Fourth Birth: The Oakmont Saga, Book 1
Chapter 6

The next morning I woke up and saw a package on the floor, with a piece of paper taped to it. Aliyah got it before I could and opened the piece of paper, looking it over before almost jumping for joy.

“You have almost all the same classes as me. The only one you have different is science. You’re in some physics class,” she said.

She handed the piece of paper to me and I looked it over. All of my classes were the same rooms as hers, but they were all listed as ‘Self-Study’ with a subject beside that. The exception was the physics class, which was mechanics, the first of the physics classes. It wasn’t self-study, but I wished it was.

There was a second piece of paper behind the class list. It had two added sessions. The first was a mind study tutoring session with Emily Trulin, on Tuesday and Thursday, with a special first session this Friday, today.

I already knew that was going to be painful, since I’d already met her and didn’t really like her. Not only that, but she was part of the lie that got me here. The second was a ballet class on Monday and Wednesday starting next week. I also had to go to the hospital every day, starting today.

“Why do they have you doing those things?” Aliyah asked, noticing the second page.

“I figured you’d know,” I replied.

“Nope. They always let us choose our extra stuff, which is why I don’t have any,” she said, smiling.

“I guess I’m special. Wish I wasn’t,” I replied, not happy at what I was probably going to be going through. I really wasn’t thrilled about taking ballet, even though the tutoring would be worse.

“And why do they have you going to the hospital every day?” she asked, her face getting a scrunched and confused look.

“Because I’m special,” I said, a bit more emphatically. “It says I have to have an injection, along with brain scans and blood samples,” I added, being serious again.

As I moved to the package, a second piece of paper fell out, with Aliyah’s name on it. I handed it to her and began opening my package. As she opened her piece of paper, her brow wrinkled.

“Why are they having me do this?” she asked. Looking at her slip of paper, I saw that she also had a weekly visit to the hospital, but she didn’t have the daily injections, just the scans and blood samples.

“I guess you’re a little special too,” I said, with an ironic half-smile.

“I don’t want to be special,” she said, now looking a bit unhappy.

I finished opening the package and saw a picture of Daddy in a small frame made of a dull grey metal. There was a little decoration, kind of like the Irish or Scottish stuff I’d seen at the Scottish games.

Tucked in the frame was a small note. “Melanie, please keep this in your room at all times. Also, your earrings are not normally allowed, but we’re going to make an exception, this once. Make sure they’re not seen,” the note read. It was signed by Mrs. Wilde. Just seeing the picture of Daddy lifted my spirits, a lot, but how did they get it in one day? I put that aside, as I had stuff to do.

We started the day with our morning exercise, which Aliyah didn’t seem to like. Actually, I thought it was more the early morning she didn’t like, than the exercise. I was happy, because we actually got to wear something other than the normal uniform. Of course, our exercise clothes were all the same. We had a maroon pair of shorts and a maroon stay-dry t-shirt, with a white stripe down the side.

The morning exercise was all calisthenics. The coach told us that they wanted us to be in good shape when we went into the field. I wasn’t sure what he meant by going into the field, but I didn’t think I liked what they intended, knowing what I already did about the place.

Regardless, I really liked the exercise and did good at it. Coach Hammond complimented me at my efforts, especially considering it was my first day. That was before punishing a boy with a wooden paddle, who apparently wasn’t trying hard enough. It didn’t look like Coach Hammond hit him hard, but it got the boy to work a lot harder.

After morning exercise, Aliyah and I went back to our room and quickly showered before heading to breakfast. We ate fast and headed to English. On the way, I kept getting little stabs of pain in my head, which were preceded by probes shooting at me from all sides.

We sat down, with everyone being quiet, just like yesterday in Mrs. Wilde’s class. Mrs. Schmoltz came in and noticed me immediately. She was a short pudgy woman, with greying light brown hair and a pudgy face to match her pudgy body. For some reason, she looked mean to me. I hoped my assessment of her looks wasn’t matched by her personality.

“And who are you, young lady?” she asked me, with a stern sounding voice, further reinforcing my impression of her being mean, but I could still be wrong.

“I’m Melanie Brager, ma’am,” I replied, as respectfully as possible.

She walked over to me, carrying the wooden paddle she came into the room with, like a baby in her arms. I knew what it was for, thanks to the boy in morning exercise. When she got to my desk, she motioned for me to stand, which I did as quickly as possible. She moved slightly behind me and gave no warning before hitting me very hard in the back of my bare legs with the paddle, almost causing me to stumble forward.

“When you speak in this class, you will speak properly. I am, not I’m,” she instructed me. “Why are you in my class, Miss Brager?” she asked.

“My class schedule told me to come here, ma’am,” I replied, trying to hold back the tears that were trying to force their way out.

“Let me see it,” she ordered.

As I started to bend down to get my class schedule, she hit me again, this time even harder. I fell forward this time, barely catching myself before face planting on the floor. I sprained my wrist from the impact though, sending pain shooting up my arm. For a moment, I was actually worried I could have broken it, but knew it was probably just sprained.

“You do not fail to respond with proper respect to your instructor,” she informed me. This time, the tears were much more difficult to keep away, but I did manage to. The pain in the back of my legs was almost unbearable and my newly sprained wrist was hurting really bad too.

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied, holding back the sobs. I then handed her the schedule, which I barely managed to hold onto when I was hit. She took it from me and looked it over for a while.

“Why are you listed as self-study,” she asked.

“I believe it was because of my assessment scores, ma’am,” I replied, hoping I addressed her right and struggling to keep my voice steady. I didn’t want them to hear me cry. I could already hear the teasing, how I was a crybaby.

She didn’t hit me this time, so either I got it right, or she decided to be merciful. Since I didn’t see any hint of mercy in her, I must’ve gotten it right.

“I will speak to the administration and discover what the plan is for you. Until I tell you otherwise, you will participate with the rest of the class,” she informed me.

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied.

“You may return to your seat,” she said, turning around and walking away.

“Thank you, ma’am,” I replied to her back, as I sat down.

