The Prodigies [First Draft]

Seven

It was four in the morning when Miss Kaylee arrived to take Kenny to the Academy for Gifted Children. The air was so cold, the young girl's breath condensed into small clouds when she exhaled. She hugged herself and rubbed her hands up and down her arms in an attempt to warm her shivering body. It would no doubt be warmer later, but Kenny still wished she'd worn more layers.

"There!" Miss Kaylee closed the trunk of her car, finally finished packing Kenny's things away. "We should be ready to go now."

Kenny turned back to the foster home and waved goodbye. Ms. Greenwood waved back from inside, watching the two from the couch, but Kenny wasn't waving to her. She was really saying goodbye to her siblings who were viewing her from Andrew's room. They all waved back, and Emily covered her mouth with her hand. Both she and Jackson didn't take it very well when they found out Kenny was leaving, especially because she was going today. It was all much too sudden for any of them to process.

Write to us, Andrew mouthed. He pointed to Emily, who was no doubt crying by now, and Jackson. The usually hyperactive boy was still as he stared out of the window. Kenny nodded and turned to move into the car.

Miss Kaylee opened the door for the young girl. "In you go!" She beamed at Kenny, and for a moment, the girl could almost forget she was leaving her friend and family behind. It was as if she was in the K1 classroom again, going to recess on a slightly cooler day than usual. But then Kenny remembered the Darkness and the Calculus problem, and she knew there was no way to escape this or pretend it wasn't happening. This was real.

With that thought, Kenny stepped into the car and into her new life as an AGC student.

****

The plane to Lexington was delayed by forty minutes, and when it finally took off, the aircraft hit terrifying turbulence. Kenny read through the whole thing, barely noticing the steep dips of the airplane. On the other hand, Miss Kaylee was quite ill throughout the entire trip and felt relieved when the pilot announced they had landed. The two then waited in baggage claim for about half an hour, and Miss Kaylee bought Kenny breakfast.

"What happened to your book? Was that the same one you were reading on the plane?" Miss Kaylee asked Kenny as they waited for their taxi.

Kenny opened her jacket and took out two other books. She showed Miss Kaylee the one she'd left the house with, the one she had finished on the plane, and the one she was reading now. She'd carried two old classics (and one modern classic)—all books that she'd read before. Jane Eyre, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower were the only ones that fit comfortably in her jacket—albeit Jane Eyre was taking up slightly more space than warranted.

Miss Kaylee blinked, nearly scoffing in disbelief. "The largest book you ever carried to school was A Wrinkle in Time, and that impressed me. Please excuse me if I get a bit surprised at your literary tastes."

Kenny gave the woman a tiny nod, and their short exchange ended in awkward silence.

The taxi soon came to pick the two up. Kenny watched from the backseat window as they exited the airport and drove onto the highway. The car passed large open fields with small areas plentiful with trees in between. They stayed on the highway for about an hour which allotted Kenny a brief period of rest. Throughout the ride, Miss Kaylee struck up conversations with the taxi driver. Her teacher, Kenny noted, couldn't seem to keep her mouth shut, and she always had something interesting to add to the discussion.

Just like Jackson, Kenny thought, though she soon wished she hadn't. Her heart ached and her eyes stung from just the memory of her brother. She pushed away all other thoughts and focused on the world outside her window. The world she belonged to now.