Found (5 page)

Chapter Seven

Wyatt

Kai and I swing by Elle and Penny’s room to go to breakfast. Elle meets us at the door, holding her finger to her mouth. “
Shh. Penny’s still sleeping.” A sound a lot like what I’d imagine comes out of a hibernating bear bellows from behind Elle. “We can get her something for later.” She closes the door behind her.

“Just in case…” I say, writing
Good morning,
Penny, we’re at breakfast. Remember your badge to unlock the doors. I’ll grab some food for you if you don’t want to come down. -Wyatt
on the dry erase board stuck to the outside of the door. “I don’t want her to wake up in a strange place for the first time and think all of the people she’s just met abandoned her. That would suck.”

“Hmm,” Kai and Elle say at the same time.

“What?”

Elle grabs my arm and pulls me down the hall toward the stairwell. “You’ve never been this interested in or …goofy about a charge before,
Wy, that’s all.”

“Well,” I say, purposely not making eye contact with her, “Penny isn’t like other
Retros and she’s had a hard life. I want her to feel safe and welcome.”

Kai claps me on the back. “We know
brah. And you’re a stand-up guy…but I also know that look in your eyes – it’s how you used to look at Elle. A girl like Penny, she will eat you alive. Lotsa baggage and emotional stuff you don’t want to get involved with. Probably best to keep things professional.”

I unlock the stairwell door. “It’s not like that.”

“Okay,” Kai and Elle say in unison.

“And even if it was,” I say, jumping over the last two steps and opening the door to the orange floor, “it’s a lost cause. I’m pathetically inexperienced and a coward.”

Elle playfully punches me in the stomach as I hold the door for her. “You’re a sweetheart, Wyatt Adams, and one of our best friends. We don’t want you to get in over your head.”

“Fair enough.”
Too late?
While I appreciate their concern, I’m slightly pissed they don’t see the hypocrisy of what they’re saying. When it comes to caring about other people, aren’t we all in over our heads?

I take a deep breath.
You barely know Penny. Stop being so desperate and defensive. Yes, she’s attractive and chido. So are lots of girls.

We get in line to fill up our trays with breakfast stuff and then head over to our usual table. Reed and his crew join us.

“Anyone up for a Vicious Redemption V play off in the lounge this evening?” Reed asks, tipping a drizzle of milk from a small porcelain pitcher into his mug of green tea. “Ty got it for me for Christmas and I am well-equipped to kick all y’all’s asses.”

His fair, auburn-haired trigger, Ty, grins, picking up Reed’s mug and takes a sip of the tea. “I’ve created a hot, stoned, monster.”

“No, I think that’s Mom and Dad and their complete lack of parental guidance’s doing,” says Phoebe. She flips her long black braid over her shoulder and slurps some pomegranate smoothie through a bamboo straw. “VR is a Lookout’s game anyhow. Have you played, Wyatt?”

Elle chokes on her orange juice and Kai makes a big production of slapping her on the back.

Reed reaches across Ty and flicks his younger sister on the arm. “Who would he have played with, suckface? His no-friends, his ghost daddy, or his techno-phobe sister?”

Phoebe blushes crimson and gives me a mortified expression. I decide to throw her a bone, as I’m familiar with saying the wrong thing always. “In Mel’s defense, she’s not so much a techno-
phobe as she is bueno at working with what she has and not wanting more. There’s a reason she’s Lookout in Charge.”

Phoebe reaches across Ty and flicks Reed on the arm. “That’s how brothers are supposed to treat their sisters,
buttwrinkle. It would be nice if you could stop being a dicknob for two minutes.”

Reed goes in for another flick and Phoebe prepares to counter, but Ty cuts them both off, holding up his hands.
“Children! Knock it off.”

The siblings catch each others’ eye behind Ty’s head and simultaneously flick him a good one on the backs of his hands.

“Mother Hubbard!” Ty yells.

Reed sips his tea. “
Phoebs and I can show you the Vicious Redemption ropes, Wyatt, and then it’s Retros vee Lookouts.”

