“Was it good?”

  “No,” Olivia said, shaking her head. “It’s depressing. Are you going to read it?”

  “No,” Cooper said, “I’m going to read the SparkNotes.”

  “Hah. You’re such a rebel. You’re lucky Ms. Sheinmel can’t read your mind.”

  “Very true,” Cooper said, wagging his eyebrows. “She’d probably send me to detention for having inappropriate thoughts.”

  “You’re having inappropriate thoughts about Ms. Sheinmel?” Olivia joked, and this time they both laughed.

  Olivia laughed a lot these days. Not because of anything in particular, but because she was happy. She was dating Cooper, and she was an Espie.

  Two and a half years ago, she never would have believed that any of these things could happen to her. She had just moved to New York and she’d been painfully shy and overly anxious. She’d bitten and picked her thumbnails down to the quick until they bled.

  Cooper had been totally out of her league. Not only was he one of the most loved guys at school, but he was with drop-dead gorgeous Mackenzie. They were the golden couple. No one ever imagined they would break up.

  No one ever thought that a flu shot could give people ESP, either.

  But things were good now. Things were so good, it was almost frightening.

  Olivia couldn’t help but wonder how long it would last. Nothing ever stayed the same, right? Things didn’t stay good forever. At some point the bubble would burst.

  “There will be no bursting bubbles,” Cooper said. “There will only be big, fluffy, bouncy bubbles. Speaking of which, do you have any gum?”

  Olivia laughed again. “Yes,” she said, and pushed the anxious thoughts out of her mind. These days she could do that. She handed Cooper a piece of Juicy Fruit.

  Cooper never dwelled on the bad stuff. Which was pretty amazing after all the crap that had gone down with his parents. After his mom—and the rest of us—found out about his dad’s affair, his dad had moved out and into a condo a few blocks away. There was a lot of fighting. Horrible divorce lawyers. Screaming matches. Frozen bank accounts. His dad was a jackass. His mom was bitter. Cooper and his little sister, Ashley, were always in the middle.

  The divorce was the main reason he didn’t hook up with Olivia during sophomore year. That, along with his breakup with Mackenzie, had tainted his view of relationships. He knew there was something between Olivia and him, but he just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to start something new. They became friends instead. Good friends. They sat next to each other in class. Had lunch together. Hung out at parties.

  And then, after junior year, his mom remarried and moved to Warren, New Jersey. Cooper spent the summer with her but, at the end of August, he moved in with his dad so he wouldn’t be too far from school. The move was rocky. He dealt with it, although not perfectly. He started smoking pot. A lot of pot. We warned him it could mute his ESP, but when he discovered that it didn’t, he started smoking more. It relaxed him.

  He liked being relaxed.

  Olivia also relaxed him. It was nice to be with someone who didn’t expect too much of him. Someone who liked him for who he was. Someone nice, who adored him.

  They finally got together a week after he moved in with his dad.

  It was two weeks before school started, and Cooper’s father was out of town, as usual. Cooper was by himself. He was lonely. He was high.

  He texted Olivia.

  What are you up to? He knew she’d spent the summer in the city.

  Just leaving the hospital, she’d replied.

  Olivia had volunteered at Lenox Hill Hospital for the summer. She helped out by talking and reading to patients, taking samples to the lab and working at the desk in triage. Once, she even got to go with a cardiac patient to the cath lab and watch the procedure. All good training for med school. Plus, she loved helping people, which was why she wanted to be a doctor in the first place.

  Want to come by?

  Sure, she’d texted back. Give me an hour.

  When she got the text, she’d hoped, prayed, that tonight would be the night. Time was short. They had less than a year to be together as more than friends. Ten months and then…

  Who knew what would become of us?

  Olivia ran home to shower and put on something cute. Tonight. Tonight. Tonight?

  When Cooper opened his apartment door for her, he thought, She’s here! Her cheeks were red from hurrying over, and her dark hair, wet from a shower and smelling of sweet shampoo, was pulled back in a tight ponytail.

