Now You See Me-Gifted 5 (7 page)

Dr Paley was a smiling, plump, bald man in a white coat.

‘Hello, Jenna,’ he said jovially. Jenna grunted in return. Dr Paley didn’t seem dismayed – she figured he probably never got much more than a grunt from the young people he dealt with here.

With a nurse by his side, he listened to Jenna’s heart, took her pulse and blood pressure, looked in her ears and down her throat – all the usual stuff. Everything must have checked out OK, because he kept smiling.

When he finished, he told the nurse that she could leave, and invited Jenna to take a seat across from him at his desk.

‘Let’s have a little chat,’ he said, opening a folder, which Jenna presumed was her file. Jenna didn’t bother to stifle her groan. The last time she’d been here the doctor had only been interested in her physical state. This was something new.

‘You’re a shrink,’ she muttered.

His perpetual smile broadened. ‘Well, I’m a medical doctor who specializes in mental as well as physical health. I provide therapy for the residents here.’

‘There’s nothing mentally wrong with me,’ Jenna declared. ‘I’m not crazy.’

‘You don’t have to be crazy to benefit from therapy,’ the doctor said. ‘You’ve been sent here, to Harmony House, which indicates that you have some problems that need to be examined and resolved. I believe the best way to deal with problems like yours is to talk about them.’

Yeah, like you have any idea what my real problems are, Jenna thought bitterly.

The questions started.

‘How’s life at home, Jenna?’

‘Fine.’

‘I see that your mother’s been through a rehabilitation programme. How do you feel about that?’

‘Fine.’

‘And I see you started a new school recently. How is that going for you?’

‘Fine.’

‘Have you made friends there?’

‘Fine . . . I mean, yes.’

He turned a page in her file. ‘I see you’re taking geometry, English, geography . . .’ he paused. ‘What’s this “gifted” class?’

Jenna sat up straighter. ‘It’s just this little special class for kids who are . . . gifted.’

‘Gifted in what way?’

Jenna tried not to squirm. ‘Different ways.’

‘What’s your gift? Are you a computer genius? Do you play a musical instrument?’

‘No. It’s not that kind of a gift.’ She knew he wouldn’t be satisfied with that, so she tried to remember what she’d once heard Tracey tell someone. ‘Actually, I don’t know why they call it “gifted”. Each student has something – something sort of unusual going on. Like one guy, he’s in a wheelchair. And there’s another guy who used to be a big athlete, but he had an accident and he can’t play sports any more.’

The doctor nodded. ‘And what’s unusual about you?’

‘I’m a juvenile delinquent.’

‘I see . . .’ He eyed Jenna keenly. He wasn’t smiling now. ‘I’d like to hear more about this class.’

Jenna shifted in her chair. ‘I’m kind of tired.’

The smile returned. ‘Of course – you should go to your room and get settled. We’ll talk another time.’

Finally, she was released. When she left the doctor’s office, a woman with a tag identifying her as a ‘resident assistant’ escorted her to her room on the second floor.

‘You’re lucky,’ the woman told her. ‘We’re not completely booked right now so you don’t have a roommate.’

That was a major relief. The last time Jenna had been here, she’d been stuck in a room with a twelve-year-old shoplifter who cried incessantly. Jenna thought she was incredibly stupid – what good would crying do in a place like this? If you were stuck here, you just had to grit your teeth and get through it. She’d tried to be a good role model for the girl, acting tough and invulnerable, but the girl never seemed to pick up on Jenna’s example. At least this time she wouldn’t have to put up with anyone’s tears.

The room looked just like the room she’d had the last time. Twin beds, a white dresser, two desks. The only difference was the picture on the wall. In the last room, she’d had a cutesy picture of puppies. This time, she had kittens.

She threw herself on one of the beds and stared up at the ceiling. Now what? She had no computer, no TV, no music . . . She remembered that there was a little library downstairs, by the dining hall. She could go and check out a book.

But there was no time for that now. A bell rang, signalling dinner time. Jenna had no appetite, but she knew she had to show up for the meal. It was one of the rules. She still didn’t know how long she’d have to stay here, but she had no intention of extending the time by breaking any of the rules.

In the dining hall, she picked up her tray and went to an empty table. Unfortunately, it didn’t stay empty. A girl who looked a little younger than she was joined her.

