Children of the Elementi Read Free Page B

the golf club to think he was mean so he was still allowed to be a day-boy - and Ben never let him forget it, Jake thought bitterly.
    Jake recalled the will. When his parents died last year, Ben and Emma were left a third of their money. That was three hundred and fifty thousand pounds! It wasn’t as if his parents had dumped him on them expecting them to struggle with him. The school fees didn’t cost that much, he thought.
    He could see the beach peeking through some trees; it wasn’t too far now. This was the main reason everyone chose it as a meeting place. Following a break in the fence, a well-trodden mud path marked the way through the park. He was so close; he could see Karl’s ginger hair shining like a beacon in the distant firelight. As usual he was sitting on the sand alone, slightly apart from everyone else. Jake felt a pang of guilt. It wasn’t his fault. Karl would understand. After all, it wasn’t every day you found out you were adopted or come to think of it left your body and flew!
    Jake gently floated down to beach level and sat down next to his friend. A few of the others were standing next to the fire, chatting and drinking. Someone had brought some speakers and attached it to their phone and a few of the girls were dancing; a bottle in one hand and their phones in the other. Probably texting one another, Jake thought.
    He turned to look at his friend; Karl had brought out one of his many books again. Craning to look at the cover, he could just make out Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre in the firelight. His friend really needed to get a life. What was the point of going to these parties if he just read books? Jake sometimes despaired of his friend. All that scheming to be popular. Okay, they weren’t popular - but they were invited. Surely, that was a step in the right direction.
    Jake watched Karl put his book down to look at his watch. Jake jerked. Karl was staring straight at him! Jake twisted behind and realized that was the direction where he lived. As Jake looked back at his friend again he caught him shaking his head. Karl took out his mobile from his pocket. He swiped the screen to unlock it and pressed the green key. Searching for Jake’s number, he began to call.
    Simultaneously, Jake could hear a ring in the distance. A sharp tug pulled him and he found himself hurtling back towards his body at an impossible speed. While before he had travelled around buildings now he went through them. Within seconds, he was back on his bed. Jake groaned, if he’d known that was going to happen he would have lain down properly! He leaned over to his bedside table exhausted. There was one missed call on his phone.
     
    Jake rolled over to stare up at the ceiling. His mind was whirling; he needed to find out more about his real parents. Energized he sat up. Where could he find out more? Social Services! Jake sat down in front of his computer and tapped the spacebar on his keyboard. Moments later the familiar login screen lit his monitor. Thank God for Emma, he thought. She could be a pain but her need for a quiet life meant she’d do anything to get it. Not that I would ever take advantage, he smiled at the thought. Ben would never have let him have a computer without her insistence.
    Using a search engine, Jake quickly found the public Social Services website. A quick search within the code found a link to the private site. Don’t you just love it when governments insist that everything is put online? Jake grinned. If it’s on the web, I can get it. Searching for the password-cracking program in his downloads folder, Jake’s pendant started to glow imperceptibly. He opened one folder and closed it. Another, and another. Suddenly, hundreds of folders were opening and closing at an impossible rate as Jake looked for the file he needed. Another moment and Jake was inside the computer. It was so easy. It felt like he was in an incredibly large room with hundreds, even thousands of doors. All he