From that moment onwards, intense anxiety floods my mind. The tour is finished within the next fifteen minutes or so, but I'm not paying much attention because I'm running over what to say to Ava in my head. I don't stop throughout the whole journey home, and even when the society's president starts berating Jamie and me over whether or not we're converted believers, all I can think about is what to tell Ava.

Do I tell her about my parents? Is that relevant? Do I just keep it simple and say I can see spirits? Should I mention Annabel? Do I give a full explanation, or just say I can see them and wait for the questions? How can I announce this to her without sounding like I'm taking the piss, or sounding downright crazy?

It's gone nine o' clock by the time we get home, and I must have been quieter than I thought on the bus because Carmen asks me if everything is okay. I shrug it off, and head straight into my bedroom. I pace back and forth. What should I say?

"What's up with you?" Annabel asks now that we're alone. She's taken her usual spot on my bed.

"I'm gonna tell Ava," I mutter absentmindedly.

"Seriously?" Annabel gasps. "Holy--Finally!"

I'd usually tell her to shut up, but don't have the energy. "What should I say? I don't know if I should just flat-out tell her everything, or just say the basics and answer her questions, or--"

"Whoa, relax for a second," Annabel cuts me off. "Listen, stop stressing. No matter how you do it, you'll get the same outcome, so just do what you feel most comfortable doing."

She has a point. It's just that other than the foster mother who kicked me out because of it, I've never uttered a word about what I can do to anyone. It's goddamn scary. I'm still not even certain Ava is genuine, but I don't think I'll ever stop doubting her until I confront her about it.

I turn to Annabel and nod slowly, then swiftly leave my room before I can stop myself chickening out. Annabel follows. I knock on Ava's door. I don't get a response immediately, and consider knocking again, but a voice calls from the other side as I'm about to lift my arm to knock for the second time.

"Come in!" Ava calls.

Here goes nothing. I take a deep breath and push the door open, but freeze within two seconds of being in the room. Ava sits cross-legged on her bed, while Carmen sits opposite her. Ah, shit. I can hardly reveal my mutant abilities while Carmen's here. I sort of just stand in Ava's doorway and stare silently as the door shuts behind me.

"Yes?" It's Carmen who asks.

"Uh, oh, sorry," I mumble. What do I say? "I'm just bored."

Really, Felix? Really? That's your genius response? Annabel, who's followed me into the room, laughs at my idiocy. If Ava and Carmen weren't here, I'd shoot her the dirtiest look. The girls are facing each other on the bed, and Ava is dangling her hands in the space between them, with her fingers spread out. There's a pungent chemical smell circling the room. What the heck are they doing? Dabbling in a crystal meth business venture?

"Join us," Ava eventually responds as she nods at her desk chair. "The more the merrier."

For the sake of awkwardness, I do as she says, and sit myself down onto the chair. Carmen shoots Ava a look I can't figure out as I wheel it nearer to the girls, and what they're doing finally clicks. Carmen has a small bottle in her hand, with a liquid that matches the colour of Ava's nails. Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?

As I take in Ava's impeccably clean room, which is a far cry from my own, I realise there are flowers. Everywhere. The layout of the room is an exact copy of mine, only mirrored, and in every empty space there are flowers. Some are in vases, while others sit alone on the windowsill and desktop. There's a slight hint of a floral smell emanating from them, and if it wasn't for the overwhelming chemical stench, I've got a feeling they would smell a lot stronger.

"What's up with the flowers?" I ask Ava, who's now painting Carmen's nails.

She responds by humming a nursery rhyme I can't quite put my finger on. My thinking face must be showing because Ava stops humming to laugh.

"Ring a Ring o' Roses," she explains. "Flowers and herbs warn off negative spirits. Why else would we place them on graves?"

As if that's completely reasonable, common knowledge, Ava turns her attention back to Carmen, who's apparently perfectly accepting of that explanation. How did me trying to come clean to Ava about my abilities turn into a girl's night in?

"I wasn't disturbing anything, was I? I can leave if you want, it's cool," I say in hope of them shooing me out.

