[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
quite a show.
Tell me about it, she muttered, feeling her face start to
flush.
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Bill Myers
Don t be so gloomy. Julie chuckled. Everyone thinks it s
cool. They say Maxwell spent all sorts of time with you after-
ward. Even gave you his phone number.
Hello, Becka. A couple of freshmen girls passed and gig-
gled, obviously showing off for the others around them.
So, when you calling him? Julie lowered her voice, pre-
tending to sound ominous. When s he going to tell you your
mysterious past?
Rebecca took a deep breath. All morning she had been strug-
gling with that same question. What she had experienced up on
the stage was real; there was no doubt about it. But remembering
it still gave her the creeps. I don t know, she sighed. I mean,
he seemed nice and everything, but
But what? Julie prodded.
Isn t he friends with the kids in the Society and with the
Ascension Lady from the Bookshop? I mean, didn t she, like,
sponsor his talk?
So? Julie asked. Look, I know she messed me up with
those charms and stuff, but that doesn t mean everything she
does is bad.
Becka took another breath.
Julie continued. You re the one that had the vision or what-
ever it was. You re the one who s supposed to have all of this
untapped power. Not the Ascension Lady and not that Maxwell
guy. It s you. And if you ask me, you d be pretty stupid not to at
least check it out.
They arrived at Julie s locker, and she dialed up her
combination.
Hey, Rebecca. A couple of senior guys approached. Cute.
Very cute. They nodded and ambled past without another
word.
Julie and Becka turned to watch. Yes, very cute indeed. Go
for it, Julie giggled. What do you have to lose?
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Julie was right. What did she have to lose? It was just your
basic hypnotism, the same stuff doctors and psychiatrists used
every day. And Julie was right about another thing. If she had
been someone great in a previous life, if she did hold some kind
of secret powers, wasn t it her responsibility to find out?
By two-thirty Rebecca had made up her mind. It wasn t just
the attention she received although being looked upon as
someone with super, hidden powers didn t hurt. And it wasn t
just the expectations Julie, Ryan, Krissi, and the other kids at the
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lunch table seemed to have of her. It was also the expectations
she had of herself. All of her life she had lived in the background.
Scotty was the star of the family; she was the nonperson, the
nobody no one ever noticed. But now . . . now she had a chance
to be a somebody everybody would notice. Didn t she owe it to
herself to at least find out?
All it would take was one little phone call.
A little later, with Ryan at her side, Becka picked up his cell. But
even as she placed her hand on it, she found herself slowing.
Go ahead, Ryan urged. It s just a call. Rebecca looked at
him. He gave her another one of his heartbreaker smiles. I m
right here . . . What can happen?
He was right, of course. It was just a call. And with him at her
side, what could happen?
With a nervous smile, she punched in the number on the
back of Maxwell Hunter s business card.
+ =
Scott stood beside Darryl as the kid knocked on the blistered
and peeling front door. But it wasn t just the front door that
was blistered and peeling the whole house was that way. Then
there were the added attractions of broken shutters, a crumbling
chimney, and a rotting porch. The place looked like it belonged
in some sort of horror flick.
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Bill Myers
You sure Gomez and Morticia are expecting us? Scott
quipped, trying to fight off the jitters.
Don t be fooled, Darryl squeaked. On the outside Hubert
is a slob, but on the inside he s a genius.
A voice barked through the intercom near the door. Who
is it?
Darryl tilted his head toward a surveillance camera mounted
on the porch roof.
It s me. Darryl. He pushed up his glasses and gave a sniff.
What do you want? the voice demanded.
I brought a friend. We need your help.
Not interested! Go away.
See, Darryl said as he turned to Scott. I told you he
couldn t help us.
Before Scott could respond, the voice interrupted. What s
that?
Darryl gave Scott a wink and turned back to the camera.
I told my friend our problem was too hard for you, that you d
never be able to solve it.
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Says who?
Darryl just shrugged.
Why d you come here if you didn t think I could solve it?
My mistake, Darryl said as he turned to leave.
Hold it. Wait a minute.
No, you re right. Darryl started down the steps. We ll find
somebody else.
Hold it, I said! The voice paused. All right, come on
up but just for a minute.
Darryl grinned slyly as the door buzzed and they pushed it
open. It works every time, he whispered.