She spun around with a scowl on her face. “Are you being smart with me?” she demanded. Terrified of her, I responded immediately, jumping to my feet. My fear was not faked, as I replied, “No ma’am. I was thanking you for letting me return to my seat. You told me that I was to always respond with proper respect.”

She stared at me for a long moment, as if she didn’t believe me. She walked behind me and slammed the paddle against the back of my legs again. This time, I couldn’t help a small gasp of pain from escaping and a few tears escaped down my cheeks.

“You may sit.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I was barely able to keep my voice somewhat steady.

She walked to the front of the class and began teaching. It was extremely boring to me, but I forced myself to pay attention, not wanting to have that paddle hit me again. After the fifty minutes of torture, since my legs and wrist were throbbing, and the class was horrible, I escaped and headed to Government.

Mr. Ratzinger wasn’t as stern sounding, but he was just as free with the paddle. He was a bit stuffy looking, wearing a suit as he came into class, as if he was some politician or something. His hair was black with little shoots of grey. His face reminded me of a rat, and although I’d read that description in books, this was my first time being able to see it for real.

Just like Mrs. Schmoltz, I got paddled three times by him, and I never was sure why. At least Mrs. Schmoltz told me why she paddled me, even if her reasons were stupid and wrong. I was amazed that my legs weren’t bleeding by the end of it. Also like Mrs. Schmoltz’s class, his class was boring to me, since I already knew all of the material he was teaching and he also wouldn’t let me work on my own.

After Government came Physics, and I was sure there were tear streaks on my face when I went into the class, as much as I tried to hold it in. Here, the students seemed as stern as the teachers before. When Mrs. Warple came in she wasn’t carrying a paddle. She looked like a friendly old lady, like she could have been my grandmother.

Although she had a paddle, hers was hanging by a nail on the wall. “Welcome to Physics, Miss Brager. I hope you do well here,” she said, smiling at me when she spotted me.

I wasn’t sure if I should reply or not, so I decided silence was probably better. At least, I hoped so. Unfortunately, my hope was dashed almost immediately. “You reply with a thank you when someone is nice to you,” one of the boys told me, standing up and taking the paddle off the wall before walking over to me.

He was a large boy, very muscular and wearing a mix between a scowl and a smug grin. An odd combination really, since I couldn’t tell whether he was pleased or angry. Maybe he was both. His hair was buzzed really short, but what there was of it was red. Although he was obviously in very good shape, there was a thickness to him that made him look a tiny bit chubby. It was obvious there was no problem with fat on him, though.

He didn’t hit me immediately, when he got to me. “Bend over,” he ordered, as he stopped slightly behind me.

I did as he commanded, but was shocked when I felt my skirt lifted up. The feeling of my skirt sitting on my back was sending shivers of terror through me, as I began recalling the things I saw in Mr. Radnick’s mind.

I was unable to think about that anymore as I felt the sting of the paddle on my bottom, except he didn’t hit me once, but three times, very hard. He hit a lot harder than any of the teachers before. His hits pushed me forward when they connected. If there wasn’t a table there, I’d have fallen over. I barely managed not to cry out with every hit, and each hit made it even harder. They hurt more than anything.

“That’s enough, James,” I heard Mrs. Warple tell him.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied.

As he lowered my skirt, I was surprised to feel his hand move down my butt. It was such a shock, I was frozen for a moment. I wanted to look innocent, but could I simply stand there and let him touch me?

The memories of Mr. Radnick came flooding back. He’d always been gentle with me, but this boy definitely wasn’t.

My mind kept trying to convince me that it couldn’t have been real, that it had to have been an accident. Could he really have been that foul, and that cruel? I sat through the rest of class, stunned.

“Melanie, do you need to go to your next class,” Mrs. Warple asked, bringing me back from the recesses of my mind.

As I stood up, a much deeper understanding of the punishment came to me. The new bruises, added on to the earlier ones, screamed at me, each step agony. I walked stiffly to the hospital for the scans and bloodwork. I didn’t understand why I had to do them again, and I really wasn’t in the mood, after the morning I’d had. Thankfully, the radiologist was fast, and seemed to be very nice, something I sorely needed right then.

Once done with the pictures, the nurse took me to one of the little examination rooms, where she took blood samples. She then pulled a syringe with some odd looking liquid in it and stuck it in my arm. As she pushed it in, it felt like she’d injected me with liquid fire.

When I was done in the hospital, I headed to the cafeteria hoping to replace Aliyah. I wasn’t sure what comfort she could give, but I wanted to replace her. Then I remembered that she didn’t start lunch until 12:00 and had an appointment with the Dean. So I got my food and ate it before she got there. By the time she arrived, my arms were crossed on the table and I’d laid my head on top of them. She startled me when she put her tray down.

“How are you doing?” she asked, when I lifted my head.

“I’m alright, I guess,” I replied, still feeling the pain in my legs and on my butt.

“Welcome to Oakmont,” she said, very sarcastically.

“Yeah, I’ve been given the red carpet welcome,” I replied, continuing the sarcasm.

“Or is it the red bottom welcome?” she said, smiling. I couldn’t help but laugh a tiny bit, but there really wasn’t much of a smile.

I remembered that she was sent to the Dean, and was concerned for her. “How was your punishment?”

“No problem. He barely hits me anymore,” she said with a smile, but I could see some pain in her eyes.

“Did you know that the older kids give the punishment to each other?” I asked her, not really smiling back.

“What do you mean?” she asked, in return.

“In Physics, I didn’t say thank you when Mrs. Warple welcomed me to class. I was punished for it. She didn’t tell them to, they just did it. The older kids decide when someone gets punished and they do the punishment. James hit harder than any of the teachers I was paddled by. He also lifted my skirt to do it. I think he put his hand on my butt, but I’m not sure.”

“I think that’d be something you’d be pretty sure about. Either he did, or he didn’t,” she said, looking at me funny.

“I know he put his hand on my butt. I’m just not sure it wasn’t an accident,” I told her, still trying to figure out what actually happened.

