Page 35 of No Ordinary Girl
I was sad to hear about your mother. Is she better these days?
Christian sounds just like Leo. Leo has ‘bad boy’ written all over him, but I wouldn’t really know because I haven’t actually spoken to him. Although, he and I and a few other students are flying to Michigan tomorrow. I’ve been included in a special assignment to locate a missing girl. Her name is Haley Henderson and she’s only eighteen months. : ( She has big brown eyes and pretty dark curls. I really hope we can help!
Wish us luck!
Anna
I was raringto go first thing in the morning. I had no need for Alicia’s magic wake-up potions.
Alicia was still in bed, comfy in her pink polka-dot pajamas. She studied me as I zipped up my luggage. “I’m so jelly,” she whined. “I wish I was one of Simone’s pets.”
I grabbed my old iPod Nano off the charger – my phone was still confiscated. Apparently, being one of Simone’s favorites did not grant you phone privileges. “Well, at least you get to sleep in an extra few hours. Go back to bed.”
“It’s so exciting… you get to fly on her jet, and go to Michigan.”
I smiled. “Well, Michigan is not exactly Vegas, but the plane is pretty cool.”
Sure, it was exciting. But it was also nerve-wracking. Simone was counting on me, and putting all her faith in me. I knew the time would come when I’d have to prove my worth, make good on the unspoken promise. And this was it. I couldn’t quite breathe properly.
I turned to Alicia again. “I’m kinda stressed out about it. I hope I don’t let her down.”
She escaped from her covers and stood to hug me. “You’ll be great. I just know it.”
I held onto her tightly. “I’m just so nervous, I can barely think straight.”
She pulled from me. “I have just the thing.” She reached into her big pink tackle box and handed me a small blue pill.
I took it and rolled it between the pads of my thumb and finger.
“It’s all natural,” she was quick to tell me, sensing my hesitation. “I know you don’t do drugs… neither do I. It’s all natural ingredients.” She smiled. “It will just relax you a little, that’s all. Just let it dissolve on your tongue.”
The taste was sweet, like a clementine. The small pill melted in my mouth. I never would have thought in a million years that I’d ever put a strange pill in my mouth, but I trusted Alicia, and I was desperate.
I’m not sure if the pill worked but I wasn’t too nervous as we flew to Michigan, despite the fact that I was sitting facing Simone, and Leo was just to my left, and Kendra right across him. Brianna and Ace were in the back giggling about god knows what – I envied them. They were so laid-back, not a care in the world. I could sense tension in the rest of us, especially Leo.
He shot me a tight smile. “I don’t like flying,” he admitted. “Especially on small planes.”
“I love it,” I told him. “I have an adventurous spirit, I guess.”
“Our pilots have a perfect safety record,” Simone quipped. “They haven’t crashed… yet,” she added with a smirk.
The rest of the flight was quite nice. We ate a nice breakfast of fresh warm croissants, fruit salad, cured meats, and granola and yogurt, as Simone went over the case again; information I had already gleaned from the case file. She told us that we would be collaborating with two investigators. Matthew Brice and Mary Miller. She hadn’t met them either. Her passion was infectious when she spoke about finding Haley. I finally understood the reason she was doing all this, why she had founded RAMS. It was truly her calling, her way to make a difference, to do some good in the world.
A pang of nerves hit me again as we landed.
The pilots helped us bring our bags to the shiny black town car waiting for us. The boys were carrying duffle bags, and the girls were rolling small suitcases. Simone had a large sleek case and garment bag – I got the impression that she never travels light. We were introduced to our driver, Phil; a portly cheerful man.
We checked in the DoubleTree hotel. I let out a slow breath when we sat down in the lobby; sleek modern lines and muted shades. It was nice to feel like we were in the 21stcentury again, and not living in 1896, in a witch’s castle (Kylie’s words). But at the same time, I already missed RAMS.
I shared a room with Kendra and Brianna, neither of whom I knew very well. There were two queen beds and a pull-out sofa. It didn’t take long to decide who slept where – Brianna flung herself on the bed closest to the window. “I call this bed.” She smirked. “I need to get a good night’s sleep… if I’m going to see anything tonight.”
I cocked a brow for a second. See anything? Oh yes… Brianna was our Dreamer, and all would be revealed to her as she blissfully slumbered on the soft mattress and silky cotton sheets, while I tossed and turned on the lumpy uncomfortable pull-out couch. I have a power for precognition, and sometimes it’s just the little things like this I see.
Kendra and I looked at each other, the both of us knowing it would be rude to call the other bed (unlike Brianna, we were both raised with manners). “Let’s flip a coin for it,” Kendra suggested.
I called tails, knowing she was planning on calling heads. And I lost. Of course.
Followinga short ride down a few lovely streets, we arrived at the Hendersons; a stunning traditional suburban home, a ‘fancy house’ as Kylie would say; spotless white brick, perfect landscaping, and shiny window frames with planters of red flowers. My home came to mind; the small yellow bungalow surrounded by a crazy collection of wild flowers, a thyme lawn in the front, and an old porch swing. If this house was the prom queen, mine was the odd quirky girl in the corner wearing that weird dress her mom picked up at the thrift store.
