My dad looked at his shoes and then back at me. “There were two other than Mack and your friends.”
Before I could even ask the next question, my dad answered it.
“They were found at Mayor Masters’ home and are safe now. As soon as the first two went missing, we knew that there was some sort of connection with the cuspers, and naturally, being Mayor, Mayor Masters was alerted of this. So, when she suggested you and your friends come to Power Academy as counselors, we assumed it was safe, especially with the new N.P.C. headquarters next door …” his voice trailed off.
“But what about all the other security people? Wouldn’t they have known she was holding Mark there? Experimenting on him?” I asked. There just had to be more to this story.
“It’s been revealed that Mayor Masters had been blackmailing key security guards’ families into doing some work for her,” Headmistress Larriby interjected.
My dad shook his head. “As much as I hate to admit it, Mayor Masters was clever. Keep your enemies close, I guess.”
And to think that Mayor Masters saw me and the other cuspers as the enemies. That’s why she had N.P.C. join up with Power Academy. So we would be nice and close for her little “experiment.”
Poor Mark. She sure had us all fooled.
“Thanks to you and your teleporting friend borrowing my card,” he cleared his throat, “we cleared up this whole mess.” He smiled at me and wrapped his arms around my shoulder once more. “But, Poppy,” his tone became serious as he pushed away from me. “What were you thinking? Breaking into Nova Power Corporation? Who knows what would have happened if I didn’t get there in time.”
I shrugged. “Nobody was doing anything about my friends, and it just didn’t seem right.”
“Very well,” he said, accepting my excuse. “I’m just happy you’re safe.” He hugged me tight.
As it turns out, Mark wasn’t lying at all, even though I wasn’t sure about the true origin of our powers, yet. Mayor Masters had been so obsessed with her son not being a weekday that she was going to all sorts of extremes to get him some sort of power. She’d been injecting him with those serums we saw in the room where she’d trapped him, which totally didn’t work. Once she realized the serums weren’t working the way she wanted them to, and her precious son would always be a powerless Saturday, she kidnapped some of the cuspers strictly out of jealousy and then decided that perhaps she could somehow drain the powers out of, gulp, them. Us.
“If my own son is powerless, then why do some petulant little kids get to have two powers?” Mayor Masters had asked my father, kicking and screaming while Nova Power Corporation guards dragged her out of N.P.C. and into the back of the squad car. As much as I hated to admit it, I wanted to know the answer to her question. Why did we have two powers? The whole cusp power thing didn’t make sense, especially now that I knew Sabrina’s parents’ powers, or lack thereof.
Just like dad told me, to pull this all off, Mayor Masters had been manipulating some of the officers at Nova Power Corporation and made it their task to keep an eye not only on her own son, but also Sabrina, Sam, and Mack. She apparently had threatened their jobs and their families if they revealed what she was doing to anyone.
I wasn’t surprised to learn that Mr. Fluxnut was in on the whole thing, too. He had been assigned to keep an eye on Ellie, Logan, and Sam, and me. So when Veronica and I had seen him creepily skulking around Novalicious at the beginning of the summer, he was watching me, not trying to protect me.
“I should have done more. I’m truly sorry,” Larriby said, shaking her head. I read into her mind and her thoughts solidified her story; I believed her. She didn’t know what Mayor Masters was up to.
“It was her goal to experiment on some of them?” Headmistress Larriby asked, tears welling in the corner of her eyes. I was shocked to see her become so emotional. “But why?” she whispered. Her face was bright red. I pointed toward a box of tissues on the windowsill and telekinetically sent it over to her pudgy hand.
“Thank you, Poppy,” she said, wiping away the tears from her face. This was a side of Larriby I never thought I’d see. The side that calls me by my first name. The side that has real emotions. I kind of felt bad for her. She actually looked human sitting across from me with ugly-cry face.
“I should have known. The way Mayor Masters insisted that Mr. Fluxnut join Power Academy this summer was just plain odd.” She bent her head so that her double chin fell to her chest. “She told me that Mr. Fluxnut was tired of his job at N.P.C. and wanted to pursue a career in the creative arts. And here, he could also assist in the cusper disappearances. And the lies she had me believing! Her son doing an internship.” She glanced toward the window and blew her nose. “I was so stupid,” she thought aloud.
My dad reached his hand across the table and placed his hand on Headmistress Larriby’s. “Mayella—you did everything you could,” he said, consoling her. My dad really was a nice guy. It appeared that Larriby might actually have a heart, too.
