Free Sophomore Freak (Reject High: A Young Adult Science Fiction Series Book 2) by Brian Thompson Page A

do you know?” I asked with immediate regret. I wanted her to say next to nothing, but that’s not the way my luck works.
    “Everything. Including what really happened at Giovanni’s last night and what you plan to do with those isotopes in your pocket. ”
    The answer shut me and Rhapsody down. We were at Courtney’s mercy.
    “Can I get something to drink?” Courtney rubbed the back of her neck.
    Ruby tapped her wristwatch. “I’m late for my afternoon shift.” She held an open red flip phone in her hand. “You need to go, whoever you are. Now.”
    Courtney reached into her pocket and retrieved a white envelope. “Tell you what,” she said, pointing to the kitchen. “Two year’s worth of salary and an open ticket to Panama are in here. Give me a cold glass of water and ten minutes with these kids. If you still disagree with me after that, I’ll leave and you can keep it all.”
    Ruby took the bribe and hurried to the kitchen.
    Neither of us thought it was for the money or the ticket. She was afraid for us and whatever kind of trouble we’d gotten ourselves into.
    Courtney scooted to the edge of the chair. “There’s this story in the Bible where Jesus puts out everyone in the room to perform a healing. You know that one?”
    I slept through church practically every Sunday, so I had no idea what she was talking about. “Uh huh,” I said. “Jesus. Right.”
    Rhapsody playfully punched me in the arm. “We read that in mass. He kicked out everyone who doubted. What’s your point?”
    She licked her lips. “‘DHS’ means don’t ask. That’s why we say it. Some questions can’t be answered. Others you won’t want the answer to. Same kind of deal with us. We’re not terrorists or government. Think of us as a utilitarian collective.”
    I could have used Sasha to translate utilitarian collective . I thought I understood. “A collective,” I repeated.
    Courtney synced a video she’d stored on her large screen smartphone and showed it to us. “You got on our radar last May, when you did this. We weren’t sure it was anything unusual until Reject High exploded six days later.”
    They called it Reject High, too? Rhapsody huddled close to me to watch the video. I tried to move away but couldn’t.
    The screen played a looping flash of an object streaking through the blue sky. It was an amateur recording of my first jump.
    Courtney flipped to a blurry photograph that had been blown up. In it a small part of my face was visible.
     
     
     

 
    CHAPTER NINE
    se almost get busted
     
    Courtney knew about our powers, or at least mine.
    “We cleaned up the mess at Giovanni’s so that no one suspected you.” Courtney folded her hands on her lap. “Brainwashing isn’t as easy as you may think.”
    How many others knew? My stomach tightened. Rhapsody and I kept quiet.
    Ruby, who poured the world’s slowest glass of water, didn’t say anything above a whisper from the kitchen. Was she praying? Does she plan to hop the back fence and run off to Panama? I swore the back door hadn’t opened, but I could have missed it. No way had Rhapsody’s mom climbed out of the window, but I’d pay money to see her try.
    Too bad for me – she returned with a glass of ice water and handed the envelope to Courtney. “Take your money. I’m not leaving my daughter and her father.” 
    She pressed the paper back into Ruby’s hand. “You misunderstand,” Courtney said with definite force. “You’re in danger. This way you can choose where you go.”
    Ruby’s eyes narrowed and she squeezed the envelope into a ball. “If we’re in so much danger, then the police can protect us . Explain your bribe and identity to them!”
    “She called the police.” Courtney checked her fancy watch, as if she’d expected it. “Rhapsody, how far is the police station from here? Give me a tight ballpark.”
    “Umm. . .four or five minutes, nonstop through lights,” she answered.
    Courtney accessed the case she’d brought