Ivy looks down at her paper and then at the clock. She was only on question five and knew she couldn't finish in time. She hated everything about math class. As far as she was concerned, mathematics wasn’t necessary in her families line of business. Her father didn’t do any math, he never had to. All he did was call the shots and wait for results. If that meant someone had to pull out a calculator, they pulled one out, it was all that simple.

“This is so stupid,” She says.”I don’t even remember learning this.”
“What number are you on, we have to leave this class soon.” Micah asks, leaning out of his seat.
“Five! I will never finish.”
“Calm down, don’t you remember what happened last time?” He takes her paper and starts writing in answers.
”What are you doing?” Ivy leans over and take her paper back. “I will be in a ton of trouble if I’m caught cheating. Again!”
“Well you will also be in trouble if you get another F on a test.”
“Your point?” Ivy looks at the paper, deciding whether or not to just rip the test in half.
“Don’t rip it test. You will get an F for sure, is it really worth it?” Micah says. Looking around for the teacher.
“One, you shouldn’t be talking during a test. Two, you shouldn’t be reading my mind, ever.” She says. Almost yelling.
Micah opens his mouth to say more but thinks against it. The teacher is now doing rounds of the room. She’s looking over the papers, whispering in kids’ ears. Probably helping them. She never helps Micah, at least not when she can help it. For some reason, she is scared of Micah’s father. He could decide whether or not she kept her job if she ever messed up. That didn’t mean she could choose who and who not to help. Micah is sure he will tell his father of this later. He doesn’t like having to go to his dad with problems, especially if someone could lose their job over it. He doesn’t like talking to his dad about anything.

His dad walks around the house, from study, to office, to library. Always walking. His expression is cold, showing no love. Micah’s mother left a long time ago, when Micah was four. Micah hates her for that. She couldn’t stand his father. Being a lawyer, he was able to work from home, be there for dinner, support them. What more could she really want? He can’t remember her, but he hates her. He hates her for leaving, for not taking him with her, just letting him rot in the small town he has to call home. Truth is, home has never felt like home to Micah. He just goes there for most meals and to sleep. Truth is, Ivy’s house feels more like home and people get killed there.

Ivy’s dad is behind all the organized crime in the small city of Dressel, North Dakota. He has been Micah’s father’s only case for many years but Mr.Williams, never gets any real proof. Of course, Micah knows most everything about what Ivy’s dad, Mr.Devon, does. But Micah knows better than to say anything about it. If Mr.Devon didn’t kill him, Ivy surely would.

Micah was worried about Ivy, he knew she was worried about having to take her fathers place. Normally it wouldn’t be the job of a girl. Traditionally, the head of the branch had a wife, and a son. No one really knows what happened to Ivy’s mom. Some say she just left, like Micah’s. Others think Mr. Devon killed her. Ivy thinks the latter, but Ivy always says she doesn’t care. “I am perfectly content with one parent,” She says, and then the subject in dropped. Ivy never seems to care about anything, at least not to Micah. Ivy does care about things though. She cares about her dad, she cares about her friends, and she cares about Micah. She just doesn’t care about anything, or anyone, she doesn’t have around her on a daily basis.

She no longer cares about Katy and Tony then. Micah thinks, knowing Ivy is thinking the same thing. That they are no longer a concern.

She is thinking about it, he know it. Just this past weekend. When they did things they shouldn’t have. Micah know she is thinking about that day. Whether she is happy or sad about it he can’t tell. He has always been able to hear any strong thoughts Ivy has, but he can never really sense her emotions, just topics. He hopes that now she just is thinking about her test. There is only one way to find out.

Micah turns his attention to Ivy. Focusing in on her thoughts and making them his own.

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This is terrible. What am I going to do? People are going to start to wonder what happened. The kids in gifted are going to find out. Between Harrold’s house, Tony, and Katy. They will connect the dots. How did this even happen. How did I even get into this situation?



