MIND'S EYE

'Freaks, that lot'

Chapter One

'Freaks, that lot. They ought to give them a separate canteen, my mum says. Separate school.'

Billie was glaring over my shoulder at the table where the telepathic kids sat together.

I wasn't bothered, but I knew Billie's mum had a thing about them. So did Billie.

'Ignore them,' I told her. 'They can't hurt you. Not when they've got implants.'

'Bunch of Braindeads.' Billie wouldn't let it go. 'See that bigger boy? Cornor Smith?'

I turned, trying not to obvious. It was clear which one she meant. He was much taller than the other five, with shadowy eyes and cropped hair, and if he hadn't been a braindeads I'd have thought he was pretty good looking.

His shoulders stiffened as if he could feel me watching, then he lifted his head.

As his glittering eyes locked with mine , full of contempt, I snapped back round, reddening.

'The nerve of him,' said Billie indignantly.
'Staring at a normal kid. Hey Smith!'  she shouted at him.

'Billie stop it's okay' I told her.

'No it's not. She said. 'Hey Smith!' she said again. 'Go back to your remedial class!'

There were times I didn't like Billie all that much. But she was bright and popular and bubbly.

She was my best friend, and I adored her. Besides, her popularity rubbed off on me.

Leaning over, she whispered, 'Cornor Smith nearly killed somebody.'

'Really?' I asked in awe

'Before he got his implant. His parents objected, went to court to try and stop the operation, and while they were wasting all that time he attacked a boy. Poor kid was in a coma for a week and he still gets headaches' I shivered.

'They should have made his parents get him an implant.'

'After that they did.' She added indignantly, 'His parents should be in jail. Him too.'

Too right. Braindeads were scary. When did they start appearing: twenty years ago?

Just evolution, some said. A bunch of kids started hitting puberty and turning far to smart and - well, it was bound to happen.

Maybe it was mischief, maybe it was malice, but bank accounts got emptied, PIN numbers weren't secret anymore, health and employment records were rifled, identities stolen...

Of course the government had to rush through legislation. Of course telepaths had to be controlled.

They weren't all bad, but we had to be protected, the government said.

My dad said something different, but the day Dad agrees with the government about anything, I'll eat a bucket of slugs.

So thirteen years ago, when government scientists came up with implants that immobilised the bad bit of their brains.
Everyone (except my dad) was delighted.

The implants gave the braindeads terrible headaches, so they tended to miss a lot of school, and that was why they needed remedial teaching.

But it was for everybody's good, after all. Even theirs.

With a scrape of chairs the braindeads stood up, gathering books, while the other students eyed them suspiciously.

The tall crop-haired guy stared right back, defiantly.