Gabby and I gasp, stunned by his revelation.
“We’re against this. We’re going to stop this!” Gabby says. “The dolls aren’t demonic, either.”
“I know,” he whispers, his eyes watery. “They’re human. And I know Chelsea’s here somewhere…”
He doesn’t wait for us to respond. Instead, he swipes up his cap and storms down the corridor toward his class.
“Maddox doesn’t trust us?” I have to say it out loud to believe it. “Holy crap.”
“Yeah…” Gabby’s voice is husky. “He’s smart. He worked out what’s going on.”
“Your point?”
“My point is, we’ve found an ally. Even if he is the biggest jerk in the world. But this is war. And you don’t always have to like your allies.”
“You’re late, Gabrielle,” Mr. Hathaway says.
“Surprise, surprise.” Gabby slinks through the desks until we reach ours. We’re seated next to Dev, who mouths something inaudible. Gabby doesn’t take much notice; she’s too distracted by the copious dolls in the classroom.
There are, at least, six empty seats, but about seven or eight classmates have a live doll either perched on their shoulders or sitting on their pencil cases.
“Are you seeing this?” I whisper as Mr. Hathaway marks the roll.
“This is insane,” Gabby says, not bothering to wipe the disgust off her face. “And they don’t even know what they are!”
Uncertainly, she raises her hand.
“What?” Mr. Hathaway sighs, like he’s lost the will to live.
“Mr. Hathaway? Considering this is a science class, I thought we could discuss the… robots everyone has. It’s science at its finest, right? Where did you all get yours?”
“Yeah! I want to show off mine!” Amy beams, cuddling her peppy cheerleader.
“Me too!” Ryan pipes in. “I thought it was uber gay to bring a doll to school, but man, this thing helps with homework and everything! It’s like my personal slave!”
Mr. Hathaway tents his fingers, his smile crooked. “I suppose we can take five minutes. Gabby, we’ll start with you since you’ve been carrying that thing around for years. A bit of a trendsetter, aren’t you?”
Gabby shakes her head. “I’m not. My dad and grandfather are scientists, they gave Ella to me when I was sick. You know, the epidemic. I’m just curious where the others got theirs.”
“Duh!” Amy plaits her doll’s hair. “They’re special pre-order. Each costs a bucket-load, and they’re all custom designed. Mom ordered mine online when I said I wanted a cheerleader, and she just arrived this morning! Didn’t you, Bianca?” Amy coos at her like at a pet.
“That’s right!” Bianca shouts. “A is for Amazing! M is for Mighty! Y is for Yummy! Goooooooo AMY!” She jumps in the air and shakes her pom-poms and kicks the air. Amy huffs when Bianca’s plait falls out before she can finish, but applauds her cheer nonetheless.
“Bianca?” I repeat. “Wasn’t… wasn’t that the name of the head cheerleader?”
Amy shrugs. “It’s a common name.”
“Not really!” I protest, but Gabby hushes me.
“Brett arrived today, too! He’s a pharmacist.” Ryan grabs Brett and waves him above his head. Brett places his hands on his hips and poses like a superhero.
“G’day,” Brett greets, his accent thick. “That’s right. Any drug you need, I’m ya bloke! Nah, not really, mate! I’m pullin’ ya leg! Only in the pretend world! I’m gonna pretend-ace this class, ay! Haha!”
“He’s no pharmacist…” I run up Gabby’s arm and kneel on her shoulder so I can whisper. “I bet he is a meth-head! Or a dealer! Ugh!”
“Mine’s a farmer.” Penny points to her doll who sits glumly on the edge of the table. “He doesn’t talk much, though. I might ask for a refund.”
I study the sullen doll. “Look at him. He was bad. You can tell.” I speak so quietly I can barely hear myself. “He can’t remember why he’s guilty… but he can’t shake the feeling.”
“He looks sad,” Gabby murmurs.
“Wouldn’t you be?”
“I love mine!” Robyn holds up a doll with a short, light cut and a red ribbon in her hair. She wears sandals and has a microphone in her hand and a perpetual worried expression. “She’s a beautiful singer. Come on, Chelsea. Sing for us!”
Gabby’s head shoots up. “Did you say Chelsea?”
