“That’s enough,” Ross declared. “Please retrieve your shoe, Otto.”
Charlie pulled herself up from the floor while Otto fixed his shoes. “Well done, Charlie,” Otto said.
“Thanks.” She smiled at him before making her way up the stairs. In the mezzanine, Jian and Julian congratulated her as she entered. Charlie felt a new light shining in her heart, a new hope.
When Instructor Ross came in, he announced the scores. Charlie was thrilled to come out on top, and she had Otto to thank for. The students were released late that afternoon, but Charlie stayed behind to check on her sprained ankle. The skin was still bruised, but the pain had subsided. She heard footsteps ascending the stairs. Otto appeared. “Hey, what are you still doing here?”
“Just checking.” Charlie said, putting the wrap back around her foot. Otto sat and lifted her leg up. He rested her leg on his lap and examined her ankle more closely. “Hey, what are you doing?” protested Charlie.
“You told me your injury was fine and you still fought me even when your ankle looks like this. For all I know, I might have made it worse,” said Otto.
“But you didn’t. It’s kinda healing already,” assured Charlie, but Otto continued bandaging her foot. She smiled at him, “By the way, thanks. I couldn’t have done that without you.”
“Well, of course you couldn’t. Otherwise, you would just be fighting an imaginary opponent,” Otto joked.
“Like what Jian did to you?” she snickered.
“For your information, he made me fight a dragon! And it was huge!” Otto exclaimed.
“Oh, and so you were punching a dragon?” Charlie asked. He finished wrapping the bandage and slowly placed her foot back on the ground.
“I had no weapon. What do you want me to do?” He defended himself.
Charlie laughed while lacing her shoe. “Come on, let’s go grab some dinner,” she said, but Otto pretended to ignore her. “What, you’re giving me the cold shoulder?” Charlie asked, and as soon as she said it, snow started to form on Otto’s shoulder. “Now that’s just lame!” Charlie swept the snow off, laughing loudly.
“You had it coming.” He laughed with her, watching her.
“Come on, stop fooling around and help the girl up. We have to get dinner,” Charlie said.
Otto kneeled with his back to her. “Giddy-yup, princess.”
Charlie laughed again. “As if I’d let you carry me all the way there!” She smacked him on the back and pulled herself up.
The two headed to the cafeteria, joking and laughing as they did. Eventually, the topic gravitated to the training. “Honestly though, Charlie, you need to learn how to use your powers creatively. Strength isn’t the only key to winning over an opponent. You need to strategize and find ways to stay on top of your opponent. And you have to learn that every opponent has a weakness. There’s always a chink in the armor,” he advised.
“Really? What’s your Achilles heel?” Charlie asked.
Otto waved the question off, “Come on, like I’d make it too easy for you.”
“Alright, what’s Bradley’s?” Charlie asked him and his face lit up.
“That’s easy. If you haven’t noticed, Bradley has a temper. Get him angry, and he’ll charge at you like a blind bull.”
“A blind bull can still knock the wind out of you,” Charlie pointed out.
“But they’re easier to evade,” Otto added, and Charlie agreed.
The two reached the cafeteria and headed to the serving counter together with wide smiles. “Wanna sit with us today?” Charlie offered and Otto agreed with enthusiasm.
On their way to meet Hilary, Charlie caught a glimpse of Madison, who dagger looks their way. Her eyes glared in anger and envy, something Charlie was already getting used to.
“So, I see we have a new member of the lonely circle.” Hilary greeted them when they reached the table. Otto laughed at her remark, but Charlie saw the teasing look Hilary gave her.
“Congratulations on defeating this guy, by the way,” Hilary said to Charlie.
“Wow, word does travel fast.” Otto said, grinning.
“Yes, now everyone in this school knows you got owned by a girl,” Charlie joked, earning a laugh from him.
“Look at you feeling all smug.” Bradley’s voice suddenly cut their conversation. “So fortunate for you to be paired against this pretty boy this time around, eh?” Bradley had his hands on the back of Charlie’s chair. His weight countered Charlie’s so that her chair angled at a point her feet lifted off the floor.
