Secrets: The Hero Chronicles (Volume 1) (25 page)

When my alarm finally went off Monday morning, I jumped out of bed just like I had the past two mornings and looked out the window to see if anyone was outside. No one was there. No press, no people, nobody. So for now I wouldn’t have to tell Cora, and I could stay here with Elle.

I got onto the bus exhausted from lack of sleep. I just needed to see Elle; then everything would be better. I put my knees up on the seat and put my headphones on to block out all of the sounds around me. I closed my eyes. The bus jostled and bounced. The motion rocked me into a light sleep. A big bump jarred me awake. We had gone over the first speed bump before school. I sat up, pulling my headphones off. I couldn’t open my eyes. I was still so tired. The bus slowed, pulling in between two other parked buses. The door opened. It took me a second to realize that there were people rushing
onto
the bus, not
off
the bus, and they weren’t students or teachers.

“Where is he? He’s got to be here!” Several voices shouted. The people storming the bus were carrying all different types of cameras.

“There he is!”

“It’s him!”

There were flashes of light and a lot more shouting. I was stuck in my seat with nowhere to go. They were shouting questions at me.

“Alex, where have you been? Why have you been hiding?” During the questions the lights kept flashing, making it impossible to see. I covered my face from the cameras. The mob had me cornered in my seat. I heard a familiar voice cut through the shouting people from the back of the bus. It was Coach Miller.

“Keller, this way!”

I couldn’t tell where he was exactly, so I fell out of my seat and pushed toward the back of the bus. Coach Miller had the emergency door open.

“Quick, Keller, jump!”

I jumped off the back of the bus. Coach Miller and Coach Hoff were now pushing the door closed on the reporters.

“Run to my office as fast as you can. We will come for you when it’s safe,” Coach Miller shouted.

I turned toward the building, and on cue my muscles tensed and the fire erupted in me. I ran toward the school and everything blurred around me. I had already turned the corner, so nobody could see me running this fast. The back door was propped open waiting for me. I ran in and down the dark corridor, turning into the varsity locker room. The lights were out except for Coach Miller’s office. I slammed the door behind me. I quickly turned off the lights and pulled the shades shut; then I slid down the door onto the floor. My heart was pounding out of my chest. The horrible fire burning in me was out of control. I could feel the fire creeping up my throat, searing it, leaving a bitter taste that made me gag. I scrambled to my knees, trying to control myself. I started searching the desktop for a phone. In my haste, I knocked it off the desk along with a bunch of other items. I felt around on the ground and found the phone. I picked up the receiver.

I dialed our home number, but nothing happened. I kept trying to call, but I wasn’t able to get through. This was the perfect time when a cell phone would have come in handy. Cora’s restrictions were backfiring. I heard voices coming into the locker room. The door began to shake and it swung open. The light turned on, briefly blinding me. It was Coach Miller and Coach Hoff.

“Keller,” Coach Hoff said. “Coach told you to
wait
in his office, not to go and trash it!”

“I’m sorry. I was searching for the phone in the dark.” Not only had I destroyed his desk, but I had also managed to knock a stack of papers off his filing cabinet along with a couple of football trophies.

“It’s okay. You must come with us now. I already called your mo—” Coach Miller stopped mid-sentence and corrected himself. “I called Cora. Let’s go, son. The reporters are gone.” Coach Miller helped me to my feet.

We walked through the halls, which were empty except for a couple of teachers who looked like they were on guard duty. I entered a conference room near the guidance office. It was empty.

“Keller, please take a seat.”

I sat down on one of the plush black leather chairs that surrounded the large oval table. It had enough chairs for twenty people. I waited for only about thirty seconds, and then a steady parade of people came into the room. Most were dressed in suits and dresses. I recognized a couple of our school’s principals but didn’t know anyone else except for Coach Miller and Coach Hoff. Last through the door was Cora. Her face was cold, showing no emotion. She was still dressed in the pink and black workout clothing she had been wearing when I left for school. She may have been under-dressed compared to everyone else, but her presence commanded attention. The crowded room became silent.

“Are you okay, Nicholas?” she asked me, turning her back to the crowd.

“Yes, I am. I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

“We will talk about this later. I’ll take care of everything.”

“Ms. Keller, my name is Richard Spears. I am the superintendent here at Winsor.” He was not what I would expect a school superintendent to look like. He looked more like a game show host. His hair had at least an entire can of hairspray on it to keep it in place. He had on a suit, but he was wearing a bright orange golf shirt underneath it. “I just want to say what an honor it is to meet you.”

Cora smiled but stayed silent.

“We want you to know that the board and the faculty will do everything in our power to make Alex’s school experience normal. We will do whatever it takes.” Hearing him call me Alex flooded me with anxiety.

“First of all,” Cora said firmly so no one would doubt her authority, “his name is Nicholas, and while I appreciate your offer, there is no need. We will be leaving immediately.”

I stood abruptly. Everyone in the room flinched at my sudden movement. “I would like to have a moment with my—with Cora.”

“Well, of course. Everyone out,” Superintendent Spears ordered. Everyone left the room.

“What is it, Nicholas? Can’t this wait? We can talk about this when we are in the truck.”

“No! Right now, Cora. I have been hiding for the past five years, never allowed to make friends or have relationships. And now I finally have friends and possibly even a girlfriend, and you want me to just run away again. I am not going to give that up. I’m not going to do it! Not right now.”

“Nicholas, I’m trying to protect you. You have to—” Cora’s commanding demeanor was gone.

“No, I don’t have to be protected anymore. The reporters may have been a reason to run when I was younger, but now I am old enough to handle it.”

