"Razputin! Telephone!"

Razputin Aquato, the youngest Psychonaut currently in existence, groaned as he heard his dad calling for him from inside the caravan. The boy was living proof that the circus was, in fact, NOT all fun and games, as one might expect. From Noon to about 2:30 pm, he had been entertaining people on the high wire and tantalizingly high trapeze (which is why he made sure, before every performance, that the net below was sturdy), and for the next half-hour, he cleaned up after the elephants as they paraded around. After that show, he had been greeting people in a large crowd, and had been glomped by some weird, fat, acne-ridden fan girl. Yeesh.

Anyway, it was about 5:00 p.m. now, and the circus was still jumping with all sorts of people. Raz just wanted to relax now and read his new issue of True Psychic Tales, issue #694. This one involved a bunch of Psychonauts from Japan who came to America in hopes of a vacation, but instead meet a bunch of their foes from back home that have held some of the American Psychonauts hostage.

"Dad, just tell 'em to leave a message." Raz rolled his eyes and continued reading. Razputin's dad shrugged, talking a little too loudly into the outdated cell phone that served as their home phone.

"Yes, Lili, I'm sorry. Razputin is a little preoccupied," this is the part where Raz's dad gave him a little stare and a pause, "with other things. Can I take a message, though?" Razputin perked up immediately. He jumped up and grabbed the phone from his dad, nearly severing his old man's hand with it.

"Hi, Lili!" Razputin spoke jovially into the obsolete cell phone. Wow, she called. Maybe it was important or something, because usually she just used e-mail or snail-mail. Either way, he hadn't heard her voice since the circus just so happened to stop in New York, her hometown, about a month ago. He could've sworn that the ringmaster did it on purpose...but who cared? Anyway, on the other side, Lili could be heard giggling.

"Well, well. It seems that scooping up elephant crap can really make you happy! I'll have to remember that!"

"Yeah, yeah." Razputin rolled his eyes, "So, what's up? Something important?" Razputin looked around shiftily before speaking softly into the phone, "Is Ford or your Dad sending us on another mission?" Lili was giggling again.

"No, I just wanted to know the next place you guys are stopping, you know, so I can send you something."

"Uh...did you try the website?" Razputin said suspiciously, referring to the website that the ringmaster had set up for their traveling circus. He had told Lili about it a LONG time ago, and he knew that she was really one for electronics.

"Well..." Lili continued nervously, "I'm...not exactly allowed to use the computer..." There was a pause, "in fact," Lili continued, now whispering into her end, "I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to be on the phone right now."

"Why?" Razputin asked nervously, "what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Lili yelled while whispering, one of her many non-psychic talents, "...well...nothing you can prove, anyway..."

"O...kay..." Razputin raised an eyebrow. "So...why AREN'T you allowed?"

"Well...my parents just dropped me off at this hellhole of a boarding school, and I have almost zero contact to the outside world."

"Really?" Raz cocked his head, "That sucks. What do they teach there?"

"Eh, the usual, plus the performing arts." At this point, Raz imagined Lili shrugging on the other end of the line. "My parents said they wanted to unlock my 'true talent' and all that BS."

"Ouch." Razputin knew Lili. He probably knew more about her than Lili did herself. And he definitely knew that she didn't like boarding schools. Then again, who DID? "So...uh..." Razputin faintly remembered something about a hellhole school for the performing arts. He knew what it was called, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "What's the school called?"

"What's it called? Uh...Hagatha Home School for Girls. Why?"

"Uh...nothing...just curious..." Razputin started to go pale. CRAP. Razputin suddenly had a flashback from that huge fiasco of a misadventure he had about three years ago. He had vivid memories of traveling through the mind of a lady, Gloria von Guten to be precise. She had gone to that exact school, and was tortured to absolutely no end by the teachers, who happened to wield whips.

"Razputin?" Lili's urgent voice emerged from the phone. "Are you okay?" Hearing her voice, he began to nod vigorously. Until he realized that you couldn't see over the phone. Duh. Razputin managed a hoarse,

"Yeah."

"Dork. If you say so." Lili's voice came, worried, despite what she had said. "I'm going to hang up now. Bye, Raz." Oh no. Razputin's eyes widened. He needed to find a way to keep Lili on the line. He racked his mind, and suddenly...

"I never answered your question!" Razputin hit his forehead as soon as he said this. He was a goner. He sighed and told her the information, but failed to tell her what she was about to experience. He hung up, gave the phone to his dad, and put his head in his hands, cursing beneath his breath. His father sat down beside him and put his hand on his son's back.

"Is something wrong, son?" Razputin's dad asked, nervously.

"Yeah, I'll say." Raz looked up at his father. "Lili has just been enrolled in a school run by psychos!"

"How do you know this?"

"Dad, remember that thing that happened three years ago? You know, at Whispering Rock?"

Razputin's dad laughed heartily. "How could I possibly forget the day that my own son became a hero?" He said, ruffling his son's hair.

"DAD!" Raz shoved his dad's arm off his head and sighed. "Anyway, I went through the mind of Gloria von Guten. She went to the very school Lili is at! It's one of the things that drove her toward insanity!"

"Son, times could have changed!"

"Okay, so what's the chance of that, then?" After Raz said this, they both sat silently for a bit. Mr. Aquato stood up.

"I'll be right back, son." The tall man said. "Pack some things enough for about half a week. I'll leave a note for the ringmaster." He then walked off to retrieve the old pickup truck, and maybe get it working. Raz sighed. He had a lot of work to do...