“Well, hurry up, we’re almost ready. We couldn’t stand waiting any longer, I’m starving,” Aiko said.
When they got to the cafeteria, the lunch rush had apparently already passed, as it was nearly empty. They made their way up to Tom, who was standing in front of trays full of delicious-looking roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and fresh peas.
“How you girls doing?” he asked jovially. “Max and Rebecca, I was really impressed by your ball-ey things at the exhibition.”
“We’re feeling awesome,” Max said. “I think I can still make big improvements on the construction of those and Rebecca had an idea for something that would work against electricity that she wants to try out with Miguel. We’re gonna go to the lab after lunch and put a few hours in.” Rebecca nodded eagerly as Max spoke.
“I’m still trying to figure out if it’s better to go with a strong conductor or some kind of dampening field,” Rebecca said, scratching her chin, deep in thought. Izzy laughed at the contrast between the shyness the younger girl had initially shown towards Tom and her enthusiasm now.
“Incredible,” Tom said as he served Izzy a piece of chicken. “I’m looking forward to seeing what else you two will come up with.”
Tom served the rest of the girls their chicken and they made their way over to the lunch table. Miguel was waiting with a now-empty plate and Ashley took a spot beside him.
Molly walked in shortly after they started to eat. “Hey, girls, I’ll be over in a sec. I could smell that chicken when I was working out and it was all I could think about!”
“She can smell that far?” Aiko asked incredulously as Molly scurried away toward the food. The gym was a good three-minute walk from the cafeteria.
“Yea, she’s our sniffing expert,” Rebecca said with a laugh. “She could make good money digging for truffles someday.”
Aiko laughed and went back to munching on her chicken.
“Are you gonna be free to come down to the lab with us tomorrow after class, Miguel?” Max asked. “We are gonna be working on a few prototypes for that device we talked about.”
“Sure, I already talked to Ashley about it,” Miguel said, pulling Ashley closer.
“Delicious!” Molly said through a mouthful of food as she sat down.
“We can always rely on Tom,” Ashley agreed.
When they finished their meal, the group headed to the auditorium and hung out for about an hour, waiting for the movie to begin. Izzy took the end seat and stopped paying attention to her friends’ conversation as her mind shot back to the situation with Jessica.
Operation: Forget About It All had been an abject failure, thus far. It made her want to puke but she was still actually worried about how the poor girl was doing. If she could just get access to a phone to talk to Sam about the whole thing, she’d feel better. Who knew? Maybe Jessica was already back home now? After Izzy’s talk with the Dean, she’d gone back to her room and checked the postmark to find that it had been sent six days ago…
Still, she’d be much more settled if she didn’t feel so in the dark. She briefly considered asking Professor Baxter to use his phone, but she doubted that he even would, since it was forbidden. And she’d already gotten a warning for sneaking out. She’d be risking punishment or even expulsion if she decided to slip into one of the teachers’ offices and use their phone.
“I love comedies,” Rebecca said from Izzy’s side, breaking her concentration. “It’s gonna feel so good to just shut my mind off for a bit after these past few weeks.”
“Same, except mine hasn’t been working quite as hard,” Molly said, laughing. “I’m just happy to get a day to rest my arm after pulling that bowstring back so many times. I hope Trent gets here before it starts. He was still at the gym when I left to come and eat.”
“I think having Jake around makes us all push it that much harder,” Rebecca said.
“Of course, you’d think that, Bex,” Aiko said, laughing at their friend’s red face.
The movie took Izzy’s mind off of the crazy situation with Jessica and the almost-way her conversation had ended with Jake. By the time the film credits were rolling, the tension knotting her muscles had finally unfurled some.
The group headed over to their dorm, seeing Professor Sloane walking down the hallway with a man Izzy didn’t recognize. He was dressed in a sharp-looking charcoal suit and he and Sloane were walking towards one of the exits.
“Hey, Professor,” Aiko said with a wave, “what are we doing in class tomorrow?”
