“Nope!” Duncan said right off the bat.
Winter break was over, and I went straight to the roof before first period.
I was wearing my new winter gloves that my parents sent me for Christmas. They also sent a box of graphic novels, some cookies, and hot chocolate mix. No peanut butter cups, though.
Kepler never said anything to me about not getting in the Volkswagen. He even said hello to me the couple of times I saw him after that night, which meant my friends and I were right—he was allowing me to stay.
Maybe he saw something else in me.
But if I wanted to figure out what that was, I knew I had a lot of work to do, especially if my path was mine to walk alone.
I’d been camped out in my dorm ever since the “barf-heard-round-the-world” incident, too embarrassed to face anyone because of it.
Noah brought meals back to the room so we could eat in privacy. I was a total shut-in, like some guy afraid of the real world, cracking the door open only an inch to see who knocked on it.
It was freezing out, but Duncan couldn’t feel it. He was wearing swim trunks and hitting golf balls off the roof of the Lodge.
“Look, Ben, I’m sorry to hear about your situation,” he said, “but what you’re asking me is kind of crazy.”
I stood behind him like a little child. “But you said all this stuff was so humanity could stand a chance in case something bad happened!”
Duncan swung his club, hitting another white ball into the forest below. “Uh, yeah. For if something bad happened. Not in case some kid had a death wish.”
“I don’t!” I said. “I just … I want to belong here so badly.… And after what Kepler said … I know that I’ll never belong, no matter how hard I try.”
“So you wanna fake it?” Duncan said.
“I mean…” I said, and decided to go with the truth. “Yeah. You’ve got all these cool gadgets I could use! Like, those metal discs that do different things when they’re activated. You know, like the one that forms a bubble shield, or the other that shrinks things, or—”
“Those discs are not toys, Ben! They’re untested and highly unstable!”
“Maybe I could test them,” I suggested quietly.
Duncan stared at me for a moment. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking because he had no face.
I thought maybe I could butter him up some. “Your skull looks nice and white today. Did you bleach it while you were on vacation?”
Duncan laughed loudly and shook his head. “I’m not okay with what you’re asking. It’s dangerous and irresponsible and just pretty stupid in general. Wearable Tech isn’t about making superheroes—it’s about progressing the human race with technology. And to top it off, I suppose you’re asking me to keep it a secret from Donald?”
The professor stopped and took a deep breath.
Even though he didn’t have any lungs.
Not sure how that worked.
“But I have to admit,” Duncan said. “The whole reason I started tinkering with gadgets was because my only ability was not dying. I couldn’t fly or shoot lasers out of my eyes or anything cool like that, so … I know how you feel.”
“So you’re telling me there’s a chance,” I said with an eager nod.
“You remind me a lot of myself when I was your age. I don’t know if that’s good or bad yet.…”
“But you’re still saying yes?” I asked, almost giddy.
Duncan threw his arms up. “Ben, I could lose my job if I said yes! And then what? If you haven’t noticed, I’m a walking skeleton! That means I’m unemployable.”
I stared at the ground, defeated.
Duncan stood there silently waiting for me to say something else.
I didn’t.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t say yes,” he said, putting his golf club away. He talked over his shoulder as he headed back to the stairwell. “I better not see you on the roof trying out any of my gadgets from my shack that’s never locked and is almost always unattended. Saying no to you just means that I’ll never have to remind you to be respectful and responsible with each piece of gear out here, and to never ever ever touch anything liquid.”
Was he saying what I thought he was saying?
Duncan stopped in the open door of the stairwell and looked at me. I think he could tell I was confused. “I can’t say yes.…”
The door shut behind him, leaving me alone on the roof of Kepler Academy.
He was definitely saying what I thought he was saying.
