"The Teleporter" (as Louise called it) gave off a sense of plummeting straight down from an airplane. She'd never committed such an activity, nor did she assume she'd do it in the future, but she just had that feeling. As she was plummeting in the white light, she could feel her hair trail wildly behind in her in the uncontrollable wind, and her screams were ripped from her mouth as she sailed downward. Louise squinted, trying to make out Shijie's small form in the midst of the chaotic plunder, but she could barely see her own hand, let alone another person. Her ears were filled with the sound of whistling, creating an overwhelming urge for Louise to clamp her hands over them, though, she was forced to keep her hands upwards. Finally, the whistling in her ears stopped, and the plummeting sensation had also dissipated and was replaced by the feeling of merely floating. Louise scanned her surroundings, until her eyes landed on Shijie who appeared somewhat vexed with his jet-black hair sticking up at odd angles. Before Louise could inquire of Shijie's well-being, the white surroundings were replaced by thick, gray skies, and drooping plants, trying to keep shape from all the water weighing upon them. Rain drizzled down in small droplets that would gently touch Louise's skin before swerving out of sight. English cars drove on the streets, the drivers nonchalant, and in the center of it all, was a grand high school that had two stories, which would probably match the length of a football field if one were to measure it. Windows lined the front side of the school, reflecting limited sunlight that peeked through the clouds. The gray doors stood tall with age and solidity, as if it were intimidating anyone that were to try its patience. Louise gasped. It was the most beautiful school she had ever laid eyes upon.

"We're here...," she said, her eyes not leaving the school.

"Er, yes," Shijie replied, as if noticing Louise for the first time. Almost within in instant, their mission flooded back into her mind. Without even a second of reluctance or thought, Louise began to jog up to the entrance of the school. Shijie, instead, trudged behind her, his eyes examining the new environment warily. Finally, satisfied with the examination, Shijie jogged up toward Louise who was already at the door. A white electronic device was stuck to the right of the doors with a one large button. Louise pushed it, and said with a fairly decent mimication for a British accent, "Uh, hello. This is Alexa Johnson..."

"And Joshua Peddlestone," Shijie interjected with a thick Chinese accent. Louise swore under her breath; she had intentionally made it so that she was the one that would do the talking because in case Shijie didn't notice, this was England - not China. Somehow, however, the secretary didn't seem to notice because she merely inquired as to why they were not in school. Louise made a lame excuse as to how they wanted to escape taking the English test. It seemed like all the secretary wanted to do was go home, who couldn't care less who the kids were on the other side of the doors. And Shijie had confirmed her suspicions, using his psychic abilities. Louise was never going to get used to that. Louise opened the heavy doors with fruitful effort and slid inside after Shijie had gone in. The air smelled something of garlic and the humidity outside had created a musty environment inside. The interior of the school was surprisingly much like Louise's. The walls were white with a few bulletin boards dotting the premises. A black carpet stood underneath Louise with various muddy footprints smudging the unadorned design. Very few students wandered the halls, and those who were, were completing some kind of school assignment. Louise walked up to a lone student with black hair, who had a few textbooks in his arm. A spark of hope appeared in her chest. She tapped him on the shoulder, and to her profound disappointment, the boy had glasses and blue eyes, instead of the mesmerizing green ones. Well, at least he's a student.

"Um, excuse me? Do you know where I can find Joshua Peddlestone and Alexa Johnson?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah. They went home early during science. I wasn't sure why two people who practically loathe each other would be going home together, though," the boy replied with a thick English accent.

"Well, er, thank you." The boy nodded in acknowledgment.

"Boy look like Joshua - mind controlled," Shijie whispered in Louise's ear as they walked away from him.

"What do you mean? And it's not like you did it - did you?"

"Never saw him even. But I look in mind, and thoughts are not right."

"Why aren't they right?" Louise inquired, becoming a little more inquisitive.

'When he thinks of Joshua, his mind is blank, but interestingly enough, it's as if something talks through him because he knows nothing of him. Actually, a voice does talk through him. I didn't get much, save for a gruff, French-accented voice,' replied a voice in Louise's mind. The thought that someone else was in her head made her cringe. Thoughts were personal, and no one had the privilege to know what someone was thinking. If for example, someone found out their friend was cheating on their boyfriend just by hearing their thoughts, it's not like that someone could just walk up to his/her friend and say, "Stop cheating on my boyfriend! Oh, and by the way, I found this information out by hearing your thoughts! Cool, right? Anyway, we could go get ice cream, because I know you're thinking about it right now." It just wasn't natural. But so is manipulating the weather, said a voice in the back of her mind. Don't you dare go there! You know Shijie was just saying that, so that he could persuade me to come along on this twisted adventure.

"Oh, lovely. Now all we need to do is go to France and ask everyone if they brainwashed two English high school students! I'm sure someone will step forward!" Louise exclaimed, feigning excitement. Shijie provided her with a vexed look.

"Oh, wait! Not everyone! Just the guys," Louise added.

'It's not funny, and if you don't cease your constant complaints, I will resume talking to you inside your mind. I know how much you despise it.'

