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Zu, for her part, delighted in showing me what she had learned in school, and the tricks the other Yellows had taught her outside of it

After a few days, she stopped wearing her gloves It only really hitout hts, but she beat ht blinked out

"That’s aushed, but it would have been a terrible lie to say I didn’t feel a pang of jealousy in how ress she had made I had only been able to block Clancy out of my mind once, and not before he had found out about what had happened to Sa" had been his only comment

While I saw Zu and Chubs every day, Liam was a completely different matter The security team had him scheduled for the second watch--five pm to five am--all the way at the far west end of the lake He was usually too tired to stumble back to the cabin after his shift, and spentin the tents they had set up near that entrance I saw hi ani with Zu at Cubbies, but it was always from theof Clancy’s room

I missed him to the point of a real, physical ache, but I understood that he had responsibilities When I had a thought to spare, it usually went to him, but I was so focused onelse for too long

Clancy laughed, drawing my attention back to him from the , and I suddenly wasn’t sure how I could leta white polo shirt that elow of his skin, and pressed khaki pants casually rolled at the ankle Whenever he was out with others, he was properly buttoned up, his clothes clean and ironed within an inch of their lives--but not with me

Here, we didn’t have to put on any show Not for each other

When we first started these lessons, it had been from either side of his ridiculous desk; it felt like I was squaring off against a school principal, not being guided through a Psi lesson by uru Next, we had tried the floor, but after a few hours of sitting, my back felt like it was ready to cru on his narrow bed He had taken one end and I had taken the other Then, we started inching closer Bridging the distance on his red quilt, nearer to each other with each lesson, until one day I snapped out of whatever haze Clancy’s dark eyes had put ainst one another

"Sorry," I o fro, apparently "Take it froet Mike in here to start building props?"

I’hed at that--it wasn’t even all that funny Maybe trying to throw my brain at his for the last twentyI see his hand felt as it took ain," he said "This ti h the haze"

Easier said than done I nodded and closed ht back the flood of color inhow my brain seemed to work, I felt ehed the first tiers in front ofa spell over me

He had tried a number of different one down to the pantry so I could watch him slip into Lizzie’s h, ask her to cluck like a chicken Clancy had tried to show me how easy it was to affect the ule word At one point, we’d sat on the stoop of the Office and he’d readpoor Hina, as, apparently, harboring a desperate crush on Clancy

The truth was, he could do everything and anything Block , a fear Once, I was sure, he had even passed on a drea hiinside of me clench with fear He told me to take it slow, that it had taken him years to master all of this, but it was irip on my abilities as soon as possible It seemed to me that the best way to repay his kindness was to master myself to the point where I could stand beside him and feel pride, not shame, in what I could do

Until I could unlock his secrets, ere never going to be equals He had calledour lessons and in front of other kids, and it surprised me how much I recoiled at the term Clancy had hundreds of friends I wanted to be more than that--I wanted him to trust me and confide in me

Sometimes, I just wanted him to lean closer, to tuck ht, though, and I wasn’t sure what dark corner ofout of I thinktricks on me, because I knehat I really wanted was for Liam to do that--do more than that

But every time I tried to slip into Clancy’s mind, I was thrown back Clancy had so much control over his powers that I didn’t even have tihts and le time, it was like he had drahite curtain around his brain No a it down

That didn’tover to brush ered there, sliding over to cup the back ofmy eyes up to meet his, even as he leaned closer

"You can do this I know you can"

My teeth clenched until I felt ht cheek I tried drawing the hundreds and thousands of wandering fingers together, focusing theh to penetrate his wall I squeezed his hand, increasing rip until I’er toward hi in as fast and hard as I could And still, the ainst that white wall, it felt like he had reached over and slapped hed and dropped his hand