The Candidates (19 page)

I thought quickly. “Esther, is that Chris? With a girl?” I pointed in the opposite direction at a boy in line to get on the bus. I hoped it wasn’t really Chris, the guy Esther liked, because he had his arm slung around the shoulders of a blonde named Liz, from the cross-country team.

“What?” Esther spun around.

The moment she looked away, I focused on the backpack and marshaled the familiar tingle of energy. I poked at the forces acting on it, like I had at the tree branch, but that only made it lurch up a few inches and then drop back into place. Desperately, knowing I had only a few seconds, I imagined pushing down on one side of it, like a tiddledywink, and amazingly enough, it worked. Clumsily, the sturdy bag jumped a few inches to the left, landing just out of Hennie’s path. Luckily, Yashir and Hennie were too focused on each other to notice the backpack’s odd behavior.

“That’s not Chris,” Esther proclaimed, turning back to see Hennie standing next to Yashir, still talking. She grinned. “Oh, thank goodness she didn’t trip. I thought she was a goner.”

A warm feeling spread through me. “Yeah, thank goodness.”

Jack didn’t say a word to me for the next few days, and I tried not to show how hurt I was. It seemed crazy, because we’d only known each other a couple of months, but I’d come to rely on him even more than I had known. Without Jack to talk to, my classes dragged on endlessly, my homework was impossible, I had no idea what music to listen to, and Catherine’s taunts and jabs were too much to bear.

By Thursday I was a wreck. Though I should have been thrilled that I’d found a way to use my power and not have it hurt someone, dealing with Jack’s anger took away all the joy. Meanwhile, I barely talked to Cam. On Monday he told me he would be busy all week with a couple of big projects. I still looked for him every day at lunch and was absurdly disappointed when he wasn’t there.

I suppose it was because of what had happened with Jack, I don’t know, but I was desperate to talk to Cam. It wasn’t like we were best friends, but I missed him and the little walks we used to take, and the time we climbed up that tree together in the woods. Sometimes when he passed me in the hall and waved, I felt like he was someone I had seen in a movie but didn’t really know.

That made me feel even worse, like I had hurt Jack for a dream that would never come true.

Finally, after an endless morning of Jack glaring at me and teachers complaining about homework assignments I hadn’t finished, I hurried down to the cafeteria. Standing at the entrance to the lunchroom, I tried to look like I was checking out the menu options instead of pathetically trying to locate Cam in the crowd.

My breath caught when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cam wave at me as he headed toward his usual table, Anna to his right. I tried to look surprised, as if I hadn’t noticed him. He motioned for me to follow them. Anna smiled and repeated Cam’s gesture, and then made a point of draping one arm over his, as if he was her property.

She was always like that. I’m not sure if she was jealous, precisely, but she certainly let me know that I was not going to get between her and Cam.

As I maneuvered my way around the masses, Catherine gave me her usual contemptuous sneer, from a table with a bunch of other Button-downs. Hennie waved at me as she collected her dessert. I didn’t see Jack, but that wasn’t unusual.

When I got to their table, Cam and Anna were sitting down, and he’d started to dig into a plateful of spaghetti and meatballs. He swallowed a mouthful in a hurry, and wiped his face clean.

“How’s it going?” he said. “Seems like I haven’t see you in forever.”

“Yeah. I guess you’ve been busy.” I regretted the words as soon as I said them. The last thing I wanted was to sound like I was whining about him not paying enough attention to me.

“I know. It’s totally my fault and I’m really sorry about it. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” Cam sounded eager to talk to me. So eager, in fact, that it made me suspicious. He changed positions to face me more directly, which meant Anna had to move her arm. She shot me a private glare and then put her hands in her lap.

Jack’s words burned in my ears, and I had to force a friendly smile, even to Cam.

The sensation of someone watching crawled up my spine. I took a quick look around. Sure enough, Jack had appeared at the entrance to the lunchroom, and he was staring right at us.

“You should pull up a chair,” Cam commanded. “We can make room.”

“No, that’s okay.” It could have been the distaste directed my way from Anna, or perhaps Jack’s voice ringing in my ears, but either way, the thought of sitting next to Cam had lost a bit of its magic. I nodded toward Esther, who was in line for lunch. “I told my friends I’d sit with them.”

“We’re your friends too,” he protested.

Are you? I wanted to ask. Are you really? Instead I said, “I know, but I promised. We’re going to compare our World Civ homework.”