  He pulled her toward him and opened his arms.

  It felt amazing.

  She felt amazing.

  “Livvie,” he murmured. “Hi.”

  It was the way he said it. Soft and sweet, but husky at the same time.

  “Hi.” Her heart hammered. Tonight? Is he? Will he? Finally?

  His heart started hammering, too. Yes, Maybe I should.

  And he did. He turned his head toward her.

  She closed her eyes and felt his lips press against hers. They were warm and soft. They tasted like smoke, but she didn’t mind. Eventually, she felt him smiling and opened her eyes.

  His eyes were twinkling. Thanks for stopping by.

  Anytime. Do I get to come in?

  That was eight months ago. There had been no games, no anything. They weren’t just friends anymore; they were a couple.

  They’d had two weeks before school started to get used to being together. Two weeks to try to develop a normal relationship. Well, relatively normal. They could hear each other’s thoughts, which was obviously not normal. But eventually they got used to it. They learned to adjust, as normal couples did.

  Not that it was a secret. We ran into them in the neighborhood. We were happy for them.

  You’re together!

  No way!

  It’s about time!

  Does Mackenzie know?

  By the time Mackenzie bumped into them at the ice cream truck parked on Greenwich, she was well aware.

  Olivia’s heart skipped a beat when she spotted her. Will she care? Will he care?

  “I’m over her,” he whispered. Really.

  Olivia exhaled.

  Mackenzie turned around. “Heard the news, you two,” she said. “Congrats.” I’m happy for you. Really. Kind of.

  “After you, my lady,” Cooper said now, opening the door for Olivia.

  They were already three minutes late for Lab, but Dr. Dail never cared.

  ESP Lab wasn’t your typical kind of Lab. There was no dissecting frogs or setting fires with Bunsen burners. Instead, we practiced ESP while Dr. Dail gave out assignments and took notes.

  This week, Olivia and Cooper were in a group with Nick, Courtney, and Jordana. They were testing the effect that music had on transmission.

  “Do, re, miiiiii…” Cooper sang.

  “…fa, so, la, ti!” the twins responded. They were testing distance.

  The twins were in a group with Levi, Mars, and Mona. Except Mars and Mona were skipping today, so it was just Levi and the twins.

  “I’m taking ten steps back,” Levi was saying, flashing his super-straight, super-white smile as he moved back ten steps. He used to have bad teeth from all the candy he got from his parents’ candy store, but once we became public, he’d gotten them straightened and whitened. “Okay, guys, what am I thinking? Is it still clear?”

  “Ouch! I’ll tell you what I’m thinking, numbskull,” BJ said. “That was my foot you stepped on!”

  BJ was in a group with Michelle, Sadie, Tess, and Mackenzie.

  BJ took off his shoe to examine his toe.

  Tell Tess to kiss it, Levi thought. Or suck on it.

  Gross, thought Michelle. Michelle had never kissed anyone on the lips, never mind on the toe. She was waiting for her Prince Charming.

  “Thanks, but no thanks,” said Tess.

  “Stinky,” Sadie said. “At least turn on the fan.” Dr. Dail had brought in a table fan to test the effect of air flow on transmission.

  Morons, Pi thought. They should test the air between their ears.

  “We can hear you,” Nick said, casting her a look.

  Pi was in a group with Brinn, Edward, Isaac, and Anojah. They were testing mental shouting.

  CAN YOU HEAR ME? Brinn hollered. Brinn was wearing the ridiculous bright white shoes she always wore, and what looked like a bra on top of her shirt. She was eating a banana. She ate a lot of bananas. We all thought she was bananas.

  “Loud and clear,” said Anojah, and then walked into a desk. She was always walking into things since wearing her glasses made the voices so much louder. Contacts caused problems too. Anojah would have gotten laser eye surgery if Pi hadn’t warned her that eye surgery was asking for trouble.

  We kept at it for the next forty minutes.

