Teenage Psychic on Campus

by Pamela Woods-Jackson

  “I know. Once we get through Thanksgiving we gotta figure something out.” Gary stood up and dug through the dresser drawer to gather what clean underwear and socks he had left. He removed his last clean pair of jeans, a hooded sweatshirt and a sweater from the closet, and rolled them into balls small enough to stuff into a backpack.

  “What are your plans?” Sean asked. “For Thanksgiving, I mean.”

  Gary shrugged. “Mom always just cooks for the two of us, although sometimes we go to the grandparents’ for dessert. Except I don’t know how we’d explain Eddie.” He tried zipping the backpack, but it was overstuffed.

  Sean nodded. “I’ll talk to my dad when I get home. See if he’s got any ideas. And Annabeth’s dad might be able to help, too.” With both hands he pushed down on Gary’s backpack so Gary could get it zipped, then picked up his own duffel bag. “Let’s hit it, dude.”

  ****

  “Traffic’s terrible,” Annabeth said as she honked her horn at a driver who failed to notice the light had turned green.

  I glanced out the window and then looked over at Annabeth’s odometer. In an hour’s time we’d only made it a few miles from Belford on our way southbound to Indianapolis. Between rush hour traffic and people leaving town for an early start on the Thanksgiving weekend, it was slow going. Twenty miles an hour slow. At this rate we’d be lucky to be home by supper. As if on cue, my stomach growled and I remembered the granola bar and hot chocolate that had passed for lunch today. Visions of my mom’s veggie chili danced in my head.

  “Got plans tomorrow?” Annabeth asked as she eased her car into the intersection. “Caryn? Helloo…?”

  I’d been kind of in a zone, staring out at the stop and go traffic, when I realized Annabeth was talking to me. “Oh, sorry. You mentioned supper and I’m starved. What about tomorrow?”

  “Well, nothing really. Just making chit-chat.” She punched some buttons on her steering wheel and the radio came blasting on. “Eek!” She quickly adjusted the volume down, and then flipped over to the smooth jazz station.

  “Mom called,” I told her, “and I’ve got some clients to see at the store.”

  “Well, don’t work too late, because I’m picking you up at six a.m. Thursday morning.”

  I widened my eyes at her. “We’re doing that again?”

  The first year I met Annabeth, she dragged me out of bed at what felt like the middle of the night on Thanksgiving, along with her friends from church Sydney Marshall and Mel Something-or-other, and we went to downtown Indianapolis to help with the huge Thanksgiving dinner a charity sponsors every year. Several thousand hungry people show up, so they need lots of volunteers to help cook, serve, and clean up. It felt really good doing something so important for those in need, so Annabeth and I have continued the tradition every year since.

  “Of course we’re doing it. Why wouldn’t we?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “No, I’m going. I just kinda spaced it, what with this situation with Gary, and Eddie, and his mom, and…” I clamped my mouth shut before I said too much. Client confidentiality and all.

  “…and?” Annabeth prompted before stifling a giggle. “Did some flash of psychic insight hit you?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’ll be ready Thursday morning at six,” I told her, and hoped she’d let it drop.

  One more glance out the window told me traffic wasn’t going to let up, so I leaned back against the headrest and closed my eyes, the soft jazz helping me to relax. I wasn’t going to sleep or anything, just hoping for a vision or some answer to this mess I’d gotten into the middle of. Maybe I was trying too hard, though, because nothing came.

  ****

  “Mom? You home?” Gary dragged his duffel bag through the front door of their condo. He glanced around the living room, happy to be home after three months of dorm living.

  He remembered the day the two of them had moved in after years of being dependent on his grandparents. Grandma and Granddad Riddell worked long hours and struggled to keep the bill collectors at bay, so when Gary came along, another mouth to feed was a complication they hadn’t needed. They told his fifteen-year-old mother in no uncertain terms that she had to pull her own weight, so Brenda juggled schoolwork and part time jobs while the two of them were crammed into her childhood bedroom. By the time she was nineteen, though, Brenda had been working full time as Dr. Paxton’s receptionist for nearly a year, so she could afford to move the two of them out of her folks’ house and into a small apartment. A few more years of pinching pennies, and Brenda had saved up enough money for a down payment on a home of their own. The condo wasn’t very big, but they each had their own bedroom and bath, the kitchen was adequate even though it was a little outdated, and there was a study off the main living room where Gary had done homework.

