not rude to scratch if no one is looking…”
“… Just like my cousin…”
“I wonder if the gossip is true…”
“… I’m going to kill him. These people think they can….”
“I’m so late!”
I look around me, shocked by how loudly these passers-by are talking. Their lips don’t appear to be moving, but maybe they’ve realised that it doesn’t look good when strangers catch you talking to yourself.
The voices fade as I approach the school gates. The campus is quiet and almost empty. I head towards the library and sit down to wait. I scan the campus, but there’s no sign of Black Lizard. I sigh and open my bag. Might as well pretend to do some work while I wait.
I’ve been waiting for some time when I hear a familiar voice. I love Lebz, but this is one occasion when I’m not exactly thrilled to see her.
“Hey, Connie! What are you doing?”
“I wanted to go to the library,” I remind her. “Aren’t you early? What’s wrong?”
“Very funny,” she says, clicking her tongue in mock annoyance. “Where’s Kelly? Not here yet? Hmm. I hope my hair looks OK.”
I roll my eyes. Looks like I’m not going to talk to Lizard, after all. “Your hair looks fine.”
“What?” She stares at me in horror.
“I said, your hair looks fine. And you shouldn’t care what Kelly thinks, anyway.”
Lebz blinks. Her mouth opens and closes a few times.
“What?” I shove my book back into my bag.
“That’s not cool,” she whispers. “I mean… at least you could have told me.” Then she walks off in a huff, leaving me completely stumped.
I have no idea what I’ve done to offend her. What I said about Kelly, maybe? She does get a bit sensitive when it comes to the topic of her idol. I spot Wiki coming through the gates and wave, but Lebz intercepts him before he reaches me. They have a brief intense conversation, then Lebz glares at me and stalks over to where Kelly’s second in command, Botho, is sitting. Wiki approaches with caution.
“Lebz is not happy,” he announces.
“I noticed. What did I do now?”
He raises his eyebrows at me. “She has some crazy idea that you can read her mind and forgot to tell her. Ah, girls have strange problems. I should really get some reading done.”
“Read her mind?” I laugh. “Seriously, where does she get these things?”
“Reading Lebz’s mind wouldn’t be all that difficult, actually,” says Wiki, glancing at his watch. “I really need to get some reading done…”
I swat him. “Hey, be nice! You’re supposed to be the referee.”
“What do you expect me to do?” He shakes his head. “Just talk to her and reassure her that you haven’t betrayed years of open, honest friendship. Ah, women. Maybe I should make friends with some guys for a change.”
“But Wiki – ” I pause mid-sentence, suddenly struck by an alarming revelation.
“The library’s open. I have about ten minutes before registration. See you later.” He hurries away.
I have just realised that half the time Wiki was speaking to me his mouth was closed. Wiki is many things, but not a ventriloquist. He spoke to me without saying a word, and when I think about it, I realise this has been happening all morning. Before I can make sense of it, I see Black Lizard slithering past. He glances my way and keeps walking, headed behind the old Science labs. I wait exactly ten seconds before following.
I find him leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets. “Oh!” I say in exaggerated surprise. “Hi. I didn’t know there was anyone here.” I clear my throat. “I was just looking for a quiet spot to… um… Well, I’ll just leave you alone.” I turn around, preparing to walk away.
“Conyza, wait.”
Success! I turn back to face him. My heart is racing. There’s a bit of an adrenalin rush associated with standing behind the lab with the infamous Black Lizard. I feel like an undercover agent. “What’s up?” I ask, feigning nonchalance.
He hesitates. “How are you feeling? Is the headache gone?”
“What’s it to you?”
He shrugs. “I’m just making conversation.”
“I’m fine. It was just a headache.” I wait for him to contradict me. He doesn’t, and I’m disappointed. “Well, see you.”
“Conyza.”
“Connie.”
“Right. Connie.” He peers at me. “So you’re back to normal now? No side effects? Nothing out of the ordinary?”
“Should there be?” He knows something.
His shoulders lift in a half-hearted shrug. “No. I mean…”
I fold my arms across my chest and put on a haughty tone. “Well, if you must know…” Honestly, I’m dying to tell someone. “It’s probably my imagination.”
His eyes narrow. “What?”
“It seems as if I can hear what people…” I stop, my natural defences kicking in.
“Are thinking?” he concludes for me, his forehead creased.
I get a chill when he says it out loud, but one of us had to. Now I know for sure that he knows something, and I feel a little safer discussing this delicate subject with him. He’s a stranger, says my common sense. I ignore it out of habit. “Something like that. But of course it’s impossible,” I add hastily.
“No, it’s not.” A slow smile spreads over his face. “You’re a telepath!”
I don’t like words like that. It’s the kind of label my grandfather would use, a word that turns an ephemeral possibility into a fact. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?” He frowns at me. “I’ve heard that you can do a lot of unusual things.”
My guard goes up immediately. I’ve worked hard to keep a low profile since I came to Syringa, and it’s not easy. I can’t control the things I experience, and sometimes I can’t control how I respond to them. At first it didn’t occur to me to be discreet, but when other kids started avoiding me I realised it was better to keep my eyes open and my mouth shut. After a while, most people forgot about me. Then Ntatemogolo came home.
Once people make the connection between him and me, the speculation begins. The good thing is that very few people make the connection, and when they do they always seem perplexed. How can such an unimpressive girl be related to the great