There she is again. Bragging about something she’s made. Wow, just wow. I wonder if she ever gets tired of hearing herself talk. I tire of talking sometimes. There could be something wrong with her, so she doesn’t get tires of it. Maybe if people didn’t listen, she wouldn’t talk. I don’t see why Micah seems to like her so much. He can’t like her talking. Maybe he likes her talking.Maybe I should talk more. Maybe he would like it if I talked. I don’t talk much. I hardly talk at all. What would I talk about? I would talk about her talking. Tony likes her talking. Maybe he’s just used to her talking. I don’t like Tony. I don’t like his talking. I don’t like his mom’s talking. She talks like Katy.Maybe Tony gets his talking from her. His mom or Katy. They both talk to much.

Katy made something new. She says it can open portals. I don’t believe it. Straight out of a movie. A sci-fi. Sci-fi sucks. That channel can’t be making money. Maybe Katy will sell her “machine” as a prop. She could use the money. Tony could use the money. It opens portals to different dimensions. I must have missed the lesson on dimensions. The ones that co-exist with the religion in Katy’s mind. Is it possible to be religious and believe in portals? Aliens probably think she is crazy. Tony doesn’t think she is crazy. He thinks I am crazy. I think his mom is crazy. This school shouldn’t offer scholarships, that is what they get. My dad wouldn’t have let them offer scholarships if it were up to him. I don’t like scholarships for Tony. Ms.Oliver and Tony should move out of town. Katy would leave too. It is cold in gifted. Harrold is too warm. He staeals the warmth. Katy dropped her portal-thing. I hope it broke. Nope. Mrs.Johnson doesn’t know Katy makes things like that. I should tell her. I will call her church. Mrs.Johnson would be upset. Happy with me. Upset at Tony, for not being me.

I pick up my phone and give Harrold a gesture that says I am leaving the room. What is the number? I dial the number.

“Hello?” I don’t like Mrs.Johnson’s talking. So obnoxious.

“Mrs.Johnson, hey.” I try to match her squeaky voice. She likes people who talk like her. Mice make annoying sounds. Katy had mice. Too bad they burned in that fire. Their sounds were even worse then.

“Ivy!” She is always shocked about something. Katy seems shocked sometimes. Only with Tony. Only with Harrold. Only with me. The mice shocked her.”Aren’t you in school?” She always asked so many questions. Never smart ones. College does no good for some people. Scholarships do nothing.

“Yes. I am in gifted, with Katy. She made the coolest thing today. I wanted to let you know.” I almost laugh adding the next part. “Serious money could come from it.” Katy isn’t too poor. Just not rich. Just not me and Micah. She doesn’t fit in.

“Well,” confused much? Yes. Always confusion with her. Always. “What is it?”

“I am sure Katy will tell you.” Katy cannot lie. I feel bad for her. That is a first.

“Okay,” confusion again. I don’t like confusion from others. Especially not Mrs.Johnson.

“I have to go.” Katy wishes she could lie like this. I just hang up. She doesn’t deserve a goodbye.

I walk back to the gifted classroom.It seems like a long way back. Micah’s dad just sponsored some kid in a triathlon. Bike riding was never really my thing. Not fun. The classroom’s door seems too small. Some of the “gifted” kids are pretty big. Why did they even call us gifted. Yeah, there are some gifted things about us. With Tony’s so called super strength. Such a cliche power. Katy’s, “I can make anything” is pretty lame too. Being able to make anything just means you can become a mechanical engineer when you grow up. Nothing special. I bet I could make anything happen.

I walk up Micah. He doesn’t look good in blue. I see that he is staring at people again. He must be reading their minds. An incredibly rude power. Very cool. Very helpful. He turns to look at me. Blue eyes suite him. Not blue clothes.

“Is she still talking about that stupid portal thing?”

He laughs. I like that laugh. Not as annoying as Katy’s. “Yes. She thinks it actually works. It doesn’t, at least not yet.” He makes a face. One of those faces that says he doesn’t believe it will ever work. It won’t wont. I am sure of it. She is always the golden apple of the class. Even though half the stuff she comes up with is just nothing. This might be different, who knows.

