Calligraphy in an art deco font spanned the entire chalkboard at the base of the classroom:
[One on One Mental Combat]
That's right, said Rose, after enough people had looked at the board. Everybody pick a partner. William will also participate since there's an odd number of people.
Carol met Nic's eyes. They both nodded.
Then she glanced around at the rest of their group of five. Gina seemed to be trying to get William's attention. Hannah and Sam seemed settled together.
The rules are simple. Think of a random number from one to one hundred. First to guess their partner's number wins, and if neither has won after a minute, whomever is closest wins. You only get one guess. This is a tournament with four stages, three rounds each, plus tiebreaker rounds if they're needed.
So that was it. The first real telepathy exercise. Time to test abilities. Carol wasn't sure what was better - to be the best in class, or appear normal despite her extra training. That was, if Nic didn't beat her. He'd probably spent a lot more time thinking about this. Would her training that morning come in handy?
"Truce?" asked Nic. People were still finding partners, so they had time to talk.
"What?" she responded. This didn't seem like the sort of contest where a truce made sense.
"I mean, let's agree to use this time to practice, even if one of us is clearly better the first time. No full blocking."
"Okay," said Carol. "Truce."
The class was quieting down, so Carol braced herself for the coming challenge. She had done a good job of not allowing unwanted thoughts to pass across telepathic barriers, but so had they. They hadn't yet experimented with actual offense, just in case it worked. On second thought, maybe her truce with Nic was a bad idea.
She glanced at Rose, wondering when the challenge would start. She had no strategy. What wouldn't Nic expect?
Pick a number, said Rose.
On a whim, Carol picked six.
Now, we'll all meditate. The first round will commence afterwards.
Carol sighed, all too aware of the options before her. Scenarios like this were so Rose. Should she truly meditate, or should she spend the undefined amount of time considering strategies for the game? What exactly had Rose hinted at this morning?
Start, said Rose about five minutes later, without giving any indication beforehand.
Fuck, thought Carol. She didn't open her connection to Nic just yet, as her number was still fresh on her mind. She needed another number as a distraction.
"Hello?" asked Nic.
"Sorry," said Carol, acting embarrassed that she had taken so long. Her plan was to push the connection wider than it had been, like she had with Rose, but to suddenly turn on Nic while he adjusted to the new sensation. "Ready?"
"Come at me," said Nic.
She closed her eyes and made a show of reluctantly opening her connection with Nic. He made no action, instead presumably waiting to react to whatever Carol did.
It's a body part, she reminded herself, focusing her attention on the connection. She pushed further than ever before, revealing that the connection with Rose this morning was truly a tiny fraction of her current power. The noise grew in intensity, almost dwarfing out her other senses.
She stopped and observed the noise for a moment. Somehow, it possessed attention, as did she. It was watching her, watching it.
How are you doing that? asked the noise around her in Nic’s voice.
I don't know, she admitted, trying to convey the truthiness of her honesty. From here, she could somehow sense that Nic received it. His attention briefly focused on her message, and then again on her. What was this like for him?
You win this round, my number was forty-two, he said. He pushed the message at her with a wad of truthiness.
What? she asked, sensing no ill-intent. That's so lame.
I didn’t stand a chance. You were about to do something else Rose taught you, weren’t you?
The stuff Rose had taught Carol that morning had been nothing compared to whatever this was. And Carol wasn't even sure if they had passed the tip of the iceberg yet.
Carol mentally nudged him. Hold on, I want to see–
Time, said Rose. Raise your hand if you won.
Carol opened her eyes.
"Forty-two?" she asked, worried he might have lied. "Did you get mine?"
"I'm gonna say fifty. Mine was forty-two."
"Mine was six," she replied, raising her hand for Rose to tally. Why had Rose gone so easy on her this morning?
The dragon ignored Carol’s meaningful glance as she counted the raised hands.
"You have to tell me how to do that," said Nic. “And I could tell you were about to do something else, but stopped.”
"I don't even know what I did," said Carol. "How did you know that I was misleading you?"
And how hadn't he guessed her number, despite it being fresh on her mind? That was certainly reassuring. She had no idea what whatever she had done felt like from the other end, either.
"I don't know," Nic replied. "You just felt sneaky."
"But not six-ey?"
"No, not really."
Next round, said Rose. Numbers.
Ah, fuck.
Carol braced herself again. Fifty-seven. She needed distraction numbers.
Start, said Rose.
It's like a place, or a body part, Carol told Nic. You have to go there, and let it surround you.
