Dangerous Days of Daniel X

Chapter 44

MY PANIC STATE had pretty much quadrupled by the time I burst through Glendale High’s front doors a few minutes later. I raced up and down the halls, ripping open doors and sticking my head into empty classrooms like a lunatic escaped from an alien asylum.

There goes her dad’s theory, I thought, sprinting through the deserted cafeteria. Phoebe isn’t here at school. Not even in the corner of the library where she’d first told me about her sister’s being missing.

Phoebe’s words from the night before burned in my ears as I passed her locker.

You’re like my guardian angel.

Yeah, I thought, sick with worry. Or maybe I’m the one who led Seth to you.

“There you are,” Mr. Marshman said as he practically clotheslined me in front of his office. “We’ve been trying to call your house. There was a mix-up, and we forgot to give you your placement exam. I’m glad you’re here early. You can take the test now. This is perfect.”

Was this guy kidding me? Like I needed a test now? Like I didn’t have enough on my mind already?

I let out a deep breath as I glanced over his shoulder at the nearest exit. Should I just bolt? Phoebe obviously wasn’t here. Maybe she’d headed to Malibu on her own. Or maybe Seth had taken her to keep her sister company?

“Mr. Marshman, with all due respect, I really can’t do this now,” I said.

“I think you can, Mr. Hopper.” He handed me a booklet and pencil. “I know you can, Mr. Hopper.”

“All right, fine.” I practically ripped the test out of his hands. I leaned it against the nearest wall, speed-read my way through it, marking off answer after answer with machine-gun rapidity.

Maybe thirty seconds later, forty tops, I broke the pencil in half on the last of the one hundred multiple-choice fill-ins. I shoved the test into Marshman’s face.

“Don’t bother to grade it. I aced it,” I said, taking a step for the exit. “Now, I have to go! Every once in a while something is actually more important than school! Hard to believe, I know!”

Marshman suddenly made a grunting sound and shifted like a linebacker to his left, blocking my path.

“I knew you were trouble the first time I laid eyes on you,” he said, red-faced. “My instincts are never wrong, Hopper.”

That’s it. Enough of this nonsense, I thought.

Up and down the school hallway, I levitated all the student lockers. Then I levitated Mr. Marshman until his bullet head touched the ceiling and he yelped with surprise and disbelief.

“How-how did you do that?”

“You don’t want to know,” I said, gazing into his astounded eyes. “Now you stay right there-for thirty minutes. Let’s call it a time-out!”

Then I left school-in a blur.