Dolbin School for the Extraordinary-Chapter 16: A New Introduction

 I am publishing my middle grade novel, Dolbin School for the Extraordinary, chapter by chapter.

You can download the whole book for free on Amazon.

Click here for the previous chapter-Chapter 15 Professor Powers

Or if you wish, you can go back to the beginning with chapter 1-Jake Cooper.  

Chapter 16: A New Introduction

The boys walked into the cafeteria. They were chatty and still excited about the performance Professor Guinness had put on that morning. After going through the line and getting their dinner, they sat down at a table.

“So how long do you think David is going to be in detention? Did you guys see him while you were there? ” Jake asked.

“We didn’t see him in detention,” Henry said. “He went crazy and attacked a professor. I doubt he went to the same detention where they keep us for breaking curfew.”  

“Does anyone ever get kicked out of Dolbin?” Jake asked. “What would you have to do to get kick out?” 

Cal shook his head. “Where are they going to send someone with Extra abilities? They can’t just send someone with super strength or electrical ability back into the world with the basics. What are they going to do when they get out? No. They just put people in detention.”

Red joined the conversation. “Oh, no, that’s not true. I forgot that you two are also new,” he said, looking at Cal and Henry. “Rumor has it they did kick a student out years ago. He apparently kept destroying school property and apparently also hurt a teacher or two while he was here.”

“Who was it? Where did they send him?” Henry asked, leaning closer to Red and grinning.

“No one knows,” Red said. “One day he was here destroying things, and next day he was gone.  He was never heard from again.”

Bruce chimed in. “My parents told me they sent him to prison.”

“What prison?” asked Red. “What prison can hold an Extra?”

Bruce rolled his eyes and said, “A prison made by and designed for Extras. What do you think?”

“Then why haven’t we heard about it?” Red asked.

“You know that’s not the way they like to do things,” Bruce said. “It would make the Extras even more scary to the outside world if we began talking about our prison and those Extras who go bad. That would upset the arrangement we have with the Basics. If Basics knew we had a prison, and therefore that there are Extras that go wrong, then the Basics understandably would flip out and try to round us all up. That’s what my parents have told me.” 

“Who was it? What was his name?” Henry asked. He wanted more details and was about to burst.

“Ahemm!” Mrs. Brisby said, clearing her throat.

Everyone at the table put their utensils down, stood up and turned to face the headmistress.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your attention. Tonight I have a treat for you,” she said. 

A murmur spread across the cafeteria.  

“We have a new friend joining us here at Dolbin. It seems we are growing very quickly here recently. I know that you will be excellent hosts for our two newest students.”

A boy stepped forward. Jake’s heart leaped and he grinned from ear to ear.

“This is Mark Daniels,” Mrs. Brisby continued.

“MARK!” Jake shouted. He couldn’t contain his excitement and stepped forward to greet his friend.

“Yes, I am well aware Mr. Cooper that you and Mr. Daniels are previously acquainted. But others here at our school are not acquainted with him, so if you please. Yes, Mr. Daniels and Mr. Cooper were classmates at their previous school, and I believe that Mr. Cooper has a spare bed in his room. So Mr. Daniels will be rooming with Mr. Cooper in 138.”

“Yes!” Jake said, pumping his fist at his side.  

“Shhh!” Red said, scolding Jake.

“Mr. Daniels is one of the few students who already knows someone here at Dolbin, but it is still our expectation that everyone here is to welcome him,” Mrs. Brisby continued. “As many of you have done, Mr. Daniels is coming here under very stressful circumstances. His family is being moved as we speak. Most of you know what that is like. Please remember how that felt. Please sit.”  

Mrs. Brisby turned to Mark, nodded her head, and then began walking him toward the table where Jake was seated.

“Apparently, there is no introduction needed here, Mr. Cooper,” Mrs. Brisby said and smiled.

Jake stood up and hugged Mark, something he would have never done in his previous life.

“I can’t believe you are here!” said Jake.

“Neither can I!” responded Mark.  

Red slid down a seat to make room for Mark.

“So first things first,” Jake demanded. “Why are you here?  What can you do?”