“Not yet?” I didn’t like the idea that it might work. I made me feel like burning something.

“It needs an incredible amount of energy. Energy she doesn’t have. Can’t afford.” He laughs again. That reassures me. Maybe I could get him to steal it with me. Just in case.

“Tony will get it for her.” We both laugh now. I love making fun of them. They think I like them. Tony thinks I am too dark sometimes. Maybe I am. “He can rob a bank.” More laughter.

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When I get home, my cell phone has ten voice mails and 20 texts. From Katy, of course. Tony is in my living room. I wonder who let him in. He is calling me from a cell phone of his own. He has a phone? Since when? He is leaning against on of our end tables. I walk in and say hello. He jumps. Breaks the table. I will make sure to send Ms.Oliver a bill. Send her into shock. Maybe she will move away to avoid paying.

“Oh, hey, you scared me.” He is always saying I scare him. What a loser. Always scared of something.

“You are in my house.” This makes me angry. I swore he didn’t even know where I lived. I will have to make sure he forgets.

“Yeah. Your dad let me in. You know why I am here.” He is always making assumptions. I wonder if he ever just knows something or if he just acts as though he does. He is in my house. Politeness is kind of expected.

“Do I?” I figure I’ll just make him come out and say it. Frankly I don’t know why it is him and not Katy in my living room.

“Why did you tell Katy’s mom about her affinity?” He is getting closer to me. I don’t like this. I wish Micah was here. I should have asked him to come home with me. I should have told him what I did. Tony is such a waste of time. Always angry about something. “You know the rules. The parents aren’t supposed to know.”

“I didn’t tell Katy’s mom anything about any affinity. All I told her was that Katy made something super cool in school. Katy could have lied.” Ha! No she couldn’t have. She couldn’t lie if her life depended on it. One of these days, it might.

“Don’t play stupid! You know Katy doesn’t lie!” He is yelling at me. In my own home. I will have to make him leave now. Gosh! I can never have just a normal conversation with this guy.”She is better than you. She has morals-”

“Okay! You can stop now. I didn’t really do anything wrong. If it’s so wrong why is Katy not here herself. Why don’t you take a seat? I can get us something to drink and we can have a conversation like civilized people. I won’t let you sit here and yell at me in my own home.” It will be a miracle if I ever get Tony to act civilized. He just hangs out with his mom. Waiting tables at some IHOP. He probably wouldn’t know which fork to use if I gave him finger food.

“Katy is not here because her mom is at home yelli-” God I hated his talking. He just drones on about stuff that I could really care less about.

“See? This is something you can tell me over a drink.” I hurry out of the room. Looking back to make sure he sits down. He picks up the table and attempts to fix it. Failing, he breaks the glass. That is going to cost his mom quite a bit. She won’t be happy. I wonder if she ever if happy. I wouldn’t be happy if I were her. IHOP has to suck.

I get into the kitchen and ask Glenda to make some lemonade. I text Micah to come over. He only lives a few houses down and his dad lets him do whatever he wants so he shouldn’t take long getting here. I ask Glenda to put a lot of sugar in the lemonade. Tony hates things that are sweet. Maybe he will complain and I can ask if he would like to go to his own house for lemonade. He never lets anyone go to his house. Not even Katy. I know for a fact he lives on the edge of town. Right next to the bad part. I should be able to just google his house but that takes all the fun away. It’s really fun to make fun of Tony. Micah loves it too. Tony never gets the jokes, even though they are said straight to his face. Maybe I can ask if IHOP serves lemonade and ask if he would feel more comfortable going there. That would fun.

The doorbell rings. It is Micah, like I expected. His dad is with him. I don’t see his dad often. His dad is terribly cold. His eyes always blank, stony. He makes me want to burn things. Really burn things. Tony’s house could use burning. Even though I think I hate Mr.Williams it would be rude to be rude to him. My dad likes to be nice to him. Mr.Williams suspects him of horrible things. He is not wrong. Not right either. All his sources are dead so he really can’t prove anything. I smile at Mr.Williams when I see him. The smile doesn’t reach my eyes. It never reaches my eyes. He isn’t worth it. Not many people are.

