Broken Wings 2 - Midnight Flight Andrews, C. (books for students to read TXT) 📖

I looked at the others. Robin was writing and so wasTeal. Mindy stared down at the floor like she was giving it all real thought, but Gia wrote a name quickly on her paper. Whom was I to choose? There was no doubt in my mind. It would be Teal because she was the one who whined the most and she had tried to run away. I felt so guilty about having betrayed her, but from the way Dr. Foreman was looking at me, those eyes of hers so full of awareness, I was afraid if I didn't write Teal's name, she would know I wasn't being honest.

“Fold your papers and hand them to me.”

We did so and Dr. Foreman sat with them all in her lap.

“Okay, let's begin.” She opened the first paper. “Teal,” she read. She looked at Teal, who glanced at all of us and then looked away with fear.

Dr. Foreman unfolded another. “Teal.”

The third was the same.

Opening the fourth, she said, “Teal.”

Then she opened the fifth and smiled. “Robin? I guess we can safely conclude you wrote Robin, Teal.”

Teal looked terrified and shook her head.

“I don't imagine Robin would have written her own name, and you wouldn't have written yours, dear. There's no point in denying it now. Instead, we'll ask you to tell us why you think Robin is the weakest in the group. You seem to be the only one who thinks so.” She still made it all sound so harmless and friendly.

Teal looked at Robin, who was glaring at her hatefully now. She glanced toward me as well, and I thought from the way she looked at me that she had expected I would have written Robin's name and not hers.

“She ...”

“Yes? We're all ears. Go on, Teal.”

“She hates her own mother. She couldn't care less if she goes home or not,” Teal offered weakly.

“Oh, and you just love your parents, especially your father, who you said doesn't love you. She stole money from her own father,” Robin reminded us. “That's why he sent her here. They can't stand each other.”

“That's not the whole reason why and you know it,” Teal countered. “Anyway, you're always going to get into trouble because you're stupid. You let a boy talk you into being part of an armed robbery. That's a serious crime.”

“Oh, I'm stupid? You're the one who runs off into the desert not knowing where she's going or anything, and I'm stupid. Besides, everyone else voted for you, didn't they? I'm not the only one who doesn't trust you.”

“That's true, Teal,” Dr. Foreman said. “Everyone else did vote you as the weakest in the group. Why do you think that is?” she asked as if she really didn't know the answer.

Teal opened and closed her mouth. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a car.

“Well? Think, my dear. I need to know what you think,” Dr. Foreman said.

“I don't know. They're all jealous of me, maybe,” Teal muttered.

“Jealous of you?” Robin said, and laughed. She looked at me, her eyes asking me why I wasn't speaking up. Gia and Mindy were both looking straight ahead, clearly showing that they wanted to be somewhere else, anywhere but here.

“Well, let's get some opinions about that,” Dr. Foreman said. “Mindy, are you jealous of Teal? Is that why you voted for her?”

“You know that's not true, Dr. Foreman.”

“I know it's not true, but how would anyone else, Mindy? Go on, tell them why you're not jealous of Teal.”

“I'm not.” She looked at Gia.

“Gia's not going to speak for you, Mindy. You speak for yourself,” Dr. Foreman ordered.

“My family is probably as wealthy as hers, but I'm not a selfish brat, and I don't think she's prettier than I am. She's weak and complains and moans all the time. She's spoiled silly and can't stand any discomfort. I've seen her tantrums. That's why I picked her,” Mindy exclaimed, the words rushing out of her like someone finally giving up a secret.

Dr. Foreman nodded, satisfied, and then looked at me.

“Why did you choose Teal, Phoebe?”

“She tried to run away,” I replied quickly, hoping she wouldn't make me say anything else or ask me anything else.

“I would have thought that showed strength, determination, courage,” Dr. Foreman said. Robin's eyebrows lifted with surprise. “Wouldn't you, Phoebe?”

“Well, no, not if you're doing something impossible. I mean, I told her what Natani had said. I told her how easy it is to die out there and she still went.”

“At least I tried to do something for myself. I didn't just whine and complain like they do,” Teal said.

“Is that what they do?”

“Yes. And don't say you don't, Robin. She was the one who got into a fight, wasn't she?” Teal accused. “She thinks Mindy is your spy,” she revealed, snapping her lips shut as soon as she had.

A heavy silence fell over us for a moment.

“Oh?” Dr. Foreman asked.

Robin seemed to wilt in her chair when Dr. Foreman turned toward her. She shook her head.

“Is that what you thought, Robin? Mindy here was my spy, someone I planted in the barracks?”

“No, I mean . . .” She looked toward me for some help, but I looked away.

With a look of great patience, Dr. Foreman turned to Mindy, who was smiling gleefully at Robin's discomfort.

“Why would Robin think you were my spy, Mindy?”

Mindy's smile wilted. “I don't know,” she muttered.

“Well, you said something that gave them this ridiculous idea, didn't you? What sort of things were you telling them?”

“I didn't tell them anything,” she cried defensively. Then she pointed at me. “Phoebe was telling them that you had microphories secretly placed all over the place.”

“Microphones?” Dr. Foreman smiled. “You really believe that, Phoebe?”

“Sometimes it seems like it. Gia's always saying I shouldn't be asking questions.”

“Oh. You didn't tell them I have microphones all over the place, did you, Gia?”

“No. She's exaggerating. She's just a big mouth and I was trying to tell her she would get herself and someone else, maybe