No Ordinary Girl

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Lay down and close your eyes if you dare, and you may fall victim to this terrifying mangler.

Easy peasy. I knew it was Nightmare on Elm Street, one of my mom's favorite horror movies. "I know this one, too." I scribbled the answer feverishly on the sheet.

"You're a rock star," Ace said.

I looked up at him and shot him a sly grin. "Not quite. I have no clue where to go next."

He studied the clue. "Well, is there somewhere here where one could have a little kip?"

I looked up at him. "A what?!"

"A little nap, a siesta, a... snooze, as you Americans would say."

I thought about it. The only place I'd ever fallen asleep at RAMS was my bed. And Simone had clearly indicated that the hunt did not extend to the dorms, and was strictly within the parameters of the school. And then it came to me... I'd fallen asleep during meditation at yoga class. "Maybe the yoga studio... I fell asleep there once."

He shrugged. "I suppose it's worth a try."

"Let's go," I sped off, and he caught up to me. He grabbed my arm gently. "Hold up," he choked out, a little breathless. "I think we're doing really well. Can we slow down a bit?" Then he took my hand in his.

I was a little taken aback, but I didn't pull my hand away. "Sure." I said, despite the fact that I was raring to go. Did he not understand how much I wanted this? I suppose he had no clue how much I wanted to beat Leo and Brianna.

I pulled my hand from his when we left the library. I didn't want Leo to see us like that, and get the wrong idea.

"You're from Chicago, right?" he asked.

"Yep," I just said, but didn't elaborate this time. "How 'bout you? I know you're from the U.K, but where again?" I couldn't remember and didn't really care.

"Oxford," he said.

I waved at a girl who was in my Biology class, and she smiled. There were tons of kids I didn't recognize -- other years. When I ran into someone I knew, I'd get a little excited.

"...my parents want me to go to uni at Oxford, obviously," he was saying, but I wasn't really listening. I was thinking about Haley. She'd pop into my head at the most random of times, and so did Calista, and Kylie, and Mom and Dad.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" he asked.

I thought about Kylie again. She was probably in bed at that very minute, cuddled up with Coco and Buttercup. I turned to him. "I have a little sister... Kylie. She's ten." I was smiling wide.

He grinned. "You like her a lot. I can tell."

"You're right," My heart warmed then -- I'd been judging him all this time, but he was kind of a nice guy. So he was a rich kid, a player, a charmer, but he'd actually never done anything bad to me. What was my problem? "How about you?"

His smile faded, so suddenly that it took me by surprise. After an awkward beat, he finally said, "I have a little sister, too. Emily. She's fourteen. Actually, she's kind of moody these days. And my brother, Ken..." his words trailed off.

"Is he older than you?" I asked, curious. I wondered if he was here, too, at RAMS. Probably not. Most kids at RAMS did not have siblings here. Psychic ability can run in families, but often it doesn't.

"My brother died two years ago," he finally managed. "He was two years older than me."

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't even imagine what that would be like. "I'm so sorry, Ace."