had told her where to go, so when the bell rang she was standing right outside Omen’s classroom. They came out, the chattering youth, and their eyes widened as they passed her. Some stared in wonder, others in fear.
Yeah, she could understand that.
And then Omen was there, standing in front of her. He’d grown taller since she’d seen him last.
“Happy birthday,” she said.
He looked puzzled. “Thank you?”
“I was just passing so I thought I’d drop by, see how you’re doing.”
“You … you dropped by to see me?”
“Well, we’re waiting until Fletcher – that’s Mr Renn to you – can take us somewhere, but yeah, I came to see you while I wait. Is that OK?”
“Sure,” Omen said. “I’m just … surprised.”
“Why? We’re friends, aren’t we?”
He blinked. “Are we?”
“Aren’t we?”
“I mean, yes, OK, we can be friends, sure.”
“Good.” They started walking. The crowds parted for them. “So how are things?”
“Great,” Omen said. “Yeah, great. Just … great.”
“Girlfriends? Boyfriends?”
“Neither.”
“Pets?”
“None.”
“You getting nervous about the exams?”
“They’re not till June.”
“You should do what I did – get a reflection to do the studying for you and then absorb all the information afterwards. Or just get the reflection to sit the exams.”
“Yeah, that’d be cool. But we’re not allowed. They have ways of stopping reflections from helping us with that stuff.”
“So you have to do all the work yourself?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, that sucks.”
“It really does.”
They walked on.
“How’s Never?” Valkyrie asked.
“Good. Spending a lot of time with Auger and the others.”
“A good Teleporter is hard to find,” she said. “Do you ever join them on their adventures?”
Omen gave a little smile. “No. That’s not for me, I don’t think.”
Valkyrie raised an eyebrow. “This is a change.”
“I just don’t think I’m any good at it, really. I’m not like Auger, and I’m not like you. You guys are special, and determined, and all those cool things, and I’m just … ordinary.”
“Nothing wrong with being ordinary, Omen.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“So,” Valkyrie said, figuring she’d skipped round the subject long enough, “any plans?”
“Plans?”
“To go away anywhere.”
“Like holiday plans? Um, no. It’s the school term, and …”
“Of course,” said Valkyrie. “Of course. Hey, can you do me a favour? Can you stay out of trouble?”
“Sorry?”
“Trouble,” she said. “If you could stay out of it, that would be great.”
“What trouble am I in?”
“None,” she said.
“So … what trouble am I going to be in?”
She laughed. “None! Wow, you are paranoid!”
“I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking me to do.”
Valkyrie turned to him. “OK, look. There’s something going on. A case. It’s got something to do with America, or, at the very least, Americans.”
He looked doubtful. “Do you need my help?”
“No. In fact, we need the opposite.”
“You need my … hindrance?”
“We need you to stay out of it.”
This was puzzling Omen. That was plain to see. “But I’m not in it,” he said. “I don’t know anything about it. This is the first I’m hearing of it. I don’t even know what it is.”
“I realise that this might be confusing.”
“Oh, good. I was worried.”
“But I need you to promise me.”
“I … I promise,” he said. “Can I ask a question, though?”
“No.”
“Just one.”
“If you know anything at all about it,” Valkyrie said, “telling you might involve you, and we don’t want that, do we?”
“I suppose not.”
“You just focus on having a boring, ordinary few weeks, and I’ll explain it all to you when it’s over, deal?”
“I … suppose so.”
She smiled. Finally, she’d done something right. “OK then, buddy. You’d better get back to class.”
“School’s over.”
“Oh,” she said. “Don’t you usually have detention, or something?”
He sagged. “Yeah,” he said, and trudged off.
Valkyrie knocked on the staffroom door.
Militsa opened it, and grinned. “Well, this is a lovely surprise! My girlfriend’s come
