Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Chapter Five

JENNA WAS ANXIOUS TO talk to Ken, and when she spotted him on the steps leading to the school entrance, she hurried toward him. But when she reached the bottom of the steps, she paused. She could see who he was with, and there was no way she could talk to Ken now. He was with a couple of jocks, and not just ordinary athletes. They were stars-even Jenna, who was not into sports, recognized them as the cocaptains of Meadowbrook's basketball team. She'd been forced to go to assemblies where these guys had been introduced and cheered, along with the football, soccer, and baseball captains.

Jenna had very firm opinions about jocks-as far as she was concerned, they were all stupid and boring. Emily and Tracey always told her this was a stereotype and couldn't possibly be true of every athlete in the world, but Jenna held firmly to her beliefs. There was no way she wanted those guys to hear the news she had for Ken.

She couldn't understand why Ken hung around guys like that, even though Ken himself had been a major jock once, before she came to Meadowbrook. Emily had told her he was captain of the soccer team, and he'd been injured in a bad accident. In fact, according to Emily, it was just after the accident that he developed his gift. And Ken was okay- not boring and definitely not stupid. So maybe her attitude toward athletes really was a stereotype.

Still, her news was private and personal and only for Ken's ears. But it was getting close to the time when they'd all have to enter the building. Ken would be off to his first class, and she'd lose this opportunity to talk to him. So she slowly mounted the steps and edged toward the boys. Somehow she had to get Ken away from his buddies.

She was close enough to hear Ken now. It sounded like he was congratulating the other two.

"That was an amazing game last night."

"Incredible," one of the boys said. He cocked his head toward the taller boy. "When Mike made that first basket, I was totally blown away. It looked like a wild throw to me."

"It was a wild throw," Mike admitted. "I was as shocked as everyone else when it cleared the net."

"You were lucky," Ken remarked.

"Yeah," Mike agreed. "And I stayed lucky all night. I didn't miss a throw."

"It couldn't be just luck," the other boy said. "You were terrific at Monday's game, too."

"I know," Mike said, but his forehead puckered. "I don't know what happened. I haven't been that good all season."

"No kidding," the other boy said. "You've been a disaster. I don't think you scored half a dozen points before Monday." He turned to Ken. "You should have heard the way Coach has been bawling him out."

"So that's what got you going," Ken commented.

"I guess," Mike said, but he didn't sound very sure of himself. "Hey, Ken. . you know that kid in the wheelchair?"

"Charles Temple? Yeah, what about him?"

"He was at the game last night."

"So what?" the other boy asked.

"He was at Monday's game, too. I noticed because of the wheelchair-he couldn't go up into the stands. He was on the floor, just at the edge of the court."

Ken echoed the other boy. "So what?"

Mike looked distinctly uncomfortable. "I don't know. I never saw him at a game before. And he kept giving me weird looks. There's something spooky about him."

Now Ken looked uncomfortable. "Spooky?"

"Yeah. . You know anything about him?"

"No." Ken noticed Jenna on the lower step. "Uh, I gotta go talk to that girl. See you guys."

He hurried down the stairs and joined Jenna. "Did you hear those guys? Geez, I hate when people ask me about the gifted group."

Jenna had more important things on her mind. "Listen, something's happened. Emily's gone."

He looked at her blankly. "Gone where?" Then his eyes widened. "You mean, she's disappeared like the others?"

"Not exactly. She left a note for her mother, so she didn't just disappear-she knew she was going away. Her mother called me this morning. She was completely hysterical."

"Did the note say where she went?"

Jenna shook her head. "Only something about how she had to find her friends and not to worry about her."

"But how would she know where to look for them?"

"I don't know. Maybe she had a vision. We should find Madame and tell her."

That turned out to be unnecessary. Once inside the building, they were witness to a commotion going on just outside the principal's office. Madame's calm, measured tone could be heard, but Emily's mother's angry voice was louder.

"How can you let this happen?" she cried. "Young people start disappearing from one particular class and parents aren't notified?"

Madame replied, "The parents of the missing students were notified immediately, Mrs. Sanders."

Emily's mother wasn't satisfied with that. "And what about the parents of the other students? If I'd known what was happening in that so-called gifted class, I could have prevented my daughter's disappearance!"

Other kids had been attracted by the noise and were gathering around. The principal, Mr. Jackson, looked nervous. He ushered the two women into his office and closed the door.

By the time the bell rang for homeroom, word of all the missing students had spread through the school. Homeroom classmates who knew that Jenna was in the gifted class gave her uneasy looks, like they half-expected her to vanish before their very eyes. Jenna didn't care about that-with her goth makeup, black clothes, and tough-girl attitude, she was used to being stared at. But she cared about her friends, Tracey and Emily, and she was even worried about the classmates she wasn't so friendly with. She looked forward to class and the opportunity to talk with Madame and the remaining students about what they could do.

