Chapter 78
We were working on our project when Dr. Sanderson, who had been making the rounds, came over to check on us. Like every other table he came to, our countenances immediately changed when he stopped in front of us. Though we’d been upbeat as we discussed our progress on the project, which had to do with plant cell regeneration, our smiles widened and I could hear the glee in my friends’ voices as they greeted him. “How’s it going?” Elliott asked.
“Great!” Lucy exclaimed. “We’ll be ready to start our experiment by the end of the week.”
“That’s so awesome,” Elliott said. “High five!” Lucy had to jump up to reach his outstretched hand, which he was purposely holding a few feet above her head, but she laughed as she did it.
“I want a high five, too,” Emma proclaimed. My mouth dropped open. Emma didn’t volunteer to touch people.
“You got it!”
She giggled like a little girl as she leapt into the air to slam her hand against his.
“What about you, Cassidy? It is Cassidy, isn’t it?” he winked at me. “Do you want a high five, too?”
“No, thank you,” I said, though I was smiling at him. “I had a big breakfast.”
My friends looked at me like they thought I was nuts. Either they didn’t understand I was implying that jumping would be unsettling for my stomach, or they thought I was crazy for not literally jumping at the chance, but when Elliott laughed, they laughed, too. “Hey, Cass, could I speak to you in the hallway for a quick minute?” he asked, gesturing like he wanted me to follow him.
“Sure,” I replied, glad to have the chance to talk to him in relative solitude.
We approached the door and someone yelled out, “Dr. Sanderson! Where are you going?”
“I’ll be right back,” he assured he class. “You guys just keep working. You’re doing awesome. And it’s the best day ever!” Quiet cheers followed, and I realized they weren’t any louder because he’d told us to keep it to a low roar. We weren’t able to be any louder than that because of our programming.
Part of me was a little perturbed, though, that I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face. There was nothing quite like being fully aware that you’re being manipulated. He looked around the hallway as the door closed behind me. We were more or less alone, though there was a camera down the hall a little way, and people could round the corner at any moment. Something told me he’d know if anyone was coming.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, my arms folded, a goofy grin on my face.
“Well, it’s nice to see you, too.” He feigned offense.
“It’s always nice to see you,” I replied, though I wasn’t sure if that was true. I remembered being terrified he’d show up at Lucy’s the night he’d sent Hannah instead. In retrospect, it probably would’ve actually been better if it had been him. I took a deep breath. “I knew you said you’d come to my school, but I wasn’t expecting this.” I gestured at the classroom. “How did you manage all this?”
“Don’t you worry your pretty lil head about that,” he replied. “I’ve got it all covered. Shenandoah High is the happiest place on Earth right now. Disney World ain’t got nothin’ on me!”
I laughed so loud I snorted, which made me irritated at him for making me look dumb, but I still couldn’t express my irritation. “What about the kids who haven’t been in your classroom? Why are they so happy?”
“For one thing, I’ve been standing in the hall between classes greeting everyone.”
I nodded. That explained a lot of it.
“Also, there’s the power of suggestion. Tell a couple of kids it’s a great day, they’ll tell others.”
“You are… a freak of nature,” I said, not able to come up with anything else, good or bad.
“Thank you,” he replied, winking at me. “I see you fighting it. That’s okay. I don’t need to brainwash you. But I do want you to have a terrific day.”
I remembered the video I’d seen the night before and the dreams—mine and Lucy’s. It seemed ridiculous to think anything could ever be terrific again. But then, he knew so much more of whatever this darkness was that was invading my life, and he seemed happy most of the time. Was it possible to know about this… situation and still go on about life like everything was hunky and dory? It would appear that was the case. “’Kay,” I said, letting the goofy grin morph into a genuine smile. “I will.”
He laughed at me, the sound of his rich, comforting chuckle echoing down the hallway. “I know you will.” I didn’t even care that he seemed to be poking fun at me now. What else was new? The desire to slug him in the arm was curbed by the recognition that he was currently posing as a teacher, and I didn’t particularly want to pay the principal a visit.
Elliott opened the door for me, and I ducked under his arm and rejoined my friends, still smiling like a fool, a happy fool.
“What was that all about?” Lucy asked. Though she was also smiling, I could see a hint of concern behind her blue eyes.
“Nothing,” I replied with a shrug. “He just wanted to make sure I was okay.”
“Do you know him? I mean, outside of class?” Emma asked. I thought I saw a flicker of recognition in her eyes, but I didn’t want to bring any more panic up to the surface. I chose my response carefully.
“Uh, he knows my parents, I guess,” I replied like I had just figure that out myself.
“Cool,” Lucy said under her breath as she took a few notes on our project. “He seems like a lot of fun.”
“Totally,” I confirmed, thinking back to the day of Jack’s funeral. While the funeral itself was just awful, Elliott had cheered me up afterward, taking me to McDonald’s for ice cream and driving around in my mom’s minivan with Lionel Richie blaring. Christmas had been a hoot, too, thanks to him.
“Hey, did you get a new ring?” Emma asked, looking at my hand, but not touching it. I guess the fact that she was usually pretty careful not to touch other people if she could help it hadn’t changed completely.
“Yeah, I got it for Christmas.” My eyes flittered to Elliott, who was on the other side of the room talking to a group of guys who seemed more interested in the story the substitute was telling than their project.
“It’s really pretty.” Lucy didn’t hesitate to pick my hand up off the desk and hold it to her face for a better look. “It kinda looks old.”
“I think it’s an antique,” I replied. Once she let go of my hand, I glanced at it again, and then noticed Elliott smiling at me. I was sure he was glad I was wearing it since he’d been the one to give it to me, after all. “I like it.”
“Your parents have good taste,” Lucy commented, and I didn’t blame her for assuming they’re the ones who gifted the piece of jewelry.
Going with that, I said, “They sure do.” I couldn’t hardly tell her that the man pretending to be the sub was also the one who gave me the ring, that he’d been spying on me since I was a baby, and that sometimes he hung out on my roof and slipped through the bedroom windows to have long conversations about vampires—or not have them, as the case may be. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Class was almost over, and while I would be sad to leave, I was glad Elliott would have a chance to infiltrate more young minds with his message that life is good, and we should all be happy to live it.
In anticipation of the bell, I gathered up my stuff, thinking about my next class, which thankfully was choir, nothing too hard, and said, “Guess I’ll see you guys at lunch.”
“Yep,” Emma nodded, getting her books together as well.
“Can’t wait,” Lucy said with a smile. “Hope you have a good morning until then.”
The sound of the bell muffled my, “You, too.”
Dr. Sanderson jumped up off the table he’d been sitting on and made his way toward the door, being followed by a brood of kids. “Okay, y’all have an awesome day!” he proclaimed, fist bumping or high fiving every kid who stepped past him. One of the girls hugged him, and I saw a slight pinkening of his cheeks, like he hadn’t been expecting that. When it was my turn, I thought about doing the same but settled for a fist bump instead. “Blow it up, Cass!” he insisted, and I found myself making the exaggerated sound of a bomb going off despite how silly I’d always thought that was before.
I headed back to my locker to drop off my books before rushing to the music room. I really would like just two more minutes to get from class to class, but everyone was so cheerful in the hallway, it was hard to be disagreeable about anything. I slammed my locker and noticed kids passing each other with high fives and fist bumps of their own. Even the kids no one ever talked to were making hand contact with the kids who normally would shove them into the lockers. Having Dr. Sanderson around was turning out to be a good thing for sure.