“I don’t think they should be able to lift a girl’s skirt, no matter what. You should tell your teacher about him touching you,” she said, looking very serious.

“Maybe, but I think they’ll just tell me to stop being such a baby. They’ll probably just think I’m trying to get out of being punished and punish me more.”

“You still should tell her,” she said, her serious expression getting more demanding looking, as if it wasn’t up for debate.

“Okay, I’ll tell her,” I gave in, but didn’t feel good about it.

“Are you just saying that?” she asked, with a suspicious frown.

“Of course I’m just telling you that,” I jokingly told her.

She nudged me with her shoulder and I nudged her back, leading to us playfully poking each other for a little while and actually giggling a lot. I never giggled. I really was losing my mind since coming to Oakmont.

“How do I go through a day and not get paddled?” I asked, once we were done teasing and playing.

“I don’t know,” she replied.

“But you do it,” I threw back.

“I don’t know how, though,” she said, obviously thinking about it. “Maybe it’s because of my strength. Everything here is based on your strength and I’m strong. No one knows how strong you are yet, so you’re getting it hard for now,” she said, coming up with an idea that seemed to make sense, at least to her. I wasn’t so sure, though.

After lunch, we went to pre-algebra, with me getting the constant mental jabs as we walked through the halls. Mrs. Wilde got the class started on some book work and then sat with me at the computer. “You’re going to be self-guided in everything you do. You also won’t take any of the tests considering they’d be pointless for you, but I will hold you accountable for your work. If you want, you can continue to study Dr. Stuben’s thesis or come up with something else. I’ll expect regular updates on your progress, so I know you’re doing something productive,” she informed me, with a friendly smile.

There was a paddle hanging near the door, which I noticed as soon as I entered any room anymore. “What’s the matter?” she asked, as I looked worriedly at it.

“Nothing, ma’am,” I replied, keeping my hands folded in my lap.

“Alright then, get to work and let me know if there’s anything you need help with,” she replied, getting up.

I tried to work on Dr. Stuben’s thesis again, but I was constantly having to shift my position to relieve the pain on the parts that were touching the chair. I could barely write, thanks to the sprain being on my right wrist, and I was completely right handed. There was no chance of me being ambidextrous. I couldn’t do anything with my left hand and now I couldn’t do anything with my right.

“What’s the matter, Melanie?” I suddenly heard behind me, startling me and causing me to jump.

“Nothing, ma’am,” I replied again, making an attempt to start writing, but the pain was too much and I stopped.

“Then why are you constantly moving, and why are you so nervous?” she asked.

“I’m alright, Mrs. Wilde,” I told her, hoping to sound convincing.

“Aliyah, come here please,” she said.

“Yes, ma’am,” she replied immediately. As soon as she arrived, Mrs. Wilde turned to her.

“Do you know why Melanie is so nervous and fidgety?” she asked, but was more of a demand for an answer.

“Mrs. Wilde, can I tell you without everyone else around?” I asked, before Aliyah could answer. Although I liked her, I still didn’t feel comfortable having her involved in what was wrong with me.

She looked at me with a stern, but concerned expression for a long moment. “Alright, let’s go in the hall.”

“You are all to work on your assignment with no talking,” she said, turning to the class.

“Yes, Mrs. Wilde,” the class replied in unison. I could feel their eyes on me and I thought I heard some snickering. There were a couple of mental jabs as well, but not many.

We went into the hall, and she looked at me expectantly as soon as the door closed. “Well,” she said when I didn’t immediately say anything. I was looking at the ground in front of my feet, holding my hands tightly together.

“I guess I’m fidgety because I’ve been paddled so many times and it hurts,” I told her, but didn’t mention the incident with James. I was embarrassed, and very self conscious.

“Would you lift the back of your skirt just a little, so I can see,” she asked. I was hesitant, but complied, not wanting another paddling added onto what I’d already went through.

After looking at me a moment, she opened the door and poked her head in. “Aliyah, come here please,” she called out.

“Yes, ma’am,” I heard from inside.

As soon as Aliyah came out, Mrs. Wilde herded us into another classroom. “Aliyah, I brought you to be a witness to what I’m about to do. You are to make sure that nothing inappropriate happens,” she informed Aliyah.

“Yes, ma’am,” she replied.

“Melanie, this may be a little uncomfortable for you, but I want you to lean over the desk, and lift your skirt so I can examine you closer,” she instructed me. I was definitely uncomfortable with her instructions, but thanks to the examples of today, I did as I was told without question.

This was totally a different approach than Mr. Radnick. Whereas he was nice and kind and convincing, this place was forcing its will on me through abuse and intimidation. I could only give in to it though, as I didn’t know how to fight it without getting beat all the time, which would end with the same result, just a lot more suffering on my part.

While leaning over the desk, I felt very gentle touches to certain areas that hurt the most. “This is going to be more uncomfortable, but please lower your underwear,” she told me. I froze and started shaking at her command, cold sweat breaking out all over me.

The examples today were what removed any serious attempt to resist, so after getting myself under control, I lowered them slowly, very nervous and unhappy with the command, and still shaking. She again repeated the previous examination, touching spots on my butt.

“Pull your underwear back up,” she told me, after a little while of gentle touches to particularly painful spots. There was moisture in my eyes, which I thankfully managed to keep from running out.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Who did this to you and why?”

“I was paddled in English for using a contraction and then for being sarcastic, even though I didn’t mean to be and in Government but I don’t know why. In Physics, another student did it because I didn’t say thank you when Mrs. Warple welcomed me to class.”

“Mrs. Wilde, James lifted her skirt to paddle her,” Aliyah threw in, before I thought to stop her.

“A male student lifted your skirt and paddled you?” she asked, looking at me oddly.

“Yes, ma’am, but I probably deserved it.”

“Hmm,” she mouthed.

“He touched her bottom with his hands too,” Aliyah added, irritating me even more.

“Is this true, Melanie?” she asked me.

I didn’t answer for a little while, anger welling up in me, but also knowing I shouldn’t say anything. Mr. Radnick had always told me not to tell anyone, that we’d both get in trouble, and he’d been right.

