The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans Read Free Book Online Page B

picking on me? I hate myself for letting them.” I looked into her eyes. “I’m tired of being a nobody.”
    My mother wiped her eyes. “You’re not a nobody, Michael. You’re a great kid with a big heart.” She kissed my forehead, then said, “I owe you an apology. I was wrong when I said that it doesn’t matter what you meant to do. Sometimes we can’t know what’s right. We can only know that we meant to do the right thing—and that we had  the right reason.”
    “How do we know if it’s the right reason?”
    “If we make love our reason we may veer off course sometimes but we’ll never be lost.” She put her arm around me. “Michael, I’m sorry for getting mad at you. I was just scared. Ostin’s been a good friend, hasn’t he?”
    I nodded. “The best.”
    “And he’s kept your secret?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then I’m glad you told him. It’s best to not keep secrets from our best friends.” She crossed her arms at her chest. “Now tell me about this cheerleader.”
    “I think she’s like me.”
    She smiled. “She likes you?”
    “No, Mom, she’s like me.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “She has powers too.”
    My mom’s expression changed. “What?”
    “She showed me. It’s been her secret too. She even glows like me.”
    “She can . . . shock?”
    “Sort of. It’s like she can shock people’s brains. And she can read minds.”
    “Are you sure?”
    I nodded. “She showed me.”
    She looked down for a moment, then softly said, “He said there might be others . . .”
    “What?” I asked.
    She shook her head. “Nothing. It’s nothing. So, is she cute?”
    “She’s the cutest girl in the whole school.”
    “Work that.” She smiled at me. “Why don’t you go see if Ostin wants to go to Baskin-Robbins with us.”
    I smiled. “Okay, Mom.” I stood and started toward the door.
    “Michael.”
    I turned back.
    “When I start thinking about all the hard things in my life, I think of you and I feel lucky to be me. I could not be more proud of you. And I know your father would be just as proud.”
    I walked back and hugged her. “I love you, Mom.”
    Her eyes moistened. “I love you more every day. Never forget that.”
    That night I had a double-decker ice cream at Baskin-Robbins—Bubble Gum and Pralines and Cream. Ostin had a triple-decker. My mother didn’t have anything. She just kept looking at me and smiling. 

9. A New Crowd
    The next day I didn’t see Ostin until lunch. I found him sitting where we always sat, at a small round table near the vending machines. It was pizza day and he’d gotten an extra slice. He waved to me. “Michael.” I sat down at the table.
    “You eye’s looking a lot better,” he said.
    “Thanks. Where were you this morning?”
    “I had a dentist appointment.”
    “How’d it go?”
    “It was just a checkup. Two cavities.”
    “Probably all the ice cream you ate last night,” I joked. “At my last appointment I had three. I can only chew sugarless gum now.” I opened my carton of milk. “So we’re starting a club.”
    “Who?”
    “Us. You, me, and Taylor.”
    “What kind of club?”
    “It’s for people with . . .” I hesitated. I hadn’t told him about Taylor. “Unique abilities like mine.”
    “Excellent. So why Taylor?”
    “I don’t know. Why you?”
    “Because of my intellect, of course.”
    “Well, there’s more to Taylor than meets the eyes.”
    “And with her there’s a lot to meet the eye. Her super power can be that she’s super good-looking,” Ostin said.
    “That’s not what I meant,” I said.
    “What’s the club called?”
    “We haven’t named it yet. Something about electricity. I was hoping you’d come up with something.”
    “I’ll put my computer on it,” he said, tapping the side of his head.
    He took a bite of pizza. Before he’d finished chewing he said, “Hey, we get our tests back in biology today.”
    “Can’t wait,” I said sarcastically.
    “How’d you