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“Taylor.”
He switched to the seat right next to her and enthusiastically shook her hand.
“They told me we were making a detour to South Dakota to pick up another passenger—what a relief! I’ve been alone on here for half a day. Very boring.” He held up his hands like he was taking her picture. “My first American friend. Just like the pretty girl they put on cereal boxes. Very classic.”
Taylor felt herself blush, not really sure why. She couldn’t think of any cereal boxes with girls her age. “And you’re from . . . ?” she asked, changing the subject. “England?”
“Nigeria,” the boy said proudly. “So, you are Garde, too, eh? I have never met anyone like myself.”
“Me neither.” Taylor paused. “Actually, I take that back. I met John Smith last night, but I guess that’s a little different.”
“John Smith!” Kopano shouted. “My hero! How tall was he? Taller than me? You must tell me everything, Taylor. Right away.”
So she told him, starting from the day she first discovered her Legacies. With Kopano’s huge smile and enthusiastic nods, it was easy for Taylor to tell her story. It came pouring out of her. Taylor was amazed she managed to get through it without crying.
“I saw John Smith the one time, during the telepathic vision. His speech was amaz—”
“I’m sorry,” Taylor interrupted. “The what?”
“During the invasion, when we were all called to action,” Kopano said. Seeing Taylor’s blank look, he slapped his knee. “Oh! You became Garde after the war. So, more of us are still being made, eh? Very interesting. Very cool. Let me tell you what happened!”
Kopano told her about what he’d seen during the invasion, how eager he’d been to help fight, but how his Legacies were slow to develop. He told her how he’d been roped into working a shady job with his father until finally escaping for the Academy. Taylor thought she’d gotten her emotions in check, but when Kopano told her about the way his mother looked at him like he was something from another dimension, Taylor got choked up. She tried to hold it in, but a big guffawing sob escaped her and then she started crying again.
“What did I say? What did I say?” Kopano asked in a panic.
“Not you . . . ,” Taylor said, wiping her face. “It’s just all so much. We shouldn’t have to go through this. I hate what’s happened to us. I liked the life I had! I don’t want to leave it all behind to go to this stupid Academy where I don’t know anyone . . .”
“You will know me,” Kopano declared. “We will be partners in carving out our great destiny as the stars have foretold it!”
“What stars?” She stared at him. “I don’t want a great destiny.”
Kopano smiled crookedly and Taylor realized he was kidding about the stars and destiny. Well, if not kidding, then not completely serious. Kopano locked eyes with her and made his face grave.
“A great destiny for me, then, and an ordinary and boring destiny for you. Together, I believe we can achieve this.”
Taylor laughed in spite of herself. “You’re nuts.”
Kopano extended his hand. “Let us make this alliance official. Once we reach California, we will watch out for each other. You will make sure that I stay on the path to historic greatness, and I will make sure that your life is as unexciting as possible.”
Taylor smirked. “So, what? If I find like a cat stuck in a tree or something, you want me to come find you right away?”
“Yes! Exactly! Damsels in distress, in particular.” Kopano stroked his chin. “I would like them to become my specialty.”
Taylor rolled her eyes.
“And in return,” Kopano continued, “I will make sure you are assigned extra homework by our new teachers. I will remain constantly vigilant of the spectacular happening and make sure you are far, far away when it does.”
“Okay, Kopano,” Taylor said with another laugh. She shook his hand. “You’ve got a deal.”
“Excellent!” he replied. “This, I believe, is the beginning of a great friendship!”
By the time they reached California, Taylor had fallen asleep with her head on the large boy’s shoulder.
CHAPTER TWELVE
ISABELA SILVA
THE HUMAN GARDE ACADEMY—POINT REYES, CALIFORNIA
ONE OF THE BOYS ON THE SOCCER FIELD WHISTLED loudly when he spotted Isabela walking along the sideline. She paused and half turned, aimed a scornful glare in the whistle’s general direction and shouted in Portuguese, “You will whistle much higher once I’ve cut off your balls!”
Simon walked beside Isabela, his short legs struggling to keep up with her long, purposeful strides. He was French, hairy for a fourteen-year-old, with a tousled mane of dark brown curls atop his overlarge head. Simon was in the process of learning Portuguese—it would be his fifth language after French, English, Spanish and Italian—which meant he’d been shadowing Isabela almost constantly these last few weeks. She tolerated Simon. Unlike most of the other males attending the Academy, he wasn’t constantly trying to hit on her. Simon wasn’t in her league and he knew that; Isabela admired his self-awareness.
“My obscenities aren’t great yet,” Simon said breathlessly. “What are ‘colhões’?”
“Balls,” Isabela replied in English.
“Ha,” Simon said, then adjusted his belt. “And ouch.”
“You should probably keep that stuff to a minimum when we meet the new recruits,” Caleb said stiffly. He had been following a few steps behind Isabela and Simon. “We want to set a good example.”
Isabela and Simon exchanged a look, then stifled laughter. Caleb noticed this, but said nothing. He was aware of his reputation—behind his back, the other students had nicknamed him “Hall Monitor.”
“I heard one of these new kids is from Africa,” Simon said excitedly. He rolled a crystal-blue pebble across his knuckles, the stone freshly charged with his Legacy. “I hope he doesn’t speak English.”
“Why must we all speak English, anyway?” Isabela complained. She tugged at the beaded bracelet that fit snugly around her wrist. One of the beads—the aquamarine one that emitted a slight glow when the sun hit it just right—was charged with Simon’s Legacy. As long as she kept in contact with the bracelet—and the bead maintained its charge—she could speak and understand English. At least, Isabela consoled herself, the bracelet Simon had made for her wasn’t a total fashion disaster.
“Because this is America,” Caleb replied.
Isabela groaned in response.
The trio had drawn orientation duty for that day’s two new arrivals. Simon was always one of the greeters—his Legacy made him part
icularly useful in that regard. Isabela and Caleb were chosen to give the tour because they both had empty rooms in their three-person suites.
“I don’t understand why we even need roommates,” Isabela huffed. “This campus is huge. There are entire floors in the dorms that we aren’t even using! We could all have our own suites with two walk-in closets.”
“I don’t need that many closets,” Simon replied with a shrug.
“No one needs that many closets, but wouldn’t it be nice to have them?” Isabela asked. “Wouldn’t it be nice to not share a bathroom?”
“Dr. Linda says it’s good for us to socialize,” Simon replied. “Chores are also healthy, apparently.”
“Ugh, don’t talk to me about that old cow,” Isabela replied.
“I like Dr. Linda,” Caleb said.
“You would,” Isabela replied sharply.
Dr. Linda, the Academy’s resident expert on mental health, was in charge of their room assignments. Isabela had asked her over and over again for reassignment, not because she disliked her roommate—Ran was about as quiet and respectful as one could hope for around here—but because Isabela valued her privacy more than most. The therapist always responded with the same psychobabble about support systems and bonding. Isabela didn’t see how sharing a bathroom with two other girls would turn her into a better person, but whatever.
“This new girl better be as clean as Ran,” Isabela said with an edge in her voice. “And quiet, too. We have a good arrangement, me and her. She keeps clean and meditates all the time, and I do whatever I want.”
“Yeah. Sounds great,” Caleb replied dryly.
A helicopter swooped overhead, circling around for a landing. Isabela sighed again. Now her hair was all out of place.
“We’re late,” Caleb said, walking faster.
“I’m sure Dr. Goode is already there,” Simon replied. “He’s got that thing about greeting all the new kids.”
