Twinepathy (Part 17): Brooklyn!

Hullo, everyone! Merry Christmas! A day early, I know, but I’m not sure if I’ll have time to post tomorrow… and let’s be honest, I couldn’t wait. I have nothing else to say except… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Except I’m not! 😉 Oh, and if you’re new, check out the first part here.

My first two classes aren’t good, but not as bad as I had thought. Brooklyn’s in one of those classes, so she was able to use her emotion manipulation to make the teacher go easier on both of us. I think that’s the first time she’s ever used it to our advantage in school. She always insists that using our gifts is like cheating. That’s why I’m not a straight-A student. If I could use my powers, I could easily read the answers straight out of a genius kid’s head, or even out of the teacher’s.

But Brooklyn’s not in my second class. That leaves me to fend for myself with one of my not-favorite teachers. Oh joy. I make it through – barely – with extra homework and a lower grade. I open my locker, feeling like this is going to be a looooong day.

To my surprise, my books and homework are right there.

I stare. How… I look around for Brooklyn, but while her locker’s right next to mine, she hasn’t come over yet. She’s probably talking to one of her friends, and since she doesn’t think her homework’s here, she might not even come over. Then I notice a note stuck to the side of my locker.

Squirt realized you might need this stuff, so Data sent me to retrieve it and put it in your locker. Yeah, she gave me the combination. Ha. Enjoy. –Blaze

I slump against my locker in relief. One less thing to worry about. If Blaze were here, I would hug him. Or Data. But who’s Squirt? What does that person do, squirt water out of their eyes like an iguana? I’m not sure I even want to know.

I get out my homework for my next class and slam my locker door shut, scanning the hallway for Brooklyn. I should find her and tell her that her homework and books are here. Surely she wouldn’t mind me breaking into a conversation with her and the popular kids. Or would she rather I broke her rule about “absolutely no telepathy at school”? I’ll see if I can find her first.

I bump through the crowd, looking around for Brooklyn. A couple people give me frigid glares as I make my way past them. I haven’t been very popular since I made it on the cheerleading squad on accident. People don’t appreciate my sarcasm or disregard for their favorite topics: boys, makeup, the newest cute TV star…

I could probably find people like me if I wanted, but… I don’t really want to. I prefer to be a loner.

I run into someone. “Where are you going in such a hurry?” Kelsey asks. She’s in my history class, and she’s on the cheerleading squad. She’s usually pretty nice to me, especially since Brooklyn and I helped her ace the last history exam.

“I’m trying to find Brooklyn. Have you seen here?” She sometimes hangs out in my sister’s crowd, when she feels like it.

Kelsey shakes her head. “Nope, I haven’t seen her today. Sorry.”

“That’s fine,” I reply. The bell rings, and I look around frantically. I’m nowhere near my next class, so I take off in the right direction as fast as I can. It’s hard for me to think and dodge people at the same time, but I manage to form a telepathic message for Brooklyn in my head.

Then something pops.

I’m not sure exactly what I do – if I stop in the middle of the hallway or if I keep running blindly. But something in my brain just… disappears. Gone. Something’s missing. I grope around frantically, and—

It’s my connection with Brooklyn. I whirl in a circle, looking frantically for her. “Brooklyn!” I yell, ignored by most, glared at by others.

A scream, familiar, echoes down the hall, and everyone stops.

Brooklyn.

Next Part –>

Twinepathy (Part 14): It’s A Mystery

Hullo, everyone! How crazy is it that we’re nearly to part fifteen? I’m so glad for all of your support, and enjoy!!! If you missed Part 13 on Saturday, check it out, and if you’re new, check out Part 1.

“She can stay,” Mom finally says, looking at Dad for confirmation. He nods, pleased.

I’m shocked. Mom never changes her mind like that. And I thought it would be way harder to convince them. What did Blaze do?

“Okay,” Brooklyn agrees, confused. “We’ll take her upstairs and get her set up in our room.” She looks around the living room pointedly, hoping that Blaze gets the message – we want to talk to him. Now.

We head upstairs with Maddie while Mom and Dad go into the kitchen. I drag my sleeping bag out from under my bed for Maddie, but that’s not what we’re really doing up here. Brooklyn puts her hands on her hips. “Blaze, we know you’re here. Come out.”

Blaze appears, an annoying grin on his face as he leans against the wall. Maddie goes over and – to my surprise – hugs him. “You were right that they would agree,” she told him.

“Of course,” Blaze says, attempting to look offended that she wouldn’t trust him, but his eyes sparkle a little. “Everything worked out fine.”

“Fine?!” Brooklyn squeaks. “I don’t know what you did, or how you did it, but you messed with their brains! That is not fine!” If she was a cat, she’d be hissing and spitting.

Blaze’s eyebrows lift. “Who, me? I didn’t do anything to your parents.”

My eyes narrow. “Then what did happen? Obviously something happened to change Mom’s mind, and it had to be something in her mind.”

Blaze laughs. “Ohhh, you mean that! That was all Nudge. And he did an amazing job, let me tell you.” He grins impishly.

Silence.

“Nudge?” Brooklyn gives him a skeptical look.

Blaze nods. “Yeah.” He motions towards the closed door, and a boy appears. He looks like he’s only about fourteen or fifteen. He gives us a small smile and an awkward wave.

“Nudge,” I say icily. I’m probably getting that look in my eye that Brooklyn calls my “dangerous” look.

“Yeah.” Blaze is smirking at me. “’Cause he nudges peoples thoughts in different directions. Get it?”

“Yes, I get it,” I say. Brooklyn steps between me and Blaze. Calm down pops into my head, so I sink grumpily onto my bed.

“Please explain what you just did in detail,” Brooklyn says firmly.

Blaze shrugs. “I thought you two would need more help, so I got authorization from Data to bring Nudge in to help out. Which, I might add, was a very good decision. You may have noticed that.”

Data agreed to this? That makes me feel a teensy bit better… but just a teensy bit. “Well, then I guess your work here is done,” I hint, crossing my arms.

Is it my imagination, or does Blaze’s grin fade a little? He tosses a shrug. “Sure, sure, we’ll leave. But be careful, and don’t hesitate to contact us. We don’t want anything happening to… to you guys.” His face turns serious. “Something’s up.” He motions over to Nudge and the two of them disappear. Brooklyn and I double-check to make sure they’re actually gone before we sink onto our respective beds, facing each other. Maddie sits down next to Brooklyn.

“Well, what are we going to do?” Brooklyn asks softly. It’s only been a couple hours, and everything has changed so drastically.

I look over at Maddie. “It’s a mystery. And mysteries need to be solved, one way or another.”

So Albany’s stating the obvious a teensy bit, but they’re finally jumping into action! Woohoo! Can’t wait to see what happens next…

Next Part –>