Speak No Evil-Gifted 6 Read Free Page A

with the curly dark hair and the heart-shaped face spoke softly. ‘I think it’s dangerous, Madame.’
    ‘How do you mean?’ Madame asked.
    ‘If we have total control of our gifts, if we could use them whenever we wanted to, we could end up doing bad things.’
    Madame gazed at her thoughtfully. ‘Can you give us an example?’
    Everyone turned to look at Sarah, and there was real curiosity in their expressions. Amanda knew why. Supposedly, Sarah had the most powerful gift of all – she could make people do whatever she wanted them to do. None of them had seen much evidence of this remarkable gift, but they knew she had it.
    But Sarah didn’t use herself as an example. ‘Well, take Martin, for example. If he could call on his power whenever he wanted to . . .’ Her voice trailed off.
    ‘Go on, Sarah,’ Madame encouraged her.
    With clear reluctance, the girl continued. ‘Maybe . . . maybe Martin doesn’t like someone. So he . . . he makes something fall on that person’s head and kills him.’
    ‘I wouldn’t do that,’ Martin said indignantly.
    ‘Are you sure about that?’ Sarah asked. ‘I mean, what if someone was really, truly getting on your nerves?’
    ‘You’re not talking about Martin,’ Jenna said suddenly. ‘You’re worried about yourself.’
    ‘Jenna!’ Madame snapped.
    Jenna sank back in her seat. ‘Sorry.’
    Tracey looked confused as she turned towards Sarah. ‘Are you afraid Martin is going to drop something on your head?’
    ‘No,’ Sarah said. She looked at her watch and fidgeted, which struck Amanda as very unusual. Sarah was famous for being the perfect student, who never behaved inappropriately in any classroom.
    Madame glanced at the clock on the wall. ‘We only have a few more minutes. For tomorrow’s class, I want you all to think about this : if you had complete control over your gifts, how could you use them in positive ways? How could you help people, maybe even use your gifts to benefit mankind?’ She gave them a moment to jot down the assignment.
    ‘Now, does anyone have anything to say before the bell rings?’
    Emily raised her hand. ‘Do you know how Carter is doing at Harmony House?’
    Amanda was mildly curious about that too. Their former classmate had been sent to the institution for troubled teenagers over a week ago.
    Madame nodded. ‘I’ve been talking to Doctor Paley regularly. Carter hasn’t spoken, but he’s cooperating. Doctor Paley believes that eventually he’ll be able to make a real connection with him. Oh, and I should tell you, he’s not allowed any visitors yet.’
    Jenna snorted. ‘Who’d want to visit him? The guy was spying on us! He was consorting with the enemy. As far as I’m concerned, he can spend the rest of his life at Harmony House in solitary confinement.’
    ‘Try to keep an open mind about Carter,’ Madame urged her. ‘We don’t know what his real intentions were.’
    The bell rang and Madame dismissed them. Amanda took her time gathering up her things, but all the while she kept an eye on Ken. He had already got up and was on his way to the door. The big question was – would he be waiting for her outside the class?
    He’d been there yesterday when she emerged, and he’d walked her to her locker. If he did this today, she was going to ask him if he wanted to come home with her for a snack.
    He was there! And as soon as she arrived, he began walking by her side.
    ‘Do you think Carter knew what he was doing when he was reporting on the class to Serena?’ he asked as they strolled down the hall.
    Amanda shrugged. ‘Who knows?’
    Ken finished the comment for her. ‘And who cares? You know, this class is really starting to annoy me.’
    ‘No kidding,’ Amanda said with feeling. ‘I mean, what are we really getting out of it?’
    Ken nodded. ‘I’m no better at stopping the voices than I was before. And I sure don’t want to invite any more dead people to talk to me.’
    ‘And I don’t want to be Lady