words were out there before I’d even realizedwhat I’d said. Here I was talking with a girl whose dad possibly kept torture devices lying around the house, and I was offering to give her an orientation tour?
My voice rose as I tried to explain myself. “What I mean is, I moved a lot too when I was younger. So I know that it can make you feel like a freak.”
Sophie’s smile faded.
“Not that I think you’re a freak!” I added quickly. “You’re very non-freaky, believe me. I was just—”
“It’s okay,” Sophie said. “I know what you mean. Every time I show up in a new town, I think,
This is going to be the place where we finally end up
. But it never is. Sometimes I just feel like … like luggage. As soon as I meet a few people, my dad says we have to pack up and move again.”
Now that she’d mentioned her dad, I was halfway tempted to ask about him. I thought about the crazy rumors swirling around Sophie’s home life. And the way she’d introduced herself in class the other day, like she was still getting used to saying her name out loud.
But Sophie was already backpedaling away from me. “Better get going,” she said quickly. “See you in seventh period.”
She disappeared into the crowded hallway before I had a chance to say goodbye.
10
Make time to practice your Gyft .
E ver since returning from the Vile Fair on Saturday, my parents had been working nearly nonstop in their lab. It was no different when I got home that afternoon. I heard the quiet
whoosh
of a Bunsen burner upstairs, and the murmur of muffled voices.
Settling onto the couch, I opened
The Handbook for Gyfted Children
to the chapter titled “Practicing Your Powers.” There was a lot of technical advice relating to specific powers. For example, if you had the Gyft of flight, it was a bad idea to practice under a ceiling fan. But the basic idea of the chapter was pretty simple. Ifyou wanted your Gyft to work, you needed to do three things:
Practice a lot
Control your emotions
Focus your mind
I searched the house for something to practice on, until I found the ceramic lawn gnome that had been sitting in a box ever since Aunt Linda had given it to my mom years before. The gnome had bright cheeks, a pointed hat, and a weird-looking smile. I figured my mom wouldn’t mind if it exploded.
I took the gnome up to my bedroom and sat down next to it on the floor, concentrating on its long beard and its funny grin. I held out my hands, thinking about sparks raining down from my fingertips, trying to imagine the gnome’s little pointed hat combusting. I reached down and gripped the lawn gnome around its chubby ceramic belly …
And nothing happened. The gnome looked just as it had before. Same pointed hat. Same goofy grin. Not even a burn mark.
I closed my eyes and tried to block out all my distractions. But I couldn’t get Sophie out of my mind. It was as if the more I tried to forget her, the more I thought about her. I opened my eyes. The gnome’s expression was starting to look kind of smug, like he knew I would fail.
Gritting my teeth with frustration, I pushed the gnome aside and slammed my fists down onto the carpet.
BOOM!
It sounded like a firecracker had gone off. In the next instant, the carpet erupted into flames.
I fell backward as the fire spread. Smoke billowed up to the ceiling. Scrambling to my feet, I tripped over my chair and staggered into the hallway. I grabbed a fire extinguisher from the closet and charged back into my room.
Behind me, I could hear my parents’ footsteps pounding the floorboards. The smoke alarm was wailing.
Shielding my face with one hand, I lifted the fire extinguisher and pointed the hose.
White liquid shot out of the end of the nozzle, smothering the flames. Seconds later, my parents appeared in my doorway, their faces pale.
“What
happened
?” Mom asked.
My carpet was black and charred. Half my bedspread was ruined. White fire extinguisher goo was everywhere.
“Just
My voice rose as I tried to explain myself. “What I mean is, I moved a lot too when I was younger. So I know that it can make you feel like a freak.”
Sophie’s smile faded.
“Not that I think you’re a freak!” I added quickly. “You’re very non-freaky, believe me. I was just—”
“It’s okay,” Sophie said. “I know what you mean. Every time I show up in a new town, I think,
This is going to be the place where we finally end up
. But it never is. Sometimes I just feel like … like luggage. As soon as I meet a few people, my dad says we have to pack up and move again.”
Now that she’d mentioned her dad, I was halfway tempted to ask about him. I thought about the crazy rumors swirling around Sophie’s home life. And the way she’d introduced herself in class the other day, like she was still getting used to saying her name out loud.
But Sophie was already backpedaling away from me. “Better get going,” she said quickly. “See you in seventh period.”
She disappeared into the crowded hallway before I had a chance to say goodbye.
10
Make time to practice your Gyft .
E ver since returning from the Vile Fair on Saturday, my parents had been working nearly nonstop in their lab. It was no different when I got home that afternoon. I heard the quiet
whoosh
of a Bunsen burner upstairs, and the murmur of muffled voices.
Settling onto the couch, I opened
The Handbook for Gyfted Children
to the chapter titled “Practicing Your Powers.” There was a lot of technical advice relating to specific powers. For example, if you had the Gyft of flight, it was a bad idea to practice under a ceiling fan. But the basic idea of the chapter was pretty simple. Ifyou wanted your Gyft to work, you needed to do three things:
Practice a lot
Control your emotions
Focus your mind
I searched the house for something to practice on, until I found the ceramic lawn gnome that had been sitting in a box ever since Aunt Linda had given it to my mom years before. The gnome had bright cheeks, a pointed hat, and a weird-looking smile. I figured my mom wouldn’t mind if it exploded.
I took the gnome up to my bedroom and sat down next to it on the floor, concentrating on its long beard and its funny grin. I held out my hands, thinking about sparks raining down from my fingertips, trying to imagine the gnome’s little pointed hat combusting. I reached down and gripped the lawn gnome around its chubby ceramic belly …
And nothing happened. The gnome looked just as it had before. Same pointed hat. Same goofy grin. Not even a burn mark.
I closed my eyes and tried to block out all my distractions. But I couldn’t get Sophie out of my mind. It was as if the more I tried to forget her, the more I thought about her. I opened my eyes. The gnome’s expression was starting to look kind of smug, like he knew I would fail.
Gritting my teeth with frustration, I pushed the gnome aside and slammed my fists down onto the carpet.
BOOM!
It sounded like a firecracker had gone off. In the next instant, the carpet erupted into flames.
I fell backward as the fire spread. Smoke billowed up to the ceiling. Scrambling to my feet, I tripped over my chair and staggered into the hallway. I grabbed a fire extinguisher from the closet and charged back into my room.
Behind me, I could hear my parents’ footsteps pounding the floorboards. The smoke alarm was wailing.
Shielding my face with one hand, I lifted the fire extinguisher and pointed the hose.
White liquid shot out of the end of the nozzle, smothering the flames. Seconds later, my parents appeared in my doorway, their faces pale.
“What
happened
?” Mom asked.
My carpet was black and charred. Half my bedspread was ruined. White fire extinguisher goo was everywhere.
“Just
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