Secret

Chapter Three

The car ride is very short. Very short. Once we loose sight of my home, Ms. Meyer stops the car and steps out of it, taking me along with her. I didn't really get to see the car before I got in it, and now I realize it isn't normal. It looks like a silver van that didn't fully grow, because it isn't that tall at all on the outside. Little buttons are in place of where the handles should be, and on the exterior of the car, it's pure silver, with no windows or vents or anything. On the inside, it's like a full-on limo. It's probably a car built from MAD, since it's unlike anything I've ever seen.

"What are you doing?" We aren't at the school yet, since we're literally in the middle of nowhere. I live in a place where there aren't any other buildings, and the closest house is about a mile away, and we're still in the area because we've only been driving for five or ten minutes.

Ms. Meyer doesn't reply, but takes out a device instead. It reminds me of a mini Saturn, since it's a 3D sphere no bigger than my fist with an outline of a circle going around it. The main color is grey, but several thin lines going in all directions range from blue to red to purple.

"What is that?" I ask, but once again, I get no reply. Instead, Ms. Meyer closes her eyes and holds my hand with a firm grip. I try to let go, but she hasn't the tightest grasp I've ever felt. Partly because I rarely seen anyone, but I doubt anyone is this strong. Like any normal girl - although I'm far from normal - I blink, but the darkness seems to last longer than usual. When I reopen my eyes, I'm standing in front of a large building, and I realize I'm not in Kansas anymore. I like the way Ms. Meyer and I type of transportation much better than Dorothy's, though.

The school reminds me of three office buildings put into one structure. In the center is a very tall white building with glass panels everywhere, and two large glass doors in the front and the bold letters MAD spelled out above them. To either side of the school are two more buildings exactly like it, but without the doors and instead of being vertical, it is horizontal. It looks really big on the outside, and, like the car, is probably even bigger on the inside.

"Wow," is all I say. I must admit - MAD is nothing like I expected.

"Come inside, Cassidy. I want you to meet some of the other students."

I follow her through the doors into a room that seems bigger than possible. It must be the main room, I think. Left and right I see kids and teachers flooding through the halls, and all of them were busy with an experiment or a test or a simple conversation. The corners of the rectangle-shaped room stores machines and the sides of the room lead to several different hallways that lead to even more rooms. The school is at least a thousand times bigger than my house.

Ms. Meyer motions for me to pass through a hallway into one of the classrooms. Like a normal classroom, it has desks and chairs and shelves full of books and paper. Unlike a normal classroom, there's a big high-tech screen at the front, and weird plants and experiments fill the room, making it all a big clutter.

Inside are five kids - two girls and three boys. None of them have red hair like me, which is a little disappointing. One girl has blonde hair with bright green eyes like me, and is watering a plan. Weird, I note. The other girl has brown hair with blue eyes, and is staring off into space. Even more weird, I comment mentally. Two of the boys look exactly alike with pale skin and dark hair and eyes, and I infer they are twins. They talk furiously among each other so fast that I can't catch what they're saying. 

The last boy catches my attention the most. He has light brown hair and grey eyes, and is completely focused on a mug that was sitting on a table ten feet away from him, but all he does was stare, and nothing else. Something's up, I realize.

"Kids, meet Cassidy," Ms. Meyer says. "She's from a small town here in Massachusetts. Cassidy, meet the kids you'll be having class with. Gracie" -she points to the girl with blond hair, who smiles in reply- "and Rebecca" -she points to the girl with brown hair, who barely looks my way- "and the twins, Alec and Alex" -she points to the boy on the left as Alec and the boy on the right as Alex, although I know I will never remember the difference, and they nod and go back to talking- "and finally, Cole." She points to the boy with brown hair, who just seems lost in confusion for a second.

After a moment or so, Cole turns to me and smiles. "Hey, Cassidy. What's your ability?"

I grin. "I can fly."

"Fly?" he repeats. "There's a first."

"No one else can fly?"

"No," Cole replies. "Gracie can make plants grow with a smile, Rebecca can read your thoughts, Alec and Alex can control the weather, and I can move items with my mind."

"Do it," I challenge.

Ms. Meyer stops him. "Actually, Cassidy, he can't, and neither can you. It's the top rule: no using your abilities." The top rule of a school for kids with special powers is to not use your special power? What kind of school is this?

"Why not?" I ask. "I thought this was a school where we could use them and you know, be free."

"We're here to teach you to use your abilities, but using them outside of class is not allowed, understand? We don't want you tiring them out or hurting yourself. I can explain more later." She better, because although MAD's architectural structure is pretty awesome, I have so many more questions I need to have answered.

I'm still confused. None of this made sense, but then again, it never has and probably never will. Before I can say anything, she walks out of the room, and I sigh. 

I walk over to Rebecca, who's still staring into space. "What are you trying to do exactly?"

She blinks to get out of her zone or whatever she's in, and turns to me. "As Cole told you, I can read minds, but since I'm not supposed to do that, I'm trying to figure out a way to do it without having Ms. Meyer know."

"Why can't you do it?" I ask. "I mean, it seems kind of weird to not be able to use our abilities. And if we're not supposed to do it, why are you trying to?"

"We'll explain later," Rebecca promises. 

"That's what everyone keeps saying," I say. "Why can't you tell me now?"

She doesn't answer, but motions to the several video cameras scattered across the ceiling. It seems really weird to spy on kids in their classrooms.

"Well, you just told whoever's watching what you're trying to do and all that. They're going to hear all of that, so maybe you should be more careful."

"Gracie is also tech wiz," she whispers. "She fixes it all. We don't want to expose everything. All she does is edit the film, because there has to be some film. Gracie keeps her talent hidden from Ms. Meyer for obvious reasons, and pretends she can only use the whole plant-growing-with-a-smile power."

"Why are they there?" I ask.

"We'll explain later," she repeats, and I can tell she's getting a little annoyed with me.

"We?"

She rolls her eyes. "Me, Gracie, Cole, and the twins."

I bit my lip. "Sorry."

Rebecca shrugs and goes back to unnoticeable mind reading.

Sighing, I look around at everyone else for help, but everyone is too busy. No teachers are around either. Some school, I think.

When my eyes reach Cole, he looks up to me but says nothing. I'm about to turn away when he passes me a piece of paper, and then goes back to staring, or whatever he was doing before. I sigh again and open up the folded piece of paper, but the message is just as strange as MAD.

Meet me in the Lodge at midnight. I have to tell you something.