Bookie Paige [COMPLETED] [UNEDITED]

Chapter 3

Rain is an excellent ATM hacker.

And there are practically ATMs everywhere.

So, it's easy for us to consume money. Money is good, especially for traveling.

Right now, we were all cluttered around Rain as she expertly worked her magic. Passersby walked by us, some glancing at us. But they quickly walked on, seeing our blank expressions bore into them. Not many people stopped asked us what we were doing, but the ones who did were quickly sent away with an expertly practiced lie.

"Rain, you almost done?" I whispered, my eyes not leaving the people by us. We were in Utah at that moment, so I didn't have too many people to watch. Mostly hillbillies. Nothing to worry about, easy fight if provoked.

"Give me two more minutes," Rain said back, her voice lowered, too.

"Hurry up, Rain," Shadow whined.

I was the first one to see the cop. My brain calculated how many seconds we had before he reached us. Forty-three.

"Guys, cop, to the right!" I hissed lowly. Rain's fingers were flying, and she clicked on the $100 bill sign at least five times.

"Owl, distract him!" I said hurriedly. Owl nodded, and muttered under his breath. Three crows swooped out of nowhere and started attacking an oldish lady. She started screaming for help, and the cop faltered before sprinting to her side, swatting them off. We were gone before he could look back.

The six of us patiently waited at a bus stop at least ten blocks away from the cop scene. The bus puffed and rolled up, and we climbed on, me last. With a dashing smile to the bus man, I walked to the back and we all sat down, ignoring the stares of adults. The bus driver hesitated, and then got up and walked back to where we sat, relaxing. I lifted an eyebrow at him at popped a gum piece in my mouth, chewing it loudly.

"Um, miss?" He cleared his throat. "Where might your destination be? And, um, you have to pay to ride . . ."

I smiled and leaned forward, my gang followed my lead, staring the bus driver down. He shifted, uncomfortable, and waited. "Well, we are headed to upper Cali."

He nodded and jotted it down. "That's a two hundred dollar ride, miss. And by the looks of you . . ."

I tilted my head. "We have the money, and we will not be paying until we're there."

He opened his mouth, but quickly closed it, seeing my expression. Grumbling, he stalked back to his seat and started the bus. I grinned at Ivy and patted my bag, which had nine, hundred-dollar bills in it. They were folded neatly, and tucked beneath my extra clothes and books.

Zip shifted and lay her head on my shoulder. I patted her leg and leaned back, waiting for the ride to be over.

I don't know what time it was, but eventually we stopped. It was dark, maybe eleven or midnight? I yawned and stood, waking the gang. They sleepily followed me, and I handed the bus driver, who was fluffing up a pillow on the steering wheel, a twenty. He smiled and stuffed it in a pocket. "We leave at seven tomorrow, 'k kid?"

"Yes, ok," I responded, hopping off. The bus driver closed the doors and I looked around. We were in an empty parking lot, with eight tall street lamps, shining bright above us. There were a few buildings, with no lights, and they were all five floors tall. Office buildings. I scowled and rapped on the bus doors, which flew open after a few seconds.

"What do you want?" The man asked warily, trying to sound threatening. I glared at him and climbed back on, running to the back. Then I leaned my head on the window and closed my eyes. Zip sat with me, Ivy and Rain shared a seat, Shadow sat alone, as a shadow, and Owl had his own, too, but a squirrel was in his lap. The driver said nothing, didn't look back at us, only slept. I smiled.

When I woke up, Zip wasn't by my side, but rather petting the squirrel. Everyone was up, including the driver, who was already driving. I yawned. "How long we been on the road?"

"And hour and a half," Ivy responded.

I nodded and stood, right after the bus swayed. Zip frowned at me. "How'd ya know when to stand? Surely you aren't that smart."

I shrugged. "It's a coincidence, I guess."

Zip frowned again, but nodded. Shadow became nothing but a shape, and blended in with the shadows made by trees in the bus, sneaking up on the driver, who was grumbling. He came back a minute later, and whispered something in Owl's ear, who laughed. I looked at him, and he smiled, leaning over to tell me that the driver was going to quit his job after this. I covered my mouth to muffle my laughter.

"At least he's getting money out of it," I pointed out quietly. My whispering resulted in a glare from the driver in the huge rear view mirror. Then an idea came to me. "Hey, Owl, after we're gone and far away from him, you should send a bird to "steal" the two, hundred dollar bills from his hands. He's going to admire them after I hand them to him for a good three seconds, and then after we're out of view, he'll take them out and look at them for like five minutes."

Everyone gaped at me, and I raised my hands defensively, my face quizzical. "How do you know that?" Shadow exclaimed.

I faltered before saying, "I don't really know. I saw it happen in my mind, like a dream. Like a . . ."

"A vision!" Zip finished. "Remember when you stood up exactly after the bus stopped swaying?" I nodded. "Bookie, you're developing a new skill!" She stood, excited.

"What is it, then?" I asked.

"To see the future!"