The Prodigies [First Draft]

Eight

Miss Kaylee closed the door to the staircase to Dr. Zhang's office and began to wring her hands. She could already tell she was going to be in a significant amount of trouble. What if she was fired? Where would she find another job? Who would take care of the children she counseled? If Dr. Zhang couldn't find anyone to substitute for her, he certainly couldn't get anyone to do her job on such short notice.

Kaylee stopped fidgeting and tried to calm herself down. I won't be fired, she told herself. Dr. Zhang wouldn't do that to the children. You might be scolded, that's all.

Still, she shouldn't have brought Kendall to the academy.

Kaylee listened to Mrs. Brennan and Kendall's footfalls until they diminished into the silence that surrounded her. She thought about the young girl, scared and nervous, in a giant institution in which she might not even belong. What would happen if she was sent back home? She would be reunited with her siblings, sure, but she wouldn't get the education she needed. Did Kaylee want that to happen?

Miss Kaylee began to walk up the narrow staircase, gaining confidence with each step. She was right to bring Kendall here. This was the only place where she could get a proper education and still be treated as normal. It was where Kenny truly belonged. Kendall was Gifted and qualified for an education here at the Academy for Gifted Children, no matter what Dr. Zhang said.

That thought gave the woman the determination she needed to continue up the staircase.

Kaylee marched up several flights of stairs to the highest landing. She pressed her shirt down, flattening little creases in the fabric to make herself look more presentable. After straightening her posture and thinking about Kendall's situation again to fuel her courage, she knocked on the door to her boss' office. The calm, cheerful demeanor she usually held in front of Kendall morphed into a more serious one.

"Dr. Zhang," Kaylee stated firmly, her persona altering, "it's Dr. Anderson."

"Come in." Dr. Zhang sounded just as solemn.

Dr. Anderson opened the door and stifled a gasp. She had forgotten how beautiful Dr. Zhang's office was.

Streaks of light painted the polished wooden floor from behind wine-colored curtains. Dr. Zhang sat at his mahogany desk, typing away on his laptop. A green lamp atop the principal's work space was the main source of light in the room, highlighting the principal's angular face as he worked. Tens of fish tanks of different sizes sat on shelves of the large bookcases around the room. As she stepped inside, a Siamese fighting fish eyed Dr. Anderson wearily before continuing to toy with the turquoise pebbles resting at the bottom of its tank.

"Dr. Anderson," Dr. Zhang spoke, not looking up from his computer, "I'm glad to have you back."

Dr. Anderson could tell Dr. Zhang was irritated with her, but she held her ground. She was willing to fight for Kendall's place at AGC.

"I'm glad to be back," the counselor responded. "I'll get to the pile of work you talked about in your letter as soon as I can."

Dr. Zhang nodded. "Yes, I believe that would be appropriate. Do you know, however, what was not appropriate for you to do?"

Dr. Anderson paused for a moment, then shook her head. "No, I did everything I thought was right."

Dr. Zhang finally looked up at the young woman in front of him, his eyes telling of his annoyance. "Why did you bring Miss Frodell here with you?"

"She belongs here, Dr. Zhang. She is the most gifted child I have ever met, and—"

"Why didn't you send her to St. Thomas Aquinas?"

"You know very well how expensive that school is, Dr. Zhang. She wouldn't have been able to afford it," Dr. Anderson argued.

"You said her guardian was wealthy, did you not?"

"I said wealthy, yes, but I did not say sensible. She is...indifferent to her wards. She wouldn't have paid for the child to go."

"How would you know that?" Dr. Zhang demanded, but it was a weak argument. They both knew what she could do to find that type of information.

"I've been 'observing' the children in Snowcoast, just like you asked, and Kenny is the one we're looking for," Dr. Anderson affirmed. "I'm certain of it."

Dr. Zhang took his glasses off and rubbed his temples. He took a deep breath before speaking. "You're so stubborn when it comes to things like this, Dr. Anderson. Sometimes I think it would be best for the school if you weren't a Seeker."

Dr. Anderson laughed, and the tension in the room deflated. "No, it wouldn't. I'm one of your best Seekers."

The woman wasn't trying to be cocky. It was just the truth.

"Yes, but you're so young," Dr. Zhang objected. "With age comes wisdom. Oscar Wilde. Seekers need wisdom to know which children to bring to the academy and which ones to leave. You aren't even thirty yet."

"Your grandfather was twenty-one," Kaylee countered, "and he's the greatest Seeker in Gifted history." She turned around and gestured towards the large portrait on the wall of Huang Fu Zhang, the school founder and Dr. Zhang's grandfather. Gifted people were around for much longer before the 1900s, but no one with Huang Fu's gift had been born until then.

It still shocked Kaylee to this day, what with her meager Gift of restricted telepathy, but Huang Fu had had the ability to sense Gifts in others, even if they didn't know they were Gifted. Gifts were usually passed down through families, but sometimes, they would skip a few generations. Parents who weren't educated on Gifted people used to think their children were possessed or cursed. The children would often be hidden from the public, and most would never know what a school even was. Back in the 1900s, almost all Gifted people were illiterate until Huang Fu decided to build the Academy for Gifted Children.

"Huang Fu's Gift Detection was much stronger than anyone of this time and age," Dr. Zhang reminded Kaylee. "Plus, the Zhang's area was about the same size in all of the children back then. These days, as the Z-area continues to grow smaller with each generation, detection is much harder than it was in the 1950s."

"I know." Miss Kaylee sighed. "Did you detect anything from Kendall? I noticed you were watching us as we came through the gate."

Dr. Zhang shook his head, and Kaylee's shoulders slumped. Dr. Zhang, like Huang Fu, had the ability of Gift Detection. If he hadn't sensed anything, there was a possibility the woman was wrong, and Kendall wasn't Gifted. However, she let herself hope Dr. Zhang was mistaken as he opened his mouth to speak.

"However, I wouldn't have felt anything even if she was the most Gifted person in the world. I'm sitting in a school full of Gifted people, and that confuses my sensors, or whatever you'd like to call them."

"You still sensed nothing, though. Does that mean she'll have to leave?" Kaylee inquired. She was relieved there was a possibility Kendall was Gifted, but she needed to make sure before she began to celebrate.

"Only an MRI may predict Miss Frodell's future. I'll have Carol phone the radiologist." Dr. Zhang picked up his phone to call Mrs. Brennan.

"Carol took Kendall to the Clinic," Kaylee disclosed sheepishly.

Dr. Zhang pursed his lips. "Of course. Then you call, please. Oh, and before I forget: you're on Kitchen Duty this week. And next week, if you'd like to stay on my good side."

Miss Kaylee smiled and headed towards the door. Kitchen Duty was an awful responsibility and the absolute worst part of her job, but it was child's play compared to being fired. The woman stepped out of the room, grateful to her boss. "Goodbye, Dr. Zhang."

In response, Dr. Zhang called, "Get started on that pile of work, Dr. Anderson!"

Kaylee closed the door to Dr. Zhang's office. For only a second, she let herself think, what if—? but she cut herself off before she could even finish the thought. Shaking her head, she let herself believe all was right with her job now that she'd returned. With a cheerful turn, Kaylee started on her way to the Clinic.