Run (3 page)

SITTING THROUGH HOMEROOM WAS
torture. What could the cassette possibly contain? Wicked neo-Nazi propaganda? Gang recruitment information? Or maybe something closer to home -- a biographical account of her messed-up life, edited for the sole purpose of humiliating her in public? But since Gaia had no idea who'd kidnapped Sam, she couldn't even begin to pinpoint a motive, and therefore could not even venture a guess as to what purpose this video, this
"test,"
might serve.

She was about to find out. First period. The moment of truth.

If anyone was surprised that the video was starting before the teacher was present, they didn't mention it. Someone at the back of the room hit the lights. Gaia glanced over her shoulder and saw it was Ed, who'd just arrived. He was supposed to be in English now, wasn't he? But here he was, for moral support.

First bagels, now this.
She felt a small cyclone of warmth in her stomach. So this was what friends did for you, huh? Gaia squelched the warmth. She couldn't risk getting used to it.

Ed shot her a look that was part encouragement, part panic. She turned away fast.

The blue screen gave way to a sudden blast of snowy static, then the scene focused.

It appeared to be a wide-angle shot of the upper half of a bedroom. The room was dimly lit, but Gaia could make out posters on the walls, an NYU pennant, a wide window with the blinds pulled.

And there were noises.

The usual New York background noises,
of course -- distant sirens, car horns, blaring radios. But over those came the more interesting noises.

Soundslike soft growling and deep sighs, sounds that seemed to caress each other.

Now where had she heard that before?

And then the camera panned down, pulling a form into focus.

It was an odd angle from which to film. Even Gaia, with her lack of experience in
both filmmaking and lovemaking,
knew that. The subjects were unidentifiable. There was a broad back, encircled from below by svelte, ribbonlike arms that tapered into delicate hands and graceful fingers. But the camera angle was designed to provide no clear view of either face.

The noises deepened, grew urgent, began to resemble words.

"Oh. Oh my --"

All the air seemed to flee Gaia's lungs at once. She knew that voice. And now that she looked closer, the blanket covering the bottom half of the couple looked pretty familiar as well.

They, them, him, her.

Gaia gripped the edges of her desk. Shit! What should she do? Let it run? Or jump up (assuming she could actually get her body to jump, since she seemed to be paralyzed) and turn the thing off? After all, sooner or later she'd be making her own cameo in this film.

The class was catching on now, and the howling began. As far as Gaia could tell, they hadn't recognized the female lead just yet.
The star herself,
in response to the provocative remarks of her classmates, had only just looked up from something she was scribbling on her desktop.

The graceful fingers were now clawing at the broad back.

Out of the corner of her eye, Gaia could see Heather studying the screen. Heather's first instinct, it appeared, was to smile. Hell, it was funny! Funny, as long as it wasn't your inaugural sexual liaison being screened in first-period advanced-placement economics.

Gaia kept her eyes slanted in Heather's direction and watched as the perfect smile flickered once, then vanished.
Realization flared in Heather's eyes
just as her video incarnation was uttering her first line of dialogue.

"Oh my God . . . Sam!"

To which oh-my-God-Sam replied,
"Heather!"

Busted!

Gaia snapped her attention back to the screen. Sundance, eat your heart out. Whoever this independent-film director was, he certainly had a flair for timing, because it was at this point that AP econ was allowed to enjoy the first close-up shot of the movie.

And it featured none other than Heather Gannis, perspiring elegantly, eyelids fluttering, flawless teeth clamped down on her lower lip.

The class exploded in reaction. Some of them shrieked in disbelief. Some laughed, some applauded wildly. Most just gasped. Heather, in a surprising gesture that made Gaia feel almost sorry for her, covered her face with one trembling hand and began to sob.

Gaia wondered absently if anyone had seen her stick the tape in the VCR. If they had, this could get really ugly really fast. As if it weren't ugly enough already.

Two of Heather's girlfriends sprang to her side, ostensibly trying to comfort her.

"Somebody eject it!" one of them demanded.

"No pun intended!" replied someone on a choke of laughter.

Another of Heather's sidekicks -- a girl named Megan -- got up and moved toward the front of the room to turn off the television. Was it just Gaia's imagination, or
did Megan seem to be taking her sweet time getting there?

AP econ was treated to a few additional renditions of "Oh my God, Sam!" before the electric-green-painted acrylic nail of Megan's index finger connected with the off button.

Instantly the class shut up, as if some cosmic off button had been punched as well.

The room went completely silent. Silent, except for the muffled gulping of Heather's crying.

Shame washed over Gaia.

Worse than fear,
she guessed. It had to be.

Suddenly Gaia found herself silently pleading with Heather to go: Run. Get out. The silence pulsed as she kept her eyes glued to her desktop, willing her sworn enemy to escape. The girl was a bitch, sure, and a monster. But nobody, not even Heather, deserved this.

