The Society of Imaginary Friends

The next afternoon, Valerie was ready when Dr. Freeman visited her on his rounds. Neither Sanguina nor the yellow-eyed medical assistant was anywhere to be seen. She was glad—she didn’t want to be distracted from her mission. Whether she was crazy or not, her decision was made. She was going to the Globe, and now she had to do her part.

That morning she had forged a letter from a “cousin” to show Dr. Freeman. She was going to have to make a run for it, and she didn’t want him to worry about her too much after she was gone. He was one of the few people on Earth who would notice—and care—if she vanished.

As he checked on the other patients in her room, her face burned. She hated lying, especially to him. He was the kind of person she wanted to be when she grew up—patient, smart, and caring. It seemed wrong telling him the biggest lie of her life.

“Well, Ms. Diaz, you’re looking much better. It’s good to see pink in your cheeks again,” he said as he reviewed her chart.

“I’m a lot better. I have great news! My cousin is coming to visit. I haven’t seen him in a long time. I got his note today,” she said, unfolding the letter she had written.

Dr. Freeman glanced at the letter over the top of his chart. “I haven’t met him, have I? I didn’t know you had family.” His voice was laced with suspicion.

Valerie knew that he probably thought this was part of an elaborate schizophrenic episode, but she continued with her story. “He’s been out of the country for the past few years. But he finished school, and now he’s old enough to be my guardian. He’s working on getting temporary custody of me.”

“I look forward to meeting him,” Dr. Freeman said, a little absently. He was already thinking about his next patient, she could tell.

“One more thing—could he take me on a trip?” He put down his charts, and Valerie knew she finally had his attention.

“You’re a very sick girl. We need to have you under observation,” he said sharply. Then his eyes became gentle. “These things aren’t sorted out overnight. You’ll have to remain patient while custody is being reassigned.”

She lowered her voice so the other children in the room couldn’t hear her. “I’m not getting any better. Every time I have one of my episodes, it gets worse. I know that you think I could even… die.”

“Now, listen, I’ve never said that.”

“In my entire life, I’ve never left Oakland or seen much of anything, really. And Thai is willing to take me to see the world while I still have time left.”

“I see.”

“One way or another, I’m going. I wanted you to know.”

“I can’t allow that, Valerie. I’m sorry,” he said, and she could see that he really was. But that didn’t change her mind.

That night, Ming’s and Jeremiah’s soft, rhythmic breathing didn’t relax Valerie as it usually did. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she couldn’t stop thinking about what was coming next for her. Where was this launch site, anyway? She wished she had thought to ask Cyrus. Sleep was impossible.

She quietly got out of her bed and went to the window. It was raining again, and the glass steamed up from her breath. She couldn’t see the stars tonight. Soon, she’d be seeing the night sky from a whole new perspective—or she’d be dead.

It was all so exciting, but the enormity of what was happening to her was overwhelming, and Valerie started to feel choked with panic. She was taking a decisive step, one that would either yank her out of her life as she knew it, or kill her. When she got to this Globe place, where would she live? How would she support herself? Would the people on the Globe be nice like Cyrus, or cold and distant, like Mrs. Sims? Her stomach twisted, and her breathing grew ragged.

A movement in the street below attracted her attention. Standing in a circle of flickering light shining from a battered streetlight was a solitary, drenched figure. Valerie squinted. It was a boy dressed in baggy jeans, the hood of his dark sweatshirt pulled up over his head. Was there any non-creepy reason that this guy could be out there at this time of night in the pouring rain?

He looked up at the window she was standing in and all her suspicions faded away. Even though he couldn’t possibly see her all the way up here, it seemed as if he was standing right in front of her, close enough that she could hear him exhale. Somehow, Valerie knew that this was Thai, and the fear thrashing around in her stomach dissolved. She wasn’t used to immediately trusting anyone, but he was the exception to the rule.

He made a gesture that she should come downstairs. She wondered why, since it wasn’t like she could walk outside or he could come in and chat. But curiosity got the better of her.

She peeked her head out the door, ducked beneath the nurses’ station, and quietly made her way to the stairwell. She hurried down the steps so fast that she didn’t see Sanguina until it was too late. Instead of crashing into her, Valerie went right through the vision of her nemesis.

