Page 53 of Jinxed

‘He really is remarkable, Miss Chu,’ Mr Baird says. He reaches out a hand and runs it over Jinx’s soft electronic fur. ‘And you say you got him from your local Moncha Store?’

I force myself to nod. But I’vetold this lie so many times now, it slips out as easily as the truth. ‘That’s right. As soon as I got the notification that I was into Profectus.’

‘Interesting. Must be one of the latest models – I confess, I don’t keep up as much as I should. My own owl baku is one of the first models.’ He snaps his fingers and the owl flies down to the desk. He’s right: I can instantly tell that this is oneof the older versions. The feathers are much cruder, the technology more obvious and not as well hidden behind the animalistic shell. The owl is cumbersome, more machine than bird – but there’s a certain type of elegance in that too.

Mr Baird tries to manipulate Jinx so that he can turn him over, but Jinx won’t let him: he’s pretending to be asleep. After a few moments, Mr Baird gives up, andplaces the black mark around Jinx’s outstretched paw. The moment it latches on, Jinx goes totally limp. Inert. Switched off.

It pains me.

I lean in to take Jinx back, but Mr Baird stops me. ‘Why did you enter the arena at that point? You must have known you would be risking extra damage to your baku, and it seems to me like you are very attached to him. You could have simply announced your wildcard status before the third battle.’

‘I... I didn’t like Team Gemma’s strategy,’ I say, speaking honestly. ‘And I don’t think that Carter would have stopped. You saw him when he used that revive chip. He had no intention of letting Jupiter get through this round of battles in one piece.’

‘Hmm, you might be right about that. And when did you get the notification about being a wild card? Youshould have been told about that before the first battle.’

‘Oh, I...’ I don’t know what to say. I wrack my brains for a strong enough story, sensing Mr Baird’s eyes boring into the top of my skull, but I don’t look up to meet his gaze. Instead, I stare fixedly at Jinx. ‘I’d like to keep that to myself, if that’s okay.’

‘Okay,’ he says. He lets go of Jinx, and I hug him into my chest protectively.For a second, I think I feel him stir –the tiniest nuzzle of his nose into my neck – but that’s not possible with the black mark. It must be my imagination. ‘Just remember,’ he says. ‘You’re going to have a lot of eyes on you now. Eyes on you – and on that baku of yours.’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘See you tomorrow, Miss Chu. The final battle takes place in two weeks’ time. I hope you are ready.’

‘I’ll try,’I say, trying to sound more confident than I feel. ‘Goodbye.’

I leave the confines of the classroom, wandering slowly back to my locker. When I get there, I see a note from Jake that tells me: ‘If you have a private way out, I suggest you USE IT. You’ll be mobbed.’

I’m grateful that he thought to leave me a note – when Jinx is back online, I’ll send him a thank you. I grab my jacket and backpackas quickly as I can. Even though Jinx can’t hear me with the mark on, I still find myself talking to him as I take one of the back stairwells to a less used exit.

Are we actually doing this, Jinx? Are you actually going to have to battle? What if I lose you?I can’t even bring myself to be excited at the prospect of visiting Moncha headquarters. Yesterday that would have been all I cared about.Today...

We plunge into darkness as I enter the stairwell, and I don’t dare turn on the light to alert anyone nearby to my presence. But a voice sounds out of the dark.

‘Wait!’

‘WAIT UP, LACEY.’

My heart pounding, I spin around to see Carter a few floors above me. No. He’s the last person I want to talk to. I push through the exit doors and out into the cold air. I needto get home as quickly as possible.

I wrap my arms around Jinx’s inert body. The temperature has taken a turn towards the Canadian winter and even at the beginning of November, it’s dipping below zero. And it’s pouring with freezing rain.

‘You can’t run forever,’ he shouts at my retreating back. ‘I know something’s not right with you and that baku. You’re not supposed to even be at this school.My dadpromisedme you wouldn’t be at this school!’

Now, I freeze – but it has nothing to do with the cold. I spin around as Carter saunters towards me. He looks smaller without his baku by his side, but no less frightening. He’s bright red with anger, his teeth gnashing together. ‘What do you mean?’ I ask.

He storms right up to me, so close I feel every word like a punch. ‘You’re not supposedto be at Profectus. You’re never going to work at Moncha Corp, I don’t care if you win every Baku Battle under the sun. My dadhatedyour dad. Don’t you get it? I don’t know what sort of glitch allowed you in, but it would be better for everyone if you just left now.’

‘Hey, what’s going on here?’ Mr Baird strides round the corner.

‘Your baku isn’t normal, Lacey,’ Carter hisses at me. ‘I’m goingto find out what’s going on with it. That’s for sure.’ He ducks his head and pushes past me, disappearing into the depths of the parking lot.

‘Are you okay, Lacey? What was that all about?’

‘Nothing, sir. It’s fine.’

He frowns. ‘You’re soaked through. How about I drive you home?’

I shake my head, shrinking inside my jacket. ‘I’m okay.’

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