MADISON

"Mom, please don't make me do this. It's torture!" Madison whined as she dragged her duffel bag reluctantly out to her car.

Her mother was already sitting in the driver seat. She checked the time and sighed. "We should have left already. Would you just get over the 'horrible injustice' and get your stubborn teenage self in the car?"

Madison groaned and dropped her luggage. She then planted herself firmly on top of it. "I can't! I just can't! I want to stay here! I want to hang with my friends and do fun things. I don't want to go to a dumb school."

"I don't know if your friends would want to 'hang' with you if they knew what you were doing with their letters. Now get in the car or I'll confiscate Mr. Dimpleton."

"MOM!" Madison screamed, flying to her feet. "Don't say that in public! Someone might hear you!" She swung her head around wildly, and only collected herself when she was positive there had been no one around to hear. "What did you have to go and say a thing like that for?" she demanded in lower tones.

Her mother just smiled. "Come along, Madison. Right now. And if you don't, I might take away Dr. Gregg and Penny McParks as well."

Madison turned a deep shade of red. She was embarrassed and angry all at once. She didn't want to go to PITY, or meet any talented kids who weren't her. But she also didn't want to go without the stuffed animals that were the only reason she could sleep at night. That was not an option. She shook her head as an attempt to drive away the color that had gathered there, bent over to grab hold of her belongings, and walked stiffly to the car. Like it or not, she would have to stomach the experience. So she braced herself for anything as the engine roared to life and began to carry her toward her prison.

RICK and ROY

"Dude, check out the view!" Rick and Roy were riding down the meandering country back roads in Roy's dad's van. Their faces were practically glued to the windows, taking in all they could of the vast, inky black depths of forests, the hidden streams and still lakes, and the rolling, hilly terrain.

"I'm seeing it, Roy," Rick said.

"Not out your window. Look at the view over here!"

"My window is just as good as yours." Rick went back to staring out his own side.

The two boys were in the back of the car, concealing their conversations and games from their dads in the front. Mr. Manning was steering with difficulty around the curves and swells of the land while Mr. Hunter was contemplating a map of the unfamiliar roads, turning it this way and that to make sense of the knotted lines. The two adults had been close friends since before they could remember. While Rick and Roy were getting into all kinds of mischief on the days the two families got together, Mr. Manning and Mr. Hunter would sit down at a table with a bottle of root beer and talk about their wives, politics, and sports. But they weren't doing any talking at the moment, as they were traversing treacherous roads, turnoffs, and byways. With the trouble it had taken to get this far, they believed it would be a miracle if they even reached the secluded mansion at all.

The next few minutes passed away in silence, only broken now and then by the shuffling of the map. Rick and Roy continued to gaze out their window, not caring that they were both getting carsick.

Roy finally broke the silence. "Rick, look over here!" he exclaimed.

"Seriously. My view is good too," Rick grumbled.

"No, really! You have to see this. It's the mansion!"

Indeed it was. The thick forests began to split apart, revealing a massive building with hundreds of doors and stained-glass windows. It was made of dark wood and stone, and its towers rose tall and pierced the sky. There were fields, gardens, hedges, and ponds surrounding it, cut through by long walkways. The whole property, which was probably several hundred acres total, was surrounded by a spired fence.

The vastness of the place was enough to silence the Hunters and the Mannings. And to add to the strangeness, there was a similarity between all the features of Murray Mansion. The lakes were heart-shaped, the hedges in the likeness of clovers, the spikes on the gates were spades, and the house itself had diamond windows.

"Looks like someone has a thing for cards," Rick muttered to Roy, who was gaping open-mouthed at the mansion.

Roy let out a hoarse whisper of agreement.

As the car drew nearer and the mansion loomed above them, the boys also noticed large card towers dotting the lawns. There had to be at least fifty of them, all stacked about five feet tall and probably held together with glue--J.Q. King's idea of lawn decorations.

Noticing the peculiar ornaments, Rick pointed them out to Roy. "See those?" he asked. "It looks like he's got tons of time on his hands."

"J.Q. King must be a bit crazy," Roy decided.

"Absolutely nuts," Rick agreed.

And they were going to spend their summer there.

JULIA

The bus turned a sharp corner, sending Julia lurching into the aisle. She gathered her scattered belongings and quickly returned to her seat, though as far as she could tell there was no one on the bus to see her fall. Of course, there was the bus driver, but it seemed he didn't really want to observe what was going on behind him.

