Now You See Me-Gifted 5 (6 page)

‘There’s nothing wrong with Jenna’s mother.’

Tracey and Emily turned to see Amanda sauntering into the room. ‘How do you know?’ Emily asked.

‘Because she was in Mr Jackson’s office. First she came, then the policeman came, and then Ms Simmons sent me to get Jenna out of class.’ Amanda sat down and whipped out her make-up bag.

‘But
why
?’ Tracey wanted to know. ‘What happened?’

Amanda examined her own reflection in a little compact mirror. ‘Well, Mr Jackson did a locker check today. He might have found something in Tracey’s locker.’

‘Like what?’ Charles asked. ‘Drugs? Guns?’

‘I don’t know,’ Amanda replied as she applied lip-gloss.

Ken’s eyes narrowed. ‘Are you sure about that?’

Amanda snapped the compact shut. ‘Just because work in the office doesn’t mean I know everything that goes on in there. All I know is that Mr Jackson suddenly decided to do some random locker searches and when he came back, he wanted to see Jenna.’

‘It was a knife,’ Sarah said softly.

Everyone turned in her direction. ‘How do you know?’ Tracey asked her.

‘I saw it,’ Sarah said. ‘I’d just been excused from class to get some water. Mr Jackson and a policeman were in the hallway. Mr Jackson opened a locker and took out a big knife. I didn’t know whose locker it was.’ She shook her head sadly. ‘I can’t believe Jenna would bring a weapon to school.’

‘Why not?’Amanda asked. ‘I mean, she was a juvenile delinquent, right?’

Emily looked stricken. ‘That’s not true!’ She amended that. ‘OK, maybe it was a little bit true, but she’s not like that now. You don’t know anything about her, Amanda.’

‘I know all I want to know,’ Amanda murmured. She took her mobile phone out of her bag and began composing a text message.

‘You reporting on this to someone?’ Ken asked her.

Amanda looked at him.
‘What?’

But then Madame walked in. Everyone turned to her expectantly.

‘Madame, did you hear about Jenna?’ Emily asked.

The teacher nodded. ‘I don’t have all the facts. I’ve been told that something unacceptable was found in her locker during a routine security search.’

‘Was she suspended?’ Tracey asked.

‘I believe so,’ Madame replied. ‘As I said, I don’t have all the facts yet.’ Tracey knew Madame had to be upset about this. But being Madame, her tone was calm and unemotional.

‘I know we’re all upset, but we can’t jump to conclusions. Try not to listen to any gossip you might hear. And I don’t think we should discuss this in class until we know more about the situation. Today, I suggest we spend the class time practising our relaxation techniques.’

As usual, Martin and Charles groaned, but Tracey could see the point of this. The exercises – in breathing and meditation – were supposed to help them control their gifts. Today, the soft music and Madame’s soothing voice would help calm their feelings.

But even as they went through the motions of the exercises, Tracey’s mind continued to race.

She knew all about Jenna’s past, how she used to practically live on the streets. Anything was better than staying at home with an alcoholic mother who used the apartment as ‘party central’ for her drinking buddies. Jenna hung out in train stations and bus stations, with people who wouldn’t be considered good citizens. Pickpockets, druggies, people with actual criminal records . . . they weren’t exactly Jenna’s friends, but they accepted her as another troubled soul with nothing to do and no place to go.

Tracey knew Jenna herself had never been violent, and she never took drugs or did anything illegal. But she liked to act tough, she hung around with tough people, and she had got into trouble because of them.

But that was then, and this was now. Jenna’s life had changed dramatically. She had a home with a sober mother, she had friends, she no longer saw her old street gang. She wasn’t looking to get into trouble, and there was absolutely no reason for her to bring a knife to school.

So why did Mr Jackson find a knife in Jenna’s locker?

Ken thought he knew. The second they were dismissed, he motioned for Emily and Tracey to join him in the hallway.

‘It’s a set-up,’ he declared. ‘Jenna didn’t bring a knife to school. Someone put a knife in Jenna’s locker.’

‘But why would anyone do something like that?’ Emily asked in bewilderment.

‘To get rid of her,’ Ken said. ‘And I know who that someone is.’ He looked past the girls. They both turned to see Amanda sweep by them.

Ken waited until Amanda was beyond hearing before he spoke again. ‘I’ve got it all figured out. Amanda knows Jenna thinks she’s the class spy.’

Tracey broke in. ‘How could Amanda know that? Jenna never accused her.’