I was staring intently at the floor, not wanting to answer the question. “Yes ma’am, but I think it must have been an accident,” I finally replied, almost whispering and still staring at the floor. She looked over at Aliyah as I lifted my eyes and even I could tell the look on Aliyah’s face was doubtful.

“Go to the infirmary and have them look at that,” she instructed me. “Aliyah, you go with her,” she added, turning to Aliyah.

“Yes, ma’am,” Aliyah replied.

We headed to the infirmary, and Mrs. Wilde headed back into class. I was completely silent as we walked to the infirmary, irritation and anger blazing inside me, not to mention incredible embarrassment. I tried to stay a little ahead of Aliyah, but my legs were too short for any real success at that.

A nurse walked up to us as soon as we entered. “Feeling ill, are we?”

“No ma’am. Mrs. Wilde told me to have you examine me,” I replied. My voice was a little shaky, and I couldn’t look up at her.

“What needs to be examined and why?”

“I was paddled a lot and Mrs. Wilde wanted me to have you look at it”

“Oh, so you made some mistakes, did you? Well, come with me and we will take a look.”

She led us into a curtained area with a hospital bed and motioned for me to sit down. “Lay on your stomach so I can take a look.” I rolled over and she lifted my skirt.

“Oh my. You were bad, weren’t you.”

“Ma’am, I think she was more worried about my bottom.”

“What did you do wrong to deserve so much paddling?”

“I guess I wasn’t polite enough, ma’am,” I replied, hearing the pathetic weakness in my own voice. Why couldn’t I be strong like other kids...like Aliyah?

“Lower your underwear, so I can take a look,” she told me.

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied, and did as instructed, with less hesitation than before.

“Oh dear,” she said, before I even finished pushing my underwear down.

“Which teacher did this?”

“It was a student in Physics class, ma’am.”

“Aren’t you a little young for Physics?” It sounded like she was trying to make small talk.

“I guess they don’t have anywhere else to put me.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, curiosity creeping into her voice. I realized I’d said too much and it probably sounded like I was boasting.

“She’s super smart. They don’t have any classes for her, so they stuck her in classes and let her do self-study in most of them, except science,” Aliyah told her, when I failed to respond.

“Is that so?” she asked, smiling and looking like we were just boasting, like I’d thought. I knew I sounded like that, but Aliyah just had to add to it, making it worse.

“So, your Physics teacher let a student punish you?” she asked, almost like she was trying to expose the lie I was telling.

“Yes, ma’am. Mrs. Warple lets the kids give the punishment.”

“Only the high school kids are allowed to do that. How is it that you were punished by a student?” She sounded like she’d just caught me in the lie.

“My Physics class is all high school kids, except me.” I knew my answers weren’t very informative, but I was trying to tell the truth without sounding like I was making it bigger than it was. She had been administering some kind of ointment to my legs and bottom, but stopped as I told her that.

“You really are in a Physics class?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“What math class are you in, Calculus?” she asked, sounding sarcastic, but working on my legs again.

“No, ma’am. She’s in pre-algebra, but was told to do self-guided work by Mrs. Wilde,” Aliyah told her, when I again didn’t answer.

“Alright, you’re done here. Try and avoid any more paddles until that is completely healed,” she instructed me.

“I’m not sure I can do that, but I’ll try. Thank you, ma’am.”

“Wait here for a moment,” the nurse instructed, as I was standing up to leave. We both sat back down and waited while the nurse was gone.

When she returned, she handed me a piece of paper, and put her other hand on my shoulder. “This will stop any punishment with the paddle, until you’re healed. Show it to each teacher at the beginning of your classes. Don’t abuse it, or you’ll likely get worse punishment.”

“Yes ma’am, thank you.”

I knew I wouldn’t show it to any of my teachers. It would probably make it worse when the protection was removed, regardless if I abused it or not. I figured that’d be especially true in Physics with the high school kids, and that large boy in particular.

Aliyah and I walked back to pre-algebra, not really talking. She kind of made some small comments, but I was absolutely silent, irritated and a little angry at her. Not only that, images were playing in my mind that made me very uncomfortable.

As soon as we got back to class the bell rang, so we got our things and headed to martial arts training. Aliyah tried to nudge me to show the paper, but I completely ignored her. Aside from my irritation with her, I wasn’t about to show it to my teachers.

Martial arts started with everyone standing in a line, shoulder to shoulder, which I was used to. Mr. Braun was a somewhat skinny man, but showed his flexibility as we were walking in. He was doing some impressive stretching exercises that almost looked painful to me. He had dark brown hair and was half shaven. I knew men were doing the half shaven look as a fashion thing, but I thought it looked silly. Either shave, or don’t and grow a beard. His clothes looked like he should’ve been in a monastery or something. He was wearing some odd looking white linen shorts with a similar looking shirt thingy. Maybe that was what a tunic was. I didn’t know, considering my very complex fashion sense.

“Today you will learn about ju.” The lesson wasn’t very long, but he told us that yielding was only allowed if we were attempting to better position ourselves for a counter-attack. This was definitely not what I was used to in martial arts.

Once he was done with his lesson, Mr. Braun randomly paired us up, placing me with a large boy. He didn’t even mention my being new to the class as he was pairing us up.

“You have all been shown basic blocking and punching in previous lessons. I will demonstrate a kick for you to add. After my demonstration, you will spar with your partner. Do not hold back, or I will show a full demonstration using you as my target. Melanie Brager, you will have to learn as you go,” he said, finally acknowledging the fact that I was new.

“Yes, sir,” I replied, wondering what this was going to be like. I kind of liked my Taekwondo class back home, but this seemed very different to me.

After his demonstration, the large boy and I turned and faced each other. I was ready to bow and acknowledge the match, but he immediately attacked, not providing the normal warning before the match began. He landed a very hard punch in my stomach, almost causing me to throw up. This wasn’t anything like the Tae Kwon Do class I took back home and I definitely wasn’t expecting a real attack.