“I… I can’t…” Chelsea nuzzles her face into Robyn’s knitted sweater. “Please don’t make me sing.”
“Okay, okay.” Robyn tenderly strokes her hair.
“Hey, Chelsea?” Gabby’s voice is tight. “What do you think of maths?”
She slowly turns her head to reveal one side of her face, her eye a bright blue. “Hate it. It’s stupid. All of school is stupid!” she adds before burying her face back in Robyn’s sweater.
“Ella, that’s Maddox’s sister,” Gabby gulps. “It has to be.”
“Take her.” I nudge. “We can save her!”
“This is my doll. She’s a gymnast,” Mikey introduces, but no one listens. Gabby stands and pushes her chair to the side, honing in on Chelsea and snatching her up.
“Hey!” Robyn shrieks, jumping up. “What are you doing? Let her go! She’s expensive!”
“She’s a prisoner!” Gabby shouts. “If you break the dolls, they wake up. That’s how we did it!”
“Don’t break me!” Chelsea pleads. “Please don’t!”
“I’ll make it quick,” Gabby promises. She raises her leg and snaps Chelsea over her knee, breaking her in half.
Robyn howls hysterically and drops to the floor to gather the two sad little Chelsea halves. “What did you do to her? Chelsea!”
“I… I’m fine, I think,” the top half says, batting her eyes.
Gabby and I stare at the broken doll.
“How?” Gabby asks breathlessly. “Why is she—”
“Upgrades,” I say as the class circles Chelsea and Robyn. “Advanced technology. They can’t risk breaking a doll and waking them up, can they?”
“I HATE YOU, GABBY!” Robyn screams, cradling the doll. “You’ll pay for this! I’ll make sure you pay through your big ugly nose!”
The class and their dolls glare at us, like a murder of crows.
“Sorry! Okay? I’m sorry!” Gabby shows her palms as if to surrender. “I… I can’t really explain why I did that.”
“I bet you can’t.” Mr. Hathaway leans over his desk, a vein pulsing in his neck. He’s about to pop. “Go to the principal’s office! Consider your assignment a fail!”
I can’t look at Principal Tony the same way. He used to be a glimmer of hope, but now he’s as impure and manipulative as the rest of them. Maybe worse.
His crooked smile isn’t cute anymore. I detest the way he sits back in his chair with his hands behind his head.
“Gabby. We’re not having much luck lately, are we?” He reaches over to open the drawer and hand Gabby a stick of gum. “Have one.”
“No, thanks.”
“So what’s the problem?”
I press my foot into Gabby’s shoulder as subtly as I can. Hopefully she’ll get the message.
“Nothing, sir. I’m hormonal,” she says, her voice light. That’s my girl. We’ll just lie our way out.
“Right.” He sniffs and pulls his chair in. “Gabby, I’m concerned. Your grades are slipping, and I don’t see you with a lot of friends.”
“I’ll get my grades up, scout’s honor!” Gabby tries an unconvincing grin. “And I have plenty of friends, I just like my alone time.”
“I thought you didn’t care about grades,” I blurt, immediately regretting my words.
Principal Tony smirks and fiddles with his pen. “I don’t believe in unnecessary stress. I know the students in this school. I can tell who will soar and who will coast. The ones without ambition are more likely to rebel if they’re coerced into doing something they hate.”
“So you’re saying you think Gabby’
s a failure?!” I’m glad adrenaline doesn’t pump through my veins. I’m already nervous. “That’s real charming.”
“I didn’t say that,” Principal Tony demurs.
“But you implied it!”
“Ella, I’m perfectly aware of your situation. I know you’re human. I know Gabby’s parents were abducted by the company that’s snatching criminals and students with a low IQ. I know these dolls the kids carry around are ex-students of mine. Do you think I have a choice?”
We don’t respond. I think I’ve forgotten how to speak.
“They’re trying to shave the population by sixty percent. Sixty percent. This isn’t just a toy company or corrupt cops. I know the family involved. The woman is a computer hacker and made a fortune skimming bank accounts; her mother is a politician. They have a lot of swing. If I don’t cull the students or hand in test results, they could take me away.” There’s desperation in Principal Tony’s eyes. “What am I supposed to do?!”