  We tried new things. We took notes. Dr. Dail took notes. We were graded on participation.

  “Great work, everyone,” Dr. Dail said, as she walked around the room. She wore her hair back in a tight bun, and extra large sunglasses to keep us out.

  That’s how we learned back in February about Pi getting recruited to be a spy. They said she was being recruited for a government think tank called Diamond, but one slip of Dr. Dail’s glasses and we knew the truth. Diamond was no think tank.

  It was a secret program for spies.

  Yes. After she graduated, Pi was going to be a spy for the US government. She would be sent on missions around the world where she would use her telepathy to gather information. Ten students from around the country had been chosen, all with special skills. She was the only one with extra-sensory skills.

  Pi was, of course, thrilled. Out of all of us, she’d been the one chosen. That made her the best.

  We all knew that wasn’t true. Mackenzie was the one who could hear through walls. That, technically, made her the best.

  Pi hated when we brought that up. We all knew that if Mackenzie just tried a little harder, she’d have been the one chosen for Diamond.

  And that Pi would have traded her perfect SAT score to hear through walls.

  “Do you hear that?” Jordana asked Courtney.

  “Hear what?” Courtney asked. Brinn screaming?

  “No. That noise,”’ Jordana said, putting down her nail file.

  “It’s like a low humming.”

  “I don’t hear anything,” Courtney said.

  Jordana swatted one ear and then the other. “Maybe I’m getting an ear infection.”

  “Maybe you should go see Nurse Carmichael,” Dr. Dail said.

  The bell rang and we all piled out of the class.

  It was nine and a half weeks before the senior cruise. Ten and a half weeks before prom.

  April 1st, the beginning of the end.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Number One

  “I really need new jeans,” Courtney announced, so after school she and Jordana went to Jolie, a trendy new boutique in Tribeca.

  “Hi,” the salesgirl said. She stood up from the stool behind the cash register and put down her phone. “Let me know if I can help you find anything.” Damn. I really need to text Malena about tonight. But I guess I should pretend to be interested in these girls. They could be shoplifters.

  Bitch, Courtney thought.

  Jordana smirked. Wait for it…

  They look familiar, the salesgirl thought. Have they been in here before?

  Courtney and Jordana started rifling through the clothes on the rack.

  Are they famous? Maybe they’re famous. Or their parents are famous. Who are they? If they’re celebrity kids, then they must be loaded and can spend some cash. We’ve been open for two months and my commission still sucks. “The AG jeans are the best,” she said in a fake-sweet voice. “I’m wearing them right now. They’re sooooo comfy.”

  They make her ass look like a giant donut, Courtney thought.

  Jordana giggled and flipped her hair.

  Courtney picked up the jeans.

  Omigod! I know who they are! They’re those girls from that reality show!

  Ding, ding, ding, Courtney thought.

  I have to tell Malena! She’s obsessed with that show. Huh. They’re tinier than they look on TV.

  Courtney cocked her hip. Hear that? We’re tinier.

  But the short one is way better looking.

  “In her dreams,” Courtney retorted.

  “Thank you,” Jordana said to the salesgirl.

  The salesgirl turned white. Omigod. They heard me.

  Jordana laughed. And then she gasped.

  “What?” Courtney asked.

  “My head is killing me,” Jordana said, rubbing her temples. “I just got this insane pressure behind my eyes.”

  “But do you like the jeans? Should I try them on or not?” They look awful on the sales-bitch, but my ass is better, right?

  “They’re great jeans,” the salesgirl said, nodding vigorously.

  “What the hell?” Jordana exclaimed. “Ow, ow, ow. Migraine!”

  Jo! Answer me! My ass is better, right?

  Jordana didn’t answer. She just stared at the jeans.

  “Hellllo?” Courtney pressed.

  “What?” Jordana asked.

  “I asked you a question!”

  “No, you didn’t.”

  “Yes, I did!”

  “What was the question?”

  “Are you kidding me?” Is my ass better than the salesgirl’s?

