telling Christy all about his conversation with Isabel after school yesterday. In a short while, they would be driving to Holly Dawn Hospital with Radelle to see Annette and they would not be able to talk freely. Rey told Christy everything he could as he replayed the conversation with Isabel in his mind.
“My Mom had her fact checker find things out about Alexa. Alexa worked as a substitute teacher in Russia. She gave me all these materials she collected on her. I read one of the articles. It was in Forbes. In Russia, she won the lottery.”
“That’s why she’s so rich?” Christy asked.
“If you win the lottery in Russia back then it wasn’t for that much money. They asked her how she won.” Rey took a blade of grass and began peeling the edges off as he spoke. “She used a random number generator. She said she plugged in the numbers on her paycheck. When they asked her if she believed in God, she said winning the lottery was God’s doing. After that, she moved to America and became a certified teacher.”
“So Inez was lying,” Christy said.
“Yeah. She taught social studies and got her Masters in some administrative thing. She was the principal at Pemota Regional High School for five years.” Rey paused and looked up towards the Smokers Corner wondering what was taking Radelle so long. “I saw a picture of her. She was posing in front of a purple Lear Jet. She has these, like, penetrating eyes and grey hair.”
“So where did she get all her money?” Christy asked.
“After she resigned from being principal at Pemota High, she bought this mercenary organization called Lockforth. They are known for becoming involved in overseas conflicts under the orders of the government. She invested her money in the stock market and made it that way.”
“Did you tell your Mom the mercenaries are on the police force now?”
“Yeah.” Rey took a breath to quell his nerves. “There’s other things too. My Mom showed me these electric bills we have. After my sister broke the fan, my Mom said she wanted to check if the electric bill had changed. She showed me how regardless of how many kilowatt hours we used the price was arbitrary. The electric company is just picking prices that are approximations, like they’re trying not to draw attention to something. My Mom says there must be something wrong with the electricity.”
“If Alexa is that rich she can probably own whatever she wants.”
“Yeah. She had a retarded daughter named Zara who died.”
“Sounds like a motive,” Christy said thoughtfully. If Alexa wanted everyone to be smart, maybe she had the same problem with her daughter.
“That’s what I thought too. But something really interesting. My Mom showed me this article that was, ‘School Committee Approves Plan for New High School.’ Pemota High was built in 1975 -- the year everything happened. My Mom found the original budget from the school committee. It includes a chunk of money to be used for a room underneath the school. Have you ever heard of any sort of basement?”
“No.”
“The original plans say it’s supposed to be 80 by 80 feet of floor space. My Mom says that’s what Gloria said.”
“Who’s Gloria?”
“She’s the fact checker. The original school was where the Pemota Community Center is now. Alexa also has a home in Antarctica with a twenty year food and drink supply.”
“Why?”
“She said she might like to retire there someday. My Mom says that the only way you can live in Antarctica is if you work for a government that sponsors and conducts research on the Antarctica continent.”
“That’s not good.” Christy said.
“My Mom said she wouldn’t be surprised if she has connections to government officials.”
Christy was listening attentively, but then they both turned to the Smoker’s Corner and saw the blue metallic Chevy Equinox making its way toward them. Brianna was behind the wheel. She pulled the car up to the curb and stared at them.
“What is my sister doing here?” Christy said.
They picked up their backpacks and walked towards the car. Christy had been thinking about Brianna the past few days. She didn’t want to talk to Brianna for fear she might know they had borrowed her gerbil and she didn’t want to talk about Brianna’s plans to get revenge on Ms. Parker. But she had noticed her emotions were shifting. While in the past she had always felt a storm cloud above her, since sitting at the table with Rey and hearing Rey say that she wasn’t a loser, the storm cloud seemed to have lifted. She couldn’t deny, she wanted the tug-of-war to be over.
“Brianna what are you doing here?”
Rey opened the back passenger side door and got in.
