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Maddy’s eyes popped open. She was panting, as if out of breath, and she could feel dampness on the nape of her neck. She looked up at Mr. Rankin, who seemed to be patiently awaiting a response. That tight smile back on his face. Maddy remembered what she was going to say.
“The National Angel Services was formed, and . . .” Maddy trailed off. A shaky, clammy sweat had broken out all over her body. She trembled.
“And?” Mr. Rankin looked confused.
All at once Maddy leapt to her feet and dashed down the row of desks. In a flash she was past Mr. Rankin and out the door. She knew she would have no more than a few seconds. She could only hope she wasn’t too late.
Running as fast as her legs would carry her, Maddy sped toward the biology lab at the far end of the hall. She burst through the door.
“Excuse me, young lady!” Mrs. Neilson shrieked, standing over her Bunsen burner. Maddy had already focused her eyes on the gray metallic lighter in Mrs. Neilson’s hand.
“Don’t!” she screamed.
Mrs. Neilson raised the lighter as she opened her mouth to respond, and in one fluid movement, Maddy lunged at her. She tackled Mrs. Neilson, linebacker style, and sent them both tumbling to the floor. Mrs. Neilson’s head hit the tile with a vicious crack, but she seemed to be okay because she began punching and kicking Maddy in an uncoordinated frenzy.
“Oh my God, help! Help! I’m being assaulted!” she screamed. Several of the students stood up, but no one made a move toward the front of the class. They all just stared at the bizarre sight of a teacher and a student wrestling on the ground. Maddy batted away Mrs. Neilson’s slaps and punches as she wrestled the lighter out of her hand, trying desperately to avoid creating any sparks. Mr. Rankin came running into the classroom.
“What the hell is going on in here?!” he demanded.
Gasping for breath, all Maddy could choke out was, “Check the propane tank.” Mrs. Neilson stopped struggling and gave an inquisitive look to the large, spherical tank just a foot away from her. Then she scrambled on her hands and knees away from Maddy and sat in the corner, wiping her nose between sobs. Mr. Rankin walked over to the tank and examined it. He put his ear to the valve, and his eyes grew wide.
“It’s leaking,” he said with alarm. “We have to evacuate this classroom. Now.”
• • •
Maddy spent the next period in the nurse’s office, which smelled of Band-Aids and alcohol, before being called before the principal’s desk. Mrs. Neilson agreed not to press charges, and in exchange, Maddy was given lunch detention the following day. Conversely, she was also thanked for helping detect the gas leak, although no one could quite figure out how she had known. Maddy, who didn’t want to open the can of worms that telling them the truth could cause, said she had smelled something walking past the lab. She was sent back to class and tried to finish out the rest of the day ignoring the whispers of her classmates.
The day had gone in her mind from hopeful to disastrous. She felt like a freak, like someone entirely different and out of step with the world. But that, she told herself, was nothing new.
After the final bell buzzed, Maddy pulled her hood over her hair and walked quickly home. She didn’t bother going inside but hurried across the yard and down the small hill to the office door of Kevin’s Diner, where she changed into her waitress’s uniform. Since Tracy had scheduled the night off, Maddy would be spending the rest of her day working the evening shift.
“How was school, Maddy?” Kevin called from the kitchen as Maddy threw her backpack in the office, pinned on her name tag, and pulled her hair into a ponytail.
“You know, uneventful,” she replied, trying to sound as convincing as she could.
“Really? Classes were okay?”
“Yup,” she said, coming into the kitchen and smiling vaguely. She hated to lie, especially to Kevin, but she couldn’t see any way around it. She wasn’t going to tell him about what happened. Being a freak at school she was willing to accept, but she didn’t want to be one at home too. She grabbed her notepad and pen and swung into the dining room before Kevin could ask anything else.
After about an hour, Gwen, Gwen’s friend Jessica, and Samantha Cellato came in. Jessica and Samantha were both juniors, and Sam had been in the biology lab for Maddy’s little performance with Mrs. Neilson. Maddy put them in a booth in the rear, and they all ordered the hamburger dinner. They had, undoubtedly, come in to talk over the incident at school.
“You made the Lunch Special,” Gwen said as Maddy arrived with their Diet Cokes. Of course, Gwen wasn’t talking about food. The Lunch Special was the gossip blog of Angel City High, where a junior named Blake Chambers dished on the goings-on of the school. Gwen held out the Berry for Maddy to read.
The screen featured a blowup of Maddy’s hideous junior-year picture and the headline “MADDY MONTGOMERY ATTEMPTS TO TORCH BIO LAB.” She read Blake’s words aloud.
“‘Dear Maddy, thank you, on behalf of the student body, for trying to set fire to the school. It would be an improvement, no doubt. Next time, though, please wait until the fire starts before beating up Mrs. Neilson for giving you an A–.’” Maddy winced. Jessica giggled.
“Did you get in trouble?” Sam asked, her eyes wide.
“Lunch detention tomorrow,” Maddy said. “I don’t really care. It will give me time to work on my applications.”
“Well, I mean, but how did you know?” Jessica asked as she plopped a straw in her Diet Coke and took a deep pull. Gwen looked at Maddy, her face sincere.
“Did . . . it . . . have to do with what happens?” she asked quietly.
“Happens?” Samantha asked avidly.
“Nothing,” Maddy snapped, glaring at Gwen. “It’s nothing. I’ll be right back with those hamburger dinners.” Maddy left the table, annoyed and a little embarrassed. Gwen lowered her voice.