Like this? asked Nic.
Again, it was the strange attention that Carol noticed. It was as though the connection became a searchlight, and everything it touched felt exposed. Nothing with Rose had felt like this.
She instinctively withdrew slightly from its gaze. Maybe a searchlight wasn't the best metaphor; it didn't go on forever. Anything it touched still had to be put forth. As far as she knew, the number was safe.
This is so weird, she said.
Next round, said Nic, using Rose's voice to recreate the memory of a few seconds prior. The accuracy of the representation caught Carol off guard. Numbers.
It was pathetic and scary how readily Carol's brain sounded 'fifty-seven', but she quickly recoiled from the connection.
Four, she supplied instead.
Fake, said Nic. Numbers. What was your number? What was your number? What was your number?
He jammed the question into her mind, but this time she was ready.
Four, eight, fifteen, sixteen, twenty three, forty two.
She tried to make them wavery and implausible, but it was unclear if that did anything.
Your number, she asked, on the attack. She let his mind wash over hers like in the first, even though it meant forcing her entire being into the light. The entire time, she kept spitting out the Lost numbers, watching his attention.
But then Nic stopped the attack, prompting her to follow his lead with a sudden spike in curiosity. She inspected his attention, and saw that he was inspecting hers.
They were mirrored, both Carol and Nic noted at the same time. No, not a mirror. Both trains of thought were exactly the same. There was only one being, and it was observing itself.
Carol gasped and opened her eyes, and for a brief moment she saw two viewpoints at once: hers and one a few feet to the right, before Nic slammed the connection closed with a wave of embarrassment.
Time, said Rose.
"What the hell?" she asked.
"Are you okay?" asked Nic at almost the same time.
"Am I okay?" repeated Carol. "Why me? What did you see?"
"Nothing," said Nic. "Not even a number. You?"
"Nothing," she agreed, searching her memory.
Raise your hands if you won, said Rose.
Carol and Nic hadn’t really had a real game yet, but she wasn’t going to leave it to fate.
“You take this one,” she said, and Nic raised his hand after only a moment's deliberation.
Pick another number, said Rose.
"Jeez, what's the rush?" Carol asked Nic in a low tone before remembering that Rose could probably hear her. She caught Rose's eye again, but like before, the dragon was elusive.
Carol looked around the class to see if anyone had had such an experience. Several people looked all kinds of astonished or were laughing nervously. Maybe it wasn’t just her and Nic.
"Okay, real round this time," said Nic. "Another tie goes to you, since you’re clearly better."
Carol hardly had time to consider whether that was fair before the next round began.
What's your number? she asked Nic's subconscious, listening with all her willpower for an answer.
Thirty-three, it seemed to say. Carol wasn't sure whether that was the truth so she kept pressing.
Nic was trying the same tactic, so Carol used the Lost numbers again.
Did I hear you say ninety-nine? he asked.
That's definitely not a decoy, she replied innocently. Then an idea struck her.
Check this out, she said.
Nic. He was so cool. Way more intelligent than anyone Carol deserved to have in her life, and she was so glad that he had for some reason chosen her. His brilliance at math and physics despite his upbringing was amazing. Even recently, his unwavering resolve had been the root of Carol's decisions around the whole alien situation. His love for Rose was now unfairly benefiting Carol, and she was selfishly glad of it. Even now she wanted to crush his ass to impress their teacher. She was so afraid that he would leave her, so afraid that her issues were a bigger weight than he let on. She loved him so much, unlike anyone else in her life.
What's your number? she queried, pushing the warmth along with it.
One, she heard from his mind as he took in the feeling with a stupefied mentality. Carol didn't press for more.
Time, said Rose, after a few more seconds.
"Ninety-nine?" Nic asked aloud.
"My guess is one," said Carol, shaking her head. "We were both wrong? What was yours?"
"Thirty five," said Nic.
"No way," said Carol, after she had done the math. "Mine was sixty-three."
Nic facepalmed.
"You're kidding," he said.
"Nope."
"Well, I said ties go to you. Didn't expect that kind of tie. Gee-gee."
Carol tried to make eye contact with Rose again, but was met with a blank stare. She glanced at the board. Gina had lost to Will, zero to two. Sam had beaten Hannah. The other names she only just recognized.
I really need to meet my classmates.
"Hey," said Carol.
"Hi," said Fei Fei.
They had just given Rose all three of their numbers on sheets of paper to be used in the coming round.