“Apparently, I can run fast,” Mark said. “It came in handy.”

Henry across Jake, stuck out a hand and said, “Hi, I’m Henry. How fast can you run?”

“I have no idea. I was outside when a couple of jerks started  chasing me and before I knew it I was off school property and standing at my front door. The police were called because I left school. The suitmen got to me first though. And then, before I knew it, I was here.”

“Yup, we’ve heard that story before,” said Henry. “I can run fast too. We’ll have to race tonight!”  

Henry’s eyes were brimming with excitement.

Cal and Jake looked at each other, remembering Jake’s first night at Dolbin. “Why don’t we just race tomorrow during break time?” Cal suggested.

The bell rang and the boys stood up to go throw their trash out.  As they walked back to their dorm, Jake was eager to introduce his old friend to all of his new friends. He had never been happier.

Mark’s first night at Dolbin mirrored Jake’s. There was the hall meeting where Mark met everyone on the hall with the notable exception of David Kurtz. Lucky Mark.

Mark and Jake went back to Room 138. Someone had put out all of Mark’s things. It looked like Jake and Mark had been roommates for a long time. They settled into their new room.

“So, it’s just me and you now. Who was chasing you when you found out about your running ability?” Jake asked, propping his feet up on his desk and leaning back in his chair.

“Lutz and Derrick were chasing me. We were outside watching the news people at school. They were still there today talking about you. Lutz and Derrick started calling me farty pants.”  

Jake snorted and started to laugh.

“It wasn’t funny!” Mark said.

His feelings were still hurt, but then he realized where he was, at a school for extraordinary children, and realized those bullies were long gone. He shook his head and began to laugh. “Yeah, I guess it’s pretty funny. But it’s certainly not that creative. Yeah, definitely not that creative. Then they started to chase me. They were throwing beans at me. Lutz had apparently brought franks and beans for lunch. Why they were calling me farty pants is beyond me.  

“He was eating beans. And he’s fat. Seriously, you do the math. Yet they were calling me farty pants!”  

Mark stared up at the ceiling. Jake was looking down at the floor. Bullies were the same everywhere.

Jake turned to Mark and said, “You’ll fit in better here. Trust me. I fit in better here.”

Mark was still looking at the ceiling. “You’ve only been here one day. Aren’t there still bullies here?” he asked.

Jake nodded his head and said, “Yes, there are. I guess there will always be bullies no matter where we are.”

“But now these bullies have extra powers?” said Mark, shrugging his shoulders.

“But YOU have extra powers. And I have extra powers,” Jake said. “Yes, there will still be bullies. But we can deal with them now.”

Mark continued to stare at the ceiling. “If you say so, I guess.” 

Mark stood up, put on his pajamas and returned to bed, where he continued staring at the ceiling.

Jake brushed his teeth, changed and flopped onto his bed. He wanted to cheer up his friend.

“I know. Our old school stunk,” he said. “But, seriously, this is a much better situation. This place is awesome. You will make friends here. And you have me here. When I got here, I didn’t know anyone else here. You heard Mrs. Brisby say that there are very few people who already know someone here. You’re one of the lucky ones here, Mark.”  

Mark took a deep breath and exhaled. “I guess you have a point,” he replied. “It is great that you are here. I was depressed when you just disappeared after your fight with Brad. You didn’t leave a note, call or email. Thanks for that!”

“I’m sorry about that, but that’s just how it works,” Jake said. “It’s some sort of high-speed witness protection program. Everyone in your family disappears because they also may have Extra abilities and need to be watched. They don’t want people asking family members what happened. Everyone needs to leave.”

“Well, all it does is makes people realize that something strange is going on,” Mark said. “It makes it look like the government is covering something up. Plus, I was worried about you.”

Jake felt a pang of sadness. “I am sorry about that, Mark. There was nothing I could do. The good news is that you’re here. This is our life now. And it is going to be a good one.”  

With that, Jake rolled over on his side and went to sleep. Exhausted by the day’s events and his journey to Dolbin, Mark soon drifted off to sleep as well.