“I’m sorry, Aunt Kate.”
“I applaud the impulse and the result of those saved girls.” She tilted the laptop so I could see the screen displaying a picture of me holding up the sign with one hand while Mindy and her friends scrambled away. I supposed I shouldn’t be surprised there were pictures online already. She set the laptop down. “Those girls would have likely been killed if the sign had fallen on them. But we need to work on discretion.” She tapped her finger thoughtfully on the arm of the couch. “And since you seem to have a knack for running into these situations, I’ll ask Alex to teach you how to hold a Glamour as soon as possible.”
“So that would have stopped people from seeing me?”
“No.” Aunt Kate smiled at the idea. “But they would not have noticed you enough to take the pictures or even talk to you.”
“Sounds like magic to me.”
“I suppose much of what we do sounds like magic until you understand how it works.”
I felt the reprimand. Aunt Kate hated it when our abilities were compared to magic.
“So what about me being recognized this time?”
“We can handle that. I’ve contacted some of my colleagues and they are working to remove or modify the stories.” She looked satisfied. “It’s not magic, but it’ll do the job.”
I snorted with laughter. Aunt Kate had a group of hackers at her disposal. Very nice. She frowned at me and I stopped laughing.
“However valid your reasons were for saving those girls, you did get caught. We’ll keep it light, but I need to impose some punishment.” She looked at me for a moment before finishing. “You’ll clean the weights area for the next three days.”
I wrinkled my nose. The weights area could get fairly rank at the end of the day. It was better than being yelled at, though.
“Go on and start you training. And Olivia…”
I turned to see what she had to say.
“Nice job,” Aunt Kate said with a nod of her head.
I smiled my thanks and walked to the locker room to change.
Chapter 16
The satisfied glow I felt from Aunt Kate’s approval lasted until the next day when I arrived at school. Anna wasn’t outside to meet me which meant she was running late (not an unusual occurrence), so I headed for first period without waiting. I walked through the double doors into the main hallway, lost in thoughts about training, the explosions, and Ben. I’d heard he and his parents had gone home for a few weeks. I was trying to ignore the strange desire to follow him. It was weird. I’d only met him a few times, but when I thought of him it was like there was a light around him drawing me to him. I didn’t have to know about his outlawed ability to know he was trouble; just the hint of a past relationship between him and Emma was warning enough to stay away.
As I made my way towards my locker, my sensitive hearing alerted me to what people around me murmured – “I heard she’s got a hero complex.” “She goes out looking for people to save now.” “She loves the attention, can’t get enough of it.”
Distracted from my ruminating, I lifted my head and looked around, feeling my eyes widen with shock.
“I heard she started taking steroids.” This was said in a particularly gleeful, nasty voice I recognized.
I spun around and stared at the speaker, the captain of the football team, Brian Thompson, who’d been so congratulatory to me a few weeks ago. Before I could call him out for accusing me of taking steroids, he gave me jaunty finger wave before walking away.
I barely had time to recover from a football player accusing me of dosing when Mindy and her gang of sycophants surrounded me. Mindy crossed her arms and tapped her fingers on her upper arm.
“What?” I asked, feeling tired at the sight of her. I really didn’t have time for her harassment. It used to bother me so much when she picked on me, but now I had bigger issues to deal with.
She leaned back slightly, running her gaze up and down as if assessing my body. Feeling creeped out, I started to walk away but realized I was completely surrounded by girls all wearing the same judgmental expression, like mean Stepford Wives. I clenched my jaw, imagining myself leaping over Mindy’s head to escape. Of course, that would attract too much attention and, since I didn’t know how to hold a Glamour yet, I was on the wagon regarding attention-grabbing.
I turned back to Mindy and mirrored her crossed arms. I raised an eyebrow. “What?” I repeated, clipping off the word. “
“Olivia, I’ve been thinking,” she drawled out the words. “I’d like to be as bad-ass as you.” She looked around at her groupies with a smirk. “Think you could hook me up with your supplier?”
My stomach sank. She was sticking with the steroids story. Now I knew where Brian had come up with his accusation.
