Fitting In

By S.E. Walker

Charlotte Finnegan James desperately wants to fit in. Her parents encourage her to act like everyone around her, but Charlotte always feels like an outsider looking in. When men come late one night to “take control” of her, Charlotte knows fitting in will forever be impossible.

After being placed into a military boarding school, a name change is the first step in taking control of her own life. Finn’s differences are evident, no matter how hard she works to appear normal. Finding a sympathetic soul in Taber McCoy helps Finn execute her plan to escape the school.

Can she continue to hide her true self from the world? Will she find sanctuary with her aunt? Can she and Taber stay ahead of the men in black following them on their race across the country?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evernight Teen
• Release date: Mar 10, 2017
• ISBN: 9781773392097

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Published by Evernight Teen ® at Smashwords

www.evernightteen.com

Copyright© 2017 S.E. Walker

ISBN: 978-1-77339-209-7

Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Editor: Melissa Hosack

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

For the ones who are different—the ones who see spirits dance, hear angels sing, and believe in magic.

Special thanks to: Jilliana Raymond for her counsel, wisdom, and friendship. Sally Reid for insisting I write this series, and who helped me heal and find my magic. And a special thanks to Karen, Brenda, Heather, and Stacy, Facebook sisters who believe in me when I doubt myself.

FITTING IN

Millennial Child, 1

S.E. Walker

Copyright © 2017

Chapter One

Dark forces are gathering. You need to come to me so we can begin your training.

Aunt Pippa’s voice startled me out of my dream to a half-sleep state. Dad’s voice pulled me the rest of the way to a more awake curiosity.

You can’t have her, his voice stated flatly. She’s just a little girl. Isn’t it enough that you have my wife, now you want my daughter, too?

The mention of Mom in the angry, frustrated tone I had never heard before brought me fully awake in the next moment. Sitting up, I checked the glowing red digits of the alarm clock on my nightstand. Eleven-forty-three. Why was someone visiting Dad so late at night? At least the doorbell I had heard earlier in my dream now made sense. Though I could not remember the dream, I still felt warm and fuzzy from the forgotten memory of it, though the doorbell had been strangely out of place.

The murmur of other male voices added fuel to my innate curiosity that Dad always said would one day get me into trouble. Rolling out of bed, I crossed to the hall door, which stood open just more than a foot. Just enough for Dad to stick his head in for his nightly check on his way down the hall to his room without opening the door any farther.

The door squealed amazingly loudly when opened past a certain point, no matter how he tried to tame it. We had arrived at this compromise about a week after we moved into the house. I could close the door when changing or if I needed some privacy, but when I went to bed, it had to be open. He claimed some fatherly need to make sure I was in my bed and asleep so he would be able to sleep. Like I would be anywhere else. I was an almost sixteen-year-old girl with a handful of friends who lived too far away to just walk over and visit in the middle of the night.

Easing the door open another inch or two, just enough to slip through the opening without it squealing, I eased through the door and out into the hallway. Mindful that the floors creaked and squeaked and crackled, I stepped carefully, staying close to the right-side wall. My father had ears like a bat and any noise from what should be a silent house would draw his attention and I would not be able to find out what was going on.

I inched my way down the hall, moving slow and steady, careful to place my foot before shifting weight onto that leg, until finally I reached the doorway into the living room. Sometimes having a military father who taught me everything he knew before I turned ten was a good thing.

Staying in the shadows, I leaned forward just far enough past the edge of the doorway to see the three men in the living room. Dad paced the space in front of the fireplace, wearing a pair of black-faded-to-gray sweat-shorts and an old olive green t-shirt with ARMY stenciled on the front. These were his standard lounge around the house clothes. His feet were bare and his hair, what there was of it, stood straight out from his head in a thousand different directions as if he had run his hands through it in frustration.

As I watched, Dad stopped pacing, took a deep breath, and held it for several seconds. At the same time, he ran both hands over his head, brushing the wild hair down so it lay as it should. Releasing the breath with a whoosh and dropping his arms, he was back in control. My father had disappeared and Army Brigadier General Mitchell James took his place.

