Gone

a bully.
    “I didn’t say I want him tied down,” Jack said, emphasizing the word “want.” “But if he moves out of frame, out of where the cameras are pointed…”
    Diana said, “You know, Jack, sometimes you worry me.”
    Computer Jack felt a flush crawl up his neck. “It’s not my fault,” he said hotly. “What am I supposed to do? And, anyway, who do you think you are? You do whatever Caine says, same as me.”
    It was as angry as Jack had ever allowed himself to be in front of Diana. He flinched, waiting for her biting reply.
    But she answered softly. “I know what I am, Jack. I’m not a very nice person.” She pulled a rolling chair up and sat down close to him. Close enough that her nearness made him uncomfortable. Jack had only recently begun to really notice girls. And Diana was beautiful.
    “Do you know why my father sent me to Coates?” Diana asked.
    Jack shook his head.
    “When I was ten years old, Jack, younger than you, I found out my father had a mistress. Do you know what a mistress is, Jack?”
    He did. Or at least thought he did.
    “So I told my mother about the mistress. I was mad at my father because he wouldn’t get me a horse. My mom freaked out. Big scene between my mom and dad. Lots of screaming. My mom was going to get a divorce.”
    “Did they get a divorce?”
    “No. There wasn’t time. Next day my mom slipped and fell down the big staircase we have. She didn’t die, but she can’t really do anything anymore.” She pantomimed a person barely able to hold their head up. “She has a nurse full time,just has to lie there in her room.”
    “I’m sorry,” he said.
    “Yeah.” She clapped her hands together, signaling the end of sharing time. “Come on, let’s go. Pack up your little techie bag. Fearless Leader doesn’t like hanging around.”
    Jack obeyed. He began stuffing things—small tools, a thumb drive, a juice box—into his Hogwarts shoulder bag.
    “It doesn’t mean you’re bad just because your mom got hurt in an accident,” Jack said.
    Diana winked. “I told the police my dad did it. I told them I saw him push her. They arrested him, it was all over the news. Messed up his business. The cops finally realized I was lying. Dad sent me to Coates Academy, the end.”
    “I guess that’s worse than what I did to get sent to Coates,” Jack conceded.
    “And that’s only part of the story. What I’m saying is that you don’t seem like a bad person, Jack. And I have a feeling that later on, when you realize what’s going on, you’re going to feel bad about it. You know, guilty.”
    He stopped packing, stood with a set of earbuds dangling. “What do you mean? What do you mean about what’s going on?”
    “Come on, Jack. Your little PDA of doom? The list you keep for Caine? All the freaks? You know what that list is about. You know what’s going to happen to the freaks.”
    “I’m not doing anything, I’m just keeping the list for you and Caine.”
    “But how will you feel then?” Diana asked.
    “What do you mean?”
    “Don’t be deliberately obtuse, Jack. How will you feel when Caine starts going down that list?”
    “It’s not my fault,” Jack said desperately.
    “You’re a deep sleeper, Jack. Just now, while you were sleeping? I held your pudgy little hand. Probably as close as you’ll ever get to holding hands with a girl. Assuming you even like girls.”
    Jack knew what she was going to say next. She saw his fear and smirked triumphantly.
    “So, what is it, Jack? What’s your power?”
    He shook his head, not trusting himself to talk.
    “You haven’t added your own name to the list, Jack. I wonder why? You know Caine uses freaks who are loyal to him. You know as long as you are completely loyal you’ll be fine.” She leaned so close he was breathing her exhalation. “You’re a two bar, Jack. You used to be a nothing. Which means your powers are developing. Which means, surprise, that people can acquire the power late. Isn’t that so?”
    He nodded.
    “And you didn’t bother to tell us. I wonder what that means in terms of your loyalty?”
    “I’m totally loyal,” Computer Jack blurted. “I am totally loyal. You don’t have to worry about me.”
    “What is it you can do?”
    Jack crossed the room on shaking legs. Without warning life had turned suddenly dangerous. He opened the closet. He drew out a chair. The chair was steel, functional, no-frills, butvery solid. Except for the back of the chair where the