Julia didn't mind. She wanted to be ignored. It was the best way not to draw any unwanted attention to her shortcomings. Back at her home and at school, she had done so every day. It was the quiet moments when she was alone with no one around to judge her that she cherished.

They won't judge me at PITY, though, she told herself. They want me there.

The bus was the only vehicle on the undisturbed road as far as she could see in all directions. It rattled over the bumps of the unbeaten ground. The road probably had never been repaired once since it was made. It hadn't needed it, Julia thought, since so few people travelled on it.

Julia felt herself falling asleep to the droning of the engine. She had barely slept a wink the night before her departure, since she had been too busy staying up with her thoughts of what the institute would be like and what she would do once she arrived--the same thoughts that went through her mind now. She hoped to become friends with the other students, do well in her studies, and show everyone just how talented she could be. However, these thoughts now slowly slipped from her mind. The mansion seemed so far away, and sleep seemed so nice.

She didn't sleep long. She was awakened by a crash from behind. Her eyes flew open, and she reeled around in her seat to look.

She wasn't as alone as she thought. Sitting on a dark bench in the very back corner of the bus was a girl. She looked as if she were about Julia's age, and she had black hair that fell in long strands in front of her dreary face. Though she had such a gloomy, detached look, her real personality was given away by her eyes. They had a thoughtful and observant light in them, and just a flicker of frustration as she bent over to pick up a metal case and its scattered contents. She had dropped a deck of playing cards.

She looked up and caught Julia's staring eyes. "Do you like them?" she asked abruptly. She continued picking up the cards.

Caught off guard, Julia didn't know what to say. "Excuse me?"

"Do you like them--the cards?" the girl elaborated, still intent on receiving an answer.

Julia inspected the cards more closely. It was just a normal deck, and somewhat old. The edges of each card were worn soft from use. Not a single one was missing.

"I guess I like them," Julia replied. She watched the girl's face to see how she reacted.

To Julia's relief, the girl smiled. Finally placing the last of the scattered deck in its metal container, she rose to her feet. The bus went over a bump, but she steadied herself and laughed silently. "I like them too. That's why I bought them." A thoughtful expression crossed her face. "Kathryn," she said.

Again Julia was confused. "What?"

"Kathryn. My name's Kathryn, and my last name is Jones," she explained. She gestured to Julia with the hand holding the cards. "What's yours?"

"I'm Julia Forth."

Kathryn rolled her eyes."Not your name, silly, though that is nice to now. What I meant was, what's your favorite card game?"

Julia frowned slightly. Kathryn was strange. Her questions jumped all over the place and made little sense. She didn't even know how to answer her last question. "I've never played any card games," she said a bit sheepishly. "At least that I remember."

Kathryn's eyes grew wide, and she smiled. She sat down next to Julia on her bench. "I can teach you. You'll love it. I could teach you poker."

"I'm not sure," Julia said hesitantly. "I never played poker before. My mom doesn't approve of gambling."

"Then how about war? It's not quite as fun, but I assure you there's no gambling involved. And it's very simple."

"Sure," said Julia. She still didn't really want to play. Nevertheless, she accepted the invitation. It was always good to be polite to people, and there was nothing else to do on the bus.

Kathryn opened her card box and took out the cards. She moved them fluidly in her fingers and shuffled with ease and astonishing speed. As she did so, she casually asked,"Where are you heading, Julia?"

Julia smiled proudly and gazed up at the bus's ceiling. "I'm going to a summer school for gifted people."

"What?" Kathryn said, looking at Julia curiously.

Julia stopped staring dreamily upward. "A school for gifted people," she repeated.

"I heard you. I meant, what is your gift?"

Julia opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. What could she say? Nothing came to mind. "I don't know yet," she whispered, ashamed of herself. What would Kathryn think of her? She was a completely untalented person going to a place for talented people. She felt like a cheat.

"I'm going to PITY, too," Kathryn stated, out of the blue.

Julia whipped her head around to look at her. Her face was serious. She wasn't kidding. "Really?"

Kathryn pulled out a red envelope and smile. "Yes, I'm going. And do you know what?"

"What?" Julia asked.

"I don't know what my gifts are either."

Julia beamed. A warm feeling of understanding filled her heart, and she knew in that very moment that they would be friends.

Kathryn grinned back. She gave Julia a handful of cards."Let's play."