The visitors had their backs to me, but they appeared to wear matching black suits. Their almost identical medium brown hair wasn’t cut as short as Dad’s, but it was obvious, to me at least, that they were government agents, much like the ones I had met the one time I had visited Mom’s office five years earlier. It had been the only time she had taken me there. By the end of the visit, everyone was stopping by, asking me questions, and talking to Mom about my potential.

Men in Black.

I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing as a slew of movie references flashed through my head. I loved the original movie and couldn’t help but wonder if they were here to recruit Dad into their ranks. Since he was nearing retirement and only forty-three, he would need something to do with his future, but I was not sure I wanted him to become a ghost-person like Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones had been.

Or maybe they were from some other super-secret agency the government financed but never talked about in polite society. Would he end up like Mom, disappearing for weeks or months at a time, only to appear one morning at breakfast and act like he had not been gone? I was not sure I could handle both parents being absentee, at least not yet. It was bad enough the Army deployed Dad to the other side of the world every couple of years.

She needs training, guidance, the agent on the left said. His tone was both placating and implacable at the same time. Was he trying to convince Dad to their way of thinking? Or simply informing him of how things were going to be? She is too powerful to be running around loose. We need to know what she is, and what she is capable of.

Dad took another deep breath, releasing it slowly. He then frowned. He seemed to be thinking over whatever the men had told him before I had arrived. Turning to face them squarely, he planted his feet shoulder width apart and set his hands on his hips. The military man was in full control now, even if he was wearing his pajamas.

How do you know how powerful she is? She has not mentioned to me anything strange happening, and I have not noticed anything that would make me think you have any reason to recruit her.

The men on the couch shifted as if uncomfortable. Or guilty.

Once they stilled, and without looking at his partner, the man on the right said, Schools routinely administer a series of tests at the end of ninth grade to follow up on testing taken in third and sixth grade. These tests help parents and administrators see where the child’s interests and aptitudes lie. They also help the students decide if they should be looking at college, a trade school, or alternative program of study to make the most of their innate talents.

Charlotte never mentioned taking any tests, Dad said, relaxing his stance a degree or two. But this still does not explain why you came here in the middle of the night, demanding I turn my fifteen-year-old daughter over to you.

Your daughter’s test results raised red flags, not only within our agency, but in a number of government agencies, and probably all around the world. Others will come for her and they will not ring the doorbell to ask for your permission. They will take her by force, if necessary. We will keep her safe while training her to work to the benefit of the country and the world, the agent on the right said. He was just a ray of sunshine.

Halfway through his speech, Dad began to slowly shake his head left and right. No. I will not have my daughter put in one of your so-called training programs. She is too smart to become one of your mindless drones who cannot think for themselves beyond whatever bullshit propaganda you feed them. Her interests lie in other directions. And as for protecting her, I will keep her safe.

And the next time you are deployed? What do you plan to do then? Put her with your family? Leave her here to run wild? She is at an age where she needs guidance, structure, and a firm hand to help her learn control. She does not even understand how powerful she will be. When she figures out what she can do, and I assure you she will, she could go in either direction. Try to imagine the trouble she could get into if she is not properly monitored, guided, and controlled.

I leaned closer to hear better. My movement caused Dad’s gaze to shift. My stomach dropped into my butt when our eyes met and locked. He said nothing, but the slight tilt of his head to the left, and deepening of his frown, told me I had better get myself back to my bed and stay there before he decided to let these men take me away.

Before I could react to the silent order, the two men on the couch turned, looking over their shoulders to see what had taken Dad’s attention off of them. I mouthed the words, Don’t see me, and studied their faces.

The agent on the right was older, mid-forties, maybe, and heavier, uglier, and meaner looking than the one on the left. Since they did not jump up and grab me or demand I come into the living room and join the conversation, I glanced back to Dad. He was still frowning and looking straight at me.