‘She didn’t have to, not out loud,’ Ken said. ‘Haven’t you seen the dirty looks Jenna’s been giving Amanda?’

Jenna gives lots of people dirty looks, Tracey thought. But maybe Ken had noticed something she hadn’t.

‘Besides, maybe Jenna
did
say something to Amanda,’ Ken continued. ‘Anyway, Amanda had to get Jenna out of her way. So she plants the knife, she sends Mr Jackson an anonymous note telling him that Jenna’s got weapons, and Jenna’s suspended.’

Emily gazed at him thoughtfully. ‘Ken, have you been reading a lot of detective novels lately?’

Ken ignored that. ‘Think about it – it all makes sense. Working in the office, Amanda could get her hands on Jenna’s locker combination. And it would be easy for her to slip a note under Jackson’s door when no one was looking.’

Tracey had to admit there was logic in what he said. But . . .

‘You can’t prove this, Ken, can you?’ she asked.

‘Maybe I won’t have to,’ he said. ‘If we can get her to confess.’

‘How can we get her to do that?’ Emily wanted to know.

Ken smiled grimly. ‘I’ve got a plan. What means more to Amanda than anything else?’

Tracey blanched. Surely Ken wasn’t suggesting that they threaten to destroy the contents of Amanda’s closet.

But Emily understood. ‘Her reputation. Being cool.’

Now Tracey got it. ‘Right, she has to be the queen bee, everyone’s supposed to look up to her.’

‘Especially her pals,’ Emily added. ‘What did Jenna call them? The Evilettes.’

‘Exactly,’ Ken said. He glanced at his watch. ‘I’ll bet she’s still at her locker – that’s where she meets her friends after school. C’mon, let’s go.’

On the way there, he explained his plan. Personally, Tracey thought it sounded a little cruel, and it certainly wasn’t going to be easy for them to pull it off. But if it could bring Jenna back, she supposed it was worth a try.

As Ken suspected, Amanda was still at her locker, with two of her friends, Nina and Katie. Amanda was tapping her foot impatiently.

‘Where’s Britney?’ Tracey heard her say as they approached. ‘We’re going to be late for our manicures.’

‘Hey, Amanda,’ Ken called out. Emily and Tracey said nothing, but it didn’t matter. The three girls only had eyes for the boy. Even though Ken was no longer a top athlete at Meadowbrook, his good looks and general popularity still made him a catch.

‘Hi, Ken,’ they chorused with identical flirty smiles on their faces.

He focused on Amanda. ‘Listen, Amanda, I have to tell you something.’

She cocked her head coyly. ‘What?’

‘Martin’s got a thing for you.’

Her forehead puckered. ‘Who?’

‘Martin Cooper, from our class. Jenna read his mind yesterday, and she told me it came through loud and clear. He likes you. She meant to tell you today, but like, you know, she didn’t get a chance. Anyway, I thought I’d pass it on.’

Nina giggled. ‘Martin Cooper? That little wimp?’

And Amanda rolled her eyes. ‘What makes you think that I would care if Martin Cooper likes me?’

Now Ken’s face reflected confusion. ‘But – but you told me, remember? You said you kind of liked him. So I thought you’d want to know that the feeling is mutual.’

Amanda’s mouth dropped. ‘I never said anything like that!’

‘Oh, was it supposed to be a secret?’ Ken asked. ‘Sorry.’ With that, he turned away and started towards the door. Tracey and Emily followed. But Tracey couldn’t resist turning round to get a glimpse of Amanda’s reaction.

The girl looked positively shocked. But what was even more interesting were the faces of her friends. They were both staring at Amanda as if they’d just learned she had a contagious disease.

T
HE LOBBY OF HARMONY House hadn’t changed since the last time that Jenna had seen it. The same puke-green walls, the same row of orange plastic chairs, the same stupid poster that proclaimed: ‘Today is the first day of the rest of your life.’ The other people in the lobby might not have been the same ones who were waiting the last time she was here, but they fell into the same categories. Angry boys, sullen girls, unhappy parents, bored social workers . . .

Jenna sat on one of the orange chairs and stared at the poster. If the rest of her life was going to be like today . . .

The policeman sitting next to her interrupted her thoughts.

‘Looks like it’s going to be a while.’

Jenna said nothing.

‘By the way,’ the officer said, ‘my name is Jack. Jack Fisher.’

