help.”
Ostin had another dentist appointment that morning, so after breakfast my mom dropped me off at school. I can’t believe the difference a weekend can make. Somehow I went from zero to hero. People I didn’t even know said hi to me in the hall, and the basketball team, who previously didn’t know I existed, had taken to calling me “Little Norris.” I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like it.
That afternoon I was standing in line for hot lunch when Ostin marched up to me. “Dude, we need to talk.”
“Hold on, I’m getting my lunch.”
“This is more important than food. This is vital.”
Those were words I never thought I’d hear from Ostin’s mouth.
“You’re serious.”
“As a heart attack, dude. And we need Taylor.”
I looked around. “I don’t know where she is.”
“She’s over there,” he said, pointing across the crowded lunchroom. That’s when I first realized Ostin had Tay-dar. I don’t knowwhy he was so much better at finding her than I was, but he definitely was. Taylor was sitting at a table with five other girls. “You need to get her. Now!”
“You go get her,” I said.
“She won’t come with me. She doesn’t even remember my name.”
“Yes she does. She’s just teasing you.”
“You’re the president of the Electroclan,” he said. “It’s your responsibility.”
I wondered what good it was being president of something if you’re always being told what to do by the members. I relented. “All right.”
“I’ll meet you in the courtyard.”
I left the lunch line and walked up to her table. Taylor was in the middle of telling a story, and one of the girls nudged her when she saw me approach. Taylor looked up at me. “Hi, Michael.”
I felt awkward with all the girls looking at me. I did my best not to twitch. “Uh, can I talk to you?” I fumbled for an excuse. “About biology.”
She looked at me quizzically. “Sure. What’s up?”
“Can I talk to you in private?”
“Wooo,” one of the girls said.
“Shut up, Katie,” Taylor said, standing. “I’ll be right back.” We stepped away from the table.
“What’s going on?”
“Ostin says he needs to talk to us. He says it’s vital.”
“Vital?”
“He skipped lunch to talk to us.”
“That is vital. Where is he?”
“He’s in the courtyard.”
We walked together to the school’s outer courtyard. Ostin was sitting alone on a bench, a little hunched over as if hiding. He stood when he saw us. He was clutching a piece of paper.
“Hi Ostin,” Taylor said. “What’s up?” Had he not been so grim I think he would have been overjoyed that she got his name right.
“Everyone sit down,” he said gravely.
We sat on both sides of him.
“Remember our last meeting? We were wondering about what might have happened around those days you were born.”
“The eleven days,” I said. “When all the babies died.”
“Exactly. What I did was look through the newspaper for anything out of the ordinary that began the day or week before April sixteenth. Everything looked pretty usual until I found this.” He held up a sheet of paper. “It’s a newspaper article from the Los Angeles Times.”
He read it out loud.
Pasaaana—Scientists from Elgen Inc., an international medical equipment provider, announced today the discovery of a new method of body imaging, which they claimed will “render current MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imagery) technology obsolete. The new machine, called the MEI (Magnetic Electron Induction), was created at a cost of more than $2 billion and, according to its developers, “has the potential to deliver benefits of diagnosis and treatment once considered an impossibility.” Dr. C. James Hatch, Elgen Inc.’s CEO, said, “This new technology will have the same effect on current medical technology that the X-ray machine had at the turn of the 19th century.” Current MRI technology uses radio waves to generate images of organs and
Ostin had another dentist appointment that morning, so after breakfast my mom dropped me off at school. I can’t believe the difference a weekend can make. Somehow I went from zero to hero. People I didn’t even know said hi to me in the hall, and the basketball team, who previously didn’t know I existed, had taken to calling me “Little Norris.” I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like it.
That afternoon I was standing in line for hot lunch when Ostin marched up to me. “Dude, we need to talk.”
“Hold on, I’m getting my lunch.”
“This is more important than food. This is vital.”
Those were words I never thought I’d hear from Ostin’s mouth.
“You’re serious.”
“As a heart attack, dude. And we need Taylor.”
I looked around. “I don’t know where she is.”
“She’s over there,” he said, pointing across the crowded lunchroom. That’s when I first realized Ostin had Tay-dar. I don’t knowwhy he was so much better at finding her than I was, but he definitely was. Taylor was sitting at a table with five other girls. “You need to get her. Now!”
“You go get her,” I said.
“She won’t come with me. She doesn’t even remember my name.”
“Yes she does. She’s just teasing you.”
“You’re the president of the Electroclan,” he said. “It’s your responsibility.”
I wondered what good it was being president of something if you’re always being told what to do by the members. I relented. “All right.”
“I’ll meet you in the courtyard.”
I left the lunch line and walked up to her table. Taylor was in the middle of telling a story, and one of the girls nudged her when she saw me approach. Taylor looked up at me. “Hi, Michael.”
I felt awkward with all the girls looking at me. I did my best not to twitch. “Uh, can I talk to you?” I fumbled for an excuse. “About biology.”
She looked at me quizzically. “Sure. What’s up?”
“Can I talk to you in private?”
“Wooo,” one of the girls said.
“Shut up, Katie,” Taylor said, standing. “I’ll be right back.” We stepped away from the table.
“What’s going on?”
“Ostin says he needs to talk to us. He says it’s vital.”
“Vital?”
“He skipped lunch to talk to us.”
“That is vital. Where is he?”
“He’s in the courtyard.”
We walked together to the school’s outer courtyard. Ostin was sitting alone on a bench, a little hunched over as if hiding. He stood when he saw us. He was clutching a piece of paper.
“Hi Ostin,” Taylor said. “What’s up?” Had he not been so grim I think he would have been overjoyed that she got his name right.
“Everyone sit down,” he said gravely.
We sat on both sides of him.
“Remember our last meeting? We were wondering about what might have happened around those days you were born.”
“The eleven days,” I said. “When all the babies died.”
“Exactly. What I did was look through the newspaper for anything out of the ordinary that began the day or week before April sixteenth. Everything looked pretty usual until I found this.” He held up a sheet of paper. “It’s a newspaper article from the Los Angeles Times.”
He read it out loud.
Pasaaana—Scientists from Elgen Inc., an international medical equipment provider, announced today the discovery of a new method of body imaging, which they claimed will “render current MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imagery) technology obsolete. The new machine, called the MEI (Magnetic Electron Induction), was created at a cost of more than $2 billion and, according to its developers, “has the potential to deliver benefits of diagnosis and treatment once considered an impossibility.” Dr. C. James Hatch, Elgen Inc.’s CEO, said, “This new technology will have the same effect on current medical technology that the X-ray machine had at the turn of the 19th century.” Current MRI technology uses radio waves to generate images of organs and
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