Anna sidled up closer to Cam and purred, “Dancia, do you still want to go for a run with me? Coach had to cancel practice today, so we could run together this afternoon.”

I’d been putting off running with Anna ever since Cam had suggested it. By this point I’d used up every excuse I could imagine. The idea of being alone with her was almost as nauseating as eating with her, but I managed a fake smile. “Gosh, Anna, that is
so
nice of you. Thanks. I’d love to.”

“Looking forward to it,” she replied sweetly.

I had the feeling that Anna and I understood each other, and that our workout would be anything but fun.

“I guess I’ll see you later, Cam.” I started to walk away. He jumped up and followed me a few feet from the table.

“Don’t let Anna intimidate you,” he said softly. “Truth is, she’s been a little weird since we broke up last summer. I should tell her to back off, but I don’t have the heart to hurt her feelings. Know what I mean?”

His eyes pleaded with me. He looked sincere, but I wasn’t convinced, and I guess I must have shown it.

He put a hand on my arm, and I jumped, struck as always by the way his touch made me want to melt onto the floor. “You have study hall sixth period, don’t you? I’ve got my ethics seminar fifth and sixth period. We’re starting independent study tomorrow, so I can go to the library if I want. I could tell Mrs. Langdon you’re helping with my project, and we could hang out together.”

I hesitated. Cam had the power to make my insides go squishy and my mind draw a blank, but that also meant he would have the power to turn me into a blubbering idiot if he turned out to be a fake. My heart warred with my head for a minute, but my heart prevailed. How could I turn down my dream?

“All right. I guess I could use a little time in the library.”

He flashed his million-dollar smile. “I’ll come get you.”

I swallowed hard and made my way on unsteady feet to where I had seen Esther, not even noticing when Jack sprang up and headed in my direction. He caught up with me a few tables later.

“So, did you tell Prince Charming what you were doing last Friday?” he asked.

I tried not to react to the enmity in his voice. “Don’t be like this, Jack.”

Can’t we just be friends, Jack? Please, please, please?

“I found something interesting this morning. Thought you might want to take a look.”

I sighed and turned to face him. “What is it?”

“A little something I came across in your boyfriend’s room. Something that might make you think twice before you keep letting him follow you around.” He held up a piece of white paper that looked like a form someone had started filling in.

“What were you doing in his room?” I gaped at him, astonished, though I suppose I shouldn’t have been. “Did you break in? That’s illegal.”

“I didn’t break anything, and I reassembled the door before I left. They’ll never suspect. But I thought you deserved to know the truth.”

“What makes you so sure you know what the truth is?”

“I have good instincts,” he said, his lips pressed together in a hard line. I was momentarily distracted by remembering what it felt like to have those lips on mine, but snapped back to attention when Jack pointed to the paper. “Take a look. It’s about you. That’s not illegal, is it? To steal something about yourself? Or someone you care about? Or thought cared about you?”

I snatched the paper out of his hand. Sure enough, at the top of the page it read, “Candidate: Dancia Lewis.” Below that it said, “Watcher: Cam Sanders.” There was a space for the date, and then the next line read, “Record any contact you had with the candidate today.” There was some space for a response, and someone had written in blue blocky letters, “Met candidate on the bus and at lunch.”

My hand started shaking.

“This isn’t funny, Jack,” I said, my voice quavering. “You made this up, didn’t you.”

“Why would I do that?”

“To make your point about Cam. To make me feel like crap.”

“Keep reading. You tell me if I would make this up.” He pointed halfway down the page to a new question that read, “Note any concerns you have about the candidate here, and your recommendations for addressing those concerns.” In the same neat handwriting it said in response, “Candidate appears to be spending a great deal of time with Candidate Landry. (Concern about this alternative candidate noted on previous reports.) Will try to encourage candidate to keep her distance from Landry. Will attempt to build stronger relationship with candidate to allow for better surveillance.”

The taste of acid filled my mouth.

“Don’t look now,” Jack whispered, leaning toward my ear, “but your Watcher is watching. I don’t think he likes seeing me so close to you. I wonder what he’ll put in his report tonight.”

I grabbed the paper out of his hand. “You are a horrible person. If this is for real, I don’t blame Cam for writing this about you.”

