To Be Gifted

It seemed like the longer I tried to come up with ideas, the harder it was.

Instead, I kept going back to the Seraphic Objects. Nobody seemed to know what the last one was. How could it be? I couldn’t have been the first person to think about the last Object.

And like Trent had mentioned, Drew seemed like he was in the inner circle of the Headmaster’s, like he would know a lot more about what was going. But he hadn’t told me anything. I couldn’t figure out if it was because he didn’t trust me or because he thought it was better off that I didn’t know. He seemed to do that to me a lot.

Why did I even feel like he should tell me anything? We weren’t that close.

Frustrated, I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep.



“Did you hear?”

Shaking my head, I half-heartedly asked Gayle, “Hear about what?”

“Well it seems like the school’s not really running out of money yet. The Gifted just invited someone and that girl actually accepted. It’s so weird. I mean, she must’ve known about the...you know what going around killing people. The school’s legally bound to tell her that. But she still accepts; must’ve been pretty desperate to come here.”

I nodded my head, not really absorbing what Gayle said. I was trying to finish up the homework I’d forgotten about last night, too caught up with trying to think about where the Objects could be. It probably wasn’t a smart move to do it in the cafeteria but I didn’t want to go to the library either. Trent might be there.

“And there she comes. God. I hate her already.” She yanked my arm and I finally looked up to see the girl she was talking about.

“That’s her. Zara Quinn. She really does fit with the rest of them, actually.”

She was laughing, talking to Drew. She was incredibly pretty, the sort that was naturally so. She was petite, with long honey brown hair and large blue eyes framed by black lashes. Tanned long legs with a tiny waist. Like Gayle, I somehow hated her immediately.

I knew Rose would say that it was because of how close Drew was standing next to her and how, every once and then, she was touch his elbow and saying something, all the while wearing that smile. But it wasn’t. I could barely even stand Drew.

“It’d be just like a story if the two of them get together,” continued Gayle, darkly. “She breezes in and already she’s hanging off the most popular Gifted guy’s arm. Typical.”

At that moment, Drew caught my eye. His smile seemed to freeze for a second but then Zara said something else to him and his gaze went back to her.

I crushed the foolscap, forgetting for a moment that my homework was on it. Trying not to show my annoyance, I told Gayle, “I think I better head to my room. Need to finish my homework.”

She absently nodded, her attention still focused on Zara and Drew.

I left the cafeteria and was almost back at my room when Rose caught up with me.

Her blonde hair was in a mess and her eyes were red-rimmed. Her clothes were crumpled and she looked flustered. For a moment I wondered if she and Tyler had fought again because of her being Gifted but then I realised that she was saying something to me.

“Give me back the necklace.”

“What?”

“The necklace.” Her eyes were intent on it. “I want it back now.”

“Why? Is it because of our fight? Because, honestly, Rose I didn’t mean to hide all that—”

“No. It’s not because of our fight. I never should have given you that necklace.” Rose rubbed at her face. A beat later, I realised that she was crying. “It’s not even mine.”

“The necklace isn’t yours?” My mind worked sluggishly, trying to piece together what Rose meant. “Rose, please don’t cry. Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad.”

I reached for the clasp for the necklace, only to find that it wasn’t there anymore. Only, it couldn’t be. Clasps don’t disappear by themselves. “Something’s wrong. I can’t get it off.”

The tears continued to roll down her cheeks; she paled. “I’m already too late.”

“Too late for what?”

“I had another vision last night when I was dreaming.” The words came out in strange spurts as she tried to stop her tears. “It’s got something to do with the necklace. It’s cursed. It’ll get redder and redder until all the lives that need to be scarified for the war happen. It’s not an Object exactly but it’s close.”

I kept silent, bile rising up to my throat.

“And it’s not just their lives that are going to be scarified.” She gazed hopefully at me, like she wanted me to able to understand everything without her saying it. But she saw my bewilderment and added, painfully, “Yours will be too, if the necklace doesn’t come off.”

“You mean...”

She choked, the words stuck in her throat.

But I already understood. “You mean that I’m going to die.”

Rose nodded, swallowing hard. “I’m sorry, Hale. I don’t know what else I can do but to try and get the necklace off before it happens to you.”

“What exactly happens? What did you see?”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it. But my visions aren’t a hundred percent full-proof. Things can still change. I’m going to make them change. You can’t die, Hale. You can’t. I never should’ve given you that necklace. I thought that he was trustworthy but he clearly isn’t!”

What was Rose talking about? “What’s going on, Rose? Who did you get the necklace from?”

“The necklace, it came from Drew.”



“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” joked Drew, coming into the boys’ washroom.

I shrugged, too confused to know what to feel. I’d managed to get a note to Drew’s best friend Daniel, asking if it was possible for us to meet the washroom because I had something really important to talk to him about. When I agreed, I started to think about how I should talk to him about it. But until now I still wasn’t sure.

How do you go about accusing a guy of trying to kill you without being impolite?

“So what’s going on? Did you come up with an idea where the Object could be?”

“No...there’s something else I want to ask you about.” My hand went to the necklace, wrapping it around my fingers tightly and tried not to shiver at how creepy it was. It felt almost like I was touching a life force.

He had been walking towards me but he stopped. “Rose told you that I gave that to her.”

It wasn’t a question, more like a statement. For some reason, I still felt obliged to respond. “Yeah, she did. What I want to know is why.”

“Did she see something?”

“Why did you give this to me? And why through Rose and not through you?”

“What did Rose see?” Drew’s eyebrows were furrowed with worry and he made his way to me. “You need to tell me.”

“You never tell me anything, Drew. And it’s getting old. I need to know what’s going on.”

“You already know more than you’re supposed to.”

The words sting, like a slap in the face. “And you’re saying that it’s a bad thing? I thought you wanted my help, Drew.”

“ Things are spiralling out of my control. The Headmaster’s getting involved and people are dying. It’s really not up to me anymore.”

I looked at him, really looked at him and tried to ignore the tightness in my stomach. His face was neutral, not at all embarrassed and he didn’t look like he would do what I was suspecting. But how was I to know for sure?

“The necklace you gave me is cursed, Drew. I want to know why you gave it to me. Did you know what it was going to do? That it’s going to measure the number of people who have to die before the war occurs? And that I’m going to die because of it? How am I supposed to trust that you guys are the good guys when I don’t even know what’s going on!”

His lips parted but no sound came out. Instead, he searched my face, like he wanted a sign that I was joking.

“I’d like some answers, please.”

“I didn’t know...I had no idea that’s what the necklace does.” He was shaking and it was scaring me because this wasn’t what I thought of him. He’d always been confident, sure of himself. “It’s not supposed to do that. The Headmaster gave it to me.”

“...why?”

Drew blinked at me and looked more like the person I knew. “I can’t tell you that. And Trent won’t either.”

“Because he doesn’t know.”

He nodded.

“Is the necklace the last Object?”

“No it’s not.”His gaze was averted and he began to look uncomfortable.

I guess Rose's vision was right after all. The necklace wasn't an Object. But, as always, Drew wasn't telling me everything that he knew. Feeling calmer than I ever had before, I said, “You’re not very good at lying, Drew.”

“I’m not lying.”

“You’re not telling the truth either,” I pointed ou.t I let my hand fall from the necklace and stood up straighter. “The necklace was given to me for a reason. There’s a reason why the Headmaster won’t tell me anything and it’s not just because I’m not Gifted. There are four Objects not three and nobody know what the last one is. But I think I do. It’s not the necklace. It’s me.”