“Oh, Bradley. Get bored with your life again? Trying to disturb others?” Otto smiled at Bradley, but his eyes were challenging the larger fellow.
“Well, I’m stuck with sniveling kids like you, so it gets really boring.”
“Then you should just get out of here, Bradley,” Charlie said.
“Oh, just because you scored well today, you think you can handle me now?” Bradley laughed with sarcasm. She abruptly rose from her seat, causing Bradley, whose weight was still her chair, to fall on his butt. Laughter rang all over the cafeteria but ceased the moment Bradley looked up.
He made a move to grab Charlie but she used her powers to direct his hand away from her. “Oh, so you think you can beat me now, huh?” Bradley said, making another grab at her. Otto blasted him with ice from behind. Bradley balled his fists and swung his arm towards Otto when Charlie stopped his fist in mid swing.
"I'll take care of him, Otto. Don't worry. It's just another sparring round," Charlie told Otto, who gave her an incredulous look, but the determination on her eyes made him step away.
Bradley's laugh boomed inside the cafeteria. "Alright, little Charlie. If you think one win can make you defeat the king, then let’s see."
"You mean defeat 'King Kong’?" Charlie said, earning a few snickers from the audience.
Bradley's face turned red. He grabbed a chair to smash over Charlie, but she willed it to stop. His strength overpowered hers, but the effect was enough to slow him, giving Charlie a chance to evade. She sidestepped and willed Bradley’s shirt to cover his face. Like a mad dog, Bradley growled as he pulled the shirt back down.
"I'm going to kill you!" he shouted, sending his fist towards Charlie. Charlie narrowly dodged it, but she stumbled on her own feet, slamming to the floor on her back. She barely caught Bradley’s fist before it smashed her face; she rolled on the rug, clambering back to her feet.
She waved her hands, creating a force that bent Bradley's knees forward. Bradley fell on all fours, but was quick to regain his footing. He lifted his foot and moved to kick Charlie's stomach. Charlie created a force to stop his kick, but the force still pushed her a few feet away and into the wall. Bradley stormed towards her like the bull Otto mentioned. She remained planted against the wall until Bradley was only a few strides away from her. She quickly jumped out of the way, causing Bradley to crash, face first, into the wall.
Bradley had to support himself with one hand on the wall while the world spun around him. His eyes darted across the room in search of the perpetrator who was laughing among the crowd. His nostrils flared, his eyes burned with rage. When the world steadied enough for him to stand on his own, he found Charlie and pointed at her accusingly, "You little bitch!"
A hand on his arm stopped Bradley. He turned to see Otto with a serious look on his face. "Come on, dude. Stop it. You're not gonna keep trying to hit a girl, are you?"
Bradley yanked his arm off and grabbed Otto by the collar. "How about I hit you instead, Pretty Boy?"
"If it makes you feel better." Otto smiled at him, which infuriated Bradley even further. Bradley raised his fist but an invisible force stopped him. He saw Charlie using her powers against him again. With a stronger force, she pushed him back against the wall. Ice crystals began to form around Bradley's fists, gluing them to the wall. But with his strength, he quickly shattered them and charged towards Otto and Hilary who stood protectively in front of Charlie.
"What is this me
ss?" A voice shouted from across the room. Every student turned to see Amanda standing by the cafeteria entrance. Like Moses parting the sea, the students filed into two lines to let Amanda through the center of the scene to Bradley, Otto, Hilary and Charlie. The students stood with eyes on the ground. "Anyone care to explain?"
Otto offered an explanation. "Bradley was trying to start a fight with Charlie, and she was brave enough to make him stop."
"Bradley." Amanda called him and he looked up. "After what you did yesterday, here you are again? Am I going to expect more problems out of you?"
"No, ma'am," Bradley obediently answered quietly, not looking at her. His shaking body showed the anger he barely suppressed.