“And I should have been more proactive as well,” my dad said, looking toward me again. “We’d been looking into this situation for a while, and really felt that it was in your and your friends’ best interests to remain at Power Academy until we had a better handle on what was occurring. Had I known this was happening right next door—” He couldn’t finish his thought.
“It’s okay, dad. Really, it is. You saved us,” I hugged him hard. “And what about Miss Maggie?” I asked, afraid that she would be implicated in this whole mess as well. “What’s going to happen to her?”
Headmistress Larriby wiped a tear from her cheek before she responded. “Miss Maggie is fine. She, too, was threatened by her own mother. When she found out what her mother was up to, she was forced to keep her mouth shut or get sent back to London indefinitely.”
“Oh,” I gasped.
“What, Poppy?”
“Dad, it was Miss Maggie who gave me the tool I needed to find those cuspers,” I said, thankful for that lesson she so expertly planted in the Monday power intensive class.
“I know,” he said with a smile. “She will be rewarded for that.”
I debated whether or not to ask him the next question, but did anyway. “And what about our powers and what we found out?” I asked.
“What do you mean, Poppy?”
“You know, how we’re not bor—”
“Let’s just get you home to see your mom and brother,” he said, quickly glancing at Headmistress Larriby. He wrapped his arms around me again, so tight this time that I wouldn’t be able to finish the question even if I wanted to. “I know your mom can’t wait to see you,” he said, changing the subject.
He knew about our powers. He definitely knew what I was talking about.
As we walked out the doors to Power Academy, Pickle in hand, I asked my dad again, “And what about our powers and what we found out?”
He sighed. “Poppy, that is classified information. You really can’t let that get out.”
“But what does it eve—”
“Poppy,” my dad said again, gently squeezing my hand. “You need to let that go.”
But I knew, just as I was sure my father knew, that letting go would be a hard thing to do.
Chapter Twenty-Four
One Week Later
Veronica and I were sitting at Novalicious, reading the latest issue of The Nova Weekday Public Opinion, Nova’s daily newspaper. There were two main headlines on the cover:
Kidnapping? Bribery? Mayor Masters Arrested
and,
Dual Powers? Cuspers Revealed in Nova
It was quite the scandal. Mayor Masters had been arrested for kidnapping, Mr. Fluxnut was being held as an accomplice, and the Nova City authorities were also questioning a few guards. But before she was arrested, Mayor Masters leaked the cusper information to the press. I was actually kind of glad that secret was out.
“So, why couldn’t you just tell me y
ou had two powers?” Veronica asked, taking a lick of her cone and then sliding the newspaper across the table. “I wouldn’t have been mad.”
I used my Monday power to throw the napkin in the trash. “Well, when the mayor tells you not to do something, you kind of have to listen.” I looked her in the eyes. “But I felt terrible about it the whole time, Veronica. I wanted to tell you so badly. But I’m still not even sure what it all means.” I confessed this to her, only to be lying right to her face yet again. Could I ever tell her that nobody in Nova was born a true weekday? That Veronica’s own Monday power was given to her when she was born? That our entire town of Nova, our entire existence, was a farce—some crazy, wacky, giant science experiment that not even my dad would explain to me?
There was so much more I wanted to know, but I didn’t know who could tell me. Why Nova? How did they even get the powers? And what was in those serums? And why exactly did I have two powers?
“Hey, girls!” I heard Ellie’s voice and turned around to see her waltzing through Novalicious. Her bright pink jacket swished with each step she took. “Can you believe that about Mayor Masters and poor Mark?” she asked, plopping her giant pink purse in the middle of the table.
“It’s crazy,” Veronica said, actually looking at Ellie when she spoke. Veronica and I had had a heart-to-heart right after I got back from Power Academy, and she promised to try harder with Ellie. I promised to do the same, but with her. I realized that I maybe wasn’t giving Veronica the attention I should give my bff—I had gotten a little too excited to have a new friend in Ellie.
“I’m still bummed about A Midsummer Night’s Dream, though,” Ellie said, pulling the playbill that was going to be handed out at the final performance from her bag.
“But what about the play?” Ellie had asked Larriby right before we were sent home, as if that was the most important thing to think about at the time. Not that we’d just uncovered the biggest secret in the town of Nova, or anything.