  “That was the question? You want to know if I’m kidding you?”

  “Jo, concentrate! That’s not what I asked.”

  “So ask it already,” Jordana snapped. Ask me the stupid question already!

  What’s your problem? Can you not hear me? JO, CAN YOU HEAR ME?

  Oh, I get it, the salesgirl thought. They’re having a mental conversation. They’re thinking about something they don’t want me to hear. Is it about me? Is it my mustache?

  Why is no one thinking anything? Jordana wondered.

  I AM THINKING SOMETHING, Courtney’s mind screamed. Why can’t you hear me?

  Jordana blinked.

  I shouldn’t have canceled my waxing appointment, the salesgirl thought. My upper lip is like a forest. I need to reschedule.

  “Jordana, tell me you heard that! She’s thinking ridiculous things about her mustache!”

  The salesgirl gasped. “I knew it was bad!”

  Jordana turned white. “Something is wrong. I can’t hear a thing.”

  Nothing? Courtney thought.

  Blink.

  Blink, blink.

  Nothing.

  Jordana’s ESP was gone.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Shhhh!

  The next day in homeroom we were seated in the horseshoe, waiting for Mr. Jonas, when suddenly Jordana blurted: “Stop thinking! I can’t hear you! You have to speak out loud!”

  Mars, who along with Mona had decided to return to school today, stared at her with disbelief. “What do you mean, you can’t hear anything?”

  “It’s my ESP,” Jordana explained. She tilted her head to the left, then to the right. “I can’t hear a thing. It’s totally gone.”

  “But can you still hear talking?” Mona asked, raising her voice. “You can hear me now, can’t you?”

  Jordana looked liked she wanted to cry. “Yes, but not your thoughts. You don’t have to shout.”

  Did she do something weird?

  Like what?

  Like stick a Q-tip in her ear?

  ESP doesn’t come from the ears!

  Fine, her eye then.

  Don’t you think we’d notice if she had a Q-tip in her eye? She would have taken it out. She wouldn’t have left it there, hanging out of her eyeball.

  “She didn’t stick a Q-tip in her eye!” Courtney exclaimed. “I was right beside her. One minute she could hear, and then she couldn’t.” She snapped her fingers for effect.

  Well, she must have done something.

  She didn’t!

  Maybe she took something.

  Like what?

  Jordana, did you take anything?

  She can’t hear you!

  “Jordana, did you take anything?” Anojah asked, squinting across the room.

  Jordana put her hands on her hips. “I don’t do drugs! I’m a role model for young teenagers!”

  We snorted with laughter.

  “I didn’t use anything,” she insisted. “I know the rules. Besides, do you really think I’d risk TMZ or some random idiot with an iPhone filming me high? Are you kidding me?”

  We had a pretty strict policy on drugs. We’d been warned that they might interact negatively with our ESP, and we took the warning seriously. Especially after what happened to Isabelle Griffin.

  She was one of the original Espies. She’d partied a little too hard, took some weird designer drug, and freaked out. Like totally freaked out. Like tried-to-jump-out-of-a-window freaked out. After that, she couldn’t tell if she was hearing thoughts or having hallucinations. She took the antidote, pocketed the fifty thousand that came with it, and transferred to another school.

  She wasn’t the only one to take the antidote.

  Sergie Relov and Rayna Romero took it, too. He couldn’t take the low-grade headaches that came with the ESP. She couldn’t take the loud voices. She had a point. ESP got pretty noisy. We were used to it, though. We were used to the headaches, too. And to the fact that our irises had developed an inexplicable purple tint.

  We barely noticed any of that anymore.

  And then there was Kermit. Oh, Kermit. We hardly even knew him. Like Mona, he was sick the day their class got their shots, so he got his with us instead. Poor guy. He was a senior and thought studying for his SATs had made him bonkers. He got the antidote as soon as he heard about it.

  Anyway. Back to drugs.

  No one knew if it was the drug or the ESP that had made Isabelle flip out, but we decided not to take any chances.

 

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