Yesterdays Gone: SEASON TWO (THE POST-APOCALYPTIC SERIAL THRILLER) (Yesterday's Gone)

teach.”
    Luca went red-faced at the accusation, and was about to deny it when Ms. Autumn said, “Ah, we have a new student, Miss Paola Olson. Say hello to Paola, class.”
    “Hello, Paola,” they all said, including Luca, who giggled while doing so. Tammy Watson shot Paola a dirty look as she said her hello.
    “Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself, Paola?” Ms. Autumn said.
    Paola went from jaded to shy in seconds, “I dunno, I’m 12. I’m from Warson Woods Missouri. And I like hanging out with friends, going to the mall, and playing video games. Well, I did, anyway.”
    “Welcome to our class, Paola, we’re glad to have you,” Ms. Autumn said as she sat. “Now, let’s begin with our morning prayer, shall we?”
    Paola gave Luca a weird look as he folded his hands and closed his eyes. He didn’t remember the prayer, but he kept his mouth moving as though he knew every word. He peeked over at Paola, grimacing through the prayer, and smiled. She opened her eyes and caught him, then furrowed her eyebrows in playful anger, which made him almost giggle out loud.
    He closed his eyes, since he didn’t want to erupt in a laughing fit and get in trouble.  
    As Ms. Autumn began talking about the day’s lessons, Luca found his mind drifting to Will, and wondering if he was okay. Luca hadn’t seen Will since he left two days earlier, in real life or in his dreams. He hoped he was okay.  
    Though Luca was sad Will had left, things had been running smoothly at The Sanctuary ever since.
    Desmond and Mary told John and Brother Rei that they would stay at The Sanctuary, a decision Luca knew they’d been fighting about, from the snippets of conversations, and thoughts, he’d overheard, though he never intended to eavesdrop. Once they made their decision, they were all given new clothes like the rest of the people wore.  
    Now that they were officially part of The Sanctuary, Luca noticed that people were thinking less bad things about him and the others. They were starting to accept them, though some people, like Tammy, didn’t care for them at all. Tammy, Luca had discovered while accidentally tuning into her thoughts, was jealous of Paola’s beauty. Luca thought it was odd, considering that Tammy was pretty. But she was blonde and pale, and secretly craved to have Paola’s olive skin and dark hair. Tammy’s nastiness was almost an obsessive string of thoughts. Thankfully, Luca was now learning to tune out people’s thoughts.
      When Luca first began hearing other people’s thoughts, the voices poured through like a whole bunch of radio stations all tuned in at once, and it was too much. Now, when he wanted to, he was able to tune out everyone completely and stay in his mind with his own thoughts. He didn’t like the constant chatter and negative thoughts of others. Now, however, Luca was tempted as he watched Paola doodling on a piece of paper and ignoring Ms. Autumn, to get in her head and hear what she was thinking.
    Things had been weird between them since he started talking to Rebecca, even though Paola had no idea that Luca was hanging out with her every night in the little trips he took outside his body. Nobody but Will, and Rebecca, knew he could do that.
    Things had already been weird between them since he saved Scott. Once he grew physically so much older than Paola, she started acting different. Maybe she sensed he had a crush on her, and wasn’t sure how to respond. He was, after all, really eight, and not the 16 years his body now appeared. The whole thing was weird, and Luca noticed how even Mary and Desmond looked at him different, like they didn’t want him being friends with her anymore. They were afraid he’d have sex with her. While Luca’s knowledge of sex was extremely limited, he couldn’t deny that the body change caused him to think about girls a lot more. Not to mention, he was always “popping boners,” as Jimmy had called it.
    Last night, when Luca and Paola were joking after dinner, Luca heard Mary’s thoughts, even though he wasn’t trying to eavesdrop.  
    Don’t you dare make a move on my daughter.
    Luca heard the thought, clear as if it had been his own. He turned to Mary, and caught her staring at him. A moment passed between them, and she quickly turned, as if she knew he’d heard her thought.
    He left her head, but not before he felt something. It wasn’t in words, but rather an emotion — fear . . . of him.
    Luca liked Mary; he thought of her like