Page 57 of Jinxed

I guess they haven’t forgiven me after all. I sink down to the ground, my back against the door to my locker, tears welling in my eyes. Everything is falling apart, and I don’t have the skills to repair it.

I need help. I might not have my teammates to rely on. But there’sone person who I know I can rely on.

I need Zora. Whether she likes it or not.

‘SO SAY THIS TO ME ONE MORE TIME.’

I swallow, and even though I want nothing more than to stare at the ground, I lift up my chin and look Zora straight in the eyes. We’re down in the locker, andshe is perched up on the stool by the old computer screen and I am sitting cross-legged on the floor. ‘I don’t know how Jinx works. He’s not really mine.’

‘You stole him.’

‘I didn’t steal him! I... I found him. And then I fixed him.’

‘But he doesn’t belong to you.’

I pause for a moment, then shake my head. ‘No.’

‘I don’t get it,’ she says, slowly shaking her head as well. ‘It shouldn’tbe possible. You can’t just take someone else’s baku and claim it as your own.’ Then, her voice catches in the back of her throat and comes out sounding small. ‘I knew something was up. Why didn’t you tell me?’

That’s what’s really bothering her. And me.

‘I don’t know... I guess I was afraid. At first, I was so focused on getting him ready so that I could go to Profectus. But, gradually... I fell in love with him, Zora. I was scared he’d be taken away from me if anyone knew the truth. I figured ifno oneknew, then maybe I could keep him for ever.’

She obviously can see the hurt in my eyes, because she leans over and grabs my hand. ‘If whoever they are knew that Jinx was here, how would you still have him?’ she muses. ‘They would surely just come and take him.’

‘That’s true,’I say. ‘And maybe he isn’t special at all. Maybe I’m just imagining that he’s the rogue baku.’

‘Your teacher’s story is pretty far-fetched. I mean, he works for BRIGHTSPRK, right? How can you trust him?’

‘I don’t know,’ I say. ‘But Jinxisdifferent. We communicate differently. I hear his voice in my head and...’

‘Wait, hold up.’ Zora flips her hands out in front of her to stop me. ‘Liketelepathically?’

‘Something like that.’

Her jaw drops and it takes her a moment to recover.

‘And he does things without me asking,’ I continue.

‘Can you show me?’

I point miserably to the black mark on his paw. ‘Not until the morning,’ I say, with a frown.

‘Well, how about we take a look? Maybe we can find something in the code to help us understand. Otherwise, I think you’re going to haveto report this. If this is undocumented tech – like the telepathic thing – it could be dangerous.’

My mouth turns dry at the thought of turning Jinx in. Who knows what they would do to him? Mr Baird was under the impression they wanted to destroy him.

I can’t let that happen. I know that the connection between us is real. He is my baku. My companion. No one will be able to convince me otherwise.

Almost on instinct, my hand strokes the top of his head.

It takes me a beat, but then my eyes widen in surprise. ‘Wait? Youwantto help me look at the code.’

Zora wriggles in her seat, and I can see Linus anxiously pacing across the tops of her shoulders. ‘Just this once.’

I jump up to my feet and throw my arms around her. ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you!’

She laughs until I pull away. Then,two tiny lines appear on her forehead as she frowns. ‘Have you looked at it all?’

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