Class Freak

006 | pizza & probation officers

NOAH

Once school is over, Auggie goes to the greenhouse and I remember I'm supposed to go see Mr. Slade in his office. He's talking to a copy of himself when I get there.

"Go and get me some coffee from the teachers' lounge, will you? I'm exhausted. Ah, there you are, kiddo. Come on in, let's talk about this little ability hiccup."

I close the door behind me, glancing over my shoulder to peek at Other Mr. Slade disappearing down the hall. "Hi."

He doesn't even give me a second to take a practiced breath of normalness before launching straight into his spiel. "Alright, so if you aren't aware, most of the existing scientific knowledge about Puppeteers comes from one man who was captured and observed by the Chinese national authorities—you'll notice we don't have any Chinese students, they've been pretty successful at exterminating any Class Fs that pop up in the population," he says, and I blink rapidly, trying to follow. "This information was obtained by our government, I don't want to know by what corrupt means, so now I can tell you a little bit about yourself. See, this Puppeteer rarely slept, but would often have sudden bouts of unconsciousness in which he, ah... what's the word—sleepwalked—his way around the morgue they kept him imprisoned in.

"During these periods, he was observed to lift cadavers with his mind, causing them to move on their own, and eventually when he became apparently tired he would drop them and tear them to shreds for reasons that remain unexplained. Somehow, each time, he woke up entirely oblivious to the whole thing, panicked and asking to be freed." Mr. Slade props up his feet on the desk, leaning back and folding his hands over his stomach. "This prisoner was believed to be highly dangerous. Of course, that isn't saying much considering all mutants are believed to be dangerous in many parts of the world," he adds, tossing out a hand to emphasize the point, "but to be fair, he could control the dead. Unfortunately, he was disposed of before he could produce other valuable information that would be discovered elsewhere, like the rumors of animating inanimate objects." He gestures to me. "It appears that's true."

I just stare open-mouthed at him. I can't believe he's talking about this dead Chinese prisoner guy so easily, without a care in the world. He was a Puppeteer, like me! And he got killed for it! That still happens?

"I apologize if I sound matter-of-fact, Noah... I am fascinated with all things mutant science, but I do want to help you. I've trained some thirty-seven students before you, and getting to know each one of you and the unique facets of your mutations takes time. I'm not going to know how to solve your problem right away—I haven't trained a Puppeteer before, nor have I even met one—but we have to navigate these things together. Being afraid of it is the worst thing."

I wring my hands. "I don't think I'm afraid of myself," I say, and I hope I'm being honest. "But I am worried about how people react, like how my parents seem scared of it. I don't want to make them upset. Or... or other kids here. A lot of people are really good with their powers."

Maybe what I really want to say is that I don't want people to reject me—I don't want to be alone.

He shrugs. "See, that comes with years of practice, Noah," he tells me. "Ilya Sinclair, you probably know him as Poison Dart, I think that's what the kids call him, couldn't even appear in a visible form for most of his first year. Now he can vanish and reappear at will, practically. Mickey Thorne, his Killtouch control was so bad he could actually pass his ability through his clothes. No gloves worked on this kid, he had to be totally isolated from his peers. Now he gets detention for skinny-dipping in the fountain with his friends. Best Killtouch control I've seen by a long shot. It's about how much you want it, Noah, and how hard you work—that's all."