“Fake my test results,” Gabby says firmly, digging her nails into her jeans.
“What?” He shakes his head. “Gabby, I can’t do that.”
“Just for a while. You have to mark the roll so it says I’m here. Change my reports so it looks like I’m getting straight A’s. If you want things the way they were, you have to do this for me.”
A weak grunt escapes his throat. “What are you going to do?”
“Save the world!” I declare triumphantly. When Gabby and Principal Tony stare at me, I beam. “Sorry. I’ve just always wanted to say that.”
“It doesn’t matter what I’m doing,” Gabby says, dismissing me with a wave of her hand. “But this is on you. If you really care about what’s going on, you’ll help me.”
Principal Tony blinks, then clears his throat. “You best get back to class.”
“Like I give a sh—”
“Gabby!” I breathe, tugging on her hair. Emergency or not, he’s our authority figure. And yet… he’s suddenly not as dreamy as I perceived him to be. That makes me a little sad. Maybe, there’s no such thing as the perfect man because there’s no such thing as a perfect person.
Rising, Gabby turns her back on Principal Tony and slams the door behind her.
What an unsettling thought. The entire future could depend on one man’s ability to lie.
“Do you think we can trust Principal Tony?” I can barely hear myself over the clanging utensils and intense chewing that replaces the regular lunchtime yakkety yak.
Gabby shrugs. “Don’t get your hopes up. People look out for themselves. It’s as simple as that.”
I point at her empty tray. “Why aren’t you eating?”
She twirls her hair. “Not hungry. Haven’t been all day.”
“You really should eat.”
“I’ll be fine. Can you see Maddox anywhere?”
“Smooth change of topic.” I motion towards Dev who is charging through the cafeteria with her assignment in hand. “Nope, but I’ve found someone else.”
Dev slams her papers on the table. “An F? You have a hissy fit, so we both fail?! Do you know what you’ve done to me?!”
The cafeteria hushes. All eyes lock on us—students had their lunches, now they’re getting a free show.
“Oh well,” Gabby dismisses. “It’s not like it’s the end of the world…”
“Yes, it is!” Dev shrieks. “No one is exempt from failing!”
“And I’m sure turning into a doll with no memories of your past life would be pretty awful, hey,” I say, batting my eyes.
Dev locks her jaw. “What are you on about?”
“As if you don’t know,” Gabby murmurs. “Since when are you that obsessed with good grades? It’s sick that your own family doesn’t make you exempt from the rule.”
Dev purses her lips. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”
“If you’re going to lie, lie well.” Shaking her head, Gabby stands and heads for the exit, knocking into Dev’s shoulder purposely. She sighs when Robyn blocks the cafeteria doorway, glowering.
“Hey, doll-crusher.”
“I’m sorry, Robyn,” Gabby says. “Really, I can’t explain it. I don’t expect you to forgive me.”
Robyn pulls Chelsea from her pocket, her face crushed and her hair matted. “How can I forgive you for this? Look at her! She’s ruined!”
“Ruined!” Chelsea echoes.
“They can fix her.”
“That costs more money! Money I bet you don’t have! You piece of trash!”
I barely had time to duck when Robyn reaches for Gabby’s hair, madly tugging on it.
“Let go!” Gabby shrieks, pulling at Robyn’s wrists.
“Let’s see how you like it when your hair is ruined! And your face!”
“Are you crazy?!” Giving up on removing Robyn’s hands, Gabby pokes her in the eye. Robyn immediately lets go and drops on her butt.
“You could’ve taken my eye out!”
“And you could’ve ruined my hairdo,” Gabby parries coolly. She smooths out her shirt and steps over Robyn, ignoring the icy stares. Outside of the cafeteria is Mr. Hathaway. He stands with his arms folded, chewing the insides of his mouth.
“Attacking students, now? So a doll wasn’t enough?”
“Hey! She assaulted me. It was self-defense.”
“If it were up to me,” he says through gritted teeth, “I would expel you from this school.”
“Well, luckily it’s not up to you, is it?”
“Gabby,” I warn. “Be nice. Always be the bigger person.”
Mr. Hathaway glances at me, snorts. “Fortunately for me, I can give you detention. Rest your writing hand, Gabrielle. It’s going to do more work today than your entire school year combined.”
