Prophecy Girl Read Free Page B

More than fine, actually. Nothing’s wrong with her.”
    She was glad that he was speaking up for her, but he wasn’t being truthful. There was something wrong with her, but apparently she could control it. Like a power. A superhero power. A useless power. She didn’t know what good she could do, if she saw people die, and couldn’t save them, not even knowing who they were, or where they lived. But she did know her visions were omens.   
    When she saw the man being stabbed forty-seven times, she caught a glance at his cell phone when it dropped to the ground, and the date read October thirty-first. After the vision ended, and two hours of crying, she looked at her cell phone. The date read October twenty-fifth. She saw six days into the future. What she was going through wasn’t a gift. It was a curse.
    “What?!” Dr. Lang exclaimed, shaking his head, his facial twitch jumping. “What about the hallucinations? What about the depression?” He threw his hands up in the air, as if that would further demonstrate his confusion.
    Mr. Quinn simply tipped his gray cap. “See you tomorrow, Doctor Lang.” He waved to Eva and she waved back, trying to hold in her laughter.
    Finally, it was just her and Dr. Lang. She was nervous that he would barrel in her room, and demand to know what she and the headmaster had discussed, but he didn’t even take a step past her doorframe. With his jumpy facial tick, he turned on his heels, and left her there, thankfully alone.
    She twirled on the floor, giggling, until she finally collapsed on her bed that she always hated, but now it didn’t seem so bad. She would be gone soon.
    If her parents approved…
    She hoped they would. They had to. If not, and she had another vision, she was sure her skull would crack open from banging it against the hospital walls.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    3
     
    Goodbyes
     
     
     
    At breakfast, when Dr. Lang had told Eva that her parents would be arriving that afternoon to see her off with Mr. Quinn, she had been so excited that she leapt up from the table, and gave him a hug. The doctor had been so startled, his facial tick froze.   
    Now in her bedroom, she happily discarded her bland hospital uniform, and changed into the outfit that she had arrived in one year ago: a lavender tee, blue jeans, and white sneakers. The clothes were a bit baggy from her weight loss, but not too bad. She was told that her mom had packed her a travel bag. Finally, she’d be wearing jeans again! After she had changed, she went to her desk, and organized her collections: eight books, a hairbrush, and a tube of mauve lipstick that the friendly nurse, Kate, had given her. 
    Eva used to wear makeup all the time, but at the hospital it was forbidden, except during visitation hours. She got so used to it that she didn’t even waste time with cosmetics anymore. But now? Well, the thought of going to a new school, with boys , made her so nervous that she ventured down the hall to the nurses’ station, where there was a full length mirror.   
      Residents weren’t allowed to have mirrors in their rooms—suicidal teens and sharp objects didn’t mix.  Eva had thought of ending her life from time to time, to finally get away from her nightmarish visions, but there was always this hope inside her that one day someone would come and rescue her. Well, that day was here, thanks to Seamus Quinn. 
    As she looked in the mirror, she noticed that her pale skin seemed a bit more colorful today, and her black hair was glossy and full. She didn’t really need makeup, but the mauve color on her lips made her look like she attempted to show a presentable side. 
    “You look so beautiful,” Kate said, sitting on a roll-around chair at her desk. Her normally bland white uniform top was offset by a blue butterfly clip-on attached to her front pocket, next to her name tag.
    Yekaterina was her birth name, descended from Ukrainian immigrants, but she