Our summer rituals are falling into place. The Morgans are fighting, Kai and Elle are overprotective of everyone and each other, and I’m learning about things that all of my abnormal normal friends do the rest of the year. My shoulders relax, my mouth grins, I make eye contact, my guard comes down. Every year I look forward to this moment, this adjustment, where I go from being Rosedell Wyatt to L.A. Wyatt.

L.A. Wyatt doesn’t get pissed at his friends for not wanting him to get his heart broken.

Just as I’m lifting my last forkful of scrambled eggs to my lips, a drowsy Penny, complete with bed-head and a pillow print on her cheek, saunters over.

“Morning,” she says, plopping down into the empty chair next to me, eyeing the two pieces of bacon on my plate. “Thanks for letting me snooze. That feather bed is like sleeping on a cloud.”

I push my plate toward her and take out the blueberry muffin I’d stashed for her in my backpack. “I’m glad you got some rest. How’re your ribs feeling? Have you taken any meds this morning, because you really should eat something with them. I can go get you some eggs and more bacon if you want.”

Penny rolls her eyes at me. “Thanks, Mom. The bacon and muffin will be enough and no, I haven’t taken any meds. I’m not a big fan of altered states.”

“That’s too bad,” Reed chimes in. “Altered is my favorite state to be in.” He smiles wide, his eyes barely visible under his mop of bleach blond hair, and extends his hand. “Reed Morgan, of the Seattle Morgans. Thanks for taking the ‘special kid’ shine off of me.”

Penny wipes her bacon-y hand on her jeans and shakes Reed’s. “Took the shine off?”

Phoebe rolls her eyes. “Thank God you did show up, Penny. Reed’s mind control was starting to go to his already inflated ego. Phoebe Morgan, put-upon little sister and Lookout.”

“
Ohhhh,” Penny drawls. “You’re a Retroact. Got it.” She shakes hands with Phoebe while looking from Reed to Ty, who is the most straitlaced femme guy in the whole school. The two of them are the perfect example of the Retro/Trigger heart (libido) wanting what the Retro/Trigger heart (libido) wants. Ty gives her a finger wave and a welcoming smile.

Elle scoots her plate of eggs and waffles at Penny, who grins at her and wolfs the food down. I immediately feel like a prick for announcing in public that Penny should eat – like someone who’s been deprived of food needs that pointed out.

“So,” Elle says, “if you’re up for it, we’re going to hang out in the lounge tonight and watch Wyatt embarrass Reed at Vicious Redemption V.”

“Whatever, Elle,” Reed says. “Always
gotta have your boy’s back. I get it. You might wanna bring him a hankie to dry his loser-y tears when I kick his skinny ass.”

Penny shakes her head. “Reed, it really is too bad you’re into guys, ‘
cause you’re
such
a catch.”

Both
Morgans say, “Nice!” and put their hands out for Penny to high-five.

Elle snorts. “If watching guys play video games isn’t your speed, we could also take a trip to the Santa Monica Pier after school. It’s important to get sun when we’re stuck underground training all summer.”

Penny’s eyes water and she blinks several times.

“Ooh, did I put too much pepper on the eggs?” Elle slides her orange juice Penny’s way. “I get
a little nuts.”

“Nah,” Penny
says, a slanted half-smile forming on her mouth.

Ty finishes off Reed’s tea. “Yeah, let’s hit the beach. We can be bored to death with VRV anytime.”

“All in favor?” Elle asks to resounding ‘ayes.’

I wait out in the hallway, looking over Penny’s schedule on her tablet, while she gets cleaned up and changes her clothes. Her class mix is strange. It’s like Christopher has zero idea where to put her. She’s got Intro to Retroact Abilities, which is something all the prospective Retros take when they’re twelve, and two intermediate classes, Spirit Conjuring, and Glimpsing. After lunch her schedule is more in line with what the rest of the Retros our age are taking -- two advanced classes -- Lookout/Retroact Maneuvers, Society History -- and a free period. In Penny’s case, that means an Independent Study with Christopher.

