The Games Heroes Play Read Online Free PDF Page B

could not take it anymore.
    “The nerve!   They march in here as if they own the place, hold us captive as they interrogate our son, then leave without any indication of what to expect next!”
    “They’re from the Academy dear, they need to act mysterious to keep interest up,” their father responded to his wife.  He then turned to Jay with sympathy.  “I’m sorry son; I know how much this meant to you.”
    Donny gave a short chuckle, his eyes still fixed on the doorway through which the three men had departed.  “Don’t be sorry, Dad.  Jay passed the test.”
    “ Donald, that is not something to joke about.  They have now tested Jay twice, and then left without a word.  I think we need to be realistic about the fact that they will not come a third time.” 
    “No, Dad, Donny’s right, I did pass.”  All eyes turned immediately to Jay. 
    “He said you passed?  Did he tell you that in the room?”
    “No, but I got every question right.  I knew every card they asked me to see, and they used twice as many for this test than the last one.  I also demonstrated by reading Captain Williams' mind a few times before we began the official test.”
    The effect on the room was not what Jay would have hoped.  He knew his parents would be shocked by this information, just as Jay could hardly believe it himself.  He was hoping, however, that they would get over their shock quickly and be excited by the prospect.  When his mother left the room to find her inhaler and his father had to stumble into the closest chair, Jay knew the shock would not leave quickly.
    After a few minutes, when his mother had returned and the initial shock wore off enough for his father to find his voice again, they began to talk about it once more.
    “So…what you’re saying is…you are a reader?  And…you can…read minds?”  their father asked, stumbling over his words.
    “Sometimes.”
    “Sometimes?”
    Yes, only sometimes.   Jay realized now that the pictures were gone.  When had they gone away again?  Jay could remember pushing them away while he was waiting for Captain Williams to speak to the family.  Maybe they went away then?
    “It seems to come and go.  During the test yesterday it wasn’t there, and then it started for the first time shortly after.  It continued for most of that evening, and the next morning in school.  It stopped again when I left school, and began again a little before I went in for the second test.  It just stopped again, so right now I can’t.”
    This explanation opened up a stream of questions from both parents.  Jay did his best to answer, and after hours of discussion pushing well into the night, Jay’s parents finally needed to go to bed.  Jay knew it had been a long day for all of them, and that his parents were beginning to feel the strain of it all.  Donny, who had not said a word throughout the entire conversation, helped their father up, while Jay took their mother, and the four of them went upstairs.  After putting their parents to bed, Jay and Donny realized they had missed both lunch and dinner, so instead of going back to their own rooms, they went downstairs to get something to eat. 
    “Donny,” Jay began, once they were settled with their sandwiches.  “How did you get back into bed?  I mean, how did you not get caught snooping around outside?”
    Donny smiled as his face turned red.  “Sorry Jay, I lied to you.  I wasn’t under the window, that was a decoy so those listening in wouldn’t be able to find me.  I actually climbed the tree that overhangs the house on the far side and was lying on the roof over the window.  When that guy came looking for me, I imagined myself in different places, and he went searching in those places instead.”
    Jay could not help but laugh at this.  Little Donny, giving the slip to the big bad mind reader.   Leave it to Donny to find a way to use their own mind reading against them. 
    Donny continued.  “Once I