The Prodigies [First Draft]

Twenty Eight

"Shorter children near the front!" Miss Kaylee called from the raised platform in the center of room 117. "Everyone should be able to see!"

Clay pulled Kenny to the second row to sit with him, even though she was taller than the boy. The two were being seated for the Gifted seminar, and Kenny had found Clay just a few minutes before in the hallway. She was happy she had found someone to sit next to, especially someone as hyperactive as Clay. If she was left alone, Kenny was worried she'd fall asleep during the seminar.

Kenny hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. Because robotics club had taken up most of her afternoon, she was only able to continue searching for ciphers in the library after dinner. After several hours of endless frustration, she decided to head back to her dorm around eleven o'clock. The young girl stole to her dorm room before 11:15 could appear on the clock, and she spent the rest of the night reading about the history of technology to better prepare her for her next meeting of robotics club. She'd been surprised when the morning had arrived.

"Hawking, are you listening?" Clay asked.

Kenny stared blankly at the boy, unconscious of that fact that he had been speaking to her. She shook her head and removed a card from her pocket. I'm sorry.

"It's okay. I was just talking about how this is the first seminar for the both of us. I wasn't old enough to go to the last one because you have to be learning at a Kindergarten level or higher to be allowed inside. I wasn't skipped to first grade until this September, and you didn't get here until...I think it was two weeks ago! I can't believe I've only known you for two weeks!"

Clay laughed, and Kenny nodded. She, too, was surprised at how short her stay at AGC still was. She felt as though she had been there for two years, not two weeks. Many of her teachers had stopped calling her Neo and started using her nickname, and she was well on her way with her school work. The only thing Kenny was still new to was the vocabulary of the students. Even now, she didn't know what the word "mixer" meant. Perhaps she would learn during the seminar.

The room slowly began to fill as more students were called from their dorms over the intercoms. It took at least forty minutes for everyone to get settled, and the room was incredibly noisy once they did. Kenny managed to spot Color and Fins near the back of the room, but they had been too engrossed in a conversation (or an argument, more likely) to see her and Clay wave at them.

Miss Kaylee stepped up to the microphone and tapped it several times. The chattering around the room diminished, and the woman pressed a button on a remote in her hand. All of the e-boards around the room lit up with the words GIFTED SEMINAR: OUR ORIGIN AND HISTORY.

"Hello, everyone!" Miss Kaylee chimed in a voice that was familiar to Kenny. This was the same tone she used to speak to the Kindergarteners at CCC. "How are you all?"

"Good," the crowd droned in response.

"That's great! We're going to be here all morning, so I hope you all had a great breakfast. During this seminar, I'm going to be answering common questions many Gifted children have about themselves and about being Gifted like I always do. However, these questions are going to revolve around the history of Gifted people and where we came from. But first, we're going to play a game. All you have to do is stand, introduce yourself, and tell us what Gift you have. I'll start. My name is Kaylee Anderson, but most of you know me as Dr. Anderson, the elementary guidance counselor. I have the Gift of telepathy, like many of you guys do. Who wants to go next?"

Several students raised their hands, and the game began. By the time the first hour had was up, almost everyone in the room had gone. It didn't take long before Kenny began to worry Miss Kaylee would accidentally choose her like she had done that day in Cute Cuddly Care. However, that moment never came, and the seminar continued.