When I recovered and stood up, the boy was already waiting and landed a kick to my ankle, causing me to fall on the floor, not quite catching myself on my already injured wrist. There were also no soft mats for us to fall on, so when I hit the floor my face felt like I slammed it into a wall.

Before getting up this time, I looked to see where the boy was and got myself ready. Seeing him a couple feet in front of me, I jumped back sending pain through my now injured ankle and lower leg, but managed to get on my feet in a defensive position before he could get to me. I just managed to block his next attack this time, but even blocking inflicted pain. He was simply too big and strong for me not to get hurt by him and the arm I used to block was my sprained right arm.

He rushed to attack again, but I was ready for him this time, and managed to block his jab. As he overextended when he missed, I landed a jab into his side with my good arm. He flinched, but it didn’t seem to bother him much. My very limited success was completely due to the Tae Kwon Do I’d had in the past, but it wasn’t much of a success.

“I expect to see use of all of your fighting skills, not just punches and blocks,” Mr. Braun yelled, right behind me. When the boy charged again, I managed to completely deflect his kick with my wounded leg. It hurt, but I quickly turned, landing a roundhouse kick to the boys back, sending him to the floor face first.

I had landed on the wounded leg, using the good leg to deliver the kick. Putting that much weight, all on the wounded leg, sent me to the floor along with him. I got up quickly though, ready for another assault.

The boy got up, looking angry, and like he was about to really beat the crap out of me. “Rudy, hold!” the teacher ordered, and the large boy stood straight, lowering his hands to his sides. “Class, halt!” he yelled, and the entire class imitated what Rudy did, looking at Mr. Braun.

“Ms. Brager is not giving her best. She has only landed a couple of half hearted blows. With that last one, she had the opportunity to finish her opponent and chose not to,” he announced to the class. I wasn’t sure what more I could’ve done, considering the kick sent me to the floor as well.

“Let us demonstrate our skills,” he said and the way he said it made my stomach do a backflip. “Ms. Brager, you will spar with me. Not only do I want you to defend, but I want you to attack. You need to use your skill for offense more than defense. If your enemy is defeated, he will not be able to harm you. Now, prepare yourself,” he commanded.

Before I could even move good, his foot connected with the side of my head, slamming me to the floor. For a moment, I saw blackness but managed to stay conscious. Before I could even get off the floor, an elbow slammed into my back. I laid on the floor gasping for air for a minute before I managed to start picking myself up. A foot then slammed into my stomach, lifting me off the floor. I came back down very hard, my head bouncing as I hit.

“That is how you attack an opponent. When your opponent falls, make sure they stay down. Rudy, she should never have been able to land a blow on you. Next time, that will be you,” he instructed. “If I see you not giving your all, I will demonstrate to the class what I expect of you,” he said, turning to the class.

“Yes, sir,” the class intoned.

“Ms. Draper, help this pathetic sack of meat to the shower.”

“Yes, sir,” I heard her reply and then I felt Aliyah helping to lift me off the floor.

After Martial Arts, I headed to the library for study hall. I would like to say I was recovering quickly, but I was very sore all over, especially my ankle and right wrist. I was having trouble walking on the ankle and I couldn’t write at all now. Even though it was hard before martial arts, afterward it was impossible.

I laid my head on the table, trying to block the pain I was feeling. After a while, Aliyah tapped me indicating it was time to head to Mental Preparedness.

Mr. Miller was a hard teacher, but didn’t seem to punish much. When he did, it wasn’t with a paddle, like other teachers. He made comments to embarrass, or hit the hands on the knuckles with a ruler he carried around, but never enough to draw blood. That was almost as embarrassing as anything he said because everyone knew why he did it. He made a number of comments about my pathetic ability and my lack of trying, but luckily I never got hit by the ruler.

I was going to have to show true ability at some point, but I hoped I could hold off for a little while, to get a feel for how things were. Thankfully, I’d had many insults and taunts in my life, so his attempts to embarrass me were useless. He was very successful with all of the other kids, probably because he read their minds and knew how to taunt them.

When I left Mr. Miller’s class, Aliyah caught up to me, not that doing so was hard. I’d been avoiding her since she told Mrs. Wilde about James and my punishment in Physics, but she probably didn’t really deserve me being so mean. She was concerned about me and did what she thought was right. I would’ve probably done the same for her to help protect her.

“I’m sorry I told about James,” she said, when she caught up to me, confirming what was going through my mind.

“Don’t worry about it,” I replied, finally forgiving her in my heart.

“No, I shouldn’t have said anything. I want to be your friend and I told something that you wanted to keep secret.”

“You should have told. I was being stupid not to tell,” I said, hopefully making her feel better. Of course, I really didn’t want to tell and still would have done the same if it happened again, which I really, really hoped it didn’t.

“Friends?” she asked, sticking her hand out, with a half-smile on her face.

“Friends,” I replied, shaking her hand, but not smiling. Pain shot through my wrist as we shook, but I tried to hide it from her.

“Why do you look like you’re unhappy, then?” she asked, apparently not noticing my wince from the shake.

“Because I have to go to Mrs. Trulin for tutoring and I hurt all over.”

“Oh, I forgot about that. Good luck.”

“Thanks,” I replied, limping off in the direction of the classroom listed on the piece of paper.

“Good afternoon, Melanie,” Mrs. Trulin said as I limped in.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Trulin,” I dutifully replied. She didn’t mention my obvious pain and injuries, if she even noticed them.

“I will never get over your good manners. It’s very refreshing, these days,” she said, making small talk, which did nothing to relieve my anxiety. Of course, after the examples today, I’d be polite and respectful to ha Satan, as every kid here must be.

“Now, let’s get started. I know you have ability. You may not realize it, but I saw you start to listen in the van on the way here. Do you remember that?” My stomach jumped to my throat, as she told me about that. I’d been feeling weird ever since they gave me that shot, but now I felt even weirder and nauseous.

“I knew I started getting dizzy and thought I was hearing voices,” I replied, kind of describing how it felt when I really did first start to hear them. Those memories would always be fresh in my mind.

“That’s your mind starting to open up to your talent. You see, you have the ability to read people’s minds.”

