When I get to the library all the computers have already been taken by kids browsing PHO or whatever they do on them, so I'm at a loss for what to do. My indecision must have shown, because one of the librarians walks over.
"Can I help you Miss?"
I watch her eyes look over my ratty backpack and my burnt hair, and the way I curl in under her inspection. Hopefully before she can draw any more conclusions, I say, "Um, I was hoping to use the computers to find out if there's any way to get out of school."
I hate the way her expression goes from disgust to pity almost instantly as she looks over me again. Then the moment is passed, and she nods, "I'm sorry, but I can't help you with any information about Home Instruction. You'd need to contact the Maine Department of Education for any schooling related queries. I'm also not allowed to advise you that Maine law can be found under number 344"
As I blink at her while giving a good impression of a goldfish, she says brightly, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Um, I left my library card at home. Is there any way I can borrow books without it?"
The librarian shakes her head, "Oh, no. I'm sorry, books in that section are reference books, and we can't lend them out. You can take as many notes as you want, and if you note down the page numbers, we have a photocopier in the back."
"Um, thank you. I'll certainly keep that in mind."
Before someone decides to kick me out, I quickly head off towards the 300's. Once I arrive, I have to stop in dismay at the nearly identical books covering three stacks of shelves. Even 344 covers three individual shelves on its own. All in all, it takes me most of the day to find the first law that mentions Home Instruction. After that it's only another 45 minutes, and a sacrificed page from a school workbook, to look up the actually relevant laws, including the federal law that makes it possible. While I'm doing this, I discover that juggling a couple of pencils in my backpack massively cuts down on things doing themselves for me.
When I carry the stack of three large tomes to the front desk, the librarian that helped me looks up and smiles. Seeing that, I immediately want to run as it's never good when the teachers did that. Clamping down on my emotions, and pulling another pencil out of my pencil case, I walk up to the counter with a smile that looks more like a grimace.
"Um. Earlier you said that you could photocopy some pages for me. I think I've found everything I need here."
One of the other librarian's, a large white man, says, "I've got this Sue. Hey kid, this is going to take a while. Would you mind waiting by the computers, and I'll bring the copies over once I'm done."
I glance over and see that there's a free terminal, "Sure, I can do that."
Once the man's taken the books from me, I scoot over to the computer and take off my backpack. Before I sit down, I slip the straps of my bag under one of the front legs of the chair so that nobody can run off with it.
With my bag now secure, I quickly open up a session and go to Lung's page on the wiki, as I want to know about the people who are going to be trying to kill me. It's a little disappointing as it doesn't even mention that he can jump 20 yards from a standing start, or that he can set himself on fire. But it does give me a link to his known associates, Oni Lee and a new one called Bakuda.
As I read Oni Lee's description I have to stand on the zip of my backpack as the urge to take notes becomes almost unbearable. Oni Lee is a teleporter, except, unlike me, he leaves a doppelganger behind for up to 10 seconds. I watch a video, that's linked in the references, with a sort of sick fascination as he appears holding a grenade and pulls the pin before letting go of the spoon. It takes me a few seconds to realise that it's playing the video on repeat rather than playing through the explosion, but still, it's terrifying. Especially so given it might be aimed at me.
Somewhat apprehensively, I click on the link for Bakuda, only to sag in relief at her description. She's a Tinker that makes bombs. Scary, but not in the same way that Oni Lee is. Regardless, I keep reading as knowing she might be out to get me means I need to know as much as possible.
I'm just starting to look for information on Elmwood Road when the Librarian walks over with a sheaf of paper stuck together with a paperclip. "Here you are, all done for you."
I jump slightly at his voice, then I look up with a smile. "Thank you. I didn't know you could do this."
The man shrugs, "We don't advertise it, and we only do it for reference books."
As he turns away, I flick through the pages of laws before putting them into my backpack. With my train of thought thoroughly ruined I turn back to the computer and try to remember what I was doing. When I come up with a blank, I open a new tab and start searching for moving meditations until my rumbling stomach reminds me that I haven't had lunch and it's now, my eyes glance down to the bottom of the screen, three in the afternoon. I quickly unhook my bag and log off the computer, before heading home.
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When I get home, I search my pockets for my front door key in consternation as I'd forgotten that I'd stormed out without it.
"Stupid Taylor, you should know better than that."
I shake my head at my own admonishment, before walking around to the back of the house, once more thankful that I'm unusually tall for a girl as I reach over the gate for the latch. As I walk past the old coal shoot, I briefly consider whether I could squeeze down there if the backdoor isn't unlocked, before reconsidering it. Even if I could get down there, I don't know if the coal bunker is blocked or not, and I don't want to find out what happens if I fall through a crack underground. A growl from my stomach sees me walking around into our tiny, overgrown, backyard. Though, at least we have one. The houses further into the docks don't even have that where they're squished together into back-to-back rows of houses. Or stacked on top of each other in shared tenements, where rumors say some families are living 10 or 20 to a building with only one bathroom and kitchen between them. Idly I pull one of the cast iron chairs off the tables with a grunt. As it lands on the flagstone with a bang I wince and use my repair power to fix the chip I just made.
When it doesn't work the first time I frown and try to do the same thing I did with the cold last night and keep making it stronger until it works. Finally, the chip in the enamel reverses and I straighten up with a smile. A smile that quickly drops from my face as I notice I didn't just repair that chair, but I also repaired the table and the other two chairs, the fences, and the back of our back neighbors house.