What was she supposed to say now? He already knew
her
name. And ‘pleased to meet you’ didn’t seem exactly appropriate, under the circumstances.

‘You’ve been here before,’ he said.

Jenna didn’t look at him as she responded. ‘How did you know?’

‘I’ve read your file,’ he said. ‘I was kind of surprised . . .’

This time she actually glanced at him. ‘About what?’

‘You didn’t seem like a repeat offender. Actually, it didn’t seem like you committed much of an offence to begin with. They didn’t find any drugs on you, did they?’

Because I wasn’t doing any drugs, Jenna answered silently. But her response to the cop was simply a shrug.

‘In fact,’ he continued, ‘it sounded to me like your biggest crime was being at the wrong place at the wrong time, with the wrong people. Am I right?’

Again, she only shrugged.

‘I talked to your counsellor at school, that Mr Gonzalez,’ the cop remarked. ‘He said you’ve been doing pretty well at Meadowbrook since you started there.’

This time she didn’t even bother to shrug.

‘So what happened?’ he asked. ‘Why did you have that knife?’

Jenna couldn’t hold back any longer. ‘What do you want me to say, that I was framed?’ she asked. ‘That someone set me up? Isn’t that what all the criminals say?’

Jack Fisher didn’t blink. ‘Sometimes it’s true.’

It wasn’t what she’d expected to hear from him, and for a moment, she was tempted to say more. But what if she came right out and accused Amanda Beeson? What good would that do? Amanda, who came from a ‘good’ family, who was one of the most popular girls at school, versus Jenna Kelley, who lived in a public housing estate, with no father, a recovering-alcoholic mother – a girl with a ‘file’. Who’d come out on top?

But even though Amanda was superficial and selfish and full of herself, it was hard to believe that she could be this downright evil. Then again, if she was spying on their class and working with serious bad guys, it made sense.

Still, it had come as a complete shock, that scene in Jackson’s office. Her mother . . . she’d been so upset. Would this incident make her start drinking again?

She could feel tears forming in her eyes. She needed to brush them away, but she didn’t want to call attention to herself.

But Jack Fisher was watching her. ‘Are you feeling sorry about something?’ he asked softly.

Jenna turned to him and spoke fiercely. ‘I’ve got nothing to be sorry for.’ She clenched her fists. If there was anything worse than a regular cop, it was a cop who pretended to care.

A voice from the other end of the lobby called out, ‘Jenna Kelley?’ Jenna rose.

‘Would you like me to come with you?’ the cop asked.

Jenna shook her head. ‘I know the routine.’ She turned her back on Jack Fisher, but he touched her shoulder.

‘I’m the police liaison for Harmony House,’ he told her. ‘So I’ll be seeing you.’

It was on the tip of her tongue to reply, ‘Not if I see you first,’ but all she managed was, ‘Whatever.’ And she took off for the registration ordeal.

Entering the office, she saw that prissy white-haired Ms Landers was still the so-called director, sitting behind a desk. The woman gave her a sad smile.

‘I wish I could say it’s nice to see you again, Jenna.’

Jenna slumped into the seat facing her. She knew what was coming next – the ‘welcome to Harmony House’ speech, which was supposed to assure you that this wasn’t a prison; to consider your stay here as an opportunity to search your heart and soul; to come to an understanding of why you’re here; to exorcise bad habits; to explore other ways of expressing yourself; blah, blah, blah. It was all crap, of course. The prisoners were called ‘residents,’ not inmates, and there were ‘resident assistants’ instead of wardens, but there were bars on the windows and guards stationed at the doors. They called Harmony House a rehabilitation centre, but it was no better than a prison.

After the speech came the rules, and those hadn’t changed either. The demerit system – any infraction of the rules would result in demerits, issued by the resident assistants. The accumulation of demerits would result in the loss of privileges.

Girls were confined to one side of the building, boys to the other, and the only interaction would talk place at mealtimes or in the TV lounge or at scheduled ‘activities’. Jenna recalled a compulsory ‘disco night’ and shuddered. No phone calls or visitors the first forty-eight hours, which was fine with Jenna – she wasn’t feeling very sociable.

When the director finally finished her speech, Jenna thought she’d be released to go to her room, but she’d forgotten another Harmony House ritual.

‘Now, you’ll see Doctor Paley for your intake interview,’ Landers informed her.

There hadn’t been a ‘Dr Paley’ the last time she was here. It had been a Dr Colby then. But now that she’d been reminded of it, Jenna knew what was coming.