Now You See Me-Gifted 5 Read Free Page B

thought he was an OK kind of guy. Also, since that seance experience, he was pretty down on Amanda, and any enemy of Amanda’s was a friend of hers.
    She plunked down in the seat next to him. ‘Hi. What’s up?’
    ‘Not much,’ he said. ‘You?’
    ‘Nothing special,’ she replied. They both fell silent. Jenna tried to think of a way to keep the conversation going.
    ‘Heard from anyone interesting lately?’ she ventured.
    He seemed to be considering the question. ‘Well, there’s this lady who was watching some series on TV before she died, and she’s always asking me to find out what’s happening on it. So I started watching the show, but it’s really stupid and I hate it.’
    Jenna shrugged. In her opinion, Ken was just too nice to the dead people who communicated with him. Of all the gifts, Ken’s was the one she’d least want to have. ‘So tell her to leave you alone.’ She turned away from him, and pretended to gasp. ‘Hey, what’s Carter doing?’
    Ken’s eyes widened and he turned swiftly to look at the boy who sat at the back of the room. ‘What are you talking about?’
    Jenna grinned. ‘Gotcha.’
    Carter Street was the mystery of the Gifted class, a mute, blank-eyed boy who seemed to be more of a robot than a human being. He did what he was told to do, but he never responded or took any initiative, and his expression was always the same – empty. No one knew his real name or where he came from, or if he had any kind of gift at all. Jenna wasn’t even sure what he was doing in the class.
    Emily and Tracey came in, but Jenna couldn’t say anything more than ‘Hi’ because Madame was right behind them, and the bell rang. Madame took her usual place behind her desk at the front of the room, and she gave them her usual smile of greeting – but the smile looked a little tense to Jenna.
    Her eyes scanned the room. ‘Where’s Amanda?’ she asked.
    Nobody responded, and Madame frowned. She was big on punctuality.
    ‘I’ve got a task for you today,’ the teacher continued. As usual, there were a couple of groans, and as usual, Madame ignored them. ‘I want each of you to make a list of all the people who know about your gift. Include parents, and any other family member who is aware of what you can do.’
    ‘Why?’ Ken wanted to know.
    Jenna half-expected Madame to snap something like ‘because I told you to’ – but that was how other teachers would respond to a question like that. Madame wasn’t like other teachers.
    She seemed to be taking her time, and considering her answer carefully. Finally, she spoke.
    ‘It’s important for all of us to be aware of who knows about the gifts. You all know by now that there are people out there who want to use you, to utilize your gifts for their own purposes. We have to keep track of all potential . . . potential problems.’
    ‘But you said we have to include our parents,’ Sarah said. ‘You don’t think they’d want to use us, do you?’
    ‘Not intentionally,’ Madame said quickly. ‘But they might slip and reveal something to someone who – who shouldn’t know about you. They may already have done so.’
    ‘Why do you think that?’ Tracey asked.
    ‘Because you’ve all had experiences which lead me to believe that you’ve been observed. That you’re being watched.’
    Martin went completely white. ‘You mean, someone’s spying on us?’ He looked around nervously. ‘Right now?’
    At that moment, the door opened and Amanda walked in. Actually, sauntered in would be a better way of describing her entrance, Jenna thought. Most students entering a classroom late would shuffle in with head down. Amanda was practically strutting.
    Madame looked at her, and raised her eyebrows. Amanda smiled brightly, and didn’t even bother to apologize for her tardiness.
    ‘I have an excuse,’ she proclaimed, and handed a folded piece of paper to the teacher.
    Madame opened the note, and looked at it.
    ‘I can’t read this signature,’