“It’ll just be back to how it was before training for the exhibition. Blowing stuff up and causing mayhem, as usual,” he said with a quick grin over his shoulder without slowing.
“Wonder who that guy is with him, he looked real official,” Molly said. “Anyone seen him before?”
The group shook their heads in unison as Sloane held the door open and led the gentleman out of the school.
“Probably someone from the government or somewhere? With so many of us on scholarship, the school’s gotta get its funding from somewhere,” Izzy said. In fact, now that she thought about it, she didn’t know a single person who had paid for their own tuition…
"Trent didn’t come to lunch or the movie. I’m worried he’s putting in too many hours. Like, what kind of weirdo skips a movie day to work out more?" Molly said.
"Yea, what a weirdo, probably trying to catch up to me after that beatdown I put on him a few weeks ago," Izzy said, jokingly flexing her muscles.
"I'm sure that's it," Molly said with a laugh.
They were walking past the cafeteria when Professor Baxter stepped out with a plate of food.
"Busted,” he said with a grin. “Tom is making enchiladas for dinner, and I figured I’d test them out for him since I missed lunch.”
The girls all chuckled and stopped to chat.
“You all enjoying your day off?" he asked. "I have some awesome stuff prepared for us this week. We're gonna stop the weapons training for now and move into focusing on intuition and sensory-type stuff. Your time to shine, Molly," he said, smiling pleasantly.
"Sweet, can't wait to stick it to Jake and Izzy, here," Molly said, grinning as she tapped her finger on her nose.
"We'll see. I've been practicing a lot," Izzy said with a chuckle.
Baxter smiled at them and turned to walk away, but a bell sound reverberated through the cafeteria, stopping him in his tracks.
It took a second for the sound to register, but when it did, Izzy’s heart gave a squeeze.
"Somebody tapped, I guess," Rebecca said, standing and leading the way over to the screen on the side of the cafeteria to see who. "Holy cow...it was Trent," Rebecca whispered, clearly in shock.
"Trent?" Aiko said. "I thought you guys were just saying how he was putting in extra hours to pass Izzy and Jake, but now he taps?"
The room seemed to dip and whirl as Izzy soaked in the shocking news. How was this even possible?
"Excuse me, students. I...I need to go find out what happened," Baxter said, looking as shell-shocked as Izzy felt. He strode out of the cafeteria with plate in hand.
“I was just in the gym with him. He was going to stay back and do a few more sets, but he seemed fine. He never said a word about tapping…” Molly said, tears brimming in her eyes.
He was big and strong, her, not so much, but the two had bonded and become what Izzy would have considered fast friends. That he made no mention of his tapping to Molly seemed more than a little strange.
"Some guys like to be macho on the outside, even when they’re struggling on the inside. Maybe he just felt like he accomplished what he needed to after that exhibition?” Ashley offered.
"He would never give up for no reason, something must've happened," Rebecca said. "Maybe there were issues with his family and he just found out or something? Did he seem off to you, Molly?"
"No, I am as surprised as you guys. He seemed fine to me when we were working out earlier. I can't believe he would leave without
saying anything to me, to be honest," she replied with a sniffle.
Izzy said nothing while her friends discussed the strange event. She couldn’t seem to find the words. Plus, she still hadn’t mentioned to any of them what the Dean had told her about Jessica. If it was true, that Jessica had a mental breakdown, it hardly seemed appropriate to gossip about it. But the fact that Jessica and Trent had both tapped out within a couple weeks of each other was weighing on her heavily. Jessica leaving made some sense, given her exhaustion in the days leading up to her leaving, but Trent? He was the most steadfast, determined person Izzy knew, and he’d been so enthusiastic at the exhibition. She could hardly imagine why he had chosen to leave.
Unless the choice hadn’t been his…
The tension creeped back up her neck and a ball of cold fear formed in her stomach.
"Let's head back to the dorm," Izzy said, leading the way before waiting for a response.