“Well hello Mr.Williams. I didn’t expect you to come by with Micah. Please, come in.”

I shoot Micah a look of pure surprise. Why would he bring his dad with him? His dad hardly ever leaves the house. He definitely never comes here. Micah just looks at me. I should have told him so that he could make up a story to his father about how Katy was going crazy. Micah’s father would have believed it.He hates Mr and Mrs.Johnson. He thinks they are just poor. Middle class, and poor. Tony is poor, really poor. I don’t like thinking about it.

Mr.Williams walks in. looks at Tony, then at me, then at the broken table. He shakes his head and then continues. He grabs a glass of lemonade off the tray Glenda is holding and I nod that she can go. Glenda always looks so dumbstruck. She gets into an awkward situation and turns into a deer in headlights. Expressionless eyes. No thoughts in her mind. My father hires the weirdest people. Always paid very low but willing to do anything. They know who they are working for.

“What is this I hear about powers and affinities?” Mr.Williams thinks this is a waste of time. It is. He should have just stayed home. He has a good cook. Not better than Glenda but good. He could have saved his energy. Micah looks bored too. He grabs some lemonade and comes to stand next to me. I don’t really want to answer Mr.William’s question. He could never get out of the court room. When I was in court with him once it was terrible. He was always implying something. Tony was always assuming something. They are similar. That is the only way.

Tony decides he can talk when not addressed. What is wrong with him? “Ivy here thought it would be a good idea to tell Katy’s mom that Katy has an affinity for building things! She gave us all away.” Tony was yelling at Mr.Williams. Not smart. In court, I yelled and he said I was getting defensive and that my father must have been guilty. I have been to court six times. Same thing. Same Mr.Williams. Micah was always there. I always talked to him. Court was boring. Mr.Williams was boring. Micah didn’t have to eat dinner with him if he didn’t want to. That must be why he isn’t boring.

“Why are you yelling?” I like this side of Mr.Williams. He hates Tony, I hate Tony. Everyone at school hates Tony accept Katy and the other kids in gifted. They think he is cool. With his cliche power. Whatever. “Why are you talking? Are you Ivy? Why are you here? I know this isn’t your house.” Tony looks angry. I hope he is. He deserves to be angry sometimes.

“Katy asked me to come by and talk to Ivy about why she would sell us all out.”

I can’t stand his voice. If he wasn’t complaining it might be less annoying. But he is complaining. He broke our corner table. He doesn’t need to be here. “I honestly thought Katy had told her mom. I am sorry. Tell her that. I know Katy doesn’t lie. I thought she told her mom about all the stuff she made. Tell her I will call her.” He isn’t moving. Why is he not moving? Of course he isn’t moving. He thinks he doesn’t have to leave. He does. “Leave.” He doesn’t need anymore pushing. He leaves.

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Mr.Williams leaves and is pretty happy about everything now. Micah leaves too but is coming back. My dad doesn’t come and talk to me. He is making calls. I go to my room and pack a bag. I have to leave now if I expect to get to Harrold’s house by ten. Micah comes back and has packed quit a bit. He thinks we have to look the part. Tony and Katy would expect us to pack a lot. They will only pack a little bit. Trying to seem street smart. That is that only kind of smart they can be. Tony was in a gang before him and his mom moved to town. He refuses to talk about it. He stole cars. That could be helpful. I don’t feel like letting them know that I know how to hot wire a car. Katy will just tell her mom. I stole a Bentley from a guy in New York. He was pretty surprised when it turned up in the river.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were planning this?” Micah is laying out on my bed. Playing on his phone. I can’t answer. I don’t know what to say. I should have told him. He would have agreed. I know it. I don’t know why I didn’t say anything.

