Finally, morning arrived, and I could begin. Bernard had offered to call everyone into the gym, so I could scan them all at once, but that wouldn't have worked for me. A large group of people in close proximity produced a lot of white noise. Better to hunt them down one by one, when they were less likely to be on guard, which would help me to access what I needed.
Besides, I already knew who was guilty: Mary. I clutched the list of names that Bernard had given me, and went off in search of the bitch who'd made my life hell since that first day of kindergarten, when she dipped my pigtails in green paint and ruined my new dress. She'd denied any involvement last night, but I hadn't scanned her. Now was my chance to prove that she'd taken my daughter, and to find out why and where.
Halfway down the hall, it occurred to me that I had no idea where Mary was staying. She'd arrived during the delivery, and I hadn't seen her since that day she came to my room and held Ana.
Norm darted around the corner, and I flagged him down. "Hey!"
He stopped, shuffled his feet and avoided eye contact. "Hey, Sam, you doing the mind scanning now?"
"Yeah, starting with Mary. Do you know where I can find her?"
"Um, not really. She keeps to herself mostly. Pretty quiet, these days."
"That's a change. Okay, thanks. Where are you heading?"
He perked up. "The new gym. They finally finished it, and it's awesome. It's indoors and attached to the mansion. I'm playing basketball with some of the guys."
"That's cool."
My thoughts stuck on what he'd said about Mary. Back at Rent-A-Kid, she'd roamed the halls looking for prey, and cementing her place as Queen Bee. One time, I'd sat in her seat in the cafeteria by mistake, and she showed up with her posse and bullied me out of it. I didn't do a great job standing up for myself back then, so I'd fled like a scared mouse.
What change had caused Mary to go into hiding, rather than re-establish herself as Her Royal Bitchiness?
Norm cleared his throat nervously. "Um, so, can I go now?"
"Oh, yeah, sure. Have fun and good luck."
He hurried off, flying instead of walking, and I continued down the hall to the cafeteria. Darren sat alone in the corner, which wasn't unusual. He spent most of his time alone, especially since Kyle died. Well, since Mr. Black had shot him for dueling with another student.
I hadn't seen his death myself, but I couldn't imagine the horror of watching my best friend get shot in the head. I'd been so self-absorbed lately, that I'd never even asked him about it, but that would have to wait for another time. I avoided Darren, and instead headed toward Robyn, who was still eating.
Robyn looked up from her plate as I sat beside her. Her mind buzzed with the same nervous energy as her boyfriend Norm. "Hey, Sam, have you eaten?"
"Yes, Susie brought me something before I could even escape my room. She rightly assumed I would skip breakfast if given a chance. Hey, do you know where Mary's room is? I need to talk to her about Ana."
Robyn sighed and looked relieved. "Yeah, I helped her settle in when she first got back, though I wouldn't go out of my way to help her again."
"Why not?"
"She borrowed a blanket for that first night and still hasn't returned it."
"Sounds like her. Why not just go get it back."
Robyn shrugged. "I don't know. I just don't want to make a big deal out of it, you know?"
I nodded, totally understanding. I used to feel the same way, willing to do anything to avoid confrontation with Mary, scared of what she would do in retaliation. But her bullying had to stop. "Clearly it's bothering you. You should tell her you need it back."
"Yeah, maybe later." Which meant never.
Well, I couldn't push her if she wasn't ready.
Robyn finished eating, still looking nervous and tapping her foot excessively.
I was about to ask her what she was so scared about when a rush of hateful thoughts hijacked my mind. I ran into the hallway, with other students on my heels, and found the former school jock, Curtis, pounding Greg in the face. Curtis and his friends laughed and made jokes, calling Greg "fag" and "homo" and other vile names.
Intent on stopping it, I stepped forward, but Gary pushed past me, yelling like a wild banshee.
Before he even got close enough to hit the guy, Gary used his control over metal to swing open the lockers and bash Curtis in the face. Then he pounced and started punching and hitting Curtis relentlessly. "Don't you ever touch him again. Ever!" he screamed, bloodying Curtis's nose.
The scene brought back another image: Drake had beaten a man to a bloody pulp with his bare hands. The fact that he'd been capable of so much violence had scared the crap out of me for a long time, and I couldn't let Gary become that.
"Gary, that's enough." Other hands, Greg's hands, broke through and helped me pull the guys apart. Curtis lay on the ground, groaning. I had half a mind to kick him in the groin myself, but enough was enough. "Someone get Susie."
Gary brushed me aside and focused on Greg. "Are you okay?"
He gently examined the cut over Greg's eye, but Greg pulled his hands away. "I'm fine. It's just a scratch."
Susie charged down the hall and sent a wave of calm across the students. "What happened here?"