Once they’d reached their room, conversation about Trent continued as the others theorized what had made him go. A family emergency? Or maybe, like Ashley had said, some deep, hidden sadness or insecurity?
But Izzy couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. She barely listened as her friends chatted. Because now, she knew the truth, deep in her bones.
Jake's mysterious words, Jessica's mental breakdown, and Trent's abrupt decision to leave were all connected.
It was time for one more conversation with Jake. Only, this time, she wasn’t leaving until he told her everything he knew.
"Alright, we’re going to leave you guys for a while. Max and I are working on some new tech and we’re obsessed.” Rebecca turned her attention to Max. “Ready to head to the lab?" Rebecca said.
"Sure," Max said as she stood and got ready to go.
"Actually, can I join you for a bit?" Izzy asked suddenly, the germ of an idea beginning to form in her mind.
"Sure," Rebecca said, looking confused.
Izzy spent the walk to the lab figuring out how to frame her request in a way that wouldn't cause needless worry, get them into trouble or, worst case, put them in harm’s way.
"So, guys, if I asked a favor, but I couldn’t tell you why, would you trust me enough to do it for me? So long as I swear my intentions are good?" she asked.
"Uhh, sure," Max said after a moment’s pause. Rebecca nodded solemnly.
Izzy let out a relieved breath. "Okay. What I need is a small camera that I could hide somewhere that wouldn't be too conspicuous. Is that something you could make at the lab?"
"Trying to spy on Jake in the locker room?" Rebecca said, her serious face turning to a mischievous grin. "Consent is a serious topic, Izzy."
Izzy’s lips twitched into a grin. "I can promise it's not for that.”
"Okay, sure. We'll have it to you by the end of the night. We have access to cameras that are already made, it'll just be a matter of disguising it," Max said.
"Thanks, guys, sorry that I can't fill you in at the moment," Izzy said with an apologetic smile. She was lucky to have such reliable friends in this crazy place.
"No worries, I'm sure you have your reasons," Max said as she opened a nearby toolbox.
"I'll let you guys get to your work, then, thanks."
Rather than heading straight to her dorm, she veered off, anxious to get the conversation with Jake out of the way, first. She considered what she was going to say during the walk to the boys’ dorm, but she dreaded the apology that she'd inevitably have to give him, most of all.
She knocked on his door and a short boy that she recognized from the Elemental exhibition opened it. "Hey. What's up?"
"Is Jake here?" she asked.
"Jake, some girl's here to see you," he called over his shoulder.
She heard him roll out of bed and, a moment later, he was standing in the doorway, eyeing her warily. "What do you want, Izzy?"
"I have something important to talk to you about," she said, gesturing for him to come with her.
"Not here to scream at me?"
"Look, Jake, I'm sorry about that, I shouldn't have done that. You were being sort of a dick, though. And the whole arrow-splitting thing--" She broke off and held up a hand. “Not important right now. I’m over it. There are more serious matters at hand.”
He drew back but then inclined his head with a sigh as he followed her out of the room. "Fine. What’s up now?" he asked once they were in the hallway.
"Did you hear that Trent tapped?"
"Yea, it's a shame. He was a hardworking dude." His face was a mask of indifference, not giving away even a hint of emotion.
"He was. And a good person and teammate. That's what I'm here about. He was the last person I'd ever expect to tap.”
“Sometimes, you think you know someone…” Jake trailed off and suddenly seemed reluctant to meet her gaze.
“Stop.” She tried not to let the desperation leak into her voice. She needed to convince him through calm, clear logic, not emotion. “You and I both know there’s more to this, Jake. I also got a letter from home yesterday saying that Jessica hasn't returned home. Don’t you wonder why are all the best people leaving? Sure, Jessica wasn’t ranking well, as far as stats, but that’s only because her powers aren’t suited for the type of tests we’d been taking. She was strong, Jake. Really formidable, and she loved lording it over everyone. It just doesn't add up.”