“Aliyah told me that, but I thought she was crazy or just teasing me,” I replied, trying to play on the fact that I’m a child. She laughed a little at my reply, but it was only half hearted.

“Have you felt that again, since you arrived?”

“No ma’am.”

“Hmm, that’s unusual. Once it begins, it usually starts getting more intense, until we teach you how to control it, which is the main reason you’re here.” I had forgotten about that part. Hopefully, it wouldn’t cause me problems.

“I know you’re probably shocked by this, but we couldn’t tell you or your parents the truth when we came to recruit you. Besides no one believing such a story, we can’t let anyone know we exist. Do you understand?” she then asked, after a short pause, which seemed to be for effect, since her eyebrows rose as if waiting for me to understand.

“No ma’am,” I replied, being honest. My mind was feeling very sluggish and I could sense that I was losing my ability to hold back. Odd that I could sense that, but I could.

“Well, hopefully you will in time. Our goal is to help you learn to control this gift you have. In addition, we need you and your gift to help make America a better place.” I knew getting mad and telling her my feelings wouldn’t help my cause, especially after having done it with Mrs. Wilde. So I just sat there and listened to what she told me, knowing it was completely wrong. It was also taking all of my effort to hold back from making a smart comment, which was definitely not like me. It was as if I wanted to tell her my thoughts, all of them. She definitely wouldn’t like it if I did.

“With all of that said, you now know the truth about Oakmont. The goal of this session between us is for me to try and help you get up to speed as quickly as possible. You weren’t brought into the program early enough, so some of the basic mind skills aren’t there yet. It’s going to be made more challenging because you’re beginning to awaken while learning them.”

“I hope we can work well together, and maybe become friends,” she said, smiling. I knew better than that. She had no desire to be my friend, and I definitely wouldn’t be her friend. My anger was bubbling up with every word she said and her fake desire to be my friend doubled it instantly. For some reason, I felt madder than I should and it was hitting me very fast. It was like a giant wave piling over me and driving me underneath the water.

“Will I get to see my parents in the summer, like you promised?” I timidly asked, afraid of the answer, but needing to hear it. Again, I could feel my control slipping. I wouldn’t normally have even asked that question, but for some reason I wasn’t able to stop myself.

“No, probably not,” she replied, not even being completely honest when she had no reason to lie anymore. That was the final straw. My vision suddenly became blurry and red. Without warning, it was as if my head exploded, the pain that erupted was so intense. It felt like thousands of needles were poking into my eyes.

The pain went on for a long time, but as with all things, it finally started going away. My eyes started focusing ever so slowly, as the pain ebbed, and I saw Mrs. Trulin sitting over me, with Mr. Miller beside her. Mrs. Wilde was also there for some reason. I understood Mr. Miller, kind of, but why was Mrs. Wilde there?

“You said she had an attack yesterday?” Mrs. Wilde was asking.

“Yes,” Mr. Miller replied.

“I don’t think I recall a subject having two attacks that close together. Something’s wrong,” she said.

“Nor do I. Could it be the Sterocartalide?” he asked.

“I don’t think so, but I suppose it could be,” she replied, but even I could tell she wasn’t sure and actually seemed worried.

“Were you able to get anything?” she asked.

“Amazingly, yes. Emily, how long did you say it was before I arrived?” he asked Mrs. Trulin.

“I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been, being that she had one yesterday, but I think it was about fifteen minutes,” she said, obviously thinking about it.

“And you were still able to get an impression?” Mrs. Wilde asked, looking like this was something very unusual.

“Rebecca, the energy signature was incredible!” he replied.

“What amazes me is that Emily didn’t succumb to it,” he said.

“I did, which is why it took so long to call you. Thankfully I had a shield up, which I think blocked most of it,” she told him.

She had a shield up? That was very interesting. How did she make a shield, and other than what the name implied, what exactly did it do? Very tentatively, I created a probe. There was a sharp jolt of pain as I did, but I ignored it. With that probe, I reached out to her, as gently as I could. I could feel the shield, but she was aware of my probe as soon as I touched her shield. I pulled the probe back immediately, not sure if she saw it or not.

“I think she touched my shield,” Mrs. Trulin said.

“That’s not possible!” Mrs. Wilde exclaimed.

“Did you see the connector?” Mr. Miller asked, almost on top of Mrs. Wilde’s response.

“No. As soon as I felt it, it disappeared. Probably just a random manifestation, but if so, how did she do that so soon after an attack?” she replied.

“It’s never happened before, that I’ve read in the studies and I know it hasn’t happened since the school program began,” Mrs. Wilde said.

“Well, how strong would you estimate she is?” Mrs. Wilde asked, apparently more curious about my strength than the attack, which I’d actually like to know as well.

“Just a guess, since it was so long after, but I’d say she’s a bit stronger than we anticipated. The lingering energy was more than I’ve witnessed firsthand from any subject I’ve seen, with the possible exception of Aliyah,” he replied.

They kept calling me a subject, which was really beginning to make me mad again. I was just some lab rat, for them to watch and poke, having me perform tricks to suit their whims. An image of me jumping through flaming hoops appeared in my mind, probably another effect of whatever was lowering my control.

Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit me like a fist, and I leaned over, ready to throw up but it never came. This went on for some time before my stomach finally settled down. I laid back on the floor, closing my eyes, as the pain continued throbbing in my head and the needles kept stabbing my eyes.

“Mike, I think we’ve just seen another manifestation of her strength. She was ready to vomit,” Mrs. Wilde said.

“What does vomiting mean?” Mrs. Trulin asked, sounding like a student, for some reason.

“The stronger the telepath, the more severe the reaction. In other words, the nausea gets worse, the more powerful the subject’s telepathy. Of course, we’ve never actually seen a subject vomit,” Rebecca told her.

My anger, though it was temporarily put on hold thanks to the nausea, returned with a vengeance, as they referred to me as a subject again. The image of being a rat in a cage was forefront in my mind. Opening my eyes, I saw the red haze, which I now believed was the beginning of these attacks, but that wasn’t that big a thought to me right then. There was an amount of hate building alongside the anger that was very intense. I’d never felt emotion like this before.