"Fine," Louise seethed, which earned her a few questionable glances from scattered students, who turned their heads to eavesdrop. Gosh, did she look like an idiot or what.

'Let's keep our heads down until we see a teacher we can inquire of Joshua's and Alexa's whereabouts,' Shijie said, his voice echoing in Louise's mind, making her shiver. Louise nodded. Shijie and Louise began to walk away surreptitiously until they were out of sight from the students. As they rounded a corner, Shijie clasped his hand around Louise's, which made her jump. 'No one will question a couple or sensitive people. And unless you know how to fake cry, this is the only route.'"And I thought you wouldn't talk to me inside my mind."

'It is a necessary precaution. I feel something wrong.' Louise glanced back at the group of students, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Though she never stepped foot into an English school, she had a sneaky feeling that roaming pixies and flying elephants wouldn't be one would consider not wrong. Shijie's hand felt warm and sweaty. Out of sheer instinct, Louise readjusted her hand, so that she wouldn't have to pay attention to Shijie's hand all too much. Gosh, what am I getting myself into? I mean, am I really letting myself believe that the guy next to me can actually hear people's thoughts and that we... teleported from New Jersey to London a couple of mere minutes? Well, what else can it be? It's not like this is a dream. I made sure of that already. Twenty times - twenty painful times. Thoughts swirled around in her mind like bees swarming around honey. The thought of all of this happening made Louise want to unclasp her hand from Shijie's and bolt out the nearest exit, and take the fastest plane back to the Newark airport. Maybe her mother would yell at her, but Louise wouldn't care, she would just embrace her in a tight hug until the world finally made sense again, inhaling the familiar scent of lilac shampoo. Louise thought she could actually imagine her walking beside her, looking down at Louise with tenderness and warmth. This made Louise relax a little bit. When this was all over, she would be with her parents again, forgetting any of this nonsense had ever happened. Shijie, Alexa, Joshua never existed-

"Well, hello. Do you need any assistance?" asked a teacher with metal-rimmed glasses and white, curly hair, smiling. Louise had been so deep in thought she had not realized that they had managed to bump into a teacher fortuitously.

"Um, yes. Do you know where I could find Joshua Peddlestone and Alexa Johnson?" Louise replied, feeling sort of tired repeating the inquiry once before. The teacher's smile faded into merely an impassive expression.

"Huh, you know, I forgot why precisely, but I do know that they went home early during my science class. I have to run somewhere. Good day." The teacher rushed off to some unknown destination, leaving Shijie and Louise behind bewildered. Now Louise could definitely feel something wrong here. For one thing, it was unnerving that the teacher didn't inquire as to who they were. They could've been demigods that found a monster crawling into the school for all the teacher knew. Gosh, I've been reading too much Percy Jackson, she thought to herself.

'You're right in thinking that something is not right. In fact, I could hear the stranger's voice speaking more forcefully through her this time. It was like he made her forget everything existed except what she had to say. She was like a puppet.'

"Stop looking into my head, Shijie!" Louise snapped through gritted teeth. Then Shijie's words sunk in. A puppet? What does this have anything to do with two arbitrary high schoolers? "'I wasn't sure why two people who practically loathe each other would be going home with each other, though.'" Neither do I, Louise thought. But whatever was going on, this... French man definitely was on the hunt for something, because only people who mess with other people's minds would go to such great lengths to get what they so profoundly desired. What was he hunting for though? Perhaps he's a sociopath and wishes to have kids of his own? Perhaps they wronged him in some way and he assumes the only way to right this wrong is to seek revenge? Perhaps, they have something in their possession that is his? And if it is, what could it possibly be? And as quick as these questions popped into Louise's mind, she could not come upon any answers that fulfilled the situation completely.

"Well, it's obviously hypnotism," Louise said. Shijie appeared thoughtful for a moment.

"Yes eh no." Before Louise could ask why, a screech like one of a banshee, echoed from the opposite hallway.

"INTRUDERS! EVERYONE, HIDE IN YOUR CLASSROOMS!" shouted a familiar teacher's voice. The curly-haired teacher. Fire alarms blared from all directions, and students dashed and darted within the midst the chaos. The same teacher materialized from the opposite end of the hallway, along with two policemen, tranquilizer guns at the ready. "MURDERERS! GET THEM!" she screeched. Louise turned the other way, prepared to bolt out of the school, but no sooner than she did, did she realize that Shijie had pulled out Louise's fortune from his jeans and had clasped his hand around it tightly, holding Louise's wrist. Seconds ticked by, and nothing happened, aside from all the chaos.

"Put your hands in the air now!" shouted one of the policemen. "Or we'll shoot!" This is it. I'm going to juvy. Oh, gosh, I'm in so much trouble... Suddenly, as the sound of the tranquilizers released from their encasement, familiar white light began to envelop them, blinding radiance of illumination, stretching out to Louise and Shijie like a fist might grab a pencil. A split second before the tranquilizer reached Louise's face, the light engulfed them, sucking them to an unknown destination.