She took a step closer and dipped low until his downturned eyes met with hers.
“You know more than you're letting on, and, unless you talk to me now, I’m going to take my concerns directly to your mother.” It was a bluff. She wasn’t sure the Dean wasn’t in on whatever was going on, but Jake didn’t have to know that. “So, I’m going to ask you one more time. What’s going on here, Jake? Why are our strongest classmates tapping without warning when no one else is around? And what the hell was that thing in the woods?"
He let out a muffled curse, grabbed her hand, and tugged her down the hallway, slowing as they reached a door. He shoved it open and pulled her inside before closing it with a snap.
It was only the sliver of light from beneath the doorway and her enhanced vision that allowed her to see they were in some sort of supply closet.
“You can’t be talking about any of that in public,” he whispered.
“No one was even around,” she countered, yanking her hand from his and rubbing at her tingling palm.
“They don’t need to be around, Izzy. A couple of the students at Nightgrove can hear a hundred yards away, and that’s with less than a semester’s worth of training. What do you think some of the professors can do?”
The heat poured off her cheeks and she nodded. She hadn’t been part of this magical world even two months ago, and she was still getting used to the idea that things were different here. “Point taken.”
“I'm telling you this against my better judgement and because, if you go poking around on your own, you're likely to be in a lot of danger. If there was any chance I thought you'd drop it--"
"I won't," she cut in.
"Of course you won't," he muttered with a groan. "So here's the situation. That thing outside the castle walls? It's a person, Izzy. Martin Phipps. An enhanced human being with powers like ours, except not just like me and you. He is also a bit of Aiko, and Ashley. Or, he was, at least."
"He’s an Enhancer, an Elemental, and a Matter Manipulator all in one person?" Izzy asked, brain churning as she tried to imagine such a thing.
"Yes. He was one of the first trial students here at the Academy six months before our class came in. My mother and a couple of the professors tried to work with him, help him control his powers, but something went terribly wrong. Once all his strengths began to grow and manifest, it happened so quickly, it literally cracked his mind. Something inside him shifted and he became more animal-like than human. Our team of doctors here was trying to help him, but he escaped in the middle of the night and, since then, he's been missing. There have been sightings of him nearby, bu
t in spite of his mental state, he's managed to elude capture. Until he's brought back, he's a danger to himself and others."
She tried to process all that information but she found herself reeling. "The day Molly fell, I heard a moaning in the infirmary...the doctor seemed annoyed when I mentioned it. When did he escape?"
"Before then. That's why my mother was so adamant about no one going outside," Jake said, his tone grim. "But what you heard in the infirmary confirms one of my other suspicions."
"Which is?" she asked, half-dreading his answer.
"He isn't the only one. There were seven trial students here. Maybe another of them struggled to adjust to their powers."
She swallowed hard and pursed her lips, trying not to think about the eerie, haunting sound of the moan she'd heard.
"And what does all of this have to do with Jessica and Trent?"
"I don’t know, yet,” Jake admitted, the frustration clear in his voice. “Maybe they were both breaking, as well, or on the brink."
“Jessica, maybe, but not Trent,” Izzy said. She’d never been more sure of anything in her life.
She let all this new information rattle around in her mind a bit, and was about to ask why the Dean or any of the professors had never mentioned any of this, but the answer came right on the heels of the question.
“They didn’t want to tell us about it because they were afraid it would send us all into a panic or make us quit,” she breathed. “Is that right? Is that why they haven’t warned us about the potential danger?”
“When I first found out about Martin Phipps, I asked my mother the same thing,” Jake replied. “Shouldn’t the students be told about the dangers of training and expanding their powers? She said that the mental breaks can happen whether a person is being trained or not. If a mind can’t handle the awakening of a dormant power, it will fight back and sometimes snap. She felt that the school was the safest place for us all to be if and when that happened. Imagine being at home and all of a sudden, powers like what you’ve seen here start to come to light? That would be terrifying.”
Nightgrove Academy Book One Page 14