My dad was supposed to have someone drive us to Harrold’s. Harrold still lives in the house he grew up in. He left it but came back for some reason. His mom died in the house and he came back. Micah scanned his thoughts twice when he first started teaching us. It took several days. I was really cool to get to go through everything he knew. Half the stuff he has done is illegal. Mr.Williams was told to work on his case but refused. He said my dad’s was more important.

Micah starts to sit up on the bed.”We should get going. We still have to convince Katy and Tony of our plans.” Micah talking was easy to listen to. It wasn’t too high pitched, or too deep. It was simple. I wish my talking sounded like that. I wish everyone has talking like that. I wish Katy’s talking was as melancholy as Micah’s. Then I could listen to her. I like that word. Melancholy. I like melons. Watermelons especially. They are red, my almost favorite color. Micah’s favorite color was green. I will have to get him something green. His birthday is next month. I need to think of green stuff. Micah should wear more green. Less blue. His blue is getting closer to me.

I should answer him. What did he ask. He said something about Tony and Katy. How will I answer? An insult maybe. Maybe he will repeat himself. Micah never repeats himself. Not even for me. He does most things for me. He said we need to leave soon.

“Yes. We should leave. Tony and Katy will be easy to convince of this. They don’t think too much about anything when someone offers a solution.” I am not sure if my logic is right. They do think sometimes. When they are not talking. They have small thoughts. I should go get them now. They will not accept a good idea if it takes to long to get to them. Grapefruit. Tony wouldn’t lie to the police about the stupid grapefruit. All he had to say was that he was convinced they were free samples, but no.

“Okay.” He is looking at me weird. Like he is thinking. Or listening to me think. I love that gift. Just not when it is used on me.

We head out of my room. My room is kind of big. Too big. Bigger than the other rooms. Not my dad’s. His room was big. Very big. And blue. My dad likes blue. The room seems to blur together with the curtains and the way my dad moves around them. He seems to float around. Never paying attention to anyone else. I liked that about him. He elevates himself to a higher standard. No one ever gets to call him by his first name. Only his last. Out of respect. Out of fear. They know most everything he does, he does it with the up-most conviction. If anyone ever screws up. There are consequences. They all know this. I know this. I never really screw up though. I get in trouble. I get in a lot of trouble but I never have real problems. My dad solves everything for me. Summer camp. My dad walked in. Had a talk with a few of the counselors. They never complained about me not swimming again. He even fixed the foyer that time there was a huge fight off the banister. After that, I knew he could fix anything. That nothing would ever be a problem. The hall looks amazing now. I step onto the stairs that lead to the front door. I love seeing people walk through that door. I hate seeing them leave. It is always terrible when a party ends.

Micah trips on the last step. He always trips on that last step. He laughs at the car. His laugh is just like he talking. At just the right interval. I am having Chip drive us. I don’t know Chip’s real name. I have never asked. He answers to everything. I hope it doesn’t offend him that I call him Chip. Even if it did, what could he really do about it? I like Chip though. I will have to make a point of asking him his name one of these days. Micah can’t be laughing at Chip. Micah sees Chip all the time and says nothing. Maybe he is laughing at the fact that Chip is driving us when we are supposed to be running away.That must be it. He thinks it funny to have a driver when no one is supposed to know where you are going. Tony and Katy will think nothing of it I hope. They will ask. I will tell them Chip ran away when he was young and wanted to help us for fill our dreams as he did his. I think they will like that. Katy and Tony can’t spot lies. Not even bad ones.

“A chauffeur? I thought we were running away. Not going to a party.” He laughs again. He is right. But I don’t know where Tony lives and Katy doesn’t exactly live close.Tony and Katy should understand. They better understand. If it takes too long to persuade them of our motives, we will have to leave without them.

“They don’t live close.” I’ll leave it at that. Micah gets it. He really isn’t used to walking anywhere either.

“Works for me.” He climbs in the car. The car is black. Not black like Tony’s eyes, or black like a painting. Just black. Black like something that isn’t really there. A void in space. Where nothing exists. I wish I could live in this nothing. Nothing would touch me. Annoy me. I could be in it for my whole life. Just me. Maybe I would like Micah there. And Chip. I would use the time to learn his name. His story. I would want my dad there too. He would teach me everything there is to know about being him. I will love taking his place. Riding in this black car. With Chip. Never speaking but always aware of the others presence.

