Glitches (Book 1)

Chapter 8: Justin

The guy on this chapter is Calvin :)

....................

It was obvious that there was something wrong with Claire.

It wasn't just the grumpiness from having to fly to Texas only one day after a major tour. I sensed a certain still tension around her that was starting to grow rather concerning. It was evident that something really important and probably really bad had happened. Something that she hadn't told me about.

I suspected whoever had visited yesterday, because she was perfectly normal before she answered the door. I didn't know exactly what had happened, but I heard Dad yelling and a few unfamiliar voices, then the door being slammed in someone's face and Claire coming back upstairs all livid and upset.

I tried to ask her about it so many times, and after a lot of "it's none of your business," and "leave me alone," she finally told me.

"Look, I know you don't believe in my powers, but you're going to have to trust what I'm saying to you if you want any of this to make any sense to you," she had begun. "Believe it or not, I'm not the only one like me."

"Impossible," I said sarcastically. "You are, after all, the one and only Claire King."

Claire sighed in annoyance, but made no effort to silence me by way of her powers. "Please, at least try to take this seriously." It surprised me that she had so civilly requested me to grant her respect instead of forcing me to do so. This rather sudden change in her behavior piqued my interest, leading me to grant my full attention to her story.

"Some people from WGO, an organization for people with manipulative powers similar to mine, visited last night with the intentions to make me one of them. Everything was going fine, until Dad showed up and scared them off. I feel like there's a lot more going on here than I know about, and it's really bothering me."

The two of us spent a good ten minutes discussing Glitches and WGO and I listened closely to the information Claire provided, hoping that I could catch some subtle clue that she didn't. I had to grudgingly admit that when she wasn't being her usual cocky self, my sister was surprisingly easy to work with. She certainly wasn't as self-absorbed as she appeared to be. Still, our personalities and thought processes were glaringly different, and the only thing we managed to agree upon was the fact that Dad knew something we didn't and he was trying to hide it from us.

As usual, my first resort to find the answer to what exactly he was hiding was the wonderful, miraculous search engine we've all used at some point to cheat on schoolwork (admit it, you've done it): Google. Surely it would know everything we wanted to know about the mysterious World Glitch Organization and more. Google knew everything—right?

....................

"Are there any search terms we haven't tried yet?" I asked Claire, frustrated by the unfruitfulness of our two-hour long Googling session. I couldn't even remember the last time Google had failed to correctly answer a question in a matter of seconds. The fact that even it could not retrieve any information about WGO added both to the shadiness of the organization and my desire to find out what it was all about.

"I don't think so. Let's see, we've done 'World Glitch Organization,' 'Henry King WGO,' 'King World Glitch Organization,' and 'Amanda Myers'. I don't think there's any other way we can put it."

"I think...it's...really strange," I said slowly, narrowing my eyes.

"What?"

"The fact that they don't have a website. If they did, it would have come up on at least one of our searches. Every legitimate organization has a website. Something about this WGO isn't adding up, and I really don't like it."

"I know," said Claire. "Especially this Amanda person. Dad's so nice to everyone, even our stupid, annoying cousins. I don't think he hates anyone as much as he seems to hate her."

"But why is the real question," I continued. "If we can figure out what happened between Dad and Amanda, almost all our questions will be answered."

"That's easier said than done," Claire sighed. "Dad's never going to tell us. I could see that much from the way he acted yesterday."

"It's okay, though. Don't stress too much about it. You have a flight this afternoon, and besides, you're probably not going to see much of those WGO kids again. Not after last night." Claire was a celebrity with a strictly planned out agenda. The last thing she needed was something else to worry about. Normally, I wouldn't have interfered with whatever she wanted to spend her time on, but I had helped her in her search for WGO, and somehow, that had connected me to her. I didn't want the hunt to be the reason she blew off a job or a show.

"I know, but I'm still kind of curious," she let a puff of warm air escape the corner of her lip, blowing a wispy, brown curl out of her face. "Whatever the event was, being reminded of it totally freaked Dad out. You can't say that doesn't make you wonder..."

"I've decided wondering and scientific questions aren't really my thing anymore." I shrugged.

"But you love science!" Claire stared at me, shocked.

"Sorry, but the total unscientificness- yes, I know that's not a word- of this whole situation has kind of gotten rid of my total dependence on logical reasoning." It was true. In just twenty four hours, I had been convinced of the fact that Claire's psychic powers were, in fact, real, informed of the existence of an underground society for the cultivation of such powers, and told that my own father probably had some kind of involvement with that society. The puzzle had just gotten a whole lot bigger, and could no longer be pieced together by science alone.

"Wait...maybe that's it! You've given me an idea! Maybe we've been focusing too much on the facts to be able to figure anything out. Maybe we have to look at the emotions that were involved," Claire trailed off. "After all, human emotions are rarely ever completely rational."

We simultaneously fell silent, and I could tell that we were both musing over similar thoughts.

What could possibly cause the hurt Claire said she had seen in Dad's eyes yesterday? What monstrous deed done by an unknown organization could still rip at his heart so many years later?