A Midnight Mind

Chapter 14: I Want to be Psychic

 The next day, after an excellent night of sleeping in his own bed, Ethan gladly informed Neil that his midnight was free of any rogue projections whatsoever.

"I know," said Neil, looking less tired but just as disheartened as the day before. "I was there."

Ethan frowned. "You were in my room? Are you mind-stalking me?"

"What?" Neil said in a low voice. "No! I just dropped in to make sure you weren't attacked, the same as I did Tuesday and Wednesday. I had to make sure... he wasn't just skipping a night. Guess he wasn't." Neil almost sounded disappointed.

I guess that's not so bad. Kind of wish I knew that last night, if just so I could be less nervous. "Well," said Ethan, "thanks for the backup."

Neil waved it off.

"Oh, Violet was looking for you yesterday," said Ethan. "Something about making changes to her article."

"Yeah, she sent me like thirty texts. I ended up blocking her."

Mr. Cheek started writing on the board. "Good morning, all," he said.

"Why did you block her?" Ethan whispered to Neil.

"Like I need that airhead mocking me some more. I don't have time to help her with her freaking homework, anyway."

"Well, it could be important. Maybe you should--"

"Ethan," said Mr. Cheek, "I'm glad you're making friends, but it's time to pipe down."

"Right," said Ethan, flushing red at the sound of nearby students giggling. "Sorry."

Apparently he wouldn't be doing Violet any favors by getting Neil to agree to speak to her.

"This is why you should learn to talk like this," said Neil psychically.

Ethan hooked his middle finger over the desk. Neil grinned.

He's not wrong, though, Ethan thought. It could prove to be handy to learn what I'm able to do with this psychic stuff. At the very least I'd be able to tell if I'm being mind-stalked. I don't have to get involved with the dangerous stuff; I can just learn how to do all the tricks that Neil can do in case the dream man comes back. He must still be out there...

Besides, after a full day of being free of the Worldmind, he found himself almost missing it. There was this whole other world he could theoretically explore at any time. When Ethan was younger, he would have loved to be special. What changed?

When the class ended, he said to Neil, "You should teach me."

"Teach you what, exactly?" said Neil as they both left the classroom. "I'd make a lousy English tutor. I hate Heart of Darkness. Impossible to tell who's saying what."

"Very funny. I mean all the wibbly-wobbly, psychicky stuff. I wanna learn."

Neil sighed. "You're better off leaving it alone. There's a lot you have to know, and since you don't know how to get to the Worldmind yet, you're free of those responsibilities. Just forget that you're a psychic at all. Live a normal life, dude."

"You really think you're going to convince me to do that?" Ethan flashed a sideways grin.

Neil smiled back. "Not if you're anything like me." His smile disappeared into a tight line. "I can't help you with it, though. I shouldn't have even taught you as much as I have without talking to Ms. Stafford."

"The woman you were in the Worldmind with the other night," Ethan clarified. "She's a teacher here, isn't she?"

"Yeah. Officially, she teaches psychology, but she also guides young psychics; teaches them how the Worldmind works and how to keep from abusing psychic potential. She taught me most of what I know. If you want to learn more about your so-called psychicky stuff, she's a much better option than I am."