Karen spoke up. “She is looking more muscular lately.” The rest of the girls nodded or murmured yes.
I regretted wearing a fitted shirt that showed off my admittedly more toned arms, the result of intense training over the past several weeks. I uncrossed my arms and let them hang by my sides, hoping to look less tough.
“Yes, she is.” Mindy stepped closer. “I’m here to tell you that if you and your bulked up, ‘roid-rage self don’t stop messing with my life, there will be hell to pay.”
My hands trembled from suppressing the desire to punch her in the face, but she laughed, misinterpreting. “Look, she’s scared.” The gang laughed on cue.
Trying to keep my voice as level as possible, I said, “I don’t want to be involved in your life any more than you want me to be.” I drew a deep breath. “And you need to stop telling people I use steroids because that’s a lie.”
She shook her head. “You know, it wasn’t hard. Everyone was ready to believe something weird is going on with you. It’s out of my control now. So sorry.” She finished in the most unsorry-sounding tone ever. “Come on, chicas.” She waved a hand in the air, signaling the rest of the group to follow. “Oh.” She stopped, twirling a piece of hair around her finger and giving me a coy look. “Jack didn’t have to be persuaded all that much either.” She pursued her lips. “Luckily I was there to comfort him over his crazy ex-girlfriend. He has a nice kiss…well, you know.” She laughed and flounced off, followed by her twittering gang.
I felt like she’d punched me in the heart. I couldn’t move, and I was barely aware of the empty space around me created by my fellow students avoiding walking too near me. All I could think was not Jack. I knew he wasn’t all that happy with me right now, but I couldn’t believe he’d hang out with Mindy…or do more than just hang out.
I swallowed and pulled out my phone to text him. I saw Anna had texted me; Out sick, L8r. I deflated, feeling very lonely. I’d been hoping to see Anna and commiserate over how mean Mindy was.
The bell for first period rang, startling me so much I almost dropped my phone. For just a moment, I considered ditching school for the first time ever, but the vice principal, Mr. Mills, strolled by and told me to get to class.
I was among the last students to enter the classroom but certainly not the least as far as being noticed. My entry was greeted with stares and whispers. I wanted to be brave enough to hold my head high as I sat down in the only chair available, in the front row, but I was so blindsided by my classmates’ change in attitude that all I wanted to do was hide. I kept my head lowered throughout class, staring at my desk, my eyes focused on the divots and ink marks left by previous occupants.
When the bell rang, I sprang from my seat and was out the door before anyone else started moving. That was a mistake, because it seemed that everyone else in school had heard and was willing to believe the rumors. I walked down the hallway to a chorus of muttered requests to meet my dealer, offers to help me get clean, and sneers at my hero complex.
I dreaded going to Lit class and facing Mindy again, but something worse happened before I got to class. I turned the corner to the hallway where the Lit class was, and there was Jack, with his arms around Mindy. When she saw me
, she pressed into his side and gave me a smile.
I stopped – confusion turning to shock turning to anger. Through the buzzing in my ears, I heard someone behind me say, “Olivia, wait.” But I was too focused on the scene in front of me to listen. I surged forward, hand clenched in a fist, arm pulled back. I didn’t care if Mindy was a normal. All I cared about was that she’d taken Jack from me and was flaunting it in my face. Mindy screamed and stumbled back. Jack tried to block me, but I pushed him aside and went after Mindy. She staggered away from me with a frightened look, and I felt a stab of satisfaction. Just as I reached her and aimed the first punch, someone grabbed my arm. The grip was enough to skew my punch into a nearby locker, the force of my fist leaving a deep impression. The clanging of metal reverberated inside my head, and as if the noise woke me up, the scene came into focus. Mindy had fallen to the floor, staring at the locker with wide eyes.
Furious with whoever interfered, I tried to shake him off, but I knew it was pointless when Hugh nearly deafened me by yelling in my ear, “Stop it, Olivia! Stop it!” He grabbed my other arm and held me firmly. “Stop it.” He lowered his voice so only I could hear. “We don’t fight normals. You know that. What’s gotten into you?”
