Sage's Eyes by V.C. Andrews

abilities? How could they be developing toward a bad end? Did she think I might become some sort of mad scientist or something?
    It all made me self-conscious about everything I said and did. I started to hold back on anticipating questions in class, and when I saw one of my friends doing something or about to do something that would make her unhappy, I clamped down my mouth and swallowed back my vision. I felt like a policewoman unable to stop a crime she knew was about to happen or like a doctor who knew something would make someone sick but couldn’t take any action, give anyadvice to prevent it. Was it arrogant to think of myself this way, to think of myself as someone with powers to help others? Was it my fault I had this foresight?
    Mr. Malamud got me thinking about all this when he responded to a question Kay asked about instincts in science class.
    â€œDo human beings have instinct, too?” she asked, looking directly at me when she did.
    â€œWe say any behavior is instinctive if it is performed without being based on prior experience. It’s a product of innate biological factors. I’ve given you examples of this with animals and insects. We talk about humans having a maternal instinct or a survival instinct. But these examples don’t fit our scientific definition, a pattern of behavior that must exist in every member of the species and cannot be overcome willfully. So I’d say no.”
    When he paused, I looked at Kay. She was smiling at me as if she had been validated. I looked away quickly.
    Most everyone else in the class wasn’t very interested in Kay’s question. Mia looked thoughtful for a moment but then went back to her doodling. After class, on the way to math, Kay stepped up beside me.
    â€œI guess it’s like you say, you’re just a lucky guesser,” she said. “Maybe you should play poker or something.”
    â€œMaybe,” I replied, trying to make light of it all. “My uncle Wade the magician is a great poker player. He makes more money playing poker than he does performing. At least, that’s what he told me.”
    â€œYou should be tested by the CIA,” she added, but then laughed. She looked relieved that my claim of having good instincts didn’t hold water with our science teacher.
    â€œI’ll let you know when they call me,” I said.
    She laughed again and sped up to catch Ginny.
    I suddenly saw myself drifting away from my new friends before I had really gotten to do much with them—or, rather, them pulling away from me. It wasn’t going to happen today or tomorrow, but it was going to happen, and what I saw for myself was a new darkness, a new loneliness unlike any I had previously felt. There was something else out there, however, something coming that might make all the difference.
    When Ginny invited me to a party at her house the following weekend, I hoped my vision was wrong this time and I wouldn’t lose my friends.
    â€œDarlene and Todd will be coming together,” she said, “and Jason Marks will be there, too. Mia insisted I invite him despite what you said about him and what we all know he’s like. Anyone yet you’d like me to invite?” she asked in a teasing tone. “I know there are boys interested in you. Darlene says Todd told her Rickie Blaine has been watching you and asking about you. You know who he is, right?”
    How could I tell her that I was always aware of anyone who looked at me more than others did? It was as if I had some sort of radar that picked up on an intense gaze, a whisper about me, or a smile sent in my direction even before I turned and saw it. “Yes. He’sgood friends with Jason, but as they say, if you lie down with dogs, you’ll come up with fleas.”
    â€œWhat?” She smiled. “Who says that?”
    â€œI heard my uncle say it,” I replied quickly. I hadn’t. I had no idea where I had heard it, but like so