“Mom said I could drive you guys,” Brianna said seriously. “We need to talk Miss Christy.”
Regardless of Christy’s feelings about talking with Brianna, she couldn’t deny Brianna had a point. It was about time they had a substantial conversation. As Christy climbed into the passenger side, she realized it for the first time. The only reason to call her Miss Christy was that it was a humorous sign of respect. Brianna was trying to win her over. Christy was beginning to realize that what Christy thought wasn’t especially important to Brianna, and Brianna was rarely the one provoking the conflict. Maybe it was time to drop the rope, and see if Brianna would too.
Brianna pulled away from the curb, and said, “I want to know who killed Casey.” The two of them were silent and exchanged a glance. Then Brianna smiled. “Poker faces, guys. Casey’s fine. Maybe you don’t know this but if you inject a gerbil with lemon juice and purple dye, it will kill him. The Avocadonine is something totally new. And you guys know things that I don’t. So let’s talk.”
“Brianna. Are you psychic?” Rey asked.
“I’m a seer,” Brianna said. “I watched you guys meet with Inez. The day after you drank Mountain Springs.”
“You can see the ninth grade?” Christy asked.
“Yeah. At first, I thought what you guys thought, that Viola was an Avocadite. I think the only reason Viola is upset is because of what her father said to her. I didn’t realize until recently that I was the Achievement Child. I talked to Viola to try to change the Avocadonine into something less bitter. I’ve been buying Mountain Springs for a while, in case Alexa decides to renege on her mission, I’d have proof.” She opened a bag of Cheetohs. They were going back roads to Holly Dawn Hospital. Run down homes with old women sitting on their porches dominated the scenery.
Christy didn’t want to talk about Ms. Parker and Rey knew she didn’t. Rey took a breath, then looked out the window for a short while, trying to work up the courage.
Brianna seemed to know what he was thinking. “Ms. Parker apologized,” Brianna volunteered. “She said she gave me an A- because she thought I did drugs. I said grades should be impartial. She said she thought about it and she was sorry.”
“What were you planning?” Rey asked.
“There’s a fire drill that day. Everyone would go outside without their backpacks. Then I was going to plant marijuana in the backpacks of those in Ms. Parker’s class. After the fire drill you would meet me in the woods for C period. There’s a policeman’s cook-out at the Pemota Community Center. I was going to tell you guys you could either get arrested or go to class high.”
“That’s smart,” Rey said. “If you’re the Achievement Child, who do you think is the Sweet Child?”
“I think it’s Annette. She’s a seer too,” Brianna said.
They drove in silence for awhile. Rey was thinking about avocados and the stained glass windows on the home with turret of different varieties of them. Rey told the two of the
m there were rumors according to Mr. Chandon about a list of Avocadites. And Isabel had spoken of a list as well. Rey wondered who was on it. Brianna was saying she’d heard the rumors since the beginning of the school year.
“How did all this start anyway?” Brianna asked. She popped another Cheetoh into her mouth.
“It started with the avocado orchard in back of Stella’s in seventh grade,” Rey said.
“Tell us about it,” Christy said.
For the remainder of the ride to Holly Dawn Hospital, Rey told the story. He started with how Huxley and Der had tried to break into Stella’s. He told them how there were guys taking the avocados from the orchard and how Huxley and Der had written ‘A Hass Avocado’ on the parking lot. When proprietor Craig Hawk got there the next day Marv made sure the story went nowhere. Then he told them how Joe had called him three days later. All Joe did, Rey told them, was tell him what had happened. Then Joe had said, I thought I should tell you.
“Why do you think Joe called you?” Christy asked. “You weren’t even involved right?”
Rey nodded. “We never talked about it. Not even once since.”
They arrived at Holly Dawn Hospital. “Are you coming in Brianna?” Christy asked.
“I’ll be watching.”
“We might be a little while,” Christy said.
