A World Without You(78)
I click on the news first.
STUDENT DISAPPEARS AT LOCAL ACADEMY FOR ELITE TEENS. My breath catches at the picture of Sofía taking up a column of the article. It’s an old picture, probably from her high school before she came here, but it’s her. I reach out and touch the image on the screen with two fingers. The article is straight facts: Sofía went missing on this date, Berkshire Academy has issued no comment, state and federal officials are investigating. It ends with a list of numbers for people to call if they have any more information about her disappearance.
“What are you doing?” Ryan asks, looking over at me. He starts heading my way. The closer he gets, the blurrier the screen becomes. Before my eyes, the headline shifts.
STUDENT DIES AT LOCAL ACADEMY FOR TROUBLED TEENS
Sofía Muniz, 17, was found dead last night on the grounds of the Berkshire Academy for Children with Exceptional Needs, located on Pear Island. Her death has been ruled a suicide by local authorities. The academy, which serves a small group of students aged 15 to 21, specializes in treating severe cases of emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children who need greater guidance than a traditional school setting can offer.
Muniz was discovered by her psychiatrist, Dr. Demitrious Franklin, and another student. Preliminary reports indicate that Muniz overdosed on prescription medication, and an investigation is ongoing. “Her access to the medication poses a serious breach in policy,” Dr. Alexander Hartford, chairman of the board of the academy, said in a press release. “We are working with local and state authorities to determine how best to redesign our practices.” Hartford added that the school is willingly hosting officials from the state board of education to help determine the future of Berkshire Academy.
“Sofía was beloved to all who knew her,” Dr. Franklin said prior to the private memorial service held on the grounds of the school. “She will be sorely missed.” One of her fellow students, Gwendoline Benson, added, “She was my best friend. I never thought she’d just be gone one day.”
Muniz is predeceased by her mother and two sisters, victims of a car accident in her hometown of Austin, TX. Her father was unavailable for comment.
The article concludes with numbers for suicide-prevention hotlines.
“Finally decided to enter reality, huh?” Ryan asks, bending over the computer and looking at the screen.
The closer he gets, the clearer the image becomes, until there’s no hint of the real article I saw before Ryan came over. The picture of Sofía sharpens too, but in a twisted way, obscuring her features just enough so that she no longer looks the way she did before, when I knew her. She looks like a stranger.
“Go away, you dick,” I growl, staring at the picture.
Ryan rolls his eyes. “Whatever. But listen, tonight I want your help.”
“With what?” I don’t bother hiding my anger; my eyes are on the twisted picture of the girl I love and the lies surrounding her face.
“I want to look at what Dr. Franklin has in his office,” Ryan says. “The video feeds of our sessions are gone, and that’s good, but there are paper records too, records that might lead to me getting the shaft.”
“Go away,” I say. I don’t care what Ryan wants.
“Fine. But Sofía’s records are in there too.”
My eyes flash to his. He’s always trying to manipulate me. “I said, go away.”
“Yours too. Don’t you want to know what the Doctor is saying about you? What’s going on your permanent record? What if he recommends that you go to the loony bin like Harold?”
“If I agree to help you, will you leave me alone?”
“Tonight, an hour after lights-out.”
“Fine.”
Ryan pushes himself off the desk he was leaning against and saunters away.
The farther he goes, the more the screen flickers and fades, the damning headline replaced by the original. I watch as the words Sofía Muniz, 17, was found dead last night change into Sofía Muniz, 17, has been reported missing.
I turn around in my seat, glaring at Ryan as he disappears into the shelves.
He did this.
CHAPTER 54
When Ryan punched the wall, it rippled. When he got close to the screen, it changed, and when he left, it changed back.
This whole time I thought it was the officials who were manipulating our reality. But that doesn’t really make sense, does it? If they wanted to use us for our powers, they wouldn’t have made us forget them.
But Ryan . . . he never forgot. Not because he could protect himself from the officials, but because he was the one creating the false reality.
Ryan is a telepath. He could change the videos. He’s been pushing the boundaries of his powers since he got here. He knows exactly how to mess with someone’s mind. He’s messed with our heads before, and his powers have only been growing—far beyond anything we ever thought possible. Beyond anything the Doctor or anyone else could control.
It must have scared him when the officials arrived. He had to have known from the start that the academy was in danger of closing. Maybe this all started out as a way to save the school and make the officials go away, but if Ryan had good intentions at the beginning, his desperation has twisted them. The officials are gone, and he’s still maintaining an illusion that no one has powers. He can’t stop the school from closing—that’s out of his grasp—but he can stop everyone else from remembering who they really are. He can stop the officials from sending him to another academy.