StV: Awake Again, part three

Julie had devoured a plate of scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast, and was wondering if she should ask for another when another woman entered the otherwise-empty cafeteria. Beside her, Ms. Brigham said quietly, "This is Ms. Salvatore. She's the auxiliary headmistress here."

"Um," said Julie. "Okay. Where is here?"

"The Saint Vincent School for Exceptional Youth," said the new arrival, who was tall and slender and moved in a way that projected absolute authority. "Some of our students refer to it as Anomaly Academy, though we do not encourage such liberties." 

Uh oh, Julie thought. Ms. Salvatore reminded her strongly of old Mrs. Hathaway, who had been the strictest and most demanding of her childhood tutors -- and also the most rewarding. She swallowed. "What happened?" she asked. "I mean, I was being chased, and I saw some kids who were like me, but... Somebody shot me with a tranquilizer? Like, for a wild animal? Did I make it to their car?"

"You did not," Ms. Salvatore informed her. "The young man we call Harbinger retrieved you while his sister protected you both."

"Oh," Julie said quietly. It made sense; they thought they were protecting someone like them. Somehow she hadn't expected it, though.

"I'd like to read your mind, if I may," Ms. Salvatore continued. "It will help me better understand what happened to you."

"What? No!" Julie was suddenly panicked; if anybody read her mind, they'd know exactly who she was and why she was here. It had never even occurred to her that that might be a danger, and apparently it hadn't occurred to Mr. Maddox or His Holiness The Prophet either. 

Ms. Salvatore didn't flinch; she just nodded. "As you wish. To be clear, we do not read other people's minds without permission here."

"Uh--" Julie still hadn't recovered from the shock. "Thank you?"

Ms. Brigham glanced at Ms. Salvatore. "Before we ask you about how you wound up being hunted by the CIA's Hounds, is there anybody you'd like to get in touch with? Parents? Friends? People who would want to know you're safe?"

Oh. "Oh," Julie said. She'd prepared for this part, she'd just forgotten about it. Would they be suspicious? "Um. Yeah. Can I call my parents?"

Ms. Brigham reached into her pocket and then slid Julie's cellphone across to her. It was a fake, of course -- bought under a fake name, filled with carefully-prepared numbers that connected to members of the  Age of Rebirth who would recognize her number and knew how to respond. They'd even practiced with it enough to full up the Recent Calls. 

Her real phone was still back at the house; Julie wished she had it instead. This is what His Holiness wants from me, she reminded herself. I am Blessed now. She tapped in her code, then flipped to the phone app and punched the contact for her mother. The phone rang, and eventually went to voicemail; she cut it off without leaving a message and tried her father instead. "They're not... they aren't picking up," she said, distraught. 

They weren't supposed to, she remembered; those were prepared numbers. But right now, she wanted her parents and she couldn't contact them; the distress in her voice was genuine. She tried "Aunt Janice" next, her father's younger sister, and this time the designated Blessed picked up. 

The conversation that followed was awkward and clumsy, and Julie hoped that she came out sounding like a young woman who was genuinely worried about her parents. Her "aunt" promised to get in touch with them, and asked again if she was okay. 

Julie told her she was.