“That’s all right, sis.” Brianna opened the glove compartment and withdrew a book. Christy had a small smile on her lips. A feeling of freedom and pride filled her. So Brianna and she had finally found an even playing field. Her and Rey walked into the hospital. Annette had told Christy that the mental health ward was on the seventh floor. They knocked on the door and a nurse came to open it.
“We’re here to see Annette Oslow,” Christy said.
They signed in, and a group of nurses watched them carefully. Then they searched them to be sure they didn’t have any sharp objects on them. In the common room, they didn’t recognize Annette at first. She had her head down and her hair covering her face. A woman with wide eyes stared at them like they had come to kill her, and another one licked her wrists where bandages had been wrapped. The two women walked out of the room. Christy felt concern for Annette and then saw her sitting at the table doing math homework, her face slack, and her eyes dull blue.
“God, Annette,” Christy said. “What were your parents thinking? This place is a freak show.”
Annette didn’t respond except to say, “Hey guys.” She held up her homework. “Christy did you do this yet?” She was referring to section 5.5 -- her algebra assignment.
“Yeah. A little while ago. It’s easy once you get it.” Christy sat. As Christy told Annette about how to go about doing the homework, Rey thought about what questions to ask Annette. He was looking forward to telling her she was the Sweet Child.
“I get it,” Annette said, after Christy had explained the Algebra. “Thanks for coming to visit me. This place gets to you after a while.”
“Yeah. No kidding,” Christy said. “So we have some things to tell you.” Christy rolled her eyes up in her head. “God, I don’t even know where to start.”
Rey wasn’t sure where to start either, but over the course of the next ten minutes they told Annette everything. Then Rey said, “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have become friends with you and Mike. You’re the Sweet Child.”
“What’s it like?’ Christy said. “What do you see?”
Annette gave Christy a hard look, feeling coddled. “Yesterday, during art class, I saw David Benson talking to Peter Laft in my mind about how his Dad is thinking about hiring a full-time therapist.”
“David Benson’s Dad has been bought, we think,” Rey said.
“What do your parents think?” Christy asked.
“They think it’s some kind of bug that affects the brain. That’s why I’m here.” Annette looked down, her eyes melancholy. “Last night, I watched The Wizard of Oz in my brain three times.”
“The Wizard of Oz?” Christy looked at Rey confused.
Rey shrugged.
Christy looked around as if there were an open window somewhere. “We gotta get you out of here.”
“Good luck. My parents won’t let me leave.”
They talked for a while longer but then something unexpected happened. The common room door opened and a man in a white coat peeked his head in. “Annette Oslow? You’re gonna meet with your therapist and then you’re gonna be discharged.”
Annette didn’t want to jinx it by asking questions. “Okay.”
“We’re gonna figure it out,” Christy said to reassure her.
A half-hour later, as they walked to the Chevy Equinox, Annette explained to them that her therapist said she’d been there long enough and she was doing fine and the rest would take its natural course.
Rey closed the passenger door, and saw Brianna had a little smile on her face.
“What did you do?” Christy asked Brianna.
“Your parents have been bought,” Brianna said, as she pulled away from the curb after the three of them hopped in.
“It better be for a lot,” Annette responded.
“Ms. Parker asked if she could do anything for me and I told her to do this. She has a lot of pull. She merely talked to your therapist and convinced him.”
“My parents are assholes,” Annette said.
The clouds had parted and sunshine bathed the car and the road in a warm glow. Emory Oak Trees lined the exit from Holly Dawn Hospital. They could hear birds chirping. As Brianna exited the premises, she said, “There’s no such thing as an MD in psychology.”
“Who said there was?” Christy asked.
“When you met with Inez, he said, Alexa has an MD in psychology. No such thing.”
“Spring said he was a liar,” Rey said. “Maybe he was trying to help us. Do you think that’s why Alexa called and said, ‘Inez, what the hell do you think you’re doing?’”
“Only one way to find out,” Brianna said.
Rey took a deep breath and then took out his cell-phone.
