The School For Gifted Kids

Chapter 18: Arson (Crucial backstory Info!)

Yeah. I woke up with Anika in my face. I tried to sit up but bonked my head on the low ceiling. 

"Dumb as always."

"You're not much better. They'll hear you and come and find me!"

"You literally cried yourself to sleep and they didn't find you. Oddly enough, that threat doesn't seem to exactly "threaten" me." 

"OH YOU-"

"Ah ah ah, let's keep it appropriate. First, I am going to talk about someone Willa, Elle and Ben will know. Her name is Riley DuBoui, and her parents are well known to a different type of people."

"Scholars?"

"The people on the black market. They sell illegal goods for a living. They want Ben's parent's research on brain wave technology. So, they enroll Riley here under a fake name and such, with a mission to get close enough to Ben to get crucial info on the research."

"That seems like a regular plot. Why are you explaining this to me?"

"Because "Riley" doesn't exist either, you dope! Do you not know my powers?"

"Um, you're fire element?"

"Oh, you're so innocent. I'm much more than that. I'm Doubleborn. I have Shapeshifting and Charmspeak. Except much more powerful than you think. My powers have been trained so intensely that I have unlocked a whole new level of power. I can take the shape of a human and can play tricks on people's minds. Like, take the shape of Valarae, a middle school bully. Her name itself sounds like a such a stereotypical white girl name! She is literally taken from a book. No one is actually like that.  I tricked people's minds into thinking she existed. Except I am Riley, Valarae and others. I even tricked a girl into being Riley's little sister. So don't try me... I've been working far too hard to let this go to waste. I'm not going to sit back and let you let the prisoners escape." 

"Wow, what a monologue."

"Not done. Anastasia adopted me when no one else thought I was needed. She saw the potential in me and not the uselessness. I can't even get into how much it means to me to show her that I can do something. But I'll tell you a secret. Her predecessor, Donald Trump? He didn't lose. He won. And America plummeted after that. They used to be one of the richest countries in the world, but now they've all but declared bankruptcy. She knows that. But if others did, they wouldn't support her, and wouldn't that be just a travesty?"

"Yeah, totally. Maybe then the people of America wouldn't be such assholes."

"Oh please. Quit your complaining. Let's get deeper into our conversation."

"Conversation? You seem to be the only one talking."

"Hey, you have every chance to jump in."

"You'd probably strangle me if I tried."

"Too true. Now, have you ever heard of the company Andromeda? You know, they make cool tech?"

"Never heard of them. BEN! WILLA! CADDY!"

"They can't hear you. I've made sure."

"What did you do?!"

"I'll tell you if you shut up."

"Funny. I think I said the exact same line to someone just a while ago. And that did not go in my favor."

"Yeah, I heard. I was watching. Man, Willa's really racking up a record. Elle and Ben are fighting... seems like your little group's falling apart."

"What does it matter to you?"

"When the enemy's defense is weak and broken, then is the time for an attack."

"Who said that?"

"I don't know. Probably some random dead general. My point being that they're weak, and its the best time to strike them down.  I was wondering if perhaps you'll help in my endeavors. I could use a pyromaniac on my side."

"Please. You said that "Riley" was straight out of a middle school drama. You sound like every evil villain that ever lived. The "Join me" speech is straight out of a comic book."

"You're suggesting I'm the villain?"

"If the shoe fits."

"Please, do you want to know my evil plan?"

"Seriously, that's like every villain's downfall. Never tell your evil plan."

"Can you just stop?!"

"Can I?"

"Ugh!! Alright, Andromeda is the buyer for the product. They hold things above Anastasia's head. Bad stuff. Now, if she can sell this product, they'll let her off the hook. One of Andromeda's main agent was in the school. She and I were constantly fighting because she knew who I was. She just couldn't find a way to bust me. You don't know her, but that's not a problem. Her name's Past."

"Who names a kid Past?"

"Other kids. She refused to tell her name and the only person who knew it was the principal. But she had a daughter."

"How old was this Past?"

"The principal, you dope. And the PRINCIPAL'S daughter is the only one who knew-KNOWS Past's true identity and objective. And she happens to be one of our prisoners."

I gulped.