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We get to Katy’s house first. Her mom opens the door but doesn’t seem to want to. I think it is kind of rude for her to be reluctant opening the door. I did in fact give her the biggest surprise of her life. A thank-you would be nice. I know she doesn’t know me well. I wonder what Tony and Katy have told her. Katy probably said nothing bad about me at all. In spite of things she still tries to be the nicest person in the world. She fails. A true nice person would do good things for others. Not just hold from doing anything bad. I am trying not to let my hate for her show on my face. I know I am failing. Mrs.Johnson is looking at me like she is wondering what is going through my mind. I don’t like this. If she knew what I thought, she would close her front door. But she doesn’t know. She doesn’t know anything about me.Or about her own daughter for that matter. Until I spoke up. She should be happy. She isn’t . Her eyes are bright and puffy. She has been crying. I am kind of glad for this. She is always happy. Bubbly. Annoying. She deserves to have a serious moment. I wish every single one of her moments was like this.

She is taking too long to speak. I don’t have time for this.”Can I see Katy? She asked me to come by.” I don’t wait for a response. I grab Micah’s hand and push past Mrs.Johnson.Katy’s father is in the living room. He is laid out over the better half of their beige three-cushion couch. I like the couch. It is worn and comfortable. It is about the only thing I like about Katy’s house. I like the decor. Her dad designed most of it. His talking is not as high pitched and squeaky as the others. He doesn’t seem to even like being around them. He looks up over the couch and smiles at me and Micah. He has always liked us. I have always respected him. I don’t respect very many people. “Hello Mr.Johnson. I haven’t seen you in quite a while. How was Boston?”

“It was lovely. I hope to go back soon.”

I just nod and walk up the stairs to Katy’s room. The second floor is only really three steps up from the first. I’m not so sure this house can even be considered two stories. Of course her house is a great source of pride so I have never let Katy know how I feel about it. Micah and I are at her room now. She is crying into a pillow with her phone in hand. She must be talking to Tony. How is he able to stand this? He must have developed a tolerance. I would be immune to her if I were around her all the time. I don’t really feel like listening to her. I need to get to the point quickly.

“Oh Ivy, It’s terrible...My mom...She says...My power is...e-e-evil...”Gosh. She hasn’t even heard me yet and she has already forgiven me. Such a naive little girl. She really can’t see that I can’t stand her. That this is just making it worse. Crying never helped anything yet she cant help but do it. Letting her talk might be my only way out of this. At least with her face buried in a pillow she can’t see me and Micah laughing at her. I might be able to get her to call Tony. That would save us time. I wonder if we have time to pick up some food before we go to Harrold’s. Micah is hungry. I am hungry. Maybe Tony will be at IHOP and he can steal us some food. Probably not. The grapefruit didn’t go well. He just couldn’t let Katy see him lie. He lies all the time. Micah says he even lies to Katy. Micah says the funniest things. Katy looks really funny when she cries. She must not know how silly she looks. Just bawling her eyes out.
“It will be fine. Call Tony tell him to come over.”
“O-okay.” Wow. I got her to do something. Could I get her to dump Tony? She might be less annoying without him by her side.

Harrold’s house is much different then I expected. It looks very old. Very New England. His mom had good taste. It doesn’t run in the family. The door is old and red. Red works on the door. The house being blue is terrible. The color blue is just. Blue. Sad. The door is starting to look older as I get closer to it. It looks really old when I knock. Noise from inside the house is overwhelming. Bad music. Harrold opens the door. He should really wear more clothing when he sits around his house. I don’t wait for him to speak. I walk in. Everything about the house is old. Seems old. Feels old. Smells out. He must be used to it. He holds the door like he doesn’t notice his old house.
“You need to let us stay here,” Harrrold is easy to persuade. I don’t have to talk for the rest of the night.
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The light from outside is bright. Too bright. Why didn’t Katy or Tony draw the curtains? They are probably too busy talking. They are talking loud. As usual. They have their backs turned to me. I cannot really make out what they are saying. Micah knows. He is sitting up. Watching them. I reach out to him. Wanting to know what they are saying. What they are thinking.

