Merlin's Curse

CHAPTER 12: The Knobbed Whelk

Journal Entry #4

Alex—I think I'm going crazy. Seriously. One moment I feel like a wizard. And the next...well, I don't. What's happening to me? You should have seen me in the X-Lab at BrainTech. I controlled THREE robots with my mind. My mind! And all at the same time. Or at least, I think I did.

Dr. McKenna claims the supercomputer was in control. 

She lied! 

You believe me, right?

Otherwise, why did she seem so surprised, especially when I made them bow? I know—that was crazy awesome. And why did her vial of X-chips glow when I got close to them? Super strange...like they could sense the electrical storm building in my head. And then the static energy dissipated when the doctor shut the metal box.

Do you think I'm crazy?

I swear...I saw the robot's code. More than that, I improved their code. Their fluid motion, the bow, and all perfectly synchronized...that was me. Not a supercomputer. But now I can't see or improve anything. The whole experience feels like a dream that never happened. I thought for sure Dr. McKenna saw what I did. That she was testing me somehow. But she pretended like nothing unusual happened. She didn't question me—she just let me go.

Now I don't know what to believe. My therapist says people who are desperate for magic in their life sometimes trick their mind into believing a thing is true. Maybe that's me. And my thing is being a wizard. I don't want to be Merlin without magic. But that's what I am. I'm all parts nerd and forever parts cursed.

Painful zaps and flashes of light still come and go, and the constant charge of static electricity is ruining my plans for coolness. I sat down next to G at lunch, and when my elbow grazed his arm, the shock made him spill his drink all over his shirt. In between classes, Isa touched a metal handrail I was holding and screamed from a zapping jolt. She slapped the back of my head and called me a glupyy idiota. I shock myself, too, all the time. Flipping a light switch, walking on carpet, getting into bed—I'm a shock machine.

Anila nicknamed me Static Shock. He's a DC superhero. I guess that's better than Merboy Z Glupyy. Most PCs keep their distance. I can walk through a crowd without touching anyone. I'm like Moses parting the Red Sea.

No one wants to get shocked.

Well, that's not totally true. I'm trending No.1 on school dares. Random PCs appear out of nowhere, all the time, and touch my skin—my hand, my neck, my ears...and even my nose!

 And nose shocks hurt!

SO BAD!!!

My eyes water every time. After touching me, the PC yells from the zap or laughs, sometimes both, and then runs back to their group of friends. 

Zahir says I should embrace my superpower. So now when I meet someone new, I say, "The Name's Static. I put a shock to your system." I know—such a nerd thing to do. 

Xia says I need to get into trouble and have my mom ground me. 

Hehe—yeah, she's pretty good.

My room is almost back to normal. I think every PC in the academy has come by at some point to see the mermaid sanctuary. Most left with a souvenir free of charge. I kept the merboy figure with blue eyes and black, shaggy hair. What? I couldn't throw everything out. He's up on my shelf next to my seashell collection.

Oh, wait, I don't think I've ever told you about my shells. Each one has a special memory. Like the Three-toothed Cavoline I found with my dad at Cape Cod—the shell of a sea butterfly. Isn't that amazing? I bet you didn't know the ocean has butterflies. Most people don't. Their wings are a deep, waxy green with a crease down the middle and look like pear leaves. The best part is the shell. When the ocean snail is inside, the iridescent covering glows in luminescent shades of lavender and light pink. Without the snail, the shiny, rounded shell has hues of silver and gold. But the magic light is gone—kind of like my dad. That was the last time we went to the Cape together.

My newest addition is the Knobbed Whelk. I found the conch-like shell with Luke when we ditched class. The shell is sharp and poky on the outside and glossy smooth on the inside, layered in warm colors. 

Luke's totally a knobbed whelk.

I miss him—even though he's in all my classes. Classes that are not going too great. My cyber security course is a disaster. How am I failing when Luke has a passing grade? I told you. I'm going crazy. But I can't think straight. The electrical interference makes my mind go fuzzy at the worst times. Like when we had a 101-level hacking test—I didn't get a single question right. 

So now most PCs believe the rumors being spread by @WizardSlayer666—that I cheated to win the professional hacking competition. Fydor's lying now, too—telling everyone I didn't hack his account. That I'm too glupyy.

But I did hack his account. And I did control all three robots with my mind. G is the only PC I've told the truth about both adventures—on a night when neither of us could sleep. I didn't want to tell him at first, but I think he needs a friend as much as I do. There's something about him...a sadness of sorts that creeps over him. I don't know—because he can be so confident and happy, too. 

G didn't make fun of me—all he asked is, "Where's your proof?"

Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. I can't find proof—I have no evidence.

I asked G about his name again—several times. Most nights, he curls up in his blankets and pretends to go to sleep. Sometimes he gets all quiet and gloomy. The mystery is killing me—I'm more interested in G's story than I am in finding @WizardSlayer666.

Maybe because I already feel slayed.

I'm not even part of Gauntlet's BrainTech Hack team. Jupiter picked Zahir from our class block. They start training next week. I'm happy for him. And I don't blame Jupiter. I wouldn't pick me right now either. But this was the one competition I thought I could win. Not anymore.

Alex, why is life so hard? 

I wish I could talk to you—even if you aren't an Alex. 

At least my window is open, and I can hear the ocean waves. They're always there, and sometimes I think I can hear them talking to me, telling me I'll be ok. And it's a good thing because I've never been so nervous or scared in my life. 

The Fire & Ice Ball is tomorrow night!

Did I tell you I've never been to a dance before? Over 200 students from Whitman Academy are invited to The Breakers for the grand event. A dance with teenagers. Big teenagers. I threw up in my mouth. Just a little.

Jupiter says each PC from Gauntlet must ask 10 students from Whitman to dance. That would give us a total of 3000 XP. She thinks that's enough to win. Maybe I'm not a Killer or an Achiever—because I don't care about winning this event or earning XP. Maybe A SIP of Greatness can wait for me. I shouldn't be drinking anyway...right?

I'm only 11—help me, Alex!

Please...anyone!