And then, as if she had sensed Gaia's unspoken plea, Heather catapulted out of her seat and stumbled toward the door. Megan and the other two handmaidens went running after Heather, looking appropriately concerned. But just before Megan disappeared through the door, she turned and fixed Gaia with a glare that Megan probably thought was menacing.

She knew. Which meant that in about 1.5 seconds Heather would know, too.

Ed made his exit as well, and the teacher picked that moment to arrive, stepping through the door but looking over her shoulder into the corridor.

"What's happened to Miss Gannis?" she asked.

"I think she lost something,"
one of the boys answered, biting back laughter. A giggle rippled through the room.

The shame swelled. Who was the monster now?

"Turn to page thirty-four," the teacher said.

In the wake of the X-rated video they'd just seen, the teacher's lecture on
inflation and upward trends
incited a few scattered chuckles and snorts. But Gaia was barely aware of them.

Numbly she wondered what Ed would say. He might be furious with her. After all, he and Heather had a history. Or maybe he'd just say, "I told you so," which, of course, would be even worse.

She told herself the only thing that mattered to her was that she'd passed the first test, and that Sam was one step closer to safety.

She hoped.

GAIA HUNG BACK AFTER THE BELL,
until the classroom had emptied. Then she snatched the video and stuffed it into her beat-up messenger bag. She'd destroy it later. Crush it, or burn it, or something equally absolute. The last thing she needed was for it to wind up playing 24/7 on the Internet -- the scene of her nightmares playing out for the global community's entertainment.

Ed was waiting for her in the hall.

So were Heather and
a sea of salivating spectators.

Gaia took one look into Heather's very wet, very red, very livid eyes and considered walking right past her, rather than enduring the obligatory scene of high school drama that everyone was expecting. But Gaia stayed rooted in place. She'd done what she was about to be accused of. Some remote part of her was eager to clothe herself in blame.
Maybe even needed to.

"Where did you get it?" Heather asked, her voice surprisingly even. "Where did you get that tape?"

"I found it," Gaia answered. True. There was the requisite murmur from the crowd at this stunning tidbit of noninformation.

Heather's perfectly lined eyes narrowed. "You're not even going to deny it was you?"

"No." Another murmur, this one louder.

"Are you going to explain?" Heather took a step closer. Megan and the other sidekicks exchanged a look that said things were about to get interesting.

"I didn't know what was on the tape," Gaia said with a shrug. Also true.

Heather let out a noise that was somewhere between a shriek and asphyxiation. "Tell me where you got it," she said. She was right in Gaia's face. The tangy sweetness of her perfume made Gaia's nose itch. The girl was brave. But then, she did have the entire school behind her. And she didn't know what Gaia was capable of. Not that Gaia had any intention of letting Heather find out -- let alone the ever-growing crowd.

"I already told you," Gaia said.

And then Heather pushed her. It was the kind of push that normally wouldn't have affected Gaia in the slightest -- had she been expecting it. But Heather had caught her off guard, and Gaia stumbled backward until her shoulders pressed into the wall.

The crowd let out a little "ooh." Gaia righted herself, standing up straight for the first time in recent memory.

Heather took the slightest step back, betrayed herself with the smallest flinch. Gaia was sure she was the only one who saw it.

"What kind of psychotic freak are you?" Heather said loudly, shoving Gaia again.

This time Gaia didn't budge. "The kind of psychotic freak you don't want to push again," she said under her breath.

There were a few things Heather could do at this point, and Gaia watched her face with interest as Heather ran through the possibilities in a fraction of a second. Where would the roulette ball land?

Would Heather:

A) call Gaia's bluff and push her again?

B) lose her shit and run?

Or

C) back off with some catty remark, thereby making herself look like the bigger person and the victor?

"You're not worth it," Heather said.

So it was going to be C.

Good choice.

There was a disappointed muttering from the male contingent, a sigh of relief from the females. Heather backed up, fixing a wry smile on her face. "You do realize that your life at this school is beyond over," she said, then snorted a bitter laugh. "Not that it ever started."

The masses laughed and scoffed and made general noises of agreement.

Gaia said nothing. Moved not an inch.

Heather took this as cause to smile even wider, and turned to her friends. "Show's over."

And with that the crowd dispersed, punctuating Heather's threat with their own disgusted looks and comments.

Gaia didn't bother to look like she cared. She didn't care. Heather's idea of hell was social failure, but Gaia knew better. For Gaia, the ridicule of her fellow high school students was about as distressing as a hair in her spaghetti. Gaia took a deep breath. She'd let Heather have her moment. That was the best she could do in the way of an apology.

Now she could get back to what really mattered.

Sam.

ED WAS THE ONLY ONE LEFT. ED
and the few hallway stragglers who'd unluckily been too late to catch the action.

"You were right," Gaia said sharply before he could open his mouth. "I shouldn't have shown it without a preview."

Ed shrugged. "You didn't know. You couldn't have known."

Gaia's shoulders slumped. "Heather . . ." "Good call not pummeling her, by the way," Ed said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, well, she had enough for one morning."