“Harrold left.” He doesn’t look at me. All his attention focused on the conversation we weren’t invited into.
I don’t know what he said. I do know. I can’t believe it. It makes no sense. It does make sense. Harrols is weak. He couldn’t handle what is going on. “What? Where did he go?”

“They don’t know. I don’t know.” If Micah doesn’t know than how can we even find out. Micah knows most everything. He can find out most everything.

The knock at the door is strange. I know the knock. Recognize it. My father is at the door. Tony is already up and answering it. Now he is yelling. Angry that I gave us away. His mom is here. Katy’s mom is here. Micah’s dad i here too. They have someone with them. Something with them. I try to see. Katy screams. I cant think. Why did she have to scream? She always screams. Screaming does nothing. Nothing.

The thing at the door is a monster. Terribly magnificent. It is scary. I can’t take my eyes away from it. Like the shark., The shark was scary. With its eyes never really focusing in. Just staring. And biting. Mexico had been fun until the shark. North Dakota was fun until now.It Looks lost. I want to take it inside. Feed it. Learn from it. I can’t. It might not know how to make conversation. That has never stopped me before. When I was in Mexico I had conversations with people who didn’t understand. People though. Never a monster. I can’t have a conversation with it with Tony and Katy here though. Later. I will have to have a talk with it later. It isn’t a monster. Just a giant. Tall. Very tall. My dad is talking to it. Telling it to do things. It seems to understand. Maybe it can only understand him. Ms.Oliver is talking. Who made her in charge? I don’t hear her. Is she really talking. She could be pretending to talk. Maybe she knows I am not really paying attention to the conversation. Tony is talking too. Is he really talking? I don’t hear him. He isn’t in charge here. I should say something.

“Why are you guys here?” They are all looking at me. From the corner of my eye I can see all their faces. I only look at the giant. He is looking at me. Just staring. With no real life in the expression. Like the shark. I didn’t like the shark.

Tony is talking again. I hear him now. I don’t want to but I hear him.”Are you not paying attention.?” I’m not going to answer. Why are the parents here? They must have a good reason. The house isn’t far away but still this can’t be worth the drive. They must be showing off their giant. They want us to see it. Fear it. Tony and Katy are scared. They refuse to look. They want it to go away. They think if they don’t look it isn’t real. Micah is looking. But he isn’t looking at the giant. Just at me. He is reading my face. Probably my thoughts. I bet he can read the giants thoughts. He has to be curious of what its thinking. I am. He isn’t looking anymore. He is looking at his dad. Mr.Williams is talking now too. I can’t hear him. He isn’t talking anymore. Just turning. Turning away. They are all turning away. The giant is turning too.He is trying not to break things. They are walking towards the car. How will the giant fit in the car? He is way to big. It will not work.He is shrinking. The giant is getting shorter every moment. Not wasting any time. He is the size of someone normal now. Just taller than my dad. He looks the same. Just small. Not as scary.

With the parents gone, everyone looks at me. I have nothing to tell them. Tony speaks first:
“What should we do with Harrold’s house?” He looks only at me. What he is thinking I can’t say. He doesn’t want Harrold coming back. Neither do I. I know what I want to do to the house.
Without saying a word I walk up to the house. I put my hand out. Preparing for the soothing sensation of summoning fire. I do it quickly. Before the others can try and stop me. I take several deep breaths. The feeling is amazing. I have to close my eyes to concentrate. This is the second time I have summoned fire on my own. Every other time I had a candle, or a match. This time is special. The fire comes from me. From within. It seems alive. Breathing at same rate I am. It is an extension of myself. I open my eyes and see, from the corner of my eye, Tony. He is holding Katy back from stopping me. He is happy this is getting done. He hates Harrold for leaving us. Micah is just staring. He looks into the fire and says nothing. Just stares. I focus all my energy back to the fire. I start to contract it. Take it all back. It comes all at once. Rushing in at a rate that is hard to control. The feeling is like trying to blow out all the candles on a cake at once. I feel out of breath but the fire is out. I walk over to my Micah who is holding my bag. I take it from him and start walking down the street.
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Where to go? We are all sitting on the sidewalk. It is really too hot to be out here. Probably shouldn’t have burned down the only house we really had to stay in. Too late now. Tony and Katy are fully on my side now. That is good. I see the black car come up the street. Finally. I get up and walk into the nearest ally. Anything that happens at this point shouldn’t be seen by anyone else.