Gabby shrugs. “Goes to show the level of work they produce here, hey.”
Mr. Hathaway’s face glows redder and redder with restrained fury. “I don’t care what the principal says! As far as I’m concerned, you’re expelled! You may as well clear out your locker.”
“For being a smartass?” she hesitates. “Nope, not expulsion worthy. You’re gonna have to put up with me a while longer.”
What’s gotten into her? She knows just as well as I do that today will probably be the last time she steps into the school. Once we head to New York, everything will change. Maybe that’s why she’s acting this way. It’s her final “screw-you.”
“I’ll see you in detention, Gabrielle.”
“Don’t hold your breath.” Turning on her heel, Gabby walks away, making a beeline for the exit.
“You’re having too much fun,” I whisper. “Where are you going?”
“Sianne’s. I’m done with this place. Forever.”
“We can’t go home! We’re to stay at school until Sianne is ready…”
“Uh-uh. Tired of taking orders. From now on, I’m doing things my way. And that’s final.”
Sighing, I latch onto her ear, her strides rocky. Thank goodness I’ll never be a teenager.
h God, this isn’t happening!” Gabby tugs at her hair. “No, no, no! Not again!”
“Maybe Sianne left the door open when she went for a walk?”
“Oh, don’t you pull this, ‘I’m naïve dolly’ shtick! You and I both know what happened here!”
“Well, yeah, but what do we do? Do we go in?”
Gabby checks over her shoulder, scouts the cul de sac. “I don’t see any cars. Maybe they’re gone.”
“If they’re professional abductors, I think they’d know how to conceal a car.”
“Ella, I feel sick. Sianne is the one who knows what to do. She’s supposed to get us into the company.”
“Then, let me go in and check. Nothing can happen to me.”
Gabby bites into her lip. “No. This is deja vu. I’m not scared this time. I’m coming with. If those douche nozzles are inside, we’ll take them out. I’m tired of living in fear.”
Gabby is tired of a lot of things lately. Maybe, she needs more s
leep.
“Okay.” I keep optimistic. “Let’s go in. You’ll see it’s nothing.”
When we climb the steps to the porch, I glance at the murky green goo on the boards. My jaw drops, and I frantically tap Gabby’s temple. “Look! The goo! Isn’t that the stuff my body floats in?”
Gabby crouches and examines it. She hesitantly sticks her finger in the puddle, squirming when it sticks to her nail. “That’s definitely tube water.”
“What’s it doing out here?” I wring my hands. “Is my body safe? If they’ve taken my body, they could do anything to me!” I pull on the strands of her hair. “Mush! Gabby, mush!”
“Stop it. I’m not a sled dog.”
With a determined stride, she charges into the house. Lights are left on, bookshelves are tipped over, and the goo trails all the way upstairs.
“Stay away from my body!” I warn, as Gabby cautiously inches upstairs. “Do you hear me, abductors? You’re not taking me anywhere!”
“Could you be quiet, please? We need to sneak up behind them if we want to catch them.”
“I don’t want to catch them. I want to rip their stupid hearts out of their stupid chests and shove them into their stupid mouths!”
Gabby halts and stares, bug-eyed. “Yikes.”
“Well, I’m angry!”
“But you’re still adorable. Clenching your little fists and snarling like that. Adorbs.”
I roll my eyes. “Just take me to the lab.”
The attic door is ripped off its hinges. Gabby peers around the corner. Nothing moves. Slowly, she slinks through the attic and into the lab. It’s completely ransacked. They left nary a beaker behind.
“No!” I cry, bounding from Gabby’s shoulder and towards the empty space that used to house my home… while at home. I burst into tears, mindful that my tummy is no longer filled with water, but with methylated spirits.
“Ha. Okay, so it’s a good thing we went to school,” Gabby murmurs. “We kept out of the line of fire.”
“But we could’ve stopped them!” I protest, the methylated spirits blurring my vision.
“We would’ve been outnumbered,” Gabby says softly, kneeling to wipe my face with her shirt.
“Well, we have to get it back!” I freeze when I remember Lisa’s not-so-little spiel. Could she be behind this? “We need to find Sianne.”
Shattered Girls (Broken Dolls Book 2) Page 10
