The Prodigies [First Draft]

Thirty Two

Kenny lay awake that night, staring at the bottom of Jump's bunk. Hours had passed since she had retired to bed, and sleep still seemed as far away as it had been then. She knew she should try to get some rest, as the escape was to take place the next day. However, her uneasy mind and anxious thoughts made this impossible.

The plan itself was relatively simple: Kenny and Einstein were to sneak out of the Dormitories, sneak into the Nursery, turn off the security system, and leave campus. However, there were dozens of different factors that could ruin the scheme and send the young girl to Detention. Things were proceeding much quicker than she or Einstein had expected now that Kenny was leaving with him. She hoped Einstein knew what the two were getting themselves into, as she certainly didn't.

After a few more moments of thinking about Einstein and his plan, Kenny pushed all of her thoughts away. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep to no avail. However, before she could give up on and retreat to her closet to read, a dream overtook the young girl.

Kenny could tell this dream was about a future event; she wasn't sure where she was, and she could move of her own accord. Someone's hand gripped tightly on her forearm as they walked alongside her, pulling her down a brightly lit hallway. Kenny turned her head to squint at her surroundings. The building was similar to that of a hospital, and they shared the sharp smell of anesthetics.

As Kenny was forcefully led down a set of stairs, the atmosphere began to change. Whitewashed walls and blinding lights made it almost impossible to look up, but the girl continued to stare through it. Once her eyes were accustomed to the brightness, she continued her observation of her surroundings. She spotted evenly spaced white doors with windows placed between each door. Looking through the windows, she found white padded cells, all empty. Where was she?

"Look who I found upstairs," a accented voice called from next to Kenny. She squinted at the bright space in front of her to see who was there.

Miss Kaylee stepped out from one of the padded cells, closing and locking the door behind her. She turned to look at Kenny and gasped. "Hawking! How did you get in here? Why are you out past curfew?" The woman looked shocked. "So it's true. You truly did steal my files."

The woman turned to the man beside Kenny. "Thank your granddaughter telling us the location of my files. I'll have Miss Gavin remove them from the Girls' Dormitories. As for Hawking, ask her what she knows about this building and then send her to the Detention room. I'm dealing with our situation down here."

Kenny was about to look up at the person beside her when she spotted a familiar face behind Miss Kaylee. She learned slightly to her right to look through the window of the room Miss Kaylee had walked out of. Behind the glass pane stood a short figure, screaming at and gesturing toward the young girl. She nearly shouted in response when she realized who it was.

Clay was being held inside one of the padded cells.

Kenny jolted awake, slamming her head against the wall with her sudden movement. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and checked the time. It was nearly six in the morning. She gently prodded the lump forming on her head before tiredly trudging to the bathroom.

An hour or so later, Kenny was sitting in the Dining Hall with Color, Fins, and Clay. She found herself staring at Clay several times throughout breakfast to the point where the boy asked if he had food on his cheek. Kenny shook her head, embarrassed, and attempted to focus on her food. However, the longer she took her eyes off of Clay, the more uneasy she felt.

The bell soon rang, and Kenny anxiously went through the rest of her day. Einstein had decided that the two wouldn't speak to each other throughout the day, so she was unable to inform him of her dream at the Pavilion. She was worried about both the plan and Clay, which caused the hands of the clock tick by slower to her. During her therapy session with Mrs. Page, she continuously checked the time, hurrying to her seventh period class once the bell had rung.