Ataxia

twenty-nine

There was the sound of one person clapping and suddenly, I couldn't move. It was like I was sealed in ice, completely frozen (pun not intended). August looked up at me, looking very young and scared. She shook her head and looked down again. What kind of person would make my little sister so frightened? Whoever it was, I was sure I could take him on.

The clapping ceased. And even I got chills as a middle-aged man walked by me. And that's saying a lot if someone scares me.

"Des," August whispered, still clutching me tight. "I need to tell you something."

"I know, Aug. This guy's bad news." I replied in a low tone.

"No, Des, he's --"

She was cut off by the guy who just strolled past us. "So," he turned around to face my little sister and I. He approached us, shoving his hands in his business jacket. There was something familiar about him but I couldn't put my finger on it. "Are you Destine Illiana Whiston?"

Oh, crud. He was talking about me.

I didn't answer. Number one rule when a stranger knows your name: deny that your name isn't yours. "No," I said quietly, thinking about why he would know my name. I've never seen this guy in my entire life, even though he was very familiar.

"You're lying," he said, his hands still in his pockets. "My source says that you: a 5'6 fourteen-year-old girl with short blackish-brown hair and pale green eyes, are Destine Illiana Whiston."

"Souce ...?" I whisper to myself. I glanced at August to see if she knew anything about it.

"Des, that's what I wanted to tell you," she said, trembling. "There's a traitor here."

I tensed. A traitor? Here?

"Who is it?" I asked her and Mr. Jerkface answered anyway.

"JW28945," he snapped his fingers, "come."

And I couldn't believe my eyes on who came out from under the table.

"Johnnay?"

I couldn't even muster anything else out of my mouth. What the ...? How? And why? Johnnay was one of my best friends. Was this all a trick to get close to me?

She stared at the floor, biting her bottom lip. "I'm so sorry," she squeaked.

I gritted my teeth, feeling the anger rage inside me like a blizzard again. "I trusted you! How could you?"

"Enough of this," the guy said, halting our very important conversation. I was disliking him more and more. "Take this one --"

He suddenly stopped speaking and his hands dropped to his sides. He looked very confused and his mouth kind of hung open like a zombie.

"Mr. Radcliffe, she's not Destine," August said, locking eyes with the guy. Her chocolate-chip-brown eyes shifted and turned a lighter brown color before returning to normal. "She's not the one."

"She's not the one," he repeated in a monotone.

The entire crowd of kids and staff in the room gasped. I turned to August, realizing she was controlling his mind. I shuddered. How was she doing this? I thought she could only read minds, not control them. Obviously not.

"Sir!" One of the minions under Mr. Radcliffe's command shouted. He was a young man holding down one of the teachers. "What are you doing?"

"She's not the one," he repeated. And then he took August by the hand and started dragging her out the door.

I gasped, trying to move. I still couldn't. What was going on?

"August!" I yelled. "What're you doing?"

"I don't know!" She shouted back, getting further and further away from me. "He's controlling me or something, I can't move my body on my own anymore!"

So that's his ability. He controls people, but not mentally. Now he was officially ticking me off.

"Get back here!" I yelled to the Radcliffe guy. He didn't even turn or look at me. It was like I wasn't even here. "Come back!" I shrieked. "You're not taking my little sister away from me!"

And I did something I don't do often: I cried. My snotty and tear-filled yells filled the entire cafeteria. I couldn't even move my own body. I was stuck. Not being able to do anything was one of the worst feelings imaginable.

My only sister ... my Aug ... was taken away from me.

And I didn't even lift a finger to help.