"Whoa, no, don't be silly! Just girly talk," Ava replies, which gets her another brief glance from Carmen.

The girls start talking about their nails and some colour I've never heard of before in my life, which based on the bottle in Carmen's hand is red, but no, maroon apparently. I make a joke about it sounding like something you'd name a whale, but the response I get from Ava is a blank, arguably sympathetic, stare which screams you're a bit stupid, Felix. Carmen's just trying not to laugh at me, which is nice of her, I guess.

Annabel is sitting on Ava's desk, her legs dangling off the edge of it, giggling at my painful ordeal like it's the most entertaining thing she's ever seen.

"You're definitely the one with the spirit attachment," Ava says out of nowhere, and in the most casual tone I've ever heard. She looks up from Carmen's nails to focus on me. "It's not a dark one, don't worry."

It's like the world is trying to force me to become this crumbling mass of awkwardness. I don't really say anything in response, just mutter some inaudible disagreement, alongside a shrug of my shoulders.

"Can we do yours?" Carmen suddenly pipes up, a sly grin on her face.

"Huh?"

"Paint your nails," she explains. "Or is your masculinity too fragile?"

I shoot her a challenging look, but it barely shakes her. She raises one of her eyebrows, and I can tell she wants to laugh. Her usually plump lips are pressed into a thin line, and her eyes don't budge from mine for a second.

"Is that your big secret? Fragile masculinity?" she says with a smirk.

I remain silent, my eyes still boring into hers. She raises one of her eyebrows again, and waits expectantly.

"Nope, my masculinity is rock solid, so go for it. Paint them any colour you want," I finally reply, feeling proud of myself for winning our silent war, only to realise minutes later as my fingernails start turning purple, that I actually lost it.

With painted nails and lost dignity, I return to my bedroom half an hour later. I didn't achieve anything there, did I? I was hoping Carmen would leave at some point, but they were discussing watching films together until late, so I got out while I could. I'm going to have to try another time. I lie down onto my bed, shut my eyes, and sigh.

"Purple looks good on you," Annabel says from above me. "I swear that girl could ask you to punch yourself in the face, and you'd do it."

I open my eyes and turn my head to look at her. She's sitting on my desk chair with an amused look on her misleadingly innocent face. I promptly shoot her an obscene hand gesture, which is an atrocious idea because it only leads to more fingernail mocking.

"Nothing wrong with guys painting their nails," I mutter. "And you claim to be a feminist."

"Want me to speak to her?" Annabel says out of nowhere.

"Who, Ava?"

She nods. Shit, why didn't I think of that? I spent the entirety of tonight stressing over the unpleasantness of revealing all to Ava, when I could've just gotten Annabel to do my dirty work for me. Hell, better still, if Ava's abilities aren't what she makes them out to be, there'd be no risk on my behalf because she'd never know we tried to contact her.

"Why didn't you suggest this before?" I ask her, sitting up on my bed.

She shrugs. "I dunno, I think I just like seeing you in distress. It's funny."

She's so lucky she's already dead and I can't kill her.

We wait until two in the morning to make our move because that's when we finally hear Carmen say goodnight to Ava, and the room to her door opening. Carmen's in the room next to mine, so when I can hear her shuffling around the other side of my wall, I send Annabel away. My heart is beating hard against my chest as I wait, and Annabel returns a lot sooner than I thought. The second she does, I come down with a serious case of word vomit.

"What happened? What did she say? How much stuff did you tell her? Did she answer any questions about those creatures, or--"

"She couldn't hear me."

"What?" I ask, stammering. "Really?"

Annabel shakes her head, and furrows her eyebrows. "I even pushed one of her flowers off her desk, and she called out to ask if anyone was there, but she didn't hear when I responded. I really tried focusing on her energy, like I do with you whenever we talk, but--I don't know, nothing happened. Maybe she can do some minor stuff, but... but she can't communicate with us." She slumps onto the bed beside me. "I really thought she was the real deal."

If Ava's abilities are bullshit, then chances are everything I read in that book of hers is too. Shit. How the hell am I going to figure all of this out now?