“I knew it. You’re not really here, either.” Valerie couldn’t keep the triumph out of her voice. She’d known that had to be the case since she’d tried to touch Yellow-Eyes, but it was incredibly liberating knowing that her worst enemy couldn’t actually hurt her.

Sanguina’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking that because I can’t kill you myself that I don’t know someone who will do it for me.”

Valerie’s temporary relief vanished. She knew that Sanguina wasn’t bluffing. “You might as well leave. There’s no one for you to manipulate in this stairwell, and whatever you want, you won’t get it.”

A small, cold smile flashed across Sanguina’s face. “I know that you’re up to something. And I want you to know that I’m hoping it involves you leaving this hospital. Because outside these doors, you’re mine.”

Before Sanguina could detect her fear, Valerie raced out of the stairwell and into the bright lobby of the hospital. There was no one there except a woman she didn’t know reading a magazine at the front desk. She made herself calm her breathing down, reminding herself that Sanguina threatening to kill her was nothing new. She’d been trying for years. But soon enough, she wouldn’t be able to torture her anymore.

Valerie sank back into the shadows by the elevator to stay out of sight. A hand clamped over her mouth, and she swiftly elbowed the person in the gut. How had Sanguina’s henchman found her so quickly? She spun around to face her attacker and saw that it was the boy from the street. He was doubled over, trying not to make any noises that would alert the woman at the front desk.

“Thai?” she breathed, and the boy managed to nod. “I’m so sorry.”

Instead of anger, she saw something else in his eyes—grudging respect. “You packed a lot of power into that. Guess I shouldn’t have snuck up on you.”

Thai was a couple of inches taller than Valerie, and his dripping wet hair was black, just like his dark, intense eyes. She stuck out her hand and he shook it. Despite being wet from the rain, his hand was warm, and when he squeezed hers, her cheeks warmed.

Valerie stepped back, suddenly a little shy. “It’s good to meet you. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you would do this for someone you don’t even know.”

Thai was watching her intently, and the power of his gaze made her strangely nervous and excited. “I know how it is. To have crazy stuff happen to you all at once, I mean. It’s a lot to take in. Someone helped me out when I was learning about—well—myself and my magic.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “You have magic, too?”

“Yeah,” he said, but didn’t volunteer any more information. “I’m glad I can help a kid like me out now.”

Something about Thai thinking of her as a child stung a little. Then, conscious that she might have seemed a bit ungrateful, she replied, “Well, thank you. I’m really excited for this trip.”

“Yeah, about that. You are well enough to travel, right?”

“Don’t worry. I’m doing much better.”

“Good. Now, let’s talk about some ground rules.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s my job to make sure you get to the Globe in one piece. We don’t know each other well, and I want to be certain we’re on the same page in terms of expectations. First of all, what I say goes.”

“You know I’m fifteen, right? I’m not a little kid who needs my hand held when I cross the street. I’ve been taking care of myself practically my whole life.”

She guessed that Thai wasn’t more than two or three years older than she was. She’d probably seen more danger in a month than he’d encountered in his whole life.

His eyes narrowed. “You have no idea of the threats that could be lurking out there. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly and we’ll get you to the launch site with no problems. But I also know that some pretty insane stuff can happen that you’d never expect. I need to know that if I tell you to do something, you’ll do it. If anything goes wrong on this trip, listening to me could save your life.”

“All right, Thai. You’re doing me the favor here, so I’ll play by your rules. Once I’m on the Globe, I’ll be on my own anyway. So consider yourself the boss.”

Thai didn’t look like he exactly liked being called the boss, but he nodded. “Good. If you need to get a message to me, tell Cyrus. When are you going to be released from here?”

She hesitated. Should she tell him that she wouldn’t be released—she’d have to run? But all she said was, “A couple days.”

He gave her a little smile and squeezed her shoulder. She could feel the heat from his skin through her T-shirt. Did he notice the tingling connection between them? He didn’t immediately release his grip on her. Then he let go and followed a trail of water that led to the emergency door. That must have been how he had snuck in. She held her breath, ready to hear the alarm go off when he opened the door, but he left without a sound.

Despite the fact that Thai seemed a little controlling, it was a novel feeling knowing that someone out there was on her side. She tried to put her finger on the name of the emotion that it sparked, but it was so new that she couldn’t put a word to it. She quietly snuck back upstairs to her room, and right before she fell asleep, it came to her. She felt protected.