"Good," Amanda said. "Clean up this mess now. Charlie, follow me to my office." All said, she walked away.
With the spotlight on her, Charlie’s feet felt heavy as she followed Amanda, her brows pulled together in confusion. She saw Bradley smile triumphantly at her despite his condition moments ago.
"Finally, they're getting rid of you," he jeered.
Along the way, she caught the sympathetic look of Hilary and the encouraging one of Otto. Near the exit, Madison cooed, "Your 15-minutes of fame is over, Charlie. Goodbye and good riddance."
Charlie refused to believe what they said, though the thought made her nervous. Her moment of victory quickly vanished at the prospect of being expelled and losing her chance to meet Jeanne just because she couldn't handle Bradley’s attitude anymore.
The walk to the headmaster's office was as quiet as it was awkward. Charlie made sure she was only three steps away from Amanda as they reached the top floor of the main building. Amanda opened the door, allowing Charlie to enter first. Like most of the rooms at the institute, the headmaster's office had floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a panoramic view of the forest. It had a sleek modern design. A couch faced the headmaster's desk. A mahogany coffee table sat at the center of an area rug. Amanda motioned Charlie to sit on the couch. She complied meekly.
Circling her desk, Amanda pulled out a piece of laminated paper from her notebook and sat beside Charlie. The assumption she was in trouble faded when Amanda smiled at her. "Charlie, I want to show you this."
She handed the girl the laminate. It was an older photo of a woman approximately in her twenties. Charlie studied the photo, her heart pounding as the woman’s image began to register. From the shade of hair to the shape of her eyes and the curve of her lips, the woman in the photo looked like Charlie. Charlie's jaw dropped. She was staring at her future image! It was undeniable that the woman bore a striking resemblance to her, and to her sister. She lifted her eyes to meet Amanda's, who gave her a knowing smile.
"Who is she?" Charlie asked.
Amanda moved closer to Charlie, taking another look at the photo. "This is Catherine Richards. She was an old friend of mine. We used to work together. I always thought you and Jeanne looked like her. But when I approached Jeanne about Catherine before, she was indifferent and said she wasn’t interested. I was unsure if you would react like Jeanne, but now I see you’re quite interested."
"Catherine." Charlie repeated the name. Her hand moved to the locket around her neck. Catherine and Cate.
Charlie thought out loud, "Where is she now?"
Amanda's smile faded. "You see, Charlie. Catherine wasn't just an old friend. She was a geneticist like me and she helped build this institute. But she disappeared before the school opened and I never saw her again. I tried to track her down for Jeanne last year, but I found out she was already dead."
Something inside Charlie shattered in a million pieces. Her adoptive parents had already told her about the car crash from which they had pulled her, but listening to Amanda’s story about Catherine brought hope that maybe her mother hadn’t been in that car and was still alive somewhere. That hope was now dashed. "Did she die in a car accident?” Charlie asked softly.
“Yes, how--?”
“My parents, er, my adoptive parents said they found me in a car that had crashed along Pilgrim’s Highway,” relayed Charlie. “They pulled me out but couldn’t get to the other passengers.”
“Oh, Charlie.” Amanda reached for the hand that wasn’t holding the photograph. “You really are her daughter, aren’t you? I can see her in you, the young Catherine who was my friend. I have a feeling it was fate that brought the two of you to the institute, the one Catherine helped build.”
"Thank you for letting me know, Ms. Pitt," a grateful Charlie uttered, looking down at the picture.
Amanda replied, "You’re welcome. You can keep the photo if you wish."
Charlie nodded, slowly stood and walked towards the door. She stopped by the threshold to say, "I really appreciate the information, ma’am." Amanda nodded.
The training and her victory against Bradley seemed an event from ten years ago as Charlie stared at the woman in the photo. Catherine’s face was Charlie’s concern, for now at least. Her eyes looked kind, her smile was warm. She wondered what Catherine was like.
Was she as kind as her eyes hinted? What were her dreams? What did her voice sound like?