The first round the pairs had fought one on one simultaneously, but now rounds were taking place one at a time in front of the entire class. Carol was in the third of the four pairs. It really wasn't much of a spectator sport, but Rose was trying her best.
Our next contestants are facing off from opposite corners of the planet! said what sounded like an announcer from a 1920s radio broadcast. From Chonxing, China, we have Fei Fei Huang! And from Charleston, South Carolina, give it up for Carol Ward!
Rose's voice was male and it echoed in Carol’s mind as though it were actually being amplified. In real life, the room remained mostly silent.
"Please go easy on me," said the girl, who hadn't yet met Carol's eyes.
"I'm not…" Carol began, but she realized that maybe it wasn't true. Who knew how good she was? Had Rose's training given her that much of an unfair edge? She certainly couldn't repeat whatever had happened with Nic here; the connection to Fei Fei was only a few days old.
Three, said Rose, two, one, go!
Carol opened the connection, getting a feel for Fei Fei. It was much like all of her telepathy had been the week before: unreadable noise.
She felt the connection widen from the other end, but there was no sense of attention like before. There was only intensity and the lack thereof.
Your number? she asked the noise, as gently as she could.
Sixty, it seemed to say.
Carol had no way of knowing if that was a decoy.
Number? she heard.
Just in case Fei Fei was better than she seemed, Carol orchestrated a false scene in her mind. She thought of twenty, forcing it across the barrier, but also thought of eighty simultaneously and less loudly. Her real number was forty-five, so it was a risk.
"Eighty," said Fei Fei, long before the time was up.
"Oh," said Carol, opening her eyes. Had sixty been a trap? There were two more rounds if it was; otherwise, maybe this would be easy. Would anyone risk losing the first round only to improve their chances in the next two? "I guess sixty."
Fei Fei sighed.
"It was sixty. You are good."
I can't believe this, said Rose, the American contestant, master of subtlety, tricked her opponent with a false answer and correctly guessed her own answer in under twenty seconds!
Carol glanced at the silent class's concerned faces, ashamed of herself. When Rose put it like that…
James, the ginger kid that had ruined her team's chances at winning the dragon hunt on Thursday, considered Carol silently.
Carol didn't speak either. The guy had every right to question whether her treatment was just, but she wouldn't be the one to convince him of her innocence. Besides, if Rose’s games were meant to test for general goodness, the more James wanted to play the bad guy the better it would look for Carol’s team. They were going to play another on Friday, after all.
James, soon to be known as the pride of Edinburgh, will now face Carol, who went undefeated last round! Will he break her streak, or has her secret training rendered her absolutely invulnerable?
Carol gave Rose an annoyed glare, but the alien shrugged.
Begin!
Carol felt at the connection to James, but it slammed closed in an instant. She opened her eyes to see him watching her.
"Really?" she asked.
"We don't have to use telepathy," he said. He turned towards Rose. "Do we? Tom did it to me the last round."
The Pride of Edinburgh opts to toss his fate into the hands of the gods! A wise decision, if Miss Ward’s abilities are as fearsome as they say. Only now he won’t benefit from the practice! Will his strategy pay off?
James glanced at Carol briefly and closed his eyes.
"I’ll make up for it with my friends later," he said. "My guess is sixty."
Rose said nothing, but looked to Carol, who flinched. The round was a loss: her number was sixty-seven.
"I guess fifty-five," she said.
Rose opened their scraps of paper and read.
Carol Ward wins this round, by only two points. James, will you risk the next two rounds on the toss of a coin? You have a seventy-five percent chance of losing. Is luck on your side today, the thirteenth of October?
"I'd rather not have my mind read until I'm better at it," he said.
Fair enough, said Rose. I just so happen to have some coins. And to make it interesting, whoever wins gets to keep 'em!
The other rounds were boring to watch. Nothing could be learned from them, aside from Rose's weird commentary. The only interesting rounds were the ones with Will. He always finished in a few seconds, and his last opponent had been brave enough not to resort to another coin toss.
The final round! The United States has dominated the competition, and now the world’s greatest (human) telepath and an up and coming prodigy go brain to brain! Wouldn’t it be embarrassing if Will lost?
Will smirked at Rose, making Carol glad it wasn’t just her being teased. She studied Will, fiddling with the two twenty-pence coins in her pocket. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, unlike any Oxford professor she had seen. He met her eyes for a moment before looking away.
Go!
Carol kept the gate to Will's mind just barely open, but still his voice came through.
Rose really seems to like you, he said.
A diversion tactic?
