Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Chapter Two

EMILY COULD FEEL HER mother's worried eyes on her as they sat across from each other at the table.

"Emily? Are you feeling all right? You're not eating."

She was right. And on the plate in front of her was one of her absolute favorites-macaroni and cheese.

"I'm not very hungry," she replied, but she stuck her fork into the cheesy pasta anyway.

Her mother still looked concerned. She really cared, Emily knew that, and for a mother, she was usually pretty understanding. About most things, at least.

"Mom," Emily began, and then she lost her nerve. Her mother sighed.

"You are having those visions again, aren't you." It was a statement, not a question, but Emily answered anyway. She wanted so desperately to talk about it. "Sort of."

"Do you talk about this in your … your class? Isn't your teacher supposed to help you.. deal with your problem?"

That was how her mother saw her gift-as a problem. When Emily was asked to join the class, Madame had told her mother that its purpose was to help the students channel and control their talents. But somehow her mother had convinced herself that the purpose of it was to help the students get rid of their delusions.

"We talk about our gifts" Emily said, emphasizing the last word. "We talk about how to develop them and make the most of them."

As usual, her mother didn't hear her. "Em, honey … if you're not getting any help from that Madame person, maybe you should go back to see Dr. Mackle."

Emily shuddered. Her mother had dragged her to the psychologist two years ago. He'd treated her like a six-year-old with an imaginary friend and said her visions were simply the product of an overactive, creative imagination. No, Dr. Mackle couldn't help her.

She gave up. "I'm fine, Mom. I've just got a lot of homework and I'm a little stressed out."

That was something her mother could understand. "Well, you go ahead and get to work," she said briskly. "I'll take care of the dishes."

"I'll clear the table," Emily offered. While she was collecting the dishes, the phone rang. Her mother got to it first.

"Hello? Hi, Tracey. Yes, she's here, but she's got a lot of homework so don't talk too long. Oh really? Okay, here she is." She handed the cordless phone to Emily. "Tracey's having some problems with the homework and she wants to talk to you about it."

This couldn't be true-Madame hadn't given them any homework, and she and Tracey didn't have any other classes together. Emily took the phone and played along.

"Hi, I'm taking the phone to my room so I can look at the assignment." That was for her mother's benefit. Once in her own room, she closed the door and fell down on her bed with the phone. "Hi, what's up?"

"Not much. Wait a sec, I gotta yell at the clones. Hey, you guys, out of my room! Now!"

Emily could picture Tracey's identical little sisters, the infamous Devon Seven, surrounding her and begging for stories. As an only child, Emily used to envy Tracey. But after spending some time in Tracey's house, she now understood one of the reasons why Tracey was so intent on learning to disappear at will-so she could really and truly hide from them sometimes.

"Hi, I'm back. I just called to find out how you're doing. You seemed really down today."

Emily wasn't surprised that Tracey had been so aware of her feelings. Tracey was practically an authority on being depressed, having spent around five years in that condition.

"I'm confused," Emily confessed. "My visions are so-so messy. Sometimes I wonder if I really have a gift at all."

"Of course you do," Tracey assured her. "Think of all the times you've told me what's going to happen! Remember when you asked me if I'd ever had measles?"

Emily recalled the strange premonition she'd had a few months earlier. She kept envisioning Tracey and thinking "measles." "Yeah, I remember."

"Well, why did you ask me that? Because you knew the clones were going to come down with measles and you were worried that I might catch it."

"But why didn't I just see your sisters with measles in my vision? It's like, every time I get a premonition, it's not clear-it's all twisted and mixed-up."

"Maybe because the future is never all that clear. I mean, it can always change, can't it?"

"I guess," Emily replied, but she wasn't so sure about that. If the future could change, then how could she see it before it happened? Like today. . "I had a vision this morning that Carter wouldn't be in class today."

"That must have been a clear vision," Tracey said. "And it was accurate."

There was a rap on her door. "Em, don't stay on the phone too long. You've got homework."

"I gotta go," Emily told Tracey. "Thanks for calling."

"Want to make a quick prediction before we hang up?" Tracey asked.

"I can try," Emily said. "Ask me a question."

"Um. .Will Carter be back in class tomorrow?"

Emily half-closed her eyes, so that her eyesight was blurred, and waited to see if any kind of image formed. She was pleased when a vision of the class began to form.

"No … he won't be there. Wait-someone else is missing, too."

"Who?"

Emily looked over the faces in the fuzzy image. "It's you! Are you feeling okay? Maybe you're going to be sick."

"I feel fine," Tracey assured her. "Maybe I'll be invisible."

"Are you going to try to disappear tomorrow?" "I don't know. Maybe. I practice every day, but usually at home in my room."

"Well, don't do it just so I'll think my prediction was accurate."

Tracey laughed. "See you tomorrow."