There was the feeling of a click in my mind again and then the explosion of pain that followed, but this time it seemed like it was magnified ten times greater than before. I could feel myself scream, although I couldn’t hear anything. There was a burst of light and color in my vision, blocking out everything else.

In my pain, I could sense what I could only describe as a pool of pure energy. It was out there, and I could sense it. It was huge and I believed that if I could touch it, the world would be good again. The pain would go away. I didn’t know why that thought came to me, but it was there and it felt right.

This time, the pain seemed to go away a lot faster than the last time, even though it was more intense. My vision returned but I wasn’t hearing anything. I also didn’t feel nauseous, although I was completely drained of energy. I didn’t think I could even lift my hand right then if I wanted to, which I didn’t. All I wanted to do was lay there and go to sleep, but sleep wouldn’t come. I couldn’t even force my eyes to close, although they still blinked normally. It was as if I’d lost control of my body, but thankfully my automatic functions were still working.

I could see Mrs. Trulin sitting beside me looking very bad, like she was in a lot of pain and might have been about to pass out. Mr. Miller didn’t look much better and both of them had blood coming out of their nose and eyes. Mrs. Wilde was sitting looking very worriedly at me, not noticing them. She had a phone in her hand, which I just noticed.

“We need a medical team immediately,” I heard her saying, my ears finally working again, which was a little bit of a shock when they did. There was a pain in my stomach, which I think I’d felt before, but couldn’t seem to recall what it was. I started trying to remember what that pain was, what it might mean. I knew I’d felt it before. Then it hit me. I was hungry.

As I was coming to understand my hunger, I thought I could finally move my hand. Trying to see what my limits were, I attempted to sit up. Nothing happened when I tried, but I felt my hands and legs twitch and there was a tingling feeling throughout my body. Then I felt my nerves begin to work in them and knew I could move again. Apparently, I needed to get the connections established again, or something.

There was suddenly one overwhelming need, and that was food. I had to get rid of this overwhelming hunger. I sat up slowly, just to make sure I wouldn’t fall over. Everything seemed to work fine, so I climbed to my feet.

“Melanie, lie down. A medical team is on their way,” Mrs. Wilde said, trying to get me back to the floor. Her words washed over me, nothing more than a minor annoyance, like a small bug.

I started walking out of the room, not exactly sure where I needed to go, but hoping my legs would take me to the right place. I knew I needed to get out of there.

Mrs. Wilde was trying to grab my arm, but I jerked it away and sent an impulse to it to shove her back. She hit the wall a little harder than I intended, but it didn’t matter to me right then. I needed food...badly.

I’m not sure how I got there, but I found myself in a large room, filled with other people...and there was food. I seemed to know that I needed to go to the counter to get what I wanted. Grabbing a tray, I went where my subconscious mind was leading me and got a large plate of meat, covered with gravy and mashed potatoes. The woman behind the counter offered some green beans, which I nodded for her to add to my heap.

I headed to the nearest table with an empty seat and started eating before I was completely seated. There were a couple of kids at the table, but they got up and left when I sat down. I ate it all, and returned for a second plate, never really noticing anything around me. By the end of the second plate, my mind was beginning to work again, my memories coming back to me a little at a time and my body beginning to obey me again. However, I was still very hungry, feeling like I hadn’t eaten in days. After the third helping of the same meal, I got a very large dessert, which I ate two more helpings of before I was done.

Finally, I sat at the table, staring at the large number of plates, and ready to go to sleep. “That was a lot of food,” I heard, but didn’t seem to register the voice. Slowly looking to my right, I saw Mrs. Wilde sitting a couple of seats away.

“I think I ate more carbs than I normally eat in a year,” I told her.

“You’re young. It’ll melt off like you never did it.” She was smiling, but I could see the worry underneath it.

“But it’s unhealthy.”

“Being that you feel that way, just don’t make a habit of it, and you’ll be okay, only having done it once,” she told me, which made sense.

“I’m sorry I shoved you.” I knew I did something really bad and felt bad about it.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. It was obvious that you weren’t completely in control,” she told me, rotating her shoulder a little. “You’re very strong for such a young and small girl. You’re the most unusual ten year old I think I’ve ever met.”

“You have no idea,” I replied, before I could stop myself. That lack of inhibition was apparently still there. She looked at me intently for a moment, but let it go. I guess she decided I wasn’t going to give her anything else because she didn’t push anymore.

“How are you feeling?” she finally asked. I knew she was wanting to know, but felt she had to be friendly first.

“I’m okay, but I’m really tired.”

“With the amount of energy you just expended, that doesn’t surprise me.” She was still smiling slightly. I could tell her smiles were real, because I could see them in her eyes, unlike with Mrs. Trulin. She seemed honest, which made me want to like her, even though she was one of my kidnappers. I couldn’t let myself get too close, though. She was one of the enemy and I couldn’t allow myself any weakness with them.

“Can we leave the cafeteria? I’d like to talk to you a few minutes, if you’re willing.” She sounded tentative, almost nervous.

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied, feeling like this was probably a bad idea, but not able to make myself refuse. She helped me leave the cafeteria, offering support, since I was weak and a little woozy.

Like with her request, she seemed tentative when touching me. It was a lot like I remembered with Mr. Radnick and how he began with me. Very tentative touches, that were innocent. Over time, he would let his hands go to other places, still seeming innocent.

She led me to a nearby classroom, where we both sat in student desks. I figured she was trying not to look like the teacher right then, only being a kidnapper for the moment.

“So I won’t get to see my parents again,” I said more than asked, when she didn’t say anything immediately. Why was I acting like this? I don’t ask questions like that, and especially with adults in authority.

“No, I doubt you will,” she said, actually looking kind of unhappy. I wasn’t sure if she was unhappy because of having to say it, or because it was the truth and I was exposing it.

“Are Mr. Miller and Mrs. Trulin okay?” I asked, for once asking a question out of consideration for others.