Unable to think clearly, I started for the lunchroom door, my only desire to get as far as possible from Jack and Cam and everyone at Delcroix. But then I saw Cam stand up and amble toward one doorway, and Trevor make his way to the other. They moved casually but purposefully. It was like watching a movie.

They were guarding the exits so they could follow me if I left the room.

I couldn’t be sure the paper was real, I reminded myself. Jack was not above making up something like this. Maybe it was coincidence, the way Cam and Trevor were now positioning themselves by the doors. Maybe there was a reasonable explanation for all of it. Like a science fair project or something.

I told myself to stay calm. I looked around and saw Esther and Hennie sitting at a table near the back of the room. I turned on my heels and headed in their direction.

I had no idea what was happening, or if Cam and Trevor were really watching. But if they were, I wasn’t going to let them see me cry.

I WADDED
up the paper and shoved it into my back pocket. Then I pasted on a bright smile and joined Esther and Hennie at their table.

“What’s going on? You look really pale—are you sick?” Hennie said immediately.

“This is my normal unhealthy skin color,” I joked.

Esther pulled out the chair next to her, her eyes narrow. “What happened with Cam? Weren’t you eating with him?”

“I told him I wanted to sit with my friends.”

Hennie gazed intently at me. I knew she was listening to that “second voice,” and had to use all my willpower to keep the fake smile pinned across my face.

“You said you’d rather sit with us than with him? That’s crazy,” she said.

“Why? He’s not that great, you know. And I can’t stand Anna.” I collapsed into the chair and put my hands in my lap so they wouldn’t see them trembling. Cam and Trevor disappeared from view, and I wondered if they were lurking somewhere in the halls, waiting for me to exit the cafeteria and go to class.

“Now I
know
there’s something wrong with you,” Esther declared. “Not that great? He’s amazing. He’s like a dream man.”

I winced. “Can we change the subject? I don’t really want to talk about Cam right now.”

“I’m sorry.” Hennie put a hand on my shoulder. “Is there anything we can do?”

I choked back a fresh wave of tears. I will not cry, I will not cry, I chanted to myself. “No, it’s not a big deal.”

Not a big deal unless Cam was actually some sort of a hired stalker who was only pretending he liked me because someone at Delcroix said he had to.

“If he was mean to you, he’s in big trouble.” Esther made a fist and slammed it menacingly into her open palm.

“Yeah,” Hennie agreed. “We’ll take him down for you, Dancia. No problem.”

The image of delicate, fragile Hennie whacking Cam in the kneecaps with a baseball bat leaped to my mind, and I started to giggle. It was one of those giggles that verges on complete hysteria, but at least part of it was genuine. Esther joined in, and then Hennie. I laughed so hard, tears ran down my cheeks.

Once we had control of ourselves, Hennie said, “Seriously, Dancia. We’d do anything for you. That’s what friends are for, you know.”

I nodded and gazed at them gratefully through a watery haze. “Yeah, absolutely. That’s what friends are for.”

Ten minutes later I choked down the remainder of my garden burger, said good-bye to Esther and Hennie, and went to my locker to retrieve my books for fifth period—English I. The halls were filled with slamming doors, laughter, and shouting. I felt like I was in a reality show, and any second someone would come by to interview me about my experience at Delcroix. “Everyone’s really nice,” I would confide. “We’re just like any other high school kids.” And everyone watching would roll their eyes because they would know the truth, that we weren’t the least bit like other kids.

I was the first one to class, so I watched everyone file into the room. I imagined which of them might be candidates, like me. Or were we all candidates? I could already see the Watcher reports for Esther and Hennie:
Candidates assimilating well. No concerns to note, other than association with Candidate Lewis. Will continue to monitor closely.

Who were the other Watchers anyway? Was Trevor one? He showed up at Ethics every now and then. Mr. Fritz said he was working on a special project, but now I wondered if the notes he was taking were about us, not Mr. Fritz’s lectures. Come to think of it, Jack had complained weeks ago that Trevor was practically a fixture on their side of the residence hall, and even though it was almost Thanksgiving, he was still counting us every day at lunch.

My thoughts were driving me back to the edge of hysteria, so I tried to distract myself by opening up my backpack and arranging my notebook and pen carefully on the desk. The only problem was, I’d doodled Cam’s name into the notebook over and over again, and so looking at it, of course, made me think of him.

Could he really betray me like that? I didn’t necessarily believe he liked me, but I’d never imagined he didn’t even want to be my friend, that hanging out with me was nothing more than his job. Fortunately,
that
depressing thought was interrupted by the start of the lecture.