  Gary called out again, but no one answered. Brenda was probably still at work. He started up the stairs to his bedroom, where he heard the beep beep of a video game emanating from the other side of the closed door. He opened it to find Eddie sitting cross-legged on Gary’s bed, punching the keypad faster than Gary had ever been able to. The TV in Gary’s room was small and about ten years old, a relic from Brenda’s childhood bedroom, but it was fine for the small game collection Gary had amassed. Eddie was totally focused on the screen and didn’t even look up when Gary dropped his overstuffed bags on the floor with a thud. With still no reaction, Gary tapped Eddie on the shoulder.

  Eddie jumped, dropped the remote, and then scowled. “Don’t sneak up on a guy like that.”

  “Sorry.” Gary didn’t like it either when someone came up behind him when he was running lines or concentrating on schoolwork, so he understood where the kid was coming from. He unzipped the duffel bag filled with dirty laundry and tossed it into the hamper in his closet.

  “Don’t you have anything better than”—Eddie picked up the plastic cases and read each one before tossing it aside—“Super Mario, Batman, and this 2007 Grand Theft Auto? They’re old-school, and so easy I finished them in minutes.”

  Gary narrowed his eyes at Eddie. “First of all, who gave you permission to get into my stuff? And secondly, I didn’t have much time for video games. I was either studying or rehearsing.”

  Eddie scowled back as he ticked numbers off his fingers. “First of all, your mom, second, I forgot about your Shakespeare stuff, and—” He peeked out of the corner of his eye at Gary. “And I’m starved. When do we eat?”

  “When Mom gets home, I guess. And speaking of home…” Gary started to say This isn’t yours, but he stopped himself. Even though Eddie was a pain in the butt, the kid had had a rough life. “Have you made any attempt to contact your dad?”

  Eddie crossed his arms and glared at Gary. “For the millionth time, Clyde Seville isn’t my father.”

  “Yeah, well, he’s the only parent you’ve got. And last I checked, he was still looking for you.”

  Eddie clenched his teeth. “Sucks to be him. I’m never going back there.”

  Gary sat down on the edge of his bed. “You’re thirteen, Eddie. Your choices are Clyde or foster care.” Gary watched as Eddie’s face went from pale to red with anger.

  “Neither!” Eddie reached under the bed and pulled out his backpack, snatched up the worn-out hooded sweatshirt from the hook on the back of Gary’s bedroom door, and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

  “Hey, where ya going?” Gary called out, but knew it was futile when he heard the front door slam shut as well. Gary sighed. He knew this situation couldn’t go on much longer. Hiding a runaway kid was wrong and possibly illegal. He was glad he was home to help his mom figure out what to do.

  “Eddie’s right, you know. Clyde’s a lousy excuse for a father.”

  Gary felt the tingle on the back of his neck and turned around to see Lucy. It occurred to him that Eddie looked just like her when he got angry, because Lucy’s arms were crossed like her son, she had a scowl on her semi-translucent face, and she was soundlessly tapping her foot.


  Gary shoved all the game cartridges aside and flopped down on his bed. “So you got any suggestions?”

  “Find Eddie’s birth father,” Lucy said.

  Gary sat straight up. “His…what?” He ran his fingers through his hair and closed his eyes, trying to think this through. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” He reopened his eyes.

  But Lucy was gone.

  Between his Macbeth audition the day before, classes that were getting intense because of looming final exams, his job at the bookstore, and the constant encounters with this particularly pesky ghost, Gary was drained. He stretched out on his bed planning to just rest, but he must have dozed off, because the next thing he knew he heard the garage door open, meaning Brenda was home. He bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen.

  “Gary,” Brenda said with a warm smile. She hugged him with one arm as she set two plastic bags filled with groceries on the kitchen counter with the other. “I was hoping you’d be here.” She tilted her head toward her car in the garage and then hung her coat on the hook by the door.

  Gary retrieved the other three shopping bags from her trunk and set them on the counter beside the others. “Mom, can we talk?”