She didn't have to wait for the class. Before homeroom was over, the teacher received a note and beckoned to Jenna.

"You're to go to room 209 immediately," the teacher told her.

When Jenna arrived, Amanda was the only other of her gifted classmates in the room.

"Do you know why we're meeting now?" Jenna asked her.

Amanda shrugged.

"Is it about Emily?"

Amanda just shrugged again. Jenna gazed at her curiously.

"Have you even heard about Emily?" "No."

"She's missing. I think she ran away to look for the other students."

"What other students?"

"The ones who disappeared from our class!"

Amanda nodded. "Okay," she said. She rose from her chair and started toward the door. Jenna blocked her. She hadn't expected Amanda to show any deep concern about this, but not getting any reaction at all surprised her.

"Amanda! C'mon, we have to talk about this, we have to do something."

Amanda looked at her blankly. "Why?"

Now Jenna was shocked. None of Amanda's friends could hear them, so there was no reason for her to put on an act. And she knew Amanda had some decent qualities, some real feelings. This total lack of interest was very, very strange.

Unless. . unless. . "You're the other Amanda," Jenna declared, her heart sinking.

The real Amanda would have snapped at Jenna and called her crazy. This Amanda simply stared at her blankly.

Jenna sighed. "Sit down, Amanda."

The Other-Amanda obeyed.

There was no point in trying to talk to this whatever-it-was, this thing that looked like Amanda, talked like Amanda, moved like Amanda-but wasn't Amanda, just a robotic shell of the real girl. Oh, what a crummy time for Amanda to suddenly do a body snatch! She might not have the world's best personality, but at least she was smart.

Which was probably why she'd done a body snatch. She must have really believed Emily's prediction. Which clearly didn't come true, since the body of Amanda was still here. But where was the real Amanda?

So there was only herself, Ken, and Charles left to work with Madame on this situation. Ken was the next to arrive.

"I just saw Madame," he said. "She's going to be a little late. The police are here, and she has to talk to them."

Jenna shook her head. "I don't think the police are going to be much help. You know these aren't regular kidnappings. There won't be ransom demands or anything like that."

"You're right." Ken turned to Amanda. "Hi, Amanda. You got any theories about this?"

"About what?"

"The missing students! Jenna and I were just saying we don't think these are ordinary kidnappings."

Other-Amanda opened her handbag and brought out a cosmetic case. She set up a little mirror on her desk and began applying mascara to her eyelashes.

"Amanda!" Ken said again. "Do you have any ideas?"

"No," she replied and continued putting on her makeup.

"Don't bother with her," Jenna informed him. "She's not Amanda."

Ken understood what she meant and groaned. "Oh, no."

Madame arrived. Despite the events of the morning, she seemed calm, though Jenna thought she detected a dark glint in the teacher's eyes. She didn't waste any time on opening remarks.

"We have a situation," she said abruptly. "And we've all got to work together." She stopped. "Where's Charles?"

As if on cue, the door opened and Charles wheeled himself in. "Sorry I'm late," he said casually. "I was hanging with my friends."

"What friends?" Ken murmured. "Could I have everyone's attention?" Madame demanded. "Amanda?"

"She's not Amanda, Madame," Jenna told her.

The teacher sighed and closed her eyes for a moment as if trying to absorb this new bad news.

"All right, thank you, Jenna. Charles, would you please stop that immediately!"

Jenna realized that paper clips were jumping out of the tray on Madame's desk and going into the cup that held pencils and pens. But Madame had spoken more sharply than usual, and Charles stopped.

Madame continued in the same tone. "We can't afford not to take this seriously, people! I do not believe that Tracey is invisible or that Martin has run away from home. Someone-some organization-is causing members of our class to disappear, and these disappearances have something to do with who you are. We have to figure out who is behind this and why."

"Do you think they're in danger?" Ken asked the teacher.

"It's quite possible, though not in the way you think. I don't think they will be physically injured. But I do think they will be used."

Jenna knew what she meant. It was Madame's greatest fear for them-that their gifts could be utilized by people with bad intentions. Trust no one-that was her mantra. But Madame's next comment surprised her.

"I must say, though, I feel a little better knowing that Emily has gone in search of them."

Jenna's mouth fell open. "Why?"

"Because in a situation like this, I think she's our best hope," Madame said simply.

Jenna couldn't believe what she was hearing. Emily, their best hope? Emily, with her inaccurate predictions? Emily, whose gift was the weakest of them all?

If Emily was their best hope, Jenna thought, then they were in more trouble than she'd ever imagined.