“Nicholas, there’s more that I’m trying to protect you from. You have to understand.”

“Like what? Make me understand.”

Cora didn’t answer.

“Okay then. I would like to wait until the end of the year before we make the decision to stay or leave. And this will be a decision that we will both make.”

Cora stood.

“Okay?” I said.

“Yes, of course. If that’s what you want, then that’s what I’ll, I mean, we’ll do.” Cora walked to the door and opened it. I was stunned that it was that easy to convince her to stay. I was expecting more of a fight.

The majority of the people that had been in the room before came in again. Cora spoke directly to Superintendent Spears.

“Nicholas and I have decided that we are going to take you up on your offer. But if any of those reporters get to him or anything else happens to him, I will have you and this school in court so fast it will make your head spin. Do I make myself clear?”

His smile disappeared. “Of, of, of course, Ms. Keller,” he stuttered. “We are going to have to keep Nicholas in this room for a while so we can make sure the staff is aware of what needs to be done to keep him safe. Is that okay?”

Cora looked my way and I nodded yes to the request.

“Well, okay, we will get to work.” Superintendent Spears regained some of his composure.

“One more thing. I would like to pick him up from school at a different time and location each day. No more riding the bus. I don’t want anyone to find out where we live,” Cora said.

“Can’t they just look you up?” a tall, skinny lady said in a snotty tone. She was standing right next to Superintendent Spears like she was second in command.

“No, all of the addresses that we put on Nicholas’ school files are false. We live outside the school district,” Cora replied sharply, putting the woman in her place.

The woman responded, “Is there
anyone
who knows where you live?” She now sounded like a mother concerned for her own child.

I spoke up, “Only two people—Eric and Elle—but neither would tell anyone.”

“We’ll make sure of that,” Superintendent Spears said, “but where will he be picked up each day?”

“Never mind about that. Just allow Nicholas to come and go as he pleases, because I don’t trust any of you,” Cora said.

“Ms. Keller, we are all honorable people here,” he said. The room started to buzz.

“Superintendent Spears,” Cora said. The room quieted. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but it is amazing what money will do to people’s loyalty.”

“Okay,” he said. “We will do anything and everything for the 10-10 Hero, whatever it takes.” Superintendent Spears said
10-10 Hero
like he had been dying to use the name that the media had given me over five years ago. Hearing him say it was like nails scraping down a chalkboard.

“Thank you, Superintendent Spears. That will be all,” Cora said in a dismissive tone.

The room emptied again, leaving just Cora and me. Cora sat down next to me, putting her hand on my arm. I was prepared for it to burn me because of how I treated her earlier, but instead it was gentle and caring.

“Nicholas, I’m not mad at you at all. I’m relieved. The last five years have been all about protecting you and keeping you safe. I was prepared to hide again, but for the first time in five years, you spoke up. I know, normally it is a bad thing for us to disagree, but this time it’s a good thing because it’s not just me anymore—it’s us. I will still try to protect you, but at least now we can make these decisions together.” Cora’s eyes were filled with relief.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know you are only trying to protect me from things I don’t see or really understand, but please know that I love you. I am so lucky to have you in my life.”

Cora leaned forward and hugged me with such strength it knocked the wind out of me. “Nicholas, I am lucky to have you too. I love you!” She leaned back. “But you’re going to have to tell me everything when you get home.” She smiled.

“So how will I get to school and get home?”

“Let’s start with getting you home for now. Right before sixth period, I want you to go to the side garage where trucks back up to make deliveries and wait.”

“You want me to skip seventh period?” I asked Cora.

“It’s only art class and you’re getting an A.”

“Okay, but then what?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll know, but I have to go now to take care of some details to make sure this works. Will you be okay here?”

“Yes, I’ll probably be going back to class soon anyway.”

Cora stood. She leaned forward and gave me a quick hug, and then she was gone. I was alone in the conference room, waiting. I walked over to the only window in the room. I could see the front entrance. It seemed just like yesterday that Cora and I were walking in to register me for the first day of school. But now, past the main entrance, I could see the growing number of media at the entrance of the parking lot. Police had blocked them from gaining access to the lot. I sat back down and thought about everything I had just done. It was all done for Elle.

I wondered who at the school knew what was going on with me. That was a stupid question. Of course, everyone did. News in a school spreads faster than wildfire, and with the press outside, they would have to know something was up. What was Elle thinking?

I sat in that conference room through my first four periods. What was taking them so long?

The door opened and in walked Joy Lemmins. Oh no, anyone but her. “Well, hello there, Nicholas. How are you today?” she asked.

“Well, I’ve been in this room for about two and a half hours. How do you think I am?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, deary. I just found out that they left you in here. If I had known earlier, I would have kept you company while the grown-ups were working hard to get things ready for you,” she said.

“Ms. Lemmins, why have I been in here so long?”

“Superintendent Spears called an emergency faculty meeting to talk about your special situation.”

“What was said at the meeting?” I asked.

“Well, everyone.”

“No, I didn’t ask who was there; I asked what was said.”

“I’m getting there, silly. You see, he wanted to get everyone together so he could first explain who you really are. I have to say, I knew you were a special boy. I knew that right from the beginning.” She was twirling her frizzy blonde hair around her finger.

“Once he was done with your history, which we all knew very well, he gave us our assignments—how we are supposed to help you blend in and make the rest of your year as easy as possible, so you can stay here at Winsor. You are one of the most important students we have ever had. Even though one time we had these twin boys who starred in a bunch of commercials.