Tears welled up in Charlie's eyes. She was almost certain that Catherine Richards was her mother, and looking at her photo caused Charlie's chest to ache. More than likely, Amanda was right, it was fate that brought the separated daughters to the place their mother helped build. And it was fate working to reunite her daughters. When Charlie fell asleep that night, her dream was of a woman humming "Amazing Grace" to her.
CHAPTER 10: Misleading Gut
Exhausted and weary, Hilary dragged her feet to Charlie’s room. Her steps were heavy and the moment she entered, Charlie knew something was wrong.
“Hey, what’s up?” Charlie asked, looking up from her studying.
Hilary answered by slumping down her bed and burying her face in Charlie’s pillow.
I know the feeling all too well: down to my last ounce of energy and fading resolve to live through the day. Sometimes all a girl needs is a hug, so Charlie wrapped her arms around Hilary. A gentle squeeze let Charlie know the hug was well-received.
In a muffled voice, Hilary explained why she was down. “I’m assigned to another field mission with Bradley, Madison and Kio. I’m so tired of them.” Then in an almost inaudible voice, she whispered, “I’m so tired of this.”
Doing something you no longer liked doing was excruciating, and Charlie knew that from experience. As a kid she’d loved dancing and Sarah took every available opportunity to enroll her in different dance classes. Hip hop, ballet, even aerobics, Charlie loved it. After years of doing it, Charlie woke up with an aching disgust for dance, leaving her mother devastated. As much as Charlie loved her mother, sometimes she thought Sarah tried too hard.
The mother and daughter dialogue still reverberated in her ear. “Not everything has to be perfect, Mom.” Sarah would shake her head, “We at least have to try, sweetheart. We have to.”
“Charlie?” Hilary’s small voice knocked her back to reality. “Are you alright?”
Charlie nodded. “Sorry. I just remembered something.”
“Do you want to share?”
“Nah. You’re the one who needs to rant. You don’t want to do missions anymore?”
Hilary straightened up and drummed her fingers on her legs, just like she did when they first met. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve never felt this way before. I’m usually so excited when assigned to a mission. I don’t know what’s changed.”
“Maybe you’re just really tired. The past few days have been … intense,” Charlie said, remembering the encounter with Bradley.
“Maybe,” but the faraway look on Hilary’s face was proof it was something more, something she couldn’t quite say. Hilary had moved to the window and was looking out. Charlie joined her, putting her arm through her friend’s. They stood like that for a few minutes, enjoying the scenery and serene company.
The tender moment was interrupted by Amanda’s voice on the
speakers.
“Good day, students. The ANDREI Staff is happy to announce that tomorrow, the 7th of October, will be a free day for the students. Use your time wisely and feel free to use the school facilities, particularly the training rooms. Thank you and have a good day.”
The announcement should have brought joy. Hilary sighed. “You’re lucky you can sleep in tomorrow. Me? I have to go and protect the spoiled son of some Head of State again. And you know where that got me before.”
Charlie patted Hilary’s back. “It’ll be over in a jiffy. You can hang out in my room after the mission. I’m sure Brianna won’t mind.”
“Like she isn’t minding now?” Hilary replied, head turned towards the door where Brianna stood with her arms crossed.
“I do not appreciate you inviting visitors over without my permission,” Brianna squeaked. She had such a tiny, Minnie Mouse voice Charlie constantly had to remind herself not to laugh.
“Oh, hi Brianna,” Charlie greeted. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think-“
“Yes, you didn’t think.”
Charlie didn’t like how Brianna was acting but she was the new student so she backed down and apologized. “I’m sorry, Brianna. It won’t happen again.”
And then suddenly, like a switch being turned, Brianna broke out in a smile. “Okay!” She said in a cheery voice. “Hi, Hilary!”
The two baffled girls watched as Brianna grabbed her books and skipped out the hallway.
“Au revoir!” She shouted from outside. “See you later!”
The Unlocked (Charlie Hartley Series Book 1) Page 13
