To Be Gifted

The next few days passed in a blur, probably because Rose got accepted into the Gifted.

She was completely amazed that she made it despite all the ridiculous things she had said during the interview. (For instance, when she was asked, “What do you see yourself contributing to the school?” Her reply was, “Well, cafeteria food sucks. So I guess my contribution would be my superior chocolate cookies.”)

We never talked about her leaving. I think we were both in denial. What we both couldn’t deny was how when Friday came, Rose had to move to the Gifted’s wing for Blue.

It had been awkward helping her pack. I didn’t know what to say to her because it wasn’t like we weren’t going to see each other anymore. But things were definitely going to different. I was used to seeing her every day but now we weren’t going to see each other for days on a stretch.

Rose must have thought about it to; she tried to end things with Tyler. But he said no, that it was stupid to break up when they still felt the same way. I don’t know what Tyler said to convince Rose that they could make it work, only that he’d promised her that their relationship wasn’t going to change because she was Gifted.

I noticed that she tried not to wince when Tyler said that.

The night before she was due to leave, Rose had looked at me and said, “Let’s exchange stuff. When we’re not in the same room anymore, I want something to remember you by.”

It was the first time she was actually saying something about leaving. I was so stunned that I couldn’t say anything at first.

Rose smiled sadly and continued, “I already got you something.”

She handed me a necklace with a delicate chain and a dark red heart pendant. It looked expensive and elegant, very unlike Rose. I don’t think I’d ever seen her wear it before. She maintained eye contact with me, her eyes serious. “Keep it safe.”

I knew that I should be protesting about receiving something so expensive but my fingers closed over the necklace, strangely possessive on something I’d never seen before. “Okay.”

She helped me put the necklace on. Then I grabbed my Prada sunglasses from the drawer. I knew Rose liked them, she’d always cooed over it. So I gave it to her, enveloping her in a hug.

The next night, Rose left. After that, I found that the room was very quiet. In fact, the silence was unnerving and kind of eerie.

Jenson Vanderbilt, Gayle Patterson’s friend, was throwing a party tonight. The school allowed parties on weekends, as long as they ended before three a.m. and didn’t get too loud. Everything else, like beers and the occasional pot, had to be hidden from the school. I usually didn’t attend parties. I always avoided Jenson’s because drunken hook-ups, considered legendary in his parties, weren’t my thing.

Tonight, though, staring at the empty side of the room, the side where Rose used to occupy, I felt a rush of melancholy. All her basketball and soccer kit was gone, so were her posters of various bands. The room, which used to feel like home, felt almost lonely.

Biting my lower lip, I picked up my cell and asked Gayle if I could go for Jenson’s party with her.



I felt slightly self-conscious in my skin tight jeans and shirt when I arrived at Jenson Vanderbilt’s party. I hadn’t known what to wear but Gayle had told me to go for as sexy as possible, whatever that meant. In any case, I kept my make-up minimal, afraid that I’ll poke my eye if I used mascara.

She wasn’t at the door. Gayle had said that she was going to meet me at the party. And if I couldn’t see her at the door, because Jenson Vanderbilt had booked the auditorium for the party, I should find her. It was harder than I’d thought it’ll be. There were too many grinding bodies in the way.

“Haley, you’re here! I didn’t know you were coming!” Someone heavily perfumed grabbed me for a hug. When she released me, I saw that it was Petra Ackley.

Petra was daughter to Kendrick Ackley, a man my father worked closely with for take-overs of other companies. So I sort of knew Petra since we were kids. Usually, she avoided me in school though because we belonged to different groups. Petra was thin and tall enough to be a model, the type that was always on a diet, and was instantly deemed cool enough to belong to the upper crust of the Elite. It was not cool to hang up with me, considering how antisocial and shy I was.

I looked at her more carefully and noticed that her eyes were slightly glazed over. Either Petra was drunk or she was high. In any case, she seemed a lot friendlier now compared to normal.

“I have loads of people for you to meet!” She teetered slightly in her five inch heels. Grabbing my arm, she continued, “C’mon. Let’s go.”

Shaking my head, I said, “I have to find Gayle.”

Petra rolled her baby blues. “Um, no you don’t.” When she saw that I wasn’t going anywhere with her, she added, “She’s busy now, hooking up with Jenson and all, you know?”

Flushing, I nodded, not sure what to say.

“Cute. You’re too naïve, Haley. Let’s get you something to drink.”