When she saw Tracey at their usual table in the cafeteria the next day, she wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed. Of course she was glad Tracey wasn't sick, and that she hadn't done a disappearing act just to make Emily feel better about herself (although that was the kind of thing Tracey would do). But her presence was more evidence that Emily's predictions were half-baked at best.

Still, she forced a smile as she carried her lunch to the table. "I'm glad to see you," she assured Tracey.

Tracey sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry about what?" Jenna appeared at the table, carrying a lunch tray.

"Oh, nothing," Tracey said quickly. "Hey, you bought your lunch!"

Emily had noticed that, too. Jenna always brought a sandwich from home. With her mother's problems, the family had lived on public assistance, and Jenna was always short of cash.

Jenna set the tray on the table. "Yeah, how about that? My mother got a job!"

"Wow, that's great!" Tracey exclaimed.

"Doing what?" Emily asked.

"She's going to be a secretary at the hospital! That's what she used to be, a secretary, and while she was in rehab, she told one of the nurses. And it turned out she remembers all her computer skills." She turned to Emily. "Guess you didn't see that coming, did you?"

Emily's smile faded. "No. I haven't been having many successful premonitions lately."

"Hey, it's okay," Jenna said, taking her seat. "I wouldn't have believed you if you'd predicted it." She looked beyond them and grimaced. "Oh damn. What do they want?"

Emily turned to see three of Amanda's friends sauntering toward them. They were whispering and smirking, and she steeled herself for an insult.

Nina, the nastiest one, spoke. "Emily, I'm trying out for cheerleading today. Could you tell me if I'm going to make the squad?"

Emily sighed. "No."

"No, you can't tell me, or no, I'm not going to make the squad?"

Britney and Sophie started giggling furiously.

Emily considered a snappy retort, something like "I won't waste my gift on something stupid like cheerleading," but of course she couldn't let them know she really could see into the future.

Tracey saved her. "She doesn't know and she doesn't care, so leave her alone."

Nina faked a look of wide-eyed innocence. "But I thought Emily could tell the future."

Jenna rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Emily doesn't even know what day it will be tomorrow."

To her horror, Emily felt her eyes well up. She knew Jenna was just trying to convince the girls it was all a joke, that the idea of Emily being able to predict the future was ridiculous. But in a way, what Jenna said was almost true, and that was what hurt. She managed to keep her expression frozen until the girls walked away, and then a tear escaped.

Tracey saw it. "Oh, Emily, you can't care what those girls think."

"I don't," Emily said fiercely, staring at Jenna.

"Hey, I was just trying to help out," Jenna protested.

"I know," Tracey said. "But Emily's feeling pretty sensitive about her gift these days."

Jenna's expression changed. "Really? Hey, I'm sorry, Em. I was just fooling around."

"It's okay," Emily sighed. "I just feel like my gift is awfully weak. I mean, compared with the others in our class."

"What about Carter?" Jenna said. "He doesn't even have a gift. At least, he's never shown us one."

"Speaking of Carter, Emily knew he wouldn't be in class yesterday," Tracey told her. "She was right about that." She turned to Emily. "And you said he won't be there today, right? I'll bet you're right again."

"But even if I am, I thought you wouldn't be there either. So I'd only be half right."

"Have you talked to Madame about this?" Jenna wanted to know.

Tracey was taken aback. "Since when do you trust teachers?"

"I don't," Jenna said quickly. "Not regular teachers. But Madame's. . okay. I think she's different. She understands stuff."

Tracey looked thoughtful. "Do you really think she understands our gifts?"

Jenna shrugged. "Well, she knows about them and she doesn't treat us like freaks.That's enough for me."

It was enough for Emily, too. At least Madame would be willing to listen. She pushed her barely touched tray away.

"Maybe you're right. I'm going to go see if I can talk to her now."

She was in luck-Madame was already in the classroom, going through some papers at her desk. Emily stood in the doorway and coughed loudly. The teacher looked up. She didn't smile, but she spoke kindly.

"Yes, Emily?"

Emily hesitated. Madame looked preoccupied, like she had something on her mind. Maybe this wasn't a good time. But then Madame spoke again.

"Have you had a vision?"

"I'm always having visions," Emily said. "That's the problem. Because they're not always right.

No, that's not exactly true. They're just not completely right."

"We've talked about this before," Madame reminded her. "Are you examining the visions? Are you looking for clues that could help you make sense of them, to make the most of your visions?"

Madame was right-Emily had heard all this before. But she still didn't get it. She reported the visions as she saw them-what else could she do?

"Can you give me an example?" she asked the teacher.

Madame didn't get the opportunity. Another teacher appeared at the classroom door and spoke in a rush.

"Could you come with me? It's Martin Cooper. ."

"Of course." Madame rose quickly. "I'm sorry, Emily, I have to go."

Emily didn't need any explanation for her need to leave-she could guess what was happening in some other classroom. Skinny little Martin Cooper had a gift that only served himself. If he was teased or ridiculed-which happened frequently, since he was such a whiny, babyish nerd-he went more than a little nuts. His scrawny body was suddenly endowed with an almost superhuman strength, and he became violent. Madame was the only one who could calm him down.