I realized there were tears streaming down my face. “You don’t know what she’s done. I don’t care what she is.”
Mindy sat on the ground sobbing. Despite my defiant words, I felt a little worm of shame sneaking into my anger.
Hugh tightened his grip on my arm. “It doesn’t matter what she did.” He kept his voice low. “If I hadn’t stopped you, she could have been badly hurt.” He gave me a shake. “I heard about the rumors. You need to be tough enough to ignore them.”
I started crying, shaking with adrenaline. It didn’t help that Jack chose that moment to huddle on the floor with his arm around Mindy. He glared at me. “How could you? Ollie, what’s wrong with you?”
Mr. Mills’s stern voice cut into my struggle for an answer. “What is going on here?”
Mindy said in a teary voice, “She tried to hit me. I was just standing here and she tried to hit me.”
Hugh let go of me and stepped back as I faced the vice principal and several other teachers. A bunch of students peered from behind them, whispering and pointing at me.
I winced at some of the frightened looks my classmates were giving me. Crap, this wasn’t going to do much for quashing the steroid rumors.
Mr. Mills gave a ‘go on’ gesture. “Come on, let’s clear the hallway and get to class.” He turned to me and Mindy. “Except you two. You need to come with me. Now.”
“Sir?” Jack helped Mindy to her feet. “I’d like to come too. I was sort of involved.” He gave me an indecipherable look.
“Okay, Okay,” Mr. Mills said impatiently. “Come on.”
I glanced at Hugh, knowing he couldn’t get involved any more than he had. He gave me a stern but sympathetic look. As I walked away, he pulled out his phone and started texting someone. I would’ve bet it was one of the ‘rents. I hope it was Uncle Alex or Aunt Kate instead of Uncle Dan. I figured the first two would be more sympathetic to my reaction, but Uncle Dan seemed to expect us to be robotic enough to hide our emotions.
I followed Jack and Mindy to the vice principal’s office. My heart was pounding, anxiety setting in, brought home by the reality of sitting down in Mr. Mills’ office. I’d never gotten in trouble at school. Never gotten as much as an infraction, much less been sent to the vice principal’s office. I rubbed my sweaty palms on my jeans, leaving streaks of sweat on my thighs.
“Mrs. Jones, can you call Ms. Careen and Ms. Woodson’s parents, please?” Mr. Mills asked his assistant before entering his office and sitting behind his desk. “Okay, tell me what happened and we’ll get to the bottom of this.” He pointed to the chairs in front of his desk.
“She-” I began at the same time as Mindy put her hand to her cheeks and started sobbing. I shot an irritated look at her, but then I saw she actually did look shook up. Maybe I had scared her more than I realized. I clenched my fist in my lap, shame causing my cheeks to feel hot.
She took my pause as a chance to say, “Oh, Mr. Mills, she tried to hurt me just because Jack likes me more, and she’s jealous.”
“Hey,” I protested. “You started a rumor I’m taking steroids.” I glared at her, any sympathy draining away to be replaced with anger again.
“You started the rumor about Olivia?” Jack’s eyebrows drew in with puzzlement. “Mindy, why would you do that?”
She sniffled. “She’s all of sudden so strong and athletic and saving people all the time. What else was I supposed to think? It’s strange.” Her eyes widened and she aimed them at Mr. Mills. “You don’t think it’s odd? There has to be some explanation and her using steroids made sense to me.”
Jack ran a hand up and down Mindy’s arm while chewing on his lower lip. He said to me, “You have changed since the bank robbery, Olivia. Mindy has a point.” He took Mindy’s hand in his. “And you did just try to hit her.”
I couldn’t believe he was taking her side. I shook my head, unable to come up with an explanation that would satisfy them. I looked pleadingly at Mr. Mills. “Sir, I know I shouldn’t have tried to hit her, but she did start a pretty mean rumor about me.”
