Nancy Drew aint got nuttin on me.

Alex couldn’t believe she was doing this. She had powers that let her read the minds of any man, woman, or child she ever met. Yet she was here in the computer lab doing the most mundane internet searching of one little crippled boy she just met a few days before. Just a few seconds of poking around in his mind would be all it takes to confirm her fears about him, but that would require her to be near him. And while she could poke through people’s minds with little or no adverse effects to them she is still not perfect and he might know she was probing him, and he might try and kill her too.

Se there she was sitting in front of a computer for the last four or five hours searching the internet for a news paper clipping, or police report, obituary for any kid who around four to six years old that was crushed to death. All she had found out so far was that there is there are a scarily large number of kids that age dropping dead. Letting out an annoyed sigh she slumped back in here chair and rubbed her face. This is so ridiculous it was like finding a needle in a hay stack, in a big pile of other hay. Leaning forward she rested her forehead in one hand and rubbed her eyes with another. Her eyes were beginning to ach from this; maybe she should take a break.

Alex was so absorbed in her own sulking at the unsuccessful hunt for information about Cole that she didn’t even hear another person enter the room. Why couldn’t she find anything on this incident was it even out there or was it just the overactive imagination of wheelchair bound boy’s mind? Her pondering were interrupted by a loud thud that caused her to jolt up and sit up straight in the chair blinking like an idiot who just stared into a very bright flash. When did this boy get here? His thoughts seemed rather panicky, acting like he just killed her cat rather than knocking over her book over on the floor.

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Alex said, “Don’t worry about it. No harm done.”

Alex tilted her head in bemusement at this kid’s behavior; he was just so socially awkward. Yes, she had to admit ninety-percent of the time she was barley comfortable in her own skin but this kid seemed like he wanted to find the nearest crack in the wall and hide in it forever. It was rather sad and it took all the will power she had not to show that on her face. The kid she had to admit looked kind of off to her, he looked younger than her and was almost the same height and he looked rather sickly and pale looking; she couldn’t help but wonder if he was sick or something. It never crossed her mind at that moment is the fact he had strange cat like ears and a tail, her life had become that surreal. But she did find herself transfixed by his golden color eyes; she couldn’t help but stare at them. Oh god! She thought I’m gazing into another man’s eyes! With that thought she now was beginning to feel about as awkward as that kid. She was become way to girly, she lamented, she had to do something to reassert her masculinity, like putting up drywall, or building something with power tools.

“Hmm?” She said as he asked her a question. That seemed to be a bad habit she was picking up every time someone asked her something. “Yeah sure have a seat.” With that she telekinetically pulled the chair out at the computer next to her for him.

After sliding the chair out for the boy Alex went back to doing her research on the computer. She thought that was the end of it and the kid would go do whatever it is he came in here to do. But as she tried to read she kept getting interrupted by the kid’s thoughts. It was like trying to sleep under an underpass at rush hour. But his mind was just so loud with thoughts, and these were only the surface thoughts. What is his mind really like, she couldn’t help but wonder. With that she sighed and stopped reading the old newspaper article about some child’s grizzly murder and dismemberment, she was sure this wasn’t what she was looking for.

“Alex,” She said flatly as she glanced at him absently before she went back to searching. Then stopped reading again, he was just so nervous it was beginning to distract her. “Sabe.” She said looking at him with the warmest smile she could muster. “It’s okay you can calm down. I’m not going to bite.”

Alex laughed inwardly as the boy denied being squirmy. It was always adorably refreshing when people tried to lie to her, a psychic, but of course this kid didn’t know that so he could be forgiven for trying to deny something. Of course it was probably for the best that he doesn’t know she could read his mind. He would probably have a panic attack or aneurism. And she really wasn’t up to explaining to anyone why she made a kids brain explode from anxiety.

“Oh, I know.” Alex said with a coy smile. “I’m very good at reading people.” She added, and it wasn’t a lie, but it was the whole truth either. She kind of felt bad for lying to him, there was something about this poor kid that made her not want to wrong him, lest he curls up into a ball somewhere and never comes out for the rest of his life.

Alex smiled as the boy cracked a joke. “See that’s better.” Alex said with a small laugh. “Telling jokes is the perfect way to diffuse a situation you’re unsure about.”