“Thank you all for coming to class on time. Now, we’re going to jump right into the politics of fifteenth-century England. Can any of you tell me what you learned this weekend about that time period?”

After receiving a few halfhearted responses, our teacher, Mr. Phillips, began to drone from the front of the room. We were starting our first Shakespeare play, and it wasn’t even fun Shakespeare, like
Romeo and Juliet
. It was boring Shakespeare—
Henry V
. Which meant that we had to learn about the history of the time, the politics, and Henry’s crazy partying days before he’d assumed the crown. This might have been fascinating to the fifteen-year-old boys in the class, but it left me cold.

The lump of paper in my back pocket kept nudging me, making me squirm on my seat. Didn’t I owe it to Cam to keep my mind open? Give him the opportunity to explain himself? If I lost his friendship because I’d believed Jack over him, and it turned out Jack was lying, I’d regret it forever.

But then there was Delcroix and all the strange things that had happened since I’d started here. The men following Jack and me, the fact that we both felt a shock when we shook Cam’s hand, Jack’s powers, the odd construction of the third floor … the list was too long to ignore.

As much as I wanted it to, this mystery wasn’t going away. And unfortunately, I made a lousy Nancy Drew. But I couldn’t sit there in my seat and pretend nothing was going on. I had to know the truth, and that meant I needed to talk to Cam.

“Mr. Phillips, I’m not feeling very well. Can I go to the bathroom?”

He cleared his throat, his train of thought clearly interrupted by my question. “What’s that? Not feeling well? Should I call the nurse?”

“No, no.” I made my way toward his desk through a maze of backpacks and legs, and whispered close to his face. “It’s a girl thing. I’ll need to go to my locker first, if that’s okay.”

This was a foolproof way to prevent a male teacher from inquiring too deeply into your intentions. He immediately flushed a dark purple color and grabbed a hall pass from his desk. “Of course,” he whispered back. “Take your time.”

I left my bag there and sprinted up the stairs to the third floor.

At the start of school I would have ignored the paper, ignored Jack, and slunk into a hole where I wouldn’t have caused too much trouble. The thought of confronting someone and admitting the truth about my power would have been impossible—particularly to a guy on whom I had a gargantuan crush. But something in me had changed since I’d started at Delcroix. Something that made me refuse to put my tail between my legs.

I had a power that could make extraordinary things happen. I needed to learn to control it. I knew that now. It wasn’t evil and neither was I. It was time to stop acting like I was.

I was through with secrets. It was time for the truth.

The third floor felt strangely still, as if a heavy hand were weighing on the air. Most of the doors were closed, and when I walked by I could see small groups of students inside, either playing instruments, watching a teacher write notes on a whiteboard, or singing in small groups around a piano.

I reached the far end and turned down the hall where Jack thought there was a secret passage. I had thought the ethics seminars met in those rooms, but as I peered through the tiny windows in the doors, I saw they were all empty.

Shoot. I dug my nails into my palm and blew out an annoyed breath. Cam had said something about his ethics seminar doing independent studies, but I thought they were starting tomorrow. I thought they’d be here today. Frustrated, I slipped into a classroom and stared at the back wall, gnawing on a hangnail while I tried to figure out my next step.

I might be able to catch Cam after school, but then he’d be going to play soccer, and other guys would be around. We’d never be able to talk in private. Then I had practice, and then there was dinner, and then study hours. I’d have to wait until tomorrow.

I turned to leave, but a tug of curiosity stopped me a few feet from the door. Shaking my head, I paced the distance from the front to back wall. Thirty paces. Just like Jack had measured. What did it mean?

I was standing there staring at the back wall when I heard the voices. They were muffled, but the closer I got to the wall, the clearer they became. I realized the sound was coming from behind the wall—exactly where Jack had thought a secret passage might lie. At first I strained to make out the voices while facing the hall, so I could run if I saw anyone approaching. But as the murmuring continued and I started to catch scattered words, I abandoned caution and pressed my ear against the wall.

The voices varied in volume, as if people were walking around. The conversation sounded heated, possibly an argument. When I realized one of the speakers was Cam, I felt a surge of adrenaline so strong I had to lean against the wall to keep my balance.

“... really like her... not what a Watcher does...” I strained to hear the rest, but only scattered words were audible.

