The Voodoo Club (self-insert #3)

Chapter 4

It was hard to keep my laptop balanced on my knees as the van roared along the street, but I managed. "So." I said after a while. "There are a lot of lakes in Japan and a decent amount near mountains, so I made a list of all of them. Shall I send it to you, Naru?"

"Please." Came the airy response. "Of course the fool would make looking for his corpse a chore. That's just his style."

I exchanged a glance with Lin in the rear view mirror. It wasn't like Gene had deliberately stepped in front of a car and got himself chucked in a lake with the purpose of harassing Naru, but I guess this was better than Naru being doubled over with grief. "Right." Was all I could think of to say. "I'm sending it now. I was going to draw up an itinerary but I decided not to. You can do that."

"Lazy."

I smacked the ENTER button. "I know. Good thing you're not, yeah?" I closed the lid and slipped the computer in its sleeve. Unconsciously I began bouncing my knee, powered by an ice coffee I shouldn't have had but couldn't resist. "Are we almost there yet?"

Naru glanced over the edge of the seat, flashing me a dirty look. "We might've been there by now if you'd woken up earlier."

To be fair, I had woken up just before Naru set my hotel room's phone ringing off the hook. I'd scrambled to get dressed and choked down a quick breakfast, getting all of that done in a record time of twenty minutes. Feeling like he didn't deserve a response, I made a face at him.

Add to that, we inspected the entire school the moment we got there so it was an hour before we actually made it to base. When we got there, Mai related her conversation with Kasai while making everyone tea. "I see." Ayako said, blowing the steam into wispy strands around her face. "But how much can we trust this Kasai girl?"

"What do you mean by 'how much'?" Mai demanded, astonished. "I did see her put a spoon together."

"But you know..." she began, but Naru cut her off.

"I'd say I believe her." The reports rustled in his hands.

She shot him a dirty look. "I don't know about that! Bending a spoon is just too fishy, you know? Wasn't everyone who did it assumed to be a cheater?"

That...was ridiculous. Assumptions meant nothing without facts, a lesson I thought they would've learned from Naru. I glanced at him, but his face was completely impassive.

"Are you serious?" Mai asked, her confidence wavering.

John nodded in agreement. "That's right. Uri Geller originally started spoon bending. It's believed that he's the best psychic of the 20th century. From PK to clairvoyant powers and prediction...he acted like nothing was impossible for him." He explained, his clear blue eyes wide and serious. "Geller then bent spoons at various places. Children who saw him imtitated it and started bending spoons themselves."

"The Gellerini?"

"Correct! But the Gellerini's power was always unpredictable. Some Gellerini lost power, and some of them ended up relying on tricks. As a result, their dishonest acts came to light. People started doubting the Gellerini had power." Not different from what Kasai was going through, I noticed. "At the same time, people also began doubting Geller's powers. At one time, even the parapsychology society of America officially announced that Geller's act was a hoax. Ever since, most people now believe that spoon bending is just a trick."

Mai nodded slowly. "I see. So what is the truth?" I wanted to applaud her. At least she wasn't going with what the majority thought like Ayako did.

John smiled softly. "I'm not sure, but Geller is too showy for me."

Like that answered Mai's question. Sensing her confusion, he went on. "There are two types of psychic power—ESP and PK. ESP stands for extrasensory perception. It's a special ability to perceive things that ordinary people can't. There are two types of ESP—clairvoyant powers and telepathy." He explained. "Generally a psychic can be classified as PK or ESP. You'll occasionally find people that are a mixture of both, but most people can clearly be classified as one or the other."