Yes, like Jenna said, Madame understood the special students. Unlike most of their parents, she accepted the reality of the gifts and she believed in her students' abilities. But unfortunately for Emily, the other students' gifts usually took up more of Madame's time.

Ken could be tormented by the voices of the deceased, and he didn't seem to have much control over them. Emily often wondered how Ken had developed such a weird gift. He never really said much about it except to complain when dead people kept trying to talk to him. He certainly wasn't happy about it, ever, and Madame always seemed to have a special sympathy for him.

Charles, like Martin, had a gift which could create big problems that demanded Madame's immediate attention. He couldn't make his legs move-he'd been paralyzed since birth-and somehow he'd developed telekinesis, being able to make things move with his mind. And if he was in a bad mood, which was pretty often, he used his gift in very destructive ways.

Amanda could take over other people's bodies. If she felt very sorry for a person, she could end up being that person. Tracey, who'd been occupied by Amanda for a couple of weeks, said this was why Amanda was so nasty to some people-she couldn't risk caring about them.

On the other hand, Sarah didn't demand much attention from Madame, which was interesting, since she had the greatest power of all-she could make people do whatever she wanted them to do. At least, that's what they'd all been told. It was hard to believe, since Sarah was usually so nice and easygoing. And they'd never seen any evidence of her gift, since Sarah refused to use it. That was why Madame didn't have to watch her so closely. Still, the power was there, so Madame had to find Sarah pretty intriguing.

And what could Emily do? Offer predictions that might or might not come true. Not exactly something that would make Madame jump out of her seat.

There was still some time before the bell, and Emily could have gone back to the cafeteria and rejoined her friends, but she had nothing to tell them, so what was the point? She went to her seat, sat down, and half-closed her eyes.

Show me something, she told her mind. She waited for a vision. It took a while, but finally an image began to form. To her disappointment, the image turned out to be Amanda's friend Nina. She was jumping around in front of some uniformed cheerleaders. Then she performed a cartwheel, a split, and a back handspring. Something went wrong with the last move, and she ended up flat on her butt.

So Nina wouldn't make the cheerleading squad. That was comforting but not very important. And nobody would care except Nina.

Jenna sauntered into the room and sat next to Emily. "What did Madame say?"

"Not much," Emily told her. "She got called out on a Martin emergency."

"Oh, too bad. Maybe you can talk to her after class."

And tell her what? Emily wondered dismally. That Amanda's friend Nina wouldn't make the cheerleading squad? Madame would care about that just about as much as Emily cared.

"Where's Tracey?" she asked, just to change the subject.

"She had to stop at her locker. Look, here comes Madame with Martin."

The teacher walked into the room with a hand firmly attached to Martin's shoulder. He was pouting, like a five-year-old who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and he took his seat without a word. One by one the other students came in, and the bell rang.

Madame surveyed the room. "I see Carter's still absent. Has anyone seen him?" No one had, and Madame frowned as she made a note on a paper. Then she looked up and asked the same question Emily had asked Jenna.

"Where's Tracey?"

"She went to her locker," Jenna offered, and Madame frowned again. She hated for students to be late.

But Tracey wasn't late for class. She didn't show up at all. And by the end of the hour, Emily could only think of one reason why.

Tracey meant well. She wanted Emily to cheer up, to feel confident about herself and her gift. She'd managed to make herself go invisible so Emily would believe that this particular prediction had come true. Maybe right this minute Tracey was sitting in that empty seat and hoping Emily was happy.

She looked at Tracey's usual desk, and for a second, she actually thought she could see her friend. It was all in her imagination, of course. But just in case Tracey was there, Emily offered a weak smile at the empty seat.

The bell rang. Jenna came to her side and looked at the empty seat. "She's getting pretty good at disappearing," she commented.

Before Emily could respond, Amanda paused on her way out and spoke to her. "Why are you staring at Tracey's desk with that goofy smile?"

Jenna answered for her. "Emily predicted that Tracey wouldn't be in class today."

Amanda shrugged. "Nah, she's just being invisible."

"How can you be so sure about that?" Emily asked.

"Because it's more likely than one of your visions coming true."

Jenna, who would do or say anything to contradict Amanda, responded. "It's not just Tracey. Emily predicted that Carter wouldn't be in class yesterday."

"Big deal. So she actually got two predictions right." Amanda turned to Emily. "So tell me, Miss Know-It-All, who else is going to disappear tomorrow? Me, I hope. I hate this class."

Emily knew she was being mocked, but even so, she let her eyes glaze over to see if anything would be revealed. And she had a vision.

"Martin."

"Yeah, whatever," Amanda said airily and left the room.

Jenna didn't say anything, but her skeptical expression told Emily she didn't have a whole lot more faith in Emily's prediction than Amanda had. So the next day, at least two people were pretty surprised when Martin didn't appear in class.