The first thing Scott noticed when he entered was the
smell. It was like a giant cat box that hadn t been emptied in
weeks. Make that months. Then he saw the reason. Cats.
Dozens of them, lying on the floor, curled up on dusty fur-
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The Deceived
niture, and spread out on the stairway that lay in front of
them.
Come on. Darryl headed for the stairs and motioned for
Scott to follow. Just don t step on the cats. He s kind of partial
to them.
I noticed.
They made their way up the stairs, threading around the cats,
ducking the cobwebs, and sidestepping more Domino s Pizza
boxes than Scott could count.
He likes pizza too, Darryl explained.
Upstairs was just as cluttered. Electrical parts were scattered
everywhere radio chassis, TV cabinets, circuit boards, coils of
copper wire, radios, speakers, giant insulators from power lines.
The place looked like a Radio Shack gone berserk.
Over here, a voice called from a room to the right. They
turned to see a skinny guy with no shirt. He was hunched over
a table piled high with gutted printers, computers, telephones,
modems, and whatnots. The guy s hair was frizzy, his face
unshaven, and his glasses were held together with masking tape.
At the moment he was soldering a circuit board with one hand
and wiping his nose with the back of the other.
Scott Darryl beamed as they approached the room and
entered I want you to meet my cousin Hubert.
Both Darryl and Hubert sniffed in perfect unison. Somehow
Scott wasn t surprised they were related.
Hubert never looked up. He stayed hunched over the table,
soldering. So what s this unsolvable problem? he asked.
We gotta get the address of somebody who s talking with
Scott in a chat room.
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Which one? Hubert sniffed.
Uh . . . it s called Night Light, Scott answered.
No problem. Hubert sniffed.
Darryl grinned. I told you.
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Bill Myers
But . . . Scott took a hesitant step closer. We don t want
him to know we know. He kinda likes his privacy.
No problem. Hubert repeated. He pushed up his glasses
and continued soldering.
The two boys stood in silence. Scott cleared his throat. So,
uh, how re you going to do it?
Simple, was the answer.
More silence. More fidgeting. Another question from Scott.
How?
Hubert gave a sigh of frustration but still did not look up. Is
there a certain time you two talk? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl szamanka888.keep.pl
quite a show.
Tell me about it, she muttered, feeling her face start to
flush.
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Bill Myers
Don t be so gloomy. Julie chuckled. Everyone thinks it s
cool. They say Maxwell spent all sorts of time with you after-
ward. Even gave you his phone number.
Hello, Becka. A couple of freshmen girls passed and gig-
gled, obviously showing off for the others around them.
So, when you calling him? Julie lowered her voice, pre-
tending to sound ominous. When s he going to tell you your
mysterious past?
Rebecca took a deep breath. All morning she had been strug-
gling with that same question. What she had experienced up on
the stage was real; there was no doubt about it. But remembering
it still gave her the creeps. I don t know, she sighed. I mean,
he seemed nice and everything, but
But what? Julie prodded.
Isn t he friends with the kids in the Society and with the
Ascension Lady from the Bookshop? I mean, didn t she, like,
sponsor his talk?
So? Julie asked. Look, I know she messed me up with
those charms and stuff, but that doesn t mean everything she
does is bad.
Becka took another breath.
Julie continued. You re the one that had the vision or what-
ever it was. You re the one who s supposed to have all of this
untapped power. Not the Ascension Lady and not that Maxwell
guy. It s you. And if you ask me, you d be pretty stupid not to at
least check it out.
They arrived at Julie s locker, and she dialed up her
combination.
Hey, Rebecca. A couple of senior guys approached. Cute.
Very cute. They nodded and ambled past without another
word.
Julie and Becka turned to watch. Yes, very cute indeed. Go
for it, Julie giggled. What do you have to lose?
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The Deceived
Julie was right. What did she have to lose? It was just your
basic hypnotism, the same stuff doctors and psychiatrists used
every day. And Julie was right about another thing. If she had
been someone great in a previous life, if she did hold some kind
of secret powers, wasn t it her responsibility to find out?
By two-thirty Rebecca had made up her mind. It wasn t just
the attention she received although being looked upon as
someone with super, hidden powers didn t hurt. And it wasn t
just the expectations Julie, Ryan, Krissi, and the other kids at the
Page 106
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
lunch table seemed to have of her. It was also the expectations
she had of herself. All of her life she had lived in the background.