  “Always.” Brenda dug into the bags and began putting the frozen and refrigerated items away first. She handed Gary the bag with the nonperishables. “Does it have to be now, or can we eat dinner first?”

  Gary shook his head as he put away cereal, crackers, cookies, and canned goods. “I’m hungry, but I need to tell you this while Eddie’s out of the house.”

  Brenda stopped unpacking groceries mid-bag. She seemed panic-stricken as her eyes darted around the kitchen and into the living room. “What do you mean out of the house? Where did he go?”

  Gary stopped to think. “Out?” It had never occurred to him that Eddie shouldn’t be out roaming around on his own. Yeah, he was a really smart kid and pretty self-sufficient, but he was still a kid. Not to mention a runaway whose face was plastered all over the media. “I-I guess I don’t know. We got into a squabble about something stupid, and he stormed out.”

  Brenda glanced nervously at the clock. “When did all this happen?”

  Gary shrugged. “I don’t know. Couple of hours?” He watched as Brenda clenched her jaw and reached for the coat she’d just hung up. “Wait, Mom, I need to tell you this.”

  Brenda turned and gave Gary her full attention. “Make it quick because I’ve got to go look for Eddie.”

  Gary felt a twinge of jealousy that his mom seemed more concerned about this kid whom she barely knew than him, but he shook it off because he was sitting on information that could be a game-changer. Maybe it would fix things for all of them. “Lucy was here.”

  Brenda seemed puzzled as she buttoned up her coat. “Lucy?”

  “You know, Eddie’s mom. Dead mom.” Brenda nodded, so Gary continued. “Lucy says the kid’s birth father is out there somewhere.”

  Brenda appeared as surprised at this news as Gary had been. “Did she happen to tell you who he is, or where to find him?”

  Gary shook his head. “But I’m sure she’ll be back. In the meantime, maybe I could call Caryn. She might get a psychic hit on the kid’s dad.”

  “Great. Do that. But I can’t leave him out there by himself in the cold.” Brenda picked up her handbag, dug for her car keys, and turned to Gary as she was about to leave. “It’s the least I can do for his poor, dead mother.”

  Gary didn’t have as much sympathy for Lucy as Brenda did, mostly because she was driving him crazy, but then he felt a chill and heard her whisper something in his ear. He leaned into the garage and called out, “Mom, Lucy says Eddie used to always go to the library if he was upset or trying to hide out.”

  She waved, started the car, and backed out.

  Gary finished putting away the groceries, his stomach growling as he wondered what among these delectable items Brenda had been planning to cook. Salmon? Maybe grilled with some of the fresh asparagus he’d just tossed in the fridge’s veggie crisper? Or possibly the lasagna, judging by the package of noodles and sauce left sitting out on the counter. Maybe I should call out for pizza? He pulled the well-worn takeout menu out of the junk drawer, perused its contents, but decided against it. He didn’t have the money to pay for it and besides, he didn’t want to insult his mom, who prided herself on her cooking. But a quick glance at the digital clock on the stove told him dinner would be late.

  To distract himself, he sent a text to Caryn.

  —Can we meet tomorrow? Interesting news from Lucy.—

  Another loud rumble from his stomach forced him to pull a bag of microwave popcorn from the cupboard and set it to pop. He removed the hot contents from the oven, opened it slowly, and was pouring salt straight into the bag when his phone pinged with a response.

  —9am Peterson’s Coffee Emporium, Rosslyn Village, down the street from Mom’s store.—

  Gary wasn’t even aware that Caryn’s mom had a store, but he figured he could catch a bus and be down in Indianapolis by 9:00. He texted a quick OK and was shoving popcorn in his mouth when the garage door cranked open. Eddie walked in with Brenda right behind him.

  Gary shot a dirty look at the kid who had caused his mother so much concern. “I see you found him.”

  “Sitting on the curb outside the library, like Lucy said,” Brenda replied. “It closed and they told him he had to leave.”

  Eddie seemed stunned as he glanced between Brenda and Gary. “You mean my mom?”

  Exasperated, Gary crossed his arms and leaned his back against the kitchen counter. “You already knew I could talk to her. Her ghost anyway. If it wasn’t for your mom popping in unannounced, Brenda wouldn’t have known where to look for you.” He shoved a big handful of popcorn in his mouth to keep from saying something about Eddie’s manners.