This time, I allowed her to pull me further into the auditorium. The chairs and desks usually used for audiences to watch performances had been all shifted away so there was a lot more space. Lots of people were dancing on the different steps to loud, thumping beats and as Petra dragged me further in, the music got louder.

The table with drinks and chips was on the stage. There were a few people milling around it but none that I recognised.

“What do you want?”

“Um, what do you have?”

As Petra rattled off a list of drinks, Merlot and Grey Goose included, I played with a stray string on my shirt. While I’d been bored in my room, at least it was familiar. I was utterly lost here. I scanned the room, trying to find someone else I knew.

“So what are you having?”

Having not heard a single word she said, I replied, “…whatever you recommend.”

Petra looked impressed and handed me a bottle of Grey Goose.

Taking a small sip, which Petra rolled her eyes at, I felt the vodka burn as it went down. I was going to get drunk really easily if I didn’t eat anything. But the only food I could see was bags of chips. I doubted it would help and figured that as long as I didn’t drink too much, I should be fine.

Petra was humming under her breath. Feeling like I should say something, I asked, “So…how’ve you been?”

“Haley, come on. Don’t tell me you came here for the conversation.” Petra giggled and nearly lost her balance. “You know what Jenson’s parties are for. Live a little.”

In theory, I understood what she was talking about. If I wanted someone to be physically close to me, Jenson Vanderbilt’s parties would be great. It would probably be fun too, at least for the first few minutes, before it got too far. But it wasn’t enough for me. I knew what the pang I felt was for—and it sure wasn’t a drunken hook-up.

Petra’s eyes suddenly widened, staring at someone behind me. “Oh my, what’s he doing here?”

I twisted around and saw Trent, walking like he owned the place. Not many people had noticed him; those that had were reacting about the same way as Petra. Trent only smirked in response. When he caught me looking, his smirk turned softer, almost into a smile.

He walked towards us and nodded at Petra. Then he gazed at me and said, “Can I talk to you?”

I nodded, more eager to escape than I’d thought. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Petra’s smile turn knowing. She plucked the bottle out of my hand and took a swig.

Trent and I walked out of the auditorium and then to the herb garden nearby. At night, the herb garden seemed peaceful. There were even a few stars in the sky.

“Did you find out what you wanted to know yet?”

The herb garden was pretty well-lit. Even then, I wasn’t sure what emotion was on Trent’s face. “You mean about the Gifted?”

He nodded and ran his hand through his hair, his only ever sign of nervousness.

Smiling slightly in memory, I replied, “Yeah, I asked Drew.”

On hindsight, it wasn’t a good move for me to bring Drew up at all. As it was, I couldn’t take the words back. Trent’s face darkened at the mention of his name. “And he told you the truth?”

“I think so. I used the weird rhyme that you told me though. He called it the Prophecy or something?”

“Sutherland actually told you. I didn’t think he had it in him. Did he give you that necklace?” Confusion flitted through his features.

My hand went to the necklace, feeling protective of it. “No. We aren’t really friends.”

Then his eyes grew flinty. “I thought you’d ask me. I was pretty surprised that you didn’t.”

Fury coursed through my veins. “You thought I’d ask you? After you left me on the Formal with that confusing Prophecy thing you thought I would ask you?”

I didn’t mention what’d he said previously but I think he could tell that was what I was really furious about. Trent deflated, like he knew he couldn’t be angry with me. “I’m sorry about what I said last time. When you asked me what was wrong, I wanted to tell you. But I couldn’t. It’s against their rules. I’m sorry.”

Sighing, I nodded. Unlike Rose, I couldn’t hold onto my anger. “I can’t blame you, I guess.”

Trent smiled, probably remembering some other time this had happened. I’d always been pretty quick to forgive. “Remember how we used to go on treasure hunts?”

Surprised at how he was suddenly reminiscing about our past, I thought back. Although I was already nine and he, ten, we were convinced that we were going to discover some treasure that the world hadn’t yet seen. To hone our skills, we hid some of our own things and made maps that led the other person to the treasure.

I laughed, remembering. “Yeah. And I always ended up hiding my important things near my room."

“Yeah, you called it the heart of your home or something like that, didn’t you?”

I nodded; face growing slightly hot at the memory. I always fancied myself being a bit of a poet when I was younger. Little did I know that my clues were horribly vague. It was only because Trent had figured out that I always kept the 'treasures' near or in my room that he managed to find the object.

Trent’s face grew bitter. “After we came to this school, everything changed.”

“Everything changed. But necessarily for the worse.” I shrugged. “We can still make this work, can’t we?”

“I certainly hope so.”