just a girl.” I shrug. “One of the popular kids.”
He smiles. “You don’t like this Kelly,” he muses.
“I didn’t say that!” I don’t know why I’m so indignant; he’s right.
“Ah… envy,” he declares smugly. “She’s a beautiful girl?”
“I guess some people might think so,” I sneer, then catch myself and bite my lip. I’m not jealous of Kelly. Maybe she does have perfect skin and a killer figure and hair that never breaks, but so what? I have no desire to be beautiful. I mean, what for?
Ntatemogolo clears his throat to pull me back to the present. “Tell me what happened when you tried to read her.”
It takes me a minute to get past my annoyance and think back to the day I passed Kelly and her friends in the corridor. “Her friends were with her, but I could only sense their thoughts, not hers. It wasn’t as though she was blocking me. There was no resistance coming from her direction, but there was… something.”
He nods. “The resistance was from your side.”
“My side?” I’m completely confused. “I wanted to know what she was thinking!”
“Consciously, yes, but your negativity towards her got in the way.” He smiles again. “That’s what happens when you build up a defensive barrier against someone, Connie. You can’t get into her head because you’ve locked yourself out.”
Defensive barrier? What rubbish! As if I need to defend myself from the likes of Kelly. I stare at my shoes, hoping Ntatemogolo can’t tell what I’m thinking. “There were some other people I couldn’t read.”
“Who?”
I raise my head, relieved to be off the topic of Kelly. “Some girls at the mall. Five of them. When I passed them I got this funny feeling. There was no premonition, just a feeling. And they were completely blank. Not the way it was with Kelly or you. Just… blank.”
His eyes narrow. “As if there was an empty space where their thoughts should have been?”
I smile, thrilled to be talking to someone who understands. “Exactly! What does it mean?”
“I don’t want to jump to conclusions,” he replies, stroking his chin.
“I was thinking about it last night, and I suspect they might be on drugs or something.” I peer into his face. “Is that possible?”
He frowns. “Even someone intoxicated has the ability to function on some level. No, I don’t think it’s drugs, my girl. I think it’s worse.”
I know what that means, and suddenly the atmosphere shifts. “Are they in danger?”
“Let me look into it,” he says, his voice calm. “But if you see them again, pay attention. Look for signs.”
I swallow hard. Signs. Amulets, strange marks on their bodies, even stranger vibes in the ether. Anything that might indicate that those girls are messing with things way over their heads.
“You spoke to Rakwena again,” my grandfather says softly.
Oops. “I… well…”
“Didn’t I tell you to stay away from him?”
“Yes, but…”
He looks at me with an expression that tells me he’s not going to buy whatever excuse I cook up. “But what, Connie?”
I fiddle with the strap of my bag. “He understands. You know how hard it is to talk to people about these things. He gets it, like you.”
He bristles at the comparison. “Don’t make that mistake, my girl – that boy is nothing like us.”
“That’s what he said, but I don’t believe it.” I hold up my hands in apology. “I don’t want to disobey you, Ntatemogolo, but I like having someone my age to talk to.”
He’s quiet for a while, looking at me with those ancient, jaded eyes. “You’re stubborn, like your parents.” He shrugs. “Maybe there is a lesson here for you; I don’t know. But when the time comes, you can’t say I didn’t warn you.”
His tone sends a chill up the back of my neck. Part of me wants to take his advice because he’s never been wrong, but another part isn’t willing to let go of the link I’ve discovered. I know Rakwena can teach me things about my abilities that no one else can, maybe not even my grandfather. That has to be worth the risk.
Ntatemogolo stares at me with a strange light in his eyes until I can’t bear it any longer. “Why did this happen to me?” I blurt out. “Why now? Where has it been all this time?”
“Waiting for you to grow up,” he replies. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his cigarette pack and lighter. “Now you can take care of yourself, or at least that’s what you think.” He lights the cigarette, takes a long drag and squints at me. “Not so?”
I hesitate. “I know more than I used to, but I still have a lot to learn.”
He blows a smoke ring. There was a time, not too long ago, when that trick impressed me. “Time marches on, my girl,” he muses. “And there is nothing we can do to stop it. You will make your mistakes, and we who are older and wiser and have seen so much will still be here to pick up the pieces.”
OK, now he’s starting to freak me out. What exactly does he think is going to happen? I’m not planning to run off with Rakwena and have creepy tattooed babies! I shift uncomfortably on the floor. “Ntatemogolo…”
“Come, let’s see what you’ve learned. I’m going to let you in. Ready?”
I’m not expecting what happens next. My head fills with numbers, lots and lots of them, coming at me full force. I wince. Before I can make sense of anything, the numbers stop and all is quiet again.
“Well?” He looks much too smug.
I scowl. “I need more time.”
He grins and starts again. This time I’m better prepared. I close my eyes and rub my temples.
“Dates!” I exclaim. “Dates, times… important events… historical events!”
“Good girl. You’re learning fast.”
I open my eyes to find him smiling. “Can I try planting a thought in your head?” I ask eagerly. “I’m sure I can do it if I practise.”
He chuckles. “Master the basics first. Come, let’s try again.”
I heave a little disappointed sigh, then close my eyes.
It’s late Sunday afternoon and the cinema is packed. Lebz, Wiki and I are here to watch the new sci-fi flick for different reasons. Lebz wants to perve over the hot hero, Wiki’s here to satisfy his science fiction craving and I’m hoping to catch another glimpse of those eerie girls with the empty heads.
I