“Sometimes a Watcher needs to be a little more creative,” a low, persuasive voice rolled out. I immediately realized it was Mr. Judan. You couldn’t mistake that deep soothing bass rumble.

He faded, and all I could hear was a sound like a train in the distance. Then he came closer, and I could make out words again. “He’s the most powerful candidate we’ve identified in decades, except, perhaps, for Dancia herself.”

Powerful? Me?

“If they were to go rogue together, the entire country could be in danger,” Mr. Judan continued.

“I don’t …” Cam’s voice trailed off again.

Cam, speak up!
I wanted to scream. But his voice simply didn’t carry like Mr. Judan’s. “Agree he’s a danger … doing my best to keep them apart …”

“No excuses.” Mr. Judan’s voice cut through Cam’s higher-pitched murmur. “They went home together Friday. You must see that that doesn’t happen again. I don’t care what you have to do. You took an oath, my boy, to defend Delcroix and the rest of the world from those who would use their gifts for selfish or dangerous ends. This is when you make good on that oath.”

There was a long silence.

Finally Cam said, “Don’t worry, I won’t let you down.”

I heard footsteps and picked my head up abruptly. It suddenly occurred to me that I had no idea how they got behind the wall, and that I could be standing right in their path. Tiptoeing as quickly and quietly as my sneakers would allow, I made my way back to the door, then ran down the hall all the way back to English, my head buzzing.

Obviously, Jack was right. Something unbelievable was going on at Delcroix, and Cam was knee-deep in it.

“Ah, Dancia. I was just about to send someone to find you.” Mr. Phillips sighed with relief when I marched back into the classroom.

I plopped the hall pass down on his desk. “No need. I’m back.” It had only been ten minutes. Ten minutes, but my life had changed completely.

“Are you ready to run?” Anna laced her shoes into a double knot and straightened her ponytail. It was a rare sunny November day, with delicate beams of light filtering through the canopy of fir trees.

“Today was supposed to be a long run for me, so I’ll probably do about ten miles. But you should feel free to stop before that.” Anna adjusted the waistband on her tiny black-and-pink running tights, which neatly exposed her perfectly toned stomach. She had a matching bra-top to go with the tights.

I was wearing my old Danville Central Hospital T-shirt and cotton sweatpants.

“Fine with me.” It would have been nice for my ego to pretend I could keep up with Anna, but there was just no way. When she started running she was like some kind of machine. She’d just run and run, and never even seem to get tired.

She started at a leisurely pace for the first hundred yards or so. The trail was wide enough for two, and we stayed side by side, even though I was dying to drop behind so I wouldn’t have to look at her. We dipped down a small incline and then up an embankment on the other side. This seemed to be a marker for Anna, because she shot off like someone had fired a starting pistol.

I struggled to catch up, breathing hard even though we had just begun.

“I guess you’re pretty into Cam, huh?” she said.

I wiped the beads of sweat already forming on my brow. “What’s that?” I gulped some air. “He’s a good friend, I guess.”

Or not. I didn’t really know
what
he was anymore. Just like I didn’t know what to think about Mr. Judan, or anyone else at this stupid school. Anna was probably setting me up for something too.

She snorted. “Friend? Hmph.” We zigzagged around a fallen log and a muddy spot in the trail. Anna neatly avoided both. A branch poked my ankle, and I splashed mud on my shirt.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I forced out between pants.

Anna slowed her insane pace a hair, even though she hadn’t yet broken a sweat. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but I would stay away from him if you don’t want to get your heart broken.”

I couldn’t believe it—first Jack, now Anna lecturing me about Cam? I sucked in a desperate lungful of air, trying to concentrate on what Anna was saying while keeping from tripping over my own sneakers.

“He’s a little out of my league,” I said. “I never thought we were more than friends.”

Anna nodded. We ran in silence for minute, and then she said, “So, what’s the deal with you and Jack?”

I stopped dead still in the trail for a moment. “Jack?” I sputtered.

In a matter of seconds, all I could see was Anna’s back disappearing into the dense foliage. I ran hard to catch her; I think she might have slowed down a fraction to let me do so, but it was hard to tell.

“He’s a friend, that’s all,” I called, still a few feet behind. “Why?” She didn’t answer, so I ran faster until we were side by side again. My lungs burned, and a cramp had started under my ribs. “Why does everyone want to talk about Jack?” I cried in frustration.