  Eddie sighed, lowered his overstuffed backpack off his shoulder, and for once, seemed contrite. “Sorry I scared you, Brenda. But this guy”—he jerked his thumb at Gary—“just pushes my buttons.”

  “All right, all right,” Gary grumbled. “Enough. Why the library?”

  Eddie grinned as he opened his backpack. “I had overdue library books. And look what I got!” He pulled out copies of the Steve Jobs biography, the latest Hunger Games sequel, and a couple of Kurt Vonnegut novels.

  “I would have thought you’d read all of Vonnegut’s stuff,” Gary said, turning over a copy of Slaughterhouse Five.

  Eddie shrugged and repacked the books into his bag. “Yeah, but that’s my favorite.”

  Brenda took Eddie by the shoulders and looked him in the eye. “Eddie, did anyone see you? Anyone you know? Like a school friend?”

  “No, but…”

  “But…?” she asked.

  Eddie stepped back, the color draining from his face. “There was an old woman in those apartments across the street, staring out of the window when I went outside,” he whispered.

  Gary couldn’t believe Eddie hadn’t thought about all the ramifications of being out in public. “Let’s hope she didn’t recognize you.” He glanced at his mom who had that expression on her face, the one she’d always gotten whenever Gary had scared the daylights out of her.

  “You guys get out of my kitchen. I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.” She pulled a large pot out of the cabinet, filled it with water, and put it on the stove to boil.

  Eddie didn’t say a word as he scurried out.

  “Mom, should we…?”

  “What? Call the police and tell them we’ve been harboring a runaway?” She turned her back, busying herself with pans, ingredients and casserole dishes. “I’m not eager to spend Thanksgiving in jail.”

  “Look, Mom, even if that lady recognized Eddie and called the police, which she probably didn’t, they still wouldn’t know where he is. We’ve got time to sort this out.”

  Brenda sighed and tossed a handful of noodles into the boiling water.

  Gary watched her for a minute, feeling bad that h
e had brought all this trouble home. He gave his mom a hug, holding on tight. “I’m meeting Caryn for coffee in the morning. Maybe she can make something out of what I got from Lucy.”

  ****

  I was up and dressed Wednesday morning by 8:30, surprising myself as well as Mom when I met her in the kitchen. She lifted an eyebrow as she poured hot tea into her travel mug. “Caryn! What are you doing up at this hour? I thought you’d sleep in on your first day of vacation.”

  “I wanted to catch a ride to the store with you.”

  “Great!” Mom’s face lit up as she screwed on the lid. “I could use some help with inventory.”

  I shifted my weight back and forth, a dead giveaway I was feeling guilty about something. “Well, sure, I could help out later, but…”

  “But that’s not why you want a ride,” Mom finished. She glanced at my attire and lifted an eyebrow. I wasn’t wearing my usual faded jeans and plaid shirt that I reserved for digging around in the dusty stockroom. Instead I had on a pair of pink skinny jeans, a white T-shirt paired with a gray asymmetrical cardigan, and faux leather boots. “Psychic reading?”

  I shrugged. “Yeah. Later.”

  “Tell Sis about your date,” Uncle Omar whispered in my right ear.

  I waved him away, but I saw Mom watching me with a curious expression, so I said, “Fly.”

  “In November?”

  “Okay, I’m meeting Gary Riddell for coffee at Peterson’s.”

  Mom stopped to think, a puzzled expression on her face. “The guy from school? The one you went on the ghost hunt with?”

  I nodded. “He’s got something to tell me, and frankly I’ve got something I need to tell him, too.”

  Mom grinned as she stuffed her travel mug in an outside pocket of her handbag. “Do you like this boy?”

  I rolled my eyes and whined like I did when I was fifteen. “Mooomm…”

  “Well, it’s been almost a year since you and Quince broke up. Maybe it’s time you started dating again.”

  “You sound like Annabeth. And believe me, I’m not in the market for a boyfriend.”

  “If you say so,” Mom said. “But if you have time after your date, uh, coffee, you can always bring him back to the store for a while.” She gave me an exaggerated wink as she pulled her car keys out of her bag on the way to the garage. “And you don’t even drink coffee.”