“They are here.” Tony is right behind me. He has been really alert ever since seeing the giant. Seeing if it will come out from a corner and kill us all.

It steps out of the car once we get to the ally. And just as amazing as before, it grows. Right back to size it was before. He looks to be at least ten feet. Maybe taller. It is hard to tell in the light. Tony wastes no time. He tries to run at the giant. Maybe even knock it over. This wont work. I can already tell. I should stop him. No. If he wants to get himself killed, he can. Katy doesn’t agree. She runs up to the giant too. She doesn’t do anything. Just stands there. Talking to it. Telling it to stop. It isn’t doing anything. Not yet.

When Tony reaches the giant he runs into his leg. The giants stance doesn’t falter one bit. He just looks down and throws Tony off his leg. Tony flies far off but seems fine. Katy runs up to the giant. What does she think she can do? The giant hits her too. She goes flying into one of the walls of the buildings. She doesn’t look okay. Mrs.Johnson runs over to her. Trying to wake her. Someone gave Mrs.Johnson a gun. Not smart.

Mrs.Johnson cant wake Katy. Katy just lays there. Lifeless. As she is shook. Tony walks over. Just another stupid thing he has done today. Mrs.Johnson picks up her gun and turns on him.

“This is all your fault!” She is crying. The gun shakes in her hand.Tony says nothing. He leaves Katy’s body and tries to walk over to Mrs.Johnson. He doesn’t get far. She shoots him. He sinks to his knees, holding his stomach. The shot is sloppy and won’t kill him right away, but he will surely die.

Ms.Oliver is in shock. She cannot believe what she is seeing. She runs over to Tony. Takes one look at his body and turns on Mrs.Johnson.

I reach into my bag. Going as fast as I can. I can’t allow any more shots to be fired today. No more. I pull out Katy’s portal device. Micah looks at me questionably but says nothing. He just follows as I walk over to Mrs.Johnson and Ms.Oliver. I put the device on the ground and press the green button on the top. If I am right, that should turn it on. I get the remote from my pocket.

I turn it on and follow the instructions it gives:

“Target all objects you are trying to transfer.”

I point the laser at Ms.Oliver, Mrs.Johnson, Katy, and Tony.

“Pick a dimension.”

I have not the slightest idea of what all the dimension are. I pick the one that it says is farthest from our own.

“Press start when ready.”

I am glad Katy made the device so simple. She should have used a password though. I press the button. A bright beam of light comes from the device on the ground. I am truly amazed by what I see. They all start to slowly disappear before me. Getting more transparent as time goes by. I just watch. Is there really anything to say? Micah thinks so. He asks me why we had to get rid of them.

“Out of sight, out of mind.” I say. And get into the black car. I would really like to go into that void now.

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If only that were really true.



Micah pulls out of Ivy mind and back into his own. I should really talk to her. I had no idea she was still thinking about it. He thinks, not really knowing what else to think.

The bell to switch classes rings and both Micah and Ivy are out of their seats and ready to go. Neither can wait for the next class.

Micah walks up to Ivy and touches her arm. “We should really talk to someone about this. People will start to wonder. About everything.”

Ivy doesn’t look at him.”Don’t think about it.”

She grabs his test and before he can say anything. Both tests are in the garbage. Ashes.