Two Schools Out - Forever

101

"Come on, one more time," Iggy wheedled.

"No," said the Gasman.

"One more time."

"No. It's no fun. You always win, like, right away."

Fang and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes. Those two had been at it all morning.

"I guess Iggy feels okay again," I said out of the side of my mouth. Fang nodded. Iggy, of all of us, had faced the most disappointment lately. We'd actually found his parents: They were real. And they had turned out to be traitors, betrayers. All of Iggy's hopes and dreams about one day finding his parents and having them not care that he was blind and a recombinant life-form-they'd all come true. And then they'd all been torn away.

It was much worse than for the rest of us, who hadn't even gotten close.

Iggy had been silent and stoic since he'd come back to us, but now he had recovered enough to make Gazzy's life miserable, so I knew he was getting back to normal. I shifted Total in my arms and rolled my shoulders.

"How long till we get to Florida?" Nudge asked. "Are we really going to Disney World? Do you think we'll see anyone famous? I want to go to the Swiss Family Treehouse. I want to see Beauty and the Beast and get their autographs. I want to see the Tree of Life-"

I held up a hand. "Okay, hang on. I'm hoping we can go to Disney World, but we have to get down there first, check everything out. We just crossed the Georgia-Florida border, so-"

"The ocean!" said Gazzy, pointing. Way to the east, we could see the dark gray-blue of seemingly endless water. "Can we go to the beach? Please? Just for a minute?"

I thought about it. We'd had some really good times and some really bad times at beaches. "It's almost winter," I hedged.

"But the water's not cold," Iggy said.

I looked at Fang. He shrugged helpfully: my call.

Max, you need to stay focused.

My Voice. I'm... somewhat focused, I thought defensively. I could practically hear the Voice sigh.

If you're going to Florida, go to Florida, said the Voice. Pick a goal and follow it through. When you're saving the world, you can't exactly take commercial breaks.

That did it.

"Hey, guys, wanna go to the beach?" I called.

"Yeah!" said Gazzy, punching one fist in the air.

"Yes, yes," Angel said happily.

"I'm up for it," said Total, in Fang's arms.

Nudge and Iggy cheered.

"Beach it is," I said, swerving in a graceful arc, heading east.

Max, you're acting like a child, the Voice said. You're above rebelling against your fate just to rebel. You've got a date with destiny. Don't be late.

I brushed some hair out of my eyes. Is that a movie quote? Or is it an actual date? I don't remember destiny asking me. I never even gave destiny my phone number.

The Voice never displayed emotion, so I might have imagined the tense patience I heard. Max, sooner or later you have to take this seriously. If it was just your life, no one would care if you bothered. But we're talking about saving everyone's lives.

For some reason that really stung. My jaw set. Shut up! I'm tired of you! Tired of my so-called destiny! I'm acting like a child because I am a child! Just leave me the hell alone!

I felt tears forming in my eyes, which burned from the constant wind. I couldn't take this anymore. I'd been having a rare decent day, and now the Voice had ruined it, dropping the whole world onto my shoulders again.

"Yo."

I looked over to see Fang watching me. "You okay? Is this a headache?"

I nodded and wiped my eyes, feeling like I was about to explode. "Yeah," I said. "A huge, freaking, unbearable headache!" I was practically shouting at the end, and five heads turned toward me. I had to get out of here. And, thanks to my supersonic power, I could, in the blink of an eye.