Electracademy

Chapter 27

  Professor McKinley stands on the ground before me, looking at me with an odd expression. Last week, I came to her begging her to train me. Surprisingly, she accepted. Professor McKinley is a very powerful mind reader. That would be useful to tell when kids are lying. That must be how she became headmistress. I brush some of my hair out of my face and face her.
 
"You ready this time?" She asks me.
 
I nod a little and close my eyes. I push all thoughts out of my head and attempt to concentrate. I feel Professor McKinley's mind grasping at my own, and I imagine a sheild around my head. I grit my teeth as I concentrate.
  
"I told you, your concentrating too hard. Just relax." My eyes open at the sound of Professor McKinley's voice. I sigh and relax my tense self. "Dont think." She says. "One more time today, Okay?"
  
I nod again and prepare myself. I try again to block her from my mind. I slowly feel my mental wall coming. It closes around my mind, blocking Professor McKinley.
 
"What am I thinking?" I ask softly.
 
"I don't know." Comes the answer.
 
I gasp. I can't believe I did it. For some reason, I start laughing. Professor McKinley looks at me and nods. "Your a very gifted Mentis." She says. "You have a rare Electra, you should be proud."
 
I nod slightly and chew my bottom lip. "I just don't like how Zeithman used it so easily and I struggle to simply block a mind reader."
 
Professor McKinley comes to stand beside me and puts a hand on my shoulder. "Dont be so upset. Your doing great so far. Keep training with me and you can get it right in no time. It's only been a week."
 
I look down at the polished boards of the floor. A clock chimes somewhere nearby, signaling curfew soon. I glance at the grandfather clock standing in the room. "I should go to bed." I say softly. "Same time tommorow?"
 
"Of course." Professor McKinley gives a small nod as I head for the door.
 
On the way back to my room, I decide to test something. I feel inside for my mental barrier. I get a warm feeling as it slides into place, like sipping a mug of hot chocolate. I try to keep the hot chocolate feeling with me as I walk down the corridors.
 
I manage to keep the feeling with by the time I am at our room. I see the door cracked open slightly. I try to hide smile as I quietly inch toward the door.
 
"Boo!" I yell as I jump into the room. I see Isa start and tumble off her bedspread. She lets out a little squeal as she falls.
 
"Wow." Isa says, panting. "I did not know you were there." Then she gets a suprised look on her face as she gets up off the floor. "I didn't know you were there." She repeats. "So, did McKinley teach you?"
 
"Yeah." I say, sitting down on my bed. "I mean I just learned it, and I can't keep blocking for long, only temporarily."
 
"That's still really cool though." Isa says. "You can test it more when my family comes to visit on Saturday."
 
I mentally smack myself. I had been so busy with training and school that I completely forgot. I speak up so Isa won't tell that I forgot. "Are you excited?" I ask her.
 
Isa absentmindedly smooths out wrinkles on her bedspead. "Yeah. It's been awhile since I saw my little brother, Noah. He's only six." Isa smiles as she thinks of her family. "He's so cute. Of course, he's a mind reader too."
 
"I can't wait to meet them." I say to her.
 
"Belive me." Isa says. "They aren't like any normal family."
 
I laugh. "I wouldn't expect them to be."