Scotty was the star of the family; she was the nonperson, the
nobody no one ever noticed. But now . . . now she had a chance
to be a somebody everybody would notice. Didn t she owe it to
herself to at least find out?
All it would take was one little phone call.
A little later, with Ryan at her side, Becka picked up his cell. But
even as she placed her hand on it, she found herself slowing.
Go ahead, Ryan urged. It s just a call. Rebecca looked at
him. He gave her another one of his heartbreaker smiles. I m
right here . . . What can happen?
He was right, of course. It was just a call. And with him at her
side, what could happen?
With a nervous smile, she punched in the number on the
back of Maxwell Hunter s business card.
+ =
Scott stood beside Darryl as the kid knocked on the blistered
and peeling front door. But it wasn t just the front door that
was blistered and peeling the whole house was that way. Then
there were the added attractions of broken shutters, a crumbling
chimney, and a rotting porch. The place looked like it belonged
in some sort of horror flick.
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Bill Myers
You sure Gomez and Morticia are expecting us? Scott
quipped, trying to fight off the jitters.
Don t be fooled, Darryl squeaked. On the outside Hubert
is a slob, but on the inside he s a genius.
A voice barked through the intercom near the door. Who
is it?
Darryl tilted his head toward a surveillance camera mounted
on the porch roof.
It s me. Darryl. He pushed up his glasses and gave a sniff.
What do you want? the voice demanded.
I brought a friend. We need your help.
Not interested! Go away.
See, Darryl said as he turned to Scott. I told you he
couldn t help us.
Before Scott could respond, the voice interrupted. What s
that?
Darryl gave Scott a wink and turned back to the camera.
I told my friend our problem was too hard for you, that you d
never be able to solve it.
Page 107
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Says who?
Darryl just shrugged.
Why d you come here if you didn t think I could solve it?
My mistake, Darryl said as he turned to leave.
Hold it. Wait a minute.
No, you re right. Darryl started down the steps. We ll find
somebody else.
Hold it, I said! The voice paused. All right, come on
up but just for a minute.
Darryl grinned slyly as the door buzzed and they pushed it
open. It works every time, he whispered.
The first thing Scott noticed when he entered was the
smell. It was like a giant cat box that hadn t been emptied in
weeks. Make that months. Then he saw the reason. Cats.
Dozens of them, lying on the floor, curled up on dusty fur-
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The Deceived
niture, and spread out on the stairway that lay in front of
them.
Come on. Darryl headed for the stairs and motioned for
Scott to follow. Just don t step on the cats. He s kind of partial
to them.
I noticed.
They made their way up the stairs, threading around the cats,
ducking the cobwebs, and sidestepping more Domino s Pizza
boxes than Scott could count.
He likes pizza too, Darryl explained.
Upstairs was just as cluttered. Electrical parts were scattered
everywhere radio chassis, TV cabinets, circuit boards, coils of
copper wire, radios, speakers, giant insulators from power lines.
The place looked like a Radio Shack gone berserk.
Over here, a voice called from a room to the right. They
turned to see a skinny guy with no shirt. He was hunched over
a table piled high with gutted printers, computers, telephones,
modems, and whatnots. The guy s hair was frizzy, his face
unshaven, and his glasses were held together with masking tape.
At the moment he was soldering a circuit board with one hand
and wiping his nose with the back of the other.
Scott Darryl beamed as they approached the room and
entered I want you to meet my cousin Hubert.
Both Darryl and Hubert sniffed in perfect unison. Somehow
Scott wasn t surprised they were related.
Hubert never looked up. He stayed hunched over the table,
soldering. So what s this unsolvable problem? he asked.
We gotta get the address of somebody who s talking with
Scott in a chat room.
Page 108
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Which one? Hubert sniffed.
Uh . . . it s called Night Light, Scott answered.
No problem. Hubert sniffed.
Darryl grinned. I told you.
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Bill Myers
But . . . Scott took a hesitant step closer. We don t want
him to know we know. He kinda likes his privacy.
No problem. Hubert repeated. He pushed up his glasses
and continued soldering.
The two boys stood in silence. Scott cleared his throat. So,
uh, how re you going to do it?
Simple, was the answer.
More silence. More fidgeting. Another question from Scott.
How?
Hubert gave a sigh of frustration but still did not look up. Is
there a certain time you two talk? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]