“That was a distraction Mayor Masters set for you all. But obviously it wasn’t distracting enough,” Larriby had said with a smile. “Ellie, there will be plenty of other acting opportunities for you at Nova Middle.” I knew that was the truth.
“Anyway,” Ellie said, looking toward the ice cream counter. She flicked her wrist, and the chocolate syrup floated through the air and landed on our table. “At least I can do that now,” she said with a smirk. “Without getting weird looks.”
Both Veronica and I rolled our eyes. Typical Ellie, Veronica thought to me.
“Hey, I heard that,” Ellie said, through a smile. “Remember, I still read minds.”
“Great, two mind-reading friends.”
Friends.
Buzz. I pulled my purple rhinestone cellphone from my pocket to see that I had one message from Logan.
Logan: Meet me in ten at Nova El.
I couldn’t hide the smirk. “Girls, I gotta go.”
“Looooh-gan,” they said in unison, making kissy faces at me.
“Um … no,” I said, rolling my eyes at them.
When I got to the playground at Nova Elementary, Logan was nowhere to be found. It would be just like him to scare the heck out of me by popping up in the middle of nowh—
“Ahhhh!” I screamed, as Logan appeared next to me. “Do you always have to do that?”
Logan smiled that adorable crooked smile that I like so much. A piece of hair covered his eye, so I lifted my hand and brushed it out of the way. Why use my power when I could just use my hand?
“I have to show you something,” he said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me to the metal bus jungle gym that I used to play on in third grade.
“Um, okay …” I said, confused. “It’s a bus.”
“I just don’t want anyone to see,” he whispered. “Come on.”
He ducked inside the yellow structure and I followed behind.
“Okay, hold my hands tight, like really tight.”
I did as he said. I hoped he didn’t notice the nervous clamminess sticking to my fingers.
He took a deep breath. “Now close your eyes.”
I shut them tight.
I wasn’t one hundred percent sure what would happen next, but I thought that I had a pretty good idea. I mean, we both definitely liked each other; I just didn’t think my first kiss would be in an old, metal, rusted-up bus.
Then he started counting. With each number he squeezed my hands tighter and tighter.
“One. Two.” His face was super close to mine on that final count. “Three.”
And nothing happened. No kiss on the cheek. No kiss on my face at all.
“Okay,” he whispered in my ear. “Now open your eyes.”
My jaw practically dropped to the ground. “Oh my gosh.”
I looked around the familiar setting. We no longer sat in a pretend school bus. The entrance steps to Power Academy felt hard under my butt—steps that were on the other side of town.
“Did we just … ” I couldn’t finish the thought. But I knew it was real.
I had just teleported with Logan. I didn’t know why or how. But this was pretty much the most fantabulous thing ever.
Acknowledgements
A HUGE thank you to the fans and readers of Poppy Mayberry. Your emails, letters, pictures, and overall excitement over Poppy is exactly why I wrote her story. Thank you for reading and loving Poppy, Pickle, and friends!
Thank you to my parents who always support and encourage me to do what I love. Thanks to my family, friends, colleagues, and students for so enthusiastically supporting me and my writing.
I am forever grateful to my editor Tara Creel and her amazing support and guidance while writing Poppy. Tara – you are a rock star editor. Thanks to my Poppy series agent, Bill Contardi and all the agents at Brandt & Hochman. And a huge thank you to Georgia McBride for making my publishing dreams come true.
A huge shout out for the amazing group of YA and MG authors in the Sweet Sixteens debut group who continue to encourage one another. To my Sixteen to Read sisters – your support through this wonderful, yet roller coaster of a publishing experience is so important to me. I love you girls!
Finally, again, a special thank you to my husband. Even though you make fun of my “teeny-bopper” TV viewing habits and my ramblings about crazy middle-grade ideas, I could not successfully juggle a full-time teaching job and a writing career without the support of you and our amazing son, Bennett. So to both of you – thank you for holding down the fort while I have my “write time” during many evenings and weekends. I love you both to the moon!
Jennie K. Brown
Jennie K. Brown is an award-winning high school English teacher, freelance magazine writer, and author of children’s books. She currently serves as past-president of the Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts (PCTELA) and is an active member of SCBWI, NCTE, and ALAN. When she’s not teaching or writing, Jennie can be found reading, hanging out with her awesome family, or plotting her next book. Learn more about Jennie at jenniekbrown.com!
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
; Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Acknowledgements
About the Author
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Poppy Mayberry, Return to Power Academy Page 11