“They will be. I’m sure they have a headache, but they’ll get over it.”

“They didn’t look very good when I left.”

She looked at me in a friendly way for a moment. “You hit them pretty hard with that second attack. Would you be willing to tell me what made you angry,” she asked, looking hopeful.

“I don’t like being talked about like I’m a lab rat, even if I am,” I told her, and I could feel the intensity of my gaze on her, my anger still raw inside me.

“I’m sorry, Melanie. I’ve never thought about it that way, and I should have,” she said, looking at me with curiosity. It wasn’t like her scientist look, though. However, that can’t be what caused the first one. Would you tell me about that one?”

“No, ma’am,” I replied, knowing I made my reply too firm. I was surprised I was able to say no, considering how I felt and how I was behaving right then.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s disrespectful and I’ll get in trouble if I do.”

“So, you’re scared of being punished, I assume, and being that you were working with Mrs. Trulin, it must be her you’re scared of.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said worried, knowing she’d figured at least that much out and it would probably be told to Mrs. Trulin. I also knew that by talking about this, I’d be doing what Daddy told me not to, even if they already knew. But as much as I tried, I couldn’t keep all of it from coming out. I couldn’t shut myself up.

“I’ll make a deal with you. If you’ll tell me about it, I promise I won’t tell her,” she proposed. I wasn’t sure I could trust her. In fact, I was pretty sure I couldn’t. She was one of my kidnappers, after all, regardless of how nice she was being to me. Besides, that was a promise she couldn’t keep, regardless of how much she meant it. “Melanie, I promise she won’t replace out from me.”

“Okay, but please don’t tell her any of this,” I replied, knowing I looked pathetic, which was how I felt right then. Of course, that was how I usually felt. I guess I’d tell her, even though I knew she’d tell Mrs. Trulin.

“I promise,” she assured me.

“She told me about Oakmont, what it really is and how they couldn’t tell me and my parents the truth. Why don’t they try the truth once and see what happens? My parents might have believed them. Then she told me that I was here to help me learn to control it and also to make America a better place. All of that’s a big lie!” I shouted, feeling my anger as my eyes started burning. “You can’t make it a better place by doing bad things, like kidnapping kids and lying,” I said, very forcefully, then, “and you can’t teach me anything,” I stated a lot more quietly, my anger rising even faster than I thought possible. It was rising too fast, just like earlier. Something was definitely wrong with me.

“She then told me that she hopes we can work together and be friends.” I was pretty sure my voice was rising again, so I tried to bring it back down. I sat and breathed deeply for a moment to help control my rising anger, exercising all of my will to do so. Unfortunately, my anger was getting more intense, in spite of my efforts. My will simply wasn’t strong enough.

“She doesn’t want to be my friend, and I could see it in her eyes. She only said those things to try and get me to do what she wants!” I was feeling the heat in my cheeks and unable to stop myself from running off at the mouth. “Even her smiles are fake, just like Mr. Radnick, but at least he was nice and his looked real. I miss him.” Moisture formed in my eyes thinking of him, and where I was. I was paying for my mistake.

“I then asked if I would get to see my parents again, even though I already knew the answer. I couldn’t stop myself and she told me what I expected, but even then she still wouldn’t be completely honest even though she had no reason to lie to me. That’s when I had the attack.” My vision was red again, and I was having trouble focusing. My body locked up and the pain in my head exploded again. Like the last time, I think I screamed, but I wasn’t sure. All of my senses had shut down, other than pain and there was an incredible amount of that to make up for everything else being gone.

“Melanie!” I heard Mrs. Wilde calling. I could sense that pool of energy again and like last time, I knew if I could touch it everything would be good again. With all of my will and strength, I reached for it. It was as if it was a million miles away, but almost at my fingertips at the same time.

Something happened though, and some of the energy seemed to jump into me, like a small electrical arc. The pain let up a bit, allowing me to open my eyes. I was still seeing red, and the pain was blocking any real thought, but I could almost function again.

Like last time, it took a minute to get my nerves to fire. My body only twitched a little the first few times I tried to move. It took longer than the last time, but I was finally able to get things working like they should and I stood up, feeling a little dizzy and having trouble staying upright.

“Melanie, you need to go to the hospital. You’ve had four attacks within two days. Something like that’s never happened before, and I’m very worried about you,” she said.

“I’ll be okay,” I told her, knowing I probably wouldn’t, but not wanting their help and getting up anyway. There was a strange feeling of something inside my head that was growing, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t good. I wondered if it was connected to my inability to stop my mouth from running free, or my incredible anger.

She stared at me, with her mouth partially open, like she wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure what to say. “Thank you, Mrs. Wilde,” I told her, as I stumbled out of the room. Before I could go to my room, I needed to head to the cafeteria to get some grape juice and bread so I could observe the beginning of Shabbat. I didn’t remember my trip to the cafeteria, but I found myself at a table with the needed bread and juice. They were not going to take this from me, at least.

I wasn’t sure if I got all of the prayers right, but when I did the blessing for my parents, Ahvot v’ Imahot, my heart was completely in it, even if my mind wasn’t totally there. I probably should’ve been more aware of the Blessing of the Messiah, but I knew He was alright and knew what was going on. My parents had no idea what was happening to me.

Done with my Shabbat service of one, I headed to my room ready to pass out, which I did before my head hit my pillow. I wasn’t even sure if Aliyah was there when I came in.

“Rudie, we have a new student that you might be interested in,” John said into the phone, shortly after the adorable blonde girl left.

“Melanie Brager?” Rudie asked.

“I should’ve known you’d already know about her,” John replied.

“Send me her images, and her file, if you can. Be careful though. Stone’s really good, and I don’t want you getting in trouble,” Rudie told him.

“Don’t worry about me, but there’s no file yet. They didn’t do a background check. And as far as getting caught, Stone’s good, but I’m better with computers,” John replied, with a smile.

“Don’t get cocky, John. That’s how people get caught,” Rudie gently scolded him.

“I won’t. I promise,” John said, although his assurance was that of a young man, believing himself to be invincible.