As I said the words aloud, it sounded like a lame reason to try to hit someone. I wasn’t all that surprised when he gave me a day’s suspension. Mindy just got to go home for the rest of the day because she claimed she was too frightened to focus on school..
Out in the reception area, I huddled in my chair, miserable and scared, waiting for Dad to come get me. What would he say? And what would Aunt Kate and my uncles say? I knew it was bad to hurt a normal, but how bad?
I snuck a look at Mindy. Jack had been sent back to class, so she waited alone. When she saw me looking at her, she hissed. “I can’t believe you tried to hit me, you jealous bitch.”
I sat up straight, glaring at her. “I can’t believe you started the rumor about me taking steroids, so we’re even.” Not really. I thought about Jack with his arm around her.
Mrs. Jones said, “Shh.” And we settled back to wait while exchanging glares.
Dad finally arrived, looking serious in his suit and trench coat. He gave me a searching look before the vice principal called us into his office. Dad took the news of my suspension quietly, though when Mr. Mills told him I’d punched in a locker, I did hear him mutter, “I wish Emily were here. This is really her area.” My already tight stomach clenched even further. He had no idea how right he was.
Chapter 17
“I have to go back to the office,” Dad said as he drove us away from school. A light rain had started while I was inside at school, and the windshield wipers made slapping sounds against the windshield. On top of everything, it was a strange sensation to ride in a car from school. I always walked the ten-block route to and from school; being driven highlighted the gravity of the situation. At least it was short drive.
We’d managed to leave without too many people seeing us, but I knew my latest antics were by now churning through the Cleveland High School rumor mill at top speed. One day of suspension would not be enough to make people forget. My return to school would not be marked by high fives and pats on the back.
“Olivia,” Dad said sharply. I jerked to attention, realizing he’d been talking to me for the past few minutes. “I need to know you’ll stay at home and not go anywhere until I get back.”
“Am I grounded?” I asked, mentally railing against the injustice of it all. I was the victim here; I’d only been defending myself from persecution by a mean girl.
He looked at me with an incredulous expression. “Yes.”
“Dad, I know I scared Mindy, but she started it,” I said in protest. If I was grounded, how could I train? How would I explain my absence to the Brighthalls? Then I remembered Hugh was probably taking care of that explanation right now. Crap.
Dad just shook his head as he turned
into our driveway. “Olivia…” He sighed, looking very tired and sad. “You are grounded. I’ll be home in a couple of hours and we’ll discuss for how long.”
I got out of the car and slammed the door. I stood there glaring at him until he rolled down the window. “Olivia, go inside.”
I frowned and stomped into the house, dropping my backpack to the floor with a thump. Standing in the kitchen, clenching my fists at my sides, I alternated between feeling ashamed and angry.
As I stood fuming, I heard a soft click from the den. I automatically dropped into a defensive posture, with fists raised, balancing lightly on the balls of my feet. In the weeks I’d been training, I’d become very aware of ambient noise in my life. I would assess the risk factor of every thump and thud. I knew all the sounds in the house, even Boo Radley’s soft patter of paws. This noise was new.
I crept silently from the kitchen into the hallway to the den. From the hallway, I could see shadows moving in the weak light streaming from the den windows. I stood still, waiting to hear another click, but I could only hear the faintest sound, as if someone were walking slowly across the rug.
I moved closer and then relaxed when I caught Lange’s reflection in the glass of the Mexican folk painting hanging on the wall across from the door to the den. I lowered my fists and stepped into the room.
“Lange, what are you doing –” I stuttered to a stop when I saw Uncle Dan was with him. They both wore identical grim expressions.
“Olivia, sit down.” Uncle Dan crossed his arms and frowned at me.
“Uncle Dan, I know I screwed up, but…” I said, not moving from the doorway. Lange stayed near the window.
“Olivia. Sit. Down.” Uncle Dan’s words sounded like he was pushing them through clenched teeth. He pointed to the armchair. “Now!” He snapped out the final word.
I wasted no more time arguing and sat. Uncle Dan stepped closer so he was looming over the armchair. He glared down at me, hands at his sides, and I could see his hands were in fists.
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