Ed reached up, took Gaia's hand, and squeezed it. Gaia
pulled away instantly,
but Ed didn't even blink. "I wouldn't feel too bad about putting Heather in a compromising position if I were you," he said. "I think that was more Sam's responsibility, anyway, if you know what I mean."

"Ed!" Gaia said tersely.

"Sorry." He raised his hands in surrender. Gaia adjusted her bag on her shoulder. "Forget Heather. Here's what I don't get -- the e-mail said that showing the video was a test. So what did it prove? I mean, what could humiliating Heather have possibly gained for the kidnapper? If the video made some kind of demand or threat, that would make sense. But this was just . . . humiliating. And cruel."

Ed nodded. "I know what you mean. It was more like a practical joke. A demonic one."

"Maybe the kidnapper just wanted to see if I'd follow directions," Gaia said, glancing over her shoulder at the rapidly emptying hallway. "Which brings me to --"

"To how the kidnapper is going to know what you do and don't do," said Ed, finishing the thought for her.

Gaia sighed. "I guess we can safely figure that I am under constant surveillance."

"Guess so."

Gaia sighed. "Creepy."

"Very."

"So where's the next test?" Gaia said, glaring at the grate-covered hallway clock. "If I have to jump through a bunch of hoops before ten o'clock tonight, why didn't they just give them all to me at once?" She was bouncing up and down again, raring to go. She didn't like this feeling of being watched, of being manipulated,
of being out of control.

Sam was out there somewhere, suffering, and there was nothing she could do about it until these assholes decided to contact her. How was she supposed to handle this?

"I could be
done
by now," she said, watching the seconds tick by.

"You know what worries me?" Ed asked, his forehead creased. "Whoever this guy is, he seems to be striking very close to home."

"What do you mean?" Gaia wrapped her arms around herself. The anticipation was making her feel like she was going to
explode
through her skin.

"I mean you got lucky," Ed said, maneuvering his chair around a line of people waiting for the water fountain. "You went to Sam's room with a mission, remember? It could just as easily have been you on that tape, Gaia."

Gaia tightened her grip on herself. She hadn't thought of that.

"Who knows? Maybe it was
supposed
to be you." Ed lowered his voice as a group of teachers passed. "And that would mean that whoever planted the camera in Sam's room has a serious inside line on you. I mean, even beyond constant surveillance. It's almost like he can read your mind. This can't be just about Sam."

Gaia checked the clock again. "It's not like I know anything about Sam."
Except that I love him . . . and I hate him
, she added silently as the contents of the video burned in her mind.

"But if the kidnapper wanted money or attention or something, why would they contact you?" Ed asked. "Wouldn't they send a ransom note to his parents or something? This whole thing is pretty random."

Gaia stopped walking and stared at a crack in the cinder block wall just above Ed's head. "So you think it's about me."
Not a question.

"You're the one with all the secrets, Gaia," Ed said, lifting his chin in an obvious attempt to arrest her line of vision. "Whatever they are."

Gaia scanned the hallway again. No one suspicious. Nothing out of place. "Aren't you glad I won't let you ask questions? You're safer not knowing."

"Somehow I don't feel all that safe." Ed started moving again, narrowly missing the open-toed sandal of an oblivious freshman.

"God! Where are they?" Gaia blurted, covering her watch with her hand as if she could make time stop. "What if they sent another e-mail?" She started bouncing again, as if she were a boxer psyching herself up for a fight. "I can't just stand around like this. I have to find him."

They continued down the hall in silence, Gaia staring every passerby in the eye, glancing over her shoulder every third of a second. When she reached her second-period class, which she had no intention of sitting still through, the teacher met her in the doorway.

"Ms. Moore, I just received a note asking me to send you to the main office to pick up a package," Mrs. Reingold said with a vapid smile.

Gaia's heart gave a leap of actual joy. Good. Let's get on with it.

"Receiving gifts at school, are we?" Mrs. Reingold continued. "Do we find this appropriate?"

Gaia was about to tell the teacher exactly what we could do with
our
idea of appropriate when Ed pinched her leg.

"You must have left your lunch at home this morning," Ed said.

"Yeah," Gaia snapped, glancing at the withered old teacher. "My parents don't like me to go through the day without three squares."

When Mrs. Reingold closed the classroom door, Gaia spun on her heel and practically flew to the main office. Ed was right behind her.

She burst into the office, told the principal's secretary who she was, and was handed a sealed envelope. Ed was waiting for her back in the hall. For a moment she just stared at the envelope.

"Please tell me you're about to read the nominees for Best Picture," said Ed, his face a little pale.

"I wish." Gaia leaned against the water fountain. She slid her finger beneath the flap and tugged, then pulled out a sheet of paper and began to read it aloud: "'Kudos on the successful completion of Test One.'" She looked up from the paper and frowned at Ed. "Kudos? Oh, great. So the guy's not only a maniac, he's a dork."

"A dangerous dork, Gaia. Keep reading."