Sheepishly I flee into the house and quickly make myself a sandwich. It's only when I'm putting the butter back into the fridge that I realize that the power is back on, though the clock still isn't working. My notebook flies out of my backpack and adds an entry to try and work out why the fridge still works while the clock isn't working.
As I sit down at the table, I notice that dad left me a note.
Gone to the office to call the power company.
I smile slightly at the note and grab my pen from midair before gently crossing out dad's note.
Found some stuff on Home Instruction at the library. Going to practice not being dangerous to be around.
Note written, I put the photocopies under the note. Then I finish my sandwich before looking around the house for the rucksack and my purse and keys. The purse and keys are easy, dad left them on my desk. The rucksack and books, not so much. I even checked the loft for crying out loud.
I'm halfway down the stairs to the basement for a second time when I realize that my original notebook is also in my rucksack, and I sniff as tears prick at my eyes.
"Why dad, why?"
I mean, it's not like I can't understand it, he doesn't want me to run away, but he's taking away my choices. Patchy finds his way to my arms as I reach out to turn the basement light on.
As the overhead fluorescent tube lights up, so do my eyes as, from my vantage on the stairs, I can see a box with a pan handle sticking out the top. Using my telekinesis to lift the box down is trivial, and I feel like I've hit jackpot. In the box are gram's old copper pans, and her plates. I grab the box below it and do a little dance, as it contains her kitchen utensils too. As I'm dancing, I spot the water container that dad used to use when we went camping. That goes on top of the boxes, and then I skip my way upstairs. My keys and purse join the box as I make my way into the back yard. Just as I'm closing the door, my backpack flies out to join me and I put the backpack over my shoulders.
Closing my eyes, I try to find a crack to fall through and, don't. I don't mean I don't find the crack, I mean I don't fall through it. Almost like I'm a little too big to just pass through it. I frown as I consider that I've just fallen through it before. So, what's changed? I open my eyes to look around, and spot the two boxes I'm holding beside me. Could that be it?
Somewhat awkwardly, I sit down and stack the boxes on my lap while I hug them close to me. Then I try again, and woah, that was easy. Well, at least I don't need to worry about people seeing me now.
My notebook flies out of my backpack as I start to think. Right, it felt like I just wouldn't fall through the crack. Could I squeeze through, like I did when I was fighting against the pull of the canyon?
With the boxes levitating beside me, I find the next crack and try to move through it. I try twisting my mind in knots to fit through the gap, all to no avail, until, finally, I step forward in frustration and appear on the other side of the crack with the boxes. Wait? Why did that work when nothing else did? I mean, it's not like I'm travelling in one of the normal three dimensions, so how did walking forward even work? I mean, it's not like I have to do that for my telekinesis.
I glance at my notebook that's dutifully scribbling down my thoughts. Mind you, it's not like I actually control my telekinesis. It's more like it's an extension of my arm. An independent and eager part of my arm.
After that revelation I immediately try it again and, can't find a crack. Right, deep breaths, I need to calm down and feel for the crack. I can't just go for it gung ho.
"Come on Taylor, these things take time. Remember the book said that you just have to do a little better each day, and that the journey was more important than the goal."
After my little pep talk, I close my eyes to clear my thoughts while focusing on my visualization. A moment later I'm standing inside my little slice of New England. Damn it!
You'd think that after nearly three months of practicing this I'd be able to just calm my mind without falling in here.
Well, while I'm here I should do my observations. It's still winter, and the ground is still frozen. I kick my shoe into the soil, maybe not as frozen as it is in Brockton Bay, where it's positively arctic. Now to get out of here.
Once I leave my little slice of New England, I try to find another crack, with a calm mind this time. I find it, only it takes me nearly an hour to reproduce my stepping through the crack, as it seems to need a combination of my calm mind to find the crack in the first place, and the frustration I was feeling when I did it the first time. I'm never going to be able to do this quickly, am I.
Right, five more trips to go. But the next one is cold, so I'll just do it the other way. I stack the boxes on my lap once more, then look for the crack in the world and fall through. I'm almost disappointed when I don't feel like I'm falling again. But the cold is already seeping through my jeans, so I put it out of my mind and focus on feeling out the next crack.
And, there's the canyon. With the canyon gaping open beneath me, holding the boxes in my telekinesis while falling to each world is trivial. When I get back to the same world that held my camp my brain stalls, as I don't recognize any of the landmarks. I mean, I know I'm only 3 miles from the train yard, but really? A rocky plain? Not to mention it's now midday when it should be late afternoon.
Looking around, it doesn't take me long to find an easily climbable mound of rock, and that allows me to spot an even larger mound of rock. After what I'd guess was a good hour of walking and climbing, I finally spot a river and what looks like a tree line in the distance. If I'm honest with myself, that would probably be a better camp than my first camp anyway, as I should be able to use some of these rocks to build a shelter, or at least an oven. My stomach growls and reminds me that I didn't bring anything to eat, and there's probably an hour of walking to get to the river. I also wanted to try reproducing my teleportation too, and I've found that… Ok, I just don't want to have to climb over all those rocks between here and the river.
It takes me longer to get down off the rock than it did to climb it, as I don't want to break my ankle. Once I'm on level(ish) ground again, I start trying to do that thing I did before. I screw my eyes shut and take a step, I jump, I skip. I even tried dancing. Nowt, nothing, nada, zilch. None of it works.
It's getting dark by the time I succeed. Well, I say succeed, but it's more that I'm starving and getting desperate, and I don't want to lose Gram's cookware, and I just really want to get to my camp where I've got everything setup already. And I take a step to the side and I'm suddenly there.