“Put it on speaker,” Brianna said.
He had the card that said, “Inez” on it, in his wallet still. “Anyone know what a 503 area code is?” Rey asked.
“It’s Ontario. Forty-five minutes south of here,” Brianna responded.
Rey made the call and placed the phone on the arm rest.
“Inez Castel,” Inez said, after one ring.
At first no one said anything. Then Rey realized he knew Inez best. “Hey Inez. It’s Rey, and Christy, and Annette, and Brianna.”
“Am I on speaker?”
“Can’t you see?” Brianna asked, as if it was obvious.
“Barely,” Inez said. “You guys hardly have any Avocadonine.”
“Inez, you lied to us,” Rey said.
“I got paid ten thousand dollars. I was willing to stretch the truth.”
“We know there is no School for the Gifted,” Christy said.
“Pemota High is the school for the gifted. I am a student there. I’m doing a work at home program. But I’ll graduate this year. I just moved back here this year. My father lives here. And I did infiltrate the fifth grade to meet you -- in a sense. I moved back to Ontario mid-school year. I wanted to know something about everyone in the class. That’s why I asked you about four square. I think a ‘liar for hire’ is a bit of a stretch.”
“Whose side are you on?” Christy asked.
“Alexa told me to get the photograph. She briefed me on the helicopter ride over. I did the best I could with what I knew. I won’t betray Alexa. Ten thousand dollars is what she gave me, and it’s a lot of money. However, I am willing to point you in the right direction.”
“Go ahead,” Brianna said.
“A month ago, Bartlett Foods got a national distributor. A lot of people and schools are drinking Hochus Mochus and Mountain Springs.”
“How many students ar
e seers?” Brianna asked.
“I think it’s just us.”
“Why did Alexa chose you?” Rey asked.
“Not too many students graduate high school in ninth grade. Also, I’ve been onto her, ever since I started seeing you guys in my mind. No one knows as much as you guys do.”
“Tell us what Alexa told you,” Christy said.
“She told me to get the photograph. The reason she said Spring said something is that the Avocadonine has an electromagnetic charge. So Alexa’s company put the Avocadonine in a small tank with a metal keyboard on the bottom. Each letter responds to a different electromagnetic frequency. So Spring can type whatever she wants by changing the electromagnetic frequency. That’s how Spring is talking to Alexa. According to Alexa, Spring says, ‘none of the ninth graders are Avocadites.’”
“Then what have we been doing this all for?” Rey asked.
“Since Aba Brule told Rey his mother was Isabel and gave him a bottle of Looza Avocado Juice, he’s not the chosen one to suffer while the medication goes global. Viola is safe now too. She’s not bitter. Someone needs to remain bitter for the chemical to function properly. To Alexa there were different options. Viola was who she was going to choose. And yes, I guess I’m the Special Child.”
“So point us in the right direction,” Christy said.
“Jocelyn Stone lives in Ontario. She’s old. I don’t know how her health is. But you can find her address and phone number online. You might want to pay her a visit. She can probably help.”
Rey had an instinct he needed to ask. “Inez, did you see the letter Aba Brule sent me and Christy?”
“Of course I did.” There was a long pause. “You want the honest truth?
“Yes,” they all said.
“I don’t know what L-95 is. Or what Aba Brule is doing.” He hung up.
Rey had spent so long believing Aba was psychic it had never fully registered that she wasn’t. But if she wasn’t psychic, how did she know about book number 98?
For the next five minutes, Christy searched Rey’s cell-phone for a listing online for Jocelyn Stone. When she finally found her, she told everyone they should pay her a visit.
“I’ve got work all tomorrow, and Sunday,” Brianna said. “And then I have to go back to Leander.”
“We need a ride,” Christy said. “And we can’t ask Mom.”
“My Mom can’t drive us either. She has to go to a conference,” Rey said. He rubbed his knees. “Time to call in a favor.”