Amanda had to admit he had a point.
‘And what’s so great about being normal, anyway?’ Ken continued. ‘Think of your friend Nina. You want to be like her?’
Another good point. And what he said cheered her. Clearly, he wasn’t impressed with her frenemy.
‘I wish I could arrest you,’ Jack said to the doctor. ‘I wish I could take you into custody right now. Unfortunately, I can’t prove that you’re doing anything illegal. But I’ll be keeping my eyes on you from now on, Doctor.’
‘I’m taking my students back to school now,’ Madame told Dr Paley. ‘Including Paul.’
‘He hasn’t been released from Harmony House,’ Dr Paley argued.
‘That can be arranged,’ Jack Fisher said. ‘I do have some influence here, you know. And I’m going to get a court order to keep you away from the gifted students.’
The doctor turned to Madame. ‘You’re going to regret this. When these young people get a little older, when they begin making their own calculated decisions how and when and why to use these gifts, you’ll find that you’ve enabled and released unimaginable horror.’
Amanda expected Madame to defend them. But instead, the teacher sighed. ‘Perhaps. I don’t blame you for being frightened. I’ve got students who are afraid of their own gifts.’
‘As well they should be,’ Dr Paley declared.
Madame nodded. ‘I can only hope to influence them, to help them use their gifts wisely and well. Some of them may reject this, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.’
Amanda’s eyes went from Ken to Jenna to Paul and she shivered. Who knew what any of them could turn out to be? Good, bad – there was no way of knowing. But there was one thing she knew for sure: their lives wouldn’t be boring.
‘Come along, class,’ Madame said. And Dr Paley stepped aside to allow the gifted students to leave.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
ON MONDAY MORNING, PAUL Carter took his place in the gifted class, just behind Martin.
Martin turned round. ‘What did it feel like, being a cockroach?’
Paul tried to answer. ‘Like . . . a cockroach.’ The last word came out sounding more like ‘rush’, but Martin got the idea.
‘Gross,’ he said.
Paul nodded. He thought about Martin’s gift, and wondered if he’d ever be able to use his strength whenever he wanted to. What would he use it to do?
He looked around the room at his other classmates. Charles . . . Someday he wouldn’t be satisfied with using his gift just to make his life easier. Maybe he would stop a bullet from reaching its target and save a life. Or maybe he’d send two cars crashing into each other, just to amuse himself.
Emily . . . Could she rescue an entire city by warning the inhabitants of an impending earthquake? Or would she refuse to focus her gift, and just allow fragments of visions to pass through her head?
Jenna could know good intentions and evil intentions, and she could take action. Or refuse to get involved. Tracey could be a spy, but for what purposes? Ken could channel the dead, and learn from them to help the living . . . or maybe he’d just watch soap operas. Amanda could make someone’s life better. She could also make it worse.
His eyes rested on Sarah. He felt like he understood her now, and why she was so afraid. In a way, she was like Dr Paley. She recognized the terrible possibilities of her gift. She didn’t trust herself to be able to use it well. The temptations might be too great.
Paul could relate to that. So far, it had come easy for him. His gift had been used to hide and to escape. It grew out of fear. He’d learned over the past few days that it could be used to inspire fear. Not just Amanda’s fear of cockroaches and mice – Much greater fears than that.
So perhaps Dr Paley was right to want them ungifted, or even eliminated. Or maybe Madame was right in believing they could benefit mankind.
He hoped Madame would talk about this today. About all the dangers they faced – from people like Serena, Mr Jackson, Clare, the people who wanted to use their gifts for some terrible purpose. People like Dr Paley, who wanted to take their gifts away. And people like themselves.
He had a lot to learn – about himself, about his classmates, about what they could do, individually and together. And as Madame entered the room and called the class to order, he sat back and began to listen.
Marilyn Kaye is a bestselling American author. Her Replica series was an international success. Her other series include Camp Sunnyside Friends, After School Club, Out of This World and Last On Earth. She lives in Paris.
Also available:
Gifted: Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Gifted: Better Late Than Never
Gifted : Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
Gifted : Finders Keepers
Gifted: Now You See Me
For Baptiste Latil,
who remembers all my stories
First published 2010 by Macmillan Children’s Books
This electronic edition published 2010 by Macmillan Children’s Books
a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Basingstoke and Oxford
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-0-330-53484-0 PDF
ISBN 978-0-330-53483-3 EPUB
Copyright © Marilyn Kaye 2010
The right of Marilyn Kaye to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Marilyn Kaye, Speak No Evil-Gifted 6
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