His voice was as crisp as Rose's had been, which made sense because the connection was just as old. Despite that, Carol had almost never used telepathy with Will. She knew so little about him.
Really? Thanks, said Carol.
She opened the connection wider. Whatever he was going to do, she could at least observe.
No, thank you, he said. She's never had a friend outside of our family.
Oh, I don't know, she's really just tutoring me, Carol argued.
Don't tell her that.
Carol didn't know how to respond, so she asked him, what's your number?
Will chuckled out loud, and Carol watched as his attention grew in breadth and intensity.
What was my number? she seemed to be asking, but it wasn't her, it was Will, in her own voice. From her own center.
Thirty, her own subconscious answered, as if she had asked the question on her own. But Will had seen the whole thing!
"It's thirty," he said.
Now you know the trick, he continued inside her mind.
Just use first person? Carol asked. Like I'm trying to remember it?
Exactly.
So the rest of the brain couldn't distinguish between its own self and a telepathic connection? That was worrying.
Your guess? asked Rose.
"Um," she started. It wasn't even worth trying. "Ten."
“Nope,” said Will.
That ruled out the best odds she had. Or maybe a twenty-five percent chance was better odds than facing Will again. Either way, Carol wanted to see what else he had in store.
Go, said Rose.
This time, Carol entered Will's mind. Just like with Nic, she found his awareness everywhere, watching her own.
You're just letting me do this? she asked.
Try it, he responded, maybe a little unsure of himself. What if what Rose had said about Carol was right?
What is my number? she asked in his voice, watching his brain for a response. Nothing came. She tried to imagine herself being Will. What was the number I wrote down?
Her own number, eighty-eight, came to mind. Will's attention reacted with the briefest flicker of recognition before Carol could correct for her mistake.
"Eighty-eight," said Will.
"Dammit,” she said.
Rose leapt from her stand to the box.
Florida defeats the Carol-inas two-oh! Nobody could have predicted this outcome! But what has our brilliant leader earned in the ring today? Gather round as he unwraps the box, and remember, this could be you!
Carol had spent an awful amount of time in the telepathy classroom that day. Now she found herself there yet again, about to show her friends what feelings felt like. Whatever she and Nic had done could wait; she trusted Rose’s decision in withholding that skill. She hadn’t even discussed it with Nic. Tonight, only a mild dose of brutal honesty awaited her.
Could she tell all four of the others in the room with her that she loved them? Nic yes, and maybe Hannah, but Gina wasn’t that close. Sam was practically a stranger.
"How is it fair that Will got to compete with us?" asked Nic. "Carol deserved that, or at least she deserved to fight the guy that Will beat last."
"No, it makes sense," said Hannah. "If they want us to excel, they have to show us that there isn't a ceiling. Give us a goal. It's like the maths professor that gives his students impossible questions to solve on their first week without telling them. Maybe next week someone will beat Will."
"I think it’ll take longer than a week," said Carol. Only she and Gina had faced him, of the group. "Both times he used a different trick. I couldn't tell what he was thinking at all, even when he let me in."
"That's nice," said Gina. "Maybe privacy does still exist."
"Still," Nic continued, "She could have just given Carol the espresso machine. She deserves it."
"She basically did," said Carol. "Think about it. That outcome was pretty easy to predict. So either Will wanted one, or she was getting it for me."
"Like a prize?" asked Hannah. "I'll wake up early if it means I get a free, expensive espresso machine. Have you reminded her I'm open?"
"Yes," said Carol, for the umpteenth time that week.
“Anyway, Carol's wrong,” said Gina. “It was fair. You – or anyone – could have beaten Will the same way James tried to beat you. I considered it, but I didn’t want to be the one to go against the spirit of the game.”
Sam laughed. “How could either of you have passed up the opportunity to see what he did?”
“Yeah,” said Carol. “Next week I might try. Anyway, I have to show you what Rose showed me this morning. It might be uncomfortable, but we’re all here, so, yeah." She couldn’t tell them she loved them. It wouldn’t work. "Let's get started. I want for each of you to think of a really happy memory.”
“Like a patronus?” asked Hannah.
“Yes, I’m showing you how to cast the patronus spell,” said Carol. She thought about it for a moment. Was it the patronus spell? “Not really, but we’re doing feelings and it’s nice to feel nice. You could do something bad, if you wanted.”
“What did Rose do for you?” asked Nic.
“She’s, um, really happy when people give her attention,” Carol responded, smiling to herself. “And she likes tea. Hopefully she’ll show you soon. Okay, Nic, you first.”