Knowing I was in trouble, I slowly straightened and shifted to my right until I could no longer see him, which meant he could not see me either. Once out of his sight, I stopped and continued to listen.

You do not need to worry about my plans for my daughter, Dad said. She will not be going with you, or anyone like you, tonight or any other night in the near future. She is an American citizen and will not be dragged away and conscripted into whatever woo-woo faction you are building.

Dad’s tone indicated he would not be changing his mind anytime soon. The conversation was coming to an end. I did not wait to hear what else was said. I made my way back to my bedroom as fast as I dared. Getting caught spying was bad enough and would earn me a lecture. Getting caught a second time would probably earn me a grounding, which I did not need.

School had ended the day before yesterday and I had plans for my summer vacation. There were dozens of museums in Washington, DC, a short Metro ride away, and I planned on visiting as many as I could. I also had plans with Trish and Leslie, my only two friends, to hang out, go to the movies, swim, and other stuff in the ten weeks before school started back up again.

I slipped into my bedroom and stood by the door until I heard the front door open a few minutes later. There was another murmur of male voices before the door closed again. I knew Dad would lock the knob and throw the deadbolt as he did every night. I waited a few minutes until the sound of a car starting and pulling away faded. Once I was sure the men were gone, I closed my eyes and imagined putting up invisibility shields around the yard to keep them from coming back. I had no idea if they worked, but putting them up made me feel better.

Hurrying across the room, I climbed into bed. I had just pulled up the covers when the door squealed open.

Do not worry, honey, I will not let them take you, Dad said softly. We will figure something else out.

I did not know how to respond to his gruff assurances, mainly because I did not understand what was going on, who those men were, or why they wanted me. After a few endless seconds, I said the only thing I could think of. Good night, Daddy.

Good night, Charlotte, he said softly before pulling the door all the way closed.

I listened to his heavy footsteps as he walked down the hall to the bedroom he shared with Mom, when she was in town. She had been gone for three weeks so far this time. We never knew how long she would be gone. Each time was different. She could be home tomorrow, or not return for several more months. What I did know was that when she did show up, she would not talk about where she had been or what she had been doing.

She never did.

Snuggling into my pillow, I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep. But the scene in the living room brought to mind many questions that, unfortunately, would have to wait until morning to be asked. Closing my eyes, I tried to blank my mind to the questions, but it was still nearly dawn before I finally fell back to sleep.

****

As expected, Dad was gone when I came out of my room just before nine. Of course he would be gone. It was, after all, a Thursday and General James did not take days off just to celebrate the first day of summer vacation.

There would be no questioning him about what was going on and who those men were who had visited so late the night before until he came home tonight. Even then, I did not expect him to actually answer my questions. A one-star general in the United States Army, Dad was the ultimate alpha male and kept military secrets on a regular basis. If he did not want to tell me what was happening, I would never find out.

He had told the men in black that he would keep me safe last night. I had every daughter’s belief that he would, to the best of his various and well-experienced abilities. Even though I had no idea what or who he was protecting me from, I knew that he would keep me safe. He was my father, and that was a father’s job.

****

Three mornings later, I came out for breakfast to find Mom standing in front of the kitchen sink. She was drinking a cup of coffee and picking dead leaves off the African violets Dad and I struggled to keep alive in her absence. For her, they bloomed year-round and flourished. For us, the same plants dropped leaves and refused to blossom, as if they were in mourning for her presence.

I knew how they felt.

Dad had been at the office almost twenty-four/seven for the past three days on some special assignment, or at least that was what his texts said each morning and evening when he checked in with me. I did not mind too much as I spent most of my time with Trish and Leslie.

Mom! I squealed as I rushed across the kitchen to her.

She turned and just managed to set her coffee mug on the counter before I engulfed her in a bear hug. Good morning, baby girl, she said softly as her arms wrapped around me.

She sounded tired, but her arms were strong and warm as we hugged for nearly a minute. Mom smelled