‘Can I sit here?’

Jenna shrugged. Her shoulders were definitely getting a workout today.

The girl sat down. ‘I haven’t seen you around before,’ she said. ‘Is this your first day here?’

Jenna nodded.

‘It’s not so bad,’ the girl said. ‘I mean, I was really scared at first. Some of the kids are
mean
, you know? Like, they’ve done violent things. All I did was break into a car with some friends and take it for a ride. We didn’t hurt anyone.’

Jenna gritted her teeth. Oh no, this one was a talker. She had to get rid of her.

‘What did you do?’ the girl asked.

‘They found a knife in my locker at school,’ Jenna said.

‘A penknife?’

Jenna shook her head. ‘No, a great big butcher’s knife.’

‘What were you going to do with it?’

Jenna met her eyes. ‘Cut up some people who were getting on my nerves.’ While she spoke, she fingered the cutlery on the table. The ‘knife’ was a plastic thing, and couldn’t do any damage, but the girl got the hint.

Alone again, Jenna pushed the food around the plate and kept an eye on the clock. In twenty minutes she’d be allowed to leave. She set her expression in a scowl that she hoped would keep all potential tablemates away.

A guy ambled towards her. With his zits and his sandy hair pulled back in a ponytail, he looked young, but not young enough to be one of the inmates. When he got closer, she saw that he had on one of those ‘resident assistant’ tags.

‘You Jenna Kelley?’ he asked.

She deepened her scowl. ‘Who wants to know?’

He smirked. ‘Peter Blake, resident assistant.’ He indicated his badge. ‘Can’t you read?’

Jenna glared at him. ‘What do you want?’

‘Just to say “hi”, welcome to Harmony House.’ He pulled out a chair and sat down. ‘What are ya in for?’

Jenna considered possible responses, and settled on, ‘Weapons.’

Peter nodded, and Jenna could have sworn he almost seemed impressed. He probably thought she was referring to guns. Well, let him think what he wanted to think.

His next question was unexpected. ‘You got friends?’

‘Yeah, why?’

‘They can’t visit for forty-eight hours,’ he told her.

‘I know that. I’ve been here before.’

His eyebrows went up. ‘Oh, yeah? Then you probably know the game. How things work here. Demerits, privileges . . .’

‘I know the rules,’ she said shortly.

He grinned. ‘Sure you do. After a couple of days, you can have visitors. I’ll bet you’ve got cool friends.’

‘Yeah, they’re OK,’ Jenna acknowledged. What was he getting at?

‘Are they cool enough to do you some favours?’

Still puzzled, Jenna asked, ‘What kind of favours?’

‘Oh, come on,’ he said, ‘I thought you knew the game.’

‘What game are you talking about?’

Peter Blake rolled his eyes in exasperation. ‘Your friends do favours for you. You do favours for me. I return the favour.’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Jenna declared.

He grinned. ‘You will. I just want to know if you’re going to play along.’

Jenna still didn’t understand what he was suggesting, but she was pretty certain it wasn’t something on Harmony House’s list of rules and regulations.

‘I’m not playing at anything,’ she said flatly. ‘I don’t owe you any favours and I don’t want any from you.’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘Yeah? Well, don’t say you weren’t warned.’ He got up. ‘See ya around.’

Weirdo, Jenna thought. What did he want, assault rifles? And what would she get in return – extra helpings of dessert? What a jerk.

But at least he’d helped her pass the time. She could leave the dining hall now.

She stopped at the little library to find something to read, and she was almost pleased to find a copy of
Jane Eyre
. It was funny, in away. One of the only advantages of being sent here was the fact that she wouldn’t have any homework assignments. Actually, she would
get
the assignments – the school would send them to Harmony House. But it wasn’t like she had to do them – no one would be checking on her. And yet here she was, voluntarily taking on the task she’d be doing at home.

Back in her room, she settled down on the bed and opened the book. She’d read enough of the book to know that Jane had endured some pretty rough times in a boarding school that was like a jail. Now Jenna could identify with the character even more.

But it was hard to concentrate on reading. Her mind kept going back to the events of the day. Tracey and Emily – all the students must know by now what had happened to her. Madame too. What were they thinking of her?

And her poor mother, who was trying so hard to make up for the bad times. But here was her daughter, getting into trouble again.

