CHAPTER 14 [PLESKIT] GUYS IN SUITS
“This may be my last day with you,” said Robert McNally as we got into the limousine to go to school on Thursday.
“How can that be?” I cried.
McNally’s shoulders seemed to sag. “Look, kid—I failed you. I didn’t protect you from that Jordan twit. My boss is probably going to pull me off the job.” He smiled, in a sad sort of way. “The weird thing is, I didn’t want the job to begin with. I figured it was just sort of babysitting, you know. But I was getting to kind of like you.” He sighed. “Maybe you’ll be better off with someone else.”
“But I don’t want anyone else! You are my bodyguard. I want you to take care of me.”
To tell you the truth—which I have been doing all along in these pages—I was surprised to hear myself say this. I did not realize how much I had come to depend on McNally until it looked as if I might lose him. Not in any specific way; I didn’t look to him for answers, or information, or ideas. I just felt safer with him around. And not so lonely, somehow.
We rode to school in deep gloom.
When we entered the classroom, I was shocked to see that half the desks were empty. Even worse, most of the kids who were there wouldn’t look at me.
Ms. Weintraub had the appearance of one who had not slept at all the night before.
I felt as if I had come from another planet or something.
Of course, I had come from another planet. But this was the first school where the kids had made me feel that way.
I didn’t like it.
We started with reading group. I liked this part of class. I had picked up the basic ability to read this language from the training modules, but I had much to learn about the way people lived here, and stories are the best way to do that.
The kids who sat next to me in group looked very nervous. They edged away from me, as if I smelled bad.
I felt cold and small inside.
Halfway through the morning Ms. Weintraub gave us a short break. Kids got up and started to move around, getting drinks, talking to each other, things like that. At first no one came anywhere near me. Then the dark-haired boy that Jordan had called “Nerdbutt” the day before started in my direction.
Was he going to talk to me? I felt that was all I needed—just one person to come over and say I was all right.
Before he could reach my desk, someone knocked at the door.
“Come in,” called Ms. Weintraub.
The door swung open. Mr. Grand entered, followed by four men in dark suits.
“We want to talk to Pleskit,” said one of them.
McNally stood up. “You’ll have to clear that with me, first.”
“Got the clearance right here,” said the guy, taking some papers out of his jacket pocket.
McNally went to look at the papers. “They’re signed by Mikta-makta-mookta,” he said, glancing at me.
“The secretary of the Fatherly One has power to grant such permission,” I said, making the smell of reluctant acceptance.
Three kids pinched their noses.
McNally looked back at the men. “No offense, fellas, but I want to double-check this.” He reached into his own pocket and pulled out a scanner. I recognized it as having come from the embassy. He ran it over the paper, which began to glow.
He sighed. “It’s genuine. Better go with them, Pleskit.”
“Will you come, too?”
“Of course!” said McNally.
“No,” said the lead guy. “Just the boy.”
McNally shook his head. “You take Pleskit, you get me, too. We come as a package.”
“You’re not authorized for this, McNally,” growled the lead guy.
“I’m not authorized to let the boy out of my sight.”
“You should have remembered that yesterday!”
McNally’s eyes flashed. But he didn’t respond to the insult. He just said, “Take Pleskit, take me. Don’t want me, leave the kid here.”
“This could cost you your job.”
“I wouldn’t be doing my job if I let him go without me.”
“It’s your head,” said the guy, making a shrug.
McNally nodded to me, and I came to stand beside him.
Together, we followed the four men out of the room.