The Weight of Blood (31)

Michael: We were hoping you could explain a bit of what telekinesis is. Your book was one of the texts Maddy studied in her school’s library.

Kurt: So I’ve heard from several forums. It’s tremendous what she was able to accomplish, despite the lives lost.

Michael: Uh, okay. Can you maybe explain what telekinesis is? You know, for someone who might not believe.

Kurt: Belief is a source of energy that holds space for consciousness. The laws of science, man!

Michael: But maybe you could—

Kurt: Do you know how much energy she must have used that night? You could siphon it out of the ground, bottle it up, and light up the city of Tokyo. The intersection of quantum physics, neuroscience, and consciousness . . . powerful stuff, man. Powerful stuff.

Michael: Right. So about your book . . .

Kurt: Telekinesis is the ability to move objects, great or small, with the power of the mind. Simple. Like I said, it’s all about mind over matter. It tracks. But you can learn more on my YouTube channel, Keating’s Way, or in my new book, Mind Pollution, available for preorder at EmbraceYourPlace.com.

Michael: Um. Tanya? Do you have any questions?

Tanya: Mr. Keating, I want to read you something. “In the 1970s, Uri Geller became the world’s best-known psychic and made millions traveling the world demonstrating his claimed psychokinetic abilities, including starting broken watches and bending spoons. Though he denied using magic tricks, many skeptical researchers observed that all of Geller’s amazing feats could be—and have been—duplicated by magicians.” Now, when you hear this, do you really expect us to believe that you have telekinesis despite the hundreds of people, over a century, who have disproven it?

Kurt: I stand in my truth with love and kindness.

Michael: What is the connection between telekinesis and fire? There were reports that Maddy seemed to be able to control the flames.

Kurt: Oh, well, that’s impossible. Completely fabricated.

Tanya: That’s impossible, but you expect us to believe telekinesis is real?

Kurt: There is no connection. There are, however, many people who do have pyrokinesis. I’ve interviewed them as well on my YouTube channel.

Tanya: Pyrokinesis? A term literally made up by Stephen King. A fiction writer? We’re done here.

May 20, 2014

Wendy sat on the plush lavender carpet in Jules’s room, leaning against a four-poster bed, knees curled up to her chest as Jules paced in front of her.

“I can’t believe they’re doing this,” Jules spat with a sniff. “All because of a joke? This is such bullshit!”

No matter how many times they hung out at Jules’s house, Wendy never ceased to be amazed by her massive bedroom, almost the size of Wendy’s entire living room, not to mention the walk-in closet stuffed with clothes. Wendy often joked that if she moved in, it would take weeks for anyone to notice.

Black eye makeup stained Jules’s bone-white cheeks, her hair a tangled red mop draping over her shoulders. It looked like she hadn’t slept in days. Kayleigh sat cross-legged on the bed, wiping away a tear.

Charlotte, on the love seat by the window, gave Wendy a pointed look. If anyone could soothe Jules, it would be Wendy.

But Wendy didn’t know where to begin. Of course, she felt horrible. Jules had been dying to go to Texas A&M since they were freshmen. She already knew all the chants and wore the burgundy T-shirt to bed on most nights.

Any other joke, Wendy would call the school heavy-handed. But she couldn’t stop thinking of Kenny’s reaction. She’d never seen him so upset before about anything. Jules had clearly crossed a line.

Wendy took a deep breath, falling back into her loyal best friend role. “Jules, just . . . just calm down.”

Jules shot her daggers. “Calm down? I’m not going to college, Wen!” She held back another raging sob. “Daddy doesn’t think A&M is going to budge. My whole fucking life is ruined!”

“There are other schools,” Wendy countered, trying to inject optimism. “You’re supersmart and really pretty. Like, dozens of places are going to want you.”

Jules wasn’t listening. Her red eyes jiggled in their sockets as she burned a hole through the carpet.

“This is so stupid! And to think this started because fucking Maddy Washington has been catfishing us her entire life!”

“More like whitefishing,” Charlotte said, chuckling at her own joke, then quickly biting her lips shut.

“We didn’t do anything wrong,” Jules shouted, defiantly. “Really, she brought it on herself.”

“Maybe you can change their mind by apologizing,” Wendy offered, musing on a strategy.

Jules whipped around. “What?”

Wendy gulped, her back tensing. “I, well . . . you came to school in blackface. That’s just so . . . not cool. But an apology would be some good damage control.”

Charlotte’s and Kayleigh’s eyes widened as Jules stormed up to Wendy, fuming.

“It was a JOKE! A fucking JOKE!”

Wendy shrank back against the bed, stunned by her venom. Did Jules really not see how messed up blackface was? Did she really think she was beyond reproach? She couldn’t have been that blind. But Jules would never listen to reason in her current state, so Wendy kept her mouth shut.

“And if she was just honest about being Black, then no one would give a fuck,” Jules carried on. “But she’s been lying. To all of us! How is lying okay?”