Comparatively, my schedule is awesome. Advanced Surveillance, Mixed Martial Arts,
Auto Shop/Driving Techniques Simulator in the morning. Lookout/Retroact Maneuvers, Society History, Open Gym in the afternoon.

Penny walks out of the bathroom wearing jeans and flip flops, smoothing her hands down the front of her gauzy black shirt. The collar is high, skimming just below her delicate
clavicles, and the sleeves are long, but I can easily make out the shape of her body underneath. Claire has managed to find something that’s sexy, yet covers up all of Penny’s scars. My aunt is sometimes too good at her job.
Be professional, dumbass.

“Do I look okay?” Penny
asks, her voice unsure. “This shirt might be the nicest thing I’ve ever owned, and I think Claire even got me two of them.”

I glance at her quickly, like a colleague who hasn’t just been forbiddingly ogling her. “Elle has a couple of shirts like that too. You look fine. C’mon, you don’t want to be late on the first day.”

Once we’re down in the orange hall, I walk Penny directly to her first class. She looks into the room, sees all of the scared, awkward tweens squirming in their seats, and says, “No.”

“
No what?” I ask, absently rubbing the back of my neck like I don’t know what she’s getting at.

“Um, no I’m not going to sit in a class with a bunch of giggling little girls and boys and learn about...” she studies the schedule on her tablet, “…Retroact abilities. Already got the rundown yesterday from Christopher and Ben.”

“Everyone has to take it. Elle did. Reed did. Even I did just for the hell of it.”

“Good, then you can teach me all I need to know.”

I grit my teeth. L.A. Wyatt never grits his teeth. “No, I can’t, because I’m not able to demonstrate the abilities or explain to you how to manifest them.”

Penny crosses her arms in front of her and sets her jaw.

I cross my arms in front of me and set my jaw. A stare-down commences.

And I wish all I was thinking is,
aw, our first fight,
but it’s more like
God, you’re a dime when you’re testing my boundaries.

“Fine,” I huff, although, of course, it’s less about trying to talk her into taking this stupid class and more about being annoyed at myself for liking my boundaries tested. “Elle and I can get you up to speed.”

The bell rings.

“Shit!” I take off down the hall, waving for her to follow. “C’mon, you’re going to have to go to Surveillance with me.”

After that kerfluffle, the school day goes markedly better. Penny ends up knowing a lot about surveillance and eluding cameras and disarming alarm systems. I ask our teacher, Marcus, if she can stay, and he says he’ll see what he can do.

I work up a
bueno sweat in MMA, sparring with Kai. He has bulk on his side, but this is one time where my long, cricket legs come in handy. I can kick from farther back and nearly get my foot up by his ear.

“Hey,” I slur to him, grinning around my mouthpiece, “my goal for the summer is to kick you in the head.”

He smiles and then mean-mugs me, slurring in return. “Good luck.”

I punch. “I won’t need luck if you give me reason.”

Kai counters with a roundhouse. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

We volley back and forth. “You’re being kind of a dick to Penny and I don’t like it.”

He rolls his neck, looking at me pointedly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Okay,” I say, rolling my neck in response. “All I’m saying is your people skills with regard to Penny are on par with your shitty sparring.”

Kai laughs good-naturedly. “Fuck you.”

Penny doesn’t resist going to either of her intermediate classes and spends all of lunch telling me about them.

“I saw a flicker of a
dead
person!” she says, finishing off her meatball sub.

“Oh, yeah?”
I nod at her and wipe the corner of my mouth to let her know she’s got some sauce. Her tongue darts out and licks it away.

“Yeah, her name is Rachel and she has this cool red hair with a white stripe.” Penny shakes her bangs into her eyes seductively. “I approve.”

I chuckle. “That’s my grandma.”

“No shit?
Really. How do you see her?” Penny starts in on her banana cream pie. I have to admit that I like watching her eat with wild abandon, in the same way that I used to like to watch Elle. I hate thinking about them doing without something as simple as sandwiches and pie.