Could she ever convince them that she’d never brought a knife to school? That the whole thing had been a set-up? That Jenna Kelley was not a committed criminal?

Over and over, she relived the scene in Jackson’s office. Finally, she put the book down, turned over and buried her head in the pillow. It seemed she would have to put up with someone’s tears after all.

Her own.

W
AITING FOR THE SCHOOL bus on Friday morning, Tracey moved away from the other kids and took out her mobile phone.

‘Hello?’

Tracey tried to sound natural. ‘Hi, Amanda, it’s Tracey!’

‘What do you want
now
?’

Tracey couldn’t blame her for sounding annoyed. This was the fourth time she’d called in three days. In the background, she heard another voice – Nina’s, or maybe Britney’s.

‘Who is it?’ And she heard Amanda respond, ‘Nobody.’ Tracey talked fast before Amanda could hit the hang-up button.

‘I just wanted to remind you to save a seat for me at lunch. I’m planning to sit with you.’

‘Stay away from me!’ Amanda shrieked. And Tracey was disconnected.

Relieved that her morning obligation was finished, Tracey tossed the phone back in her bag. But she still had the lunchtime duty to do – and she wasn’t looking forward to
that
.

It was one of Ken’s ideas. Yesterday, Tracey had picked up her tray in the cafeteria and carried it over to the table where Amanda and her friends always ate lunch. Britney, Nina and Katie were already there, but Amanda hadn’t arrived yet. The three Evilettes stared at her, as if an alien had just landed at their exclusive gathering place.

‘Amanda invited me to join you guys,’ Tracey had explained.

‘She
did
?’ Katie asked in disbelief.

‘When?’ Nina wanted to know.

‘Oh, we were on the phone last night, for ages,’ Tracey lied. ‘We talk all the time, you know. Anyway, she said she wanted me to sit with you all from now on.’

Amanda arrived with another of her friends, Sophie. She was clearly taken aback to find Tracey at
her
table.

‘What are you doing here?’ she asked bluntly.

Nina answered for her. ‘Tracey said you invited her.’

‘I did no such thing!’ Amanda exclaimed.

‘Don’t you remember?’ Tracey asked. ‘Last night, when we were talking on the phone, you said—’

Amanda didn’t let her finish. ‘I didn’t talk to you on the phone last night! I’ve never called you in my life!’

Tracey had tried to look concerned. ‘Are you OK, Amanda? Are you having memory problems?’

At that point, all the girls were looking at Amanda. Amanda was speechless.

Tracey spoke sadly. ‘Are you ashamed of us being friends, Amanda?’ Then she rose, picked up her tray, and walked away.

She had no idea what happened at the table after she left, but she suspected that it hadn’t been too comfortable for Amanda. Today, Tracey planned to arrive at the table after Amanda, and she would thank Amanda for having called last night to apologize for her rude behaviour.

Ken had also given Emily jobs to do. Yesterday, she’d passed a note to Nina in a class they had together.

Nina, if you see Amanda next period, could you tell her she can borrow my yellow sweater this weekend. She’s been begging me to lend it to her.

Despite the fact that Tracey wasn’t crazy about these efforts to destroy Amanda’s reputation, she had to laugh at the notion of the well-dressed queen bee wanting to wear anything of Emily’s.

The bus arrived. Tracey hurried to climb on so she could get a seat at the back, where the driver wouldn’t see her on the phone. They weren’t supposed to use their mobile phones on the bus, but if he couldn’t see her she’d be OK. The passengers never told on each other.

She got her seat, and took her phone out again.

‘Good morning. Harmony House.’

‘Hello, can I speak to Jenna Kelley, please?’

‘I’m sorry, Jenna can’t come to the phone.’

Tracey frowned. This was the same response she’d been getting each time she tried to call her. ‘Well, can you tell me when visiting hours are?’

‘I’m sorry,’ the voice on the other end said again, ‘but Jenna isn’t permitted visitors.’

‘Why not?’ Tracey demanded to know.

‘Have a nice day,’ the voice replied, and the line went dead.

This was too frustrating. Even prisoners in real jails were allowed to have visitors.

When she met Emily on the steps at Meadowbrook’s entrance, she learned that Emily had been getting the same information from Harmony House.