Shadows

Three - Gifts

When I wake up the following morning, Kiki isn't in the dorm.

'Kiki?' I whisper.

I stand up and go over to her bed. There is a note on her pillow.

Ollie. Gone for a run. Meet me at the cafeteria at 7. Kiki xx

I look at the clock, six-fifty a.m. I pull open the wardrobe and grab a pair of denim shorts and a white t-shirt. I quickly get changed, shove my feet into canvas flats and head for the door. I lock the door behind me and follow the crowd to a large cafeteria. Kiki is waiting outside the door, looking glamorous with her top-of-the-line work out gear, Ray-Ban sunglasses perched on her head and jogging bag on her back.

'You look like you just woke up,' she laughs.

'That's probably because I just did,' I reply.

She pulls a comb out of the tiny bag and drags it through my hair. Then she pins back my side fringe with a bobby-pin and twists my bangs around her fingers. Then she tucks my crescent charm beneath my shirt.

When I finally look respectable, we go inside. The first person I see is Noah. He is sitting with a group of kids at the other end of the hall. Most of the kids I recognise from the party yesterday. There are two seats left. He waves for us to come over. Kiki groans.

'Come on, he's not that bad,' I grab her wrist and drag her over to the table.

'Good morning, girls,' the whole group greets us.

'Hey, Kiki,' Noah stands up, 'good morning, Ollie.'

He pulls out the chair beside his and gestures for me to take it. I look at Kiki and sit. She rolls her eyes and takes the seat on my other side.

'Thanks,' I say to Noah as he sits back down.

A couple of boys at the end of the table laugh. Two girls each grab a hand full of cereal and throw it at them. They receive a nasty look from one of the supervisors and hurriedly clean it up. We all sit and eat in a noisy kind of silence, not talking but clinking our spoons on our bowels, crunching our cereal and toast and slurping our juice. When everyone has finished and the table is cleaned, Kiki stands up and grabs her bag.

'Are you going to the meeting?' Noah asks.

'Yeah, it'll be Ollie's first,' Kiki nods at me.

She heads for the door and I follow her, Noah on our heels.

'My first meeting for what?' I ask.

'Every Sunday the Gifters have a meeting. It's like a class but not so official,' Kiki shrugs.

'So what do you do at these meetings?'

Finally, some answers.

Noah is about to say something but Kiki talks over the top of him.

'We learn and practise,' she smiles cheekily.

'Learn and practise what?'

'Our gift,' she smiles again.

'Kiki,' Noah interrupts, 'don't tell her too much. She needs to learn on her own.'

'She's going to need help,' Kiki snaps, 'besides, she's going to see everything today.' She stops abruptly and turns to me, 'May should've told you everything. But she didn't. That's why you're here. Your brother, he has a plan for you.'

Then she hurries off again. Noah raises an eyebrow at me. I just shrug and follow after Kiki again. We start down the path that Kiki said leads to the sports fields.