into hiding like the cockroaches they are.”
I smacked a palm against my forehead. Oh geez. Where did I start? “Okay, first off, Eli and Caleb Phillips, the so-called ‘suicide bombers’, actually didn’t mean to kill anyone. If you saw their dad on TV, he explained how they just lost control of their abilities. And second, where is that woman coming up with this whole story about there being some secret Clann terrorist organization? Real descendants of the Clann don’t gather to learn how to terrorize people. They gather so they can help each other learn how to control their abilities so things like the explosions in D.C. don't happen. Palmer didn’t even give anyone any proof! She just stood there flinging completely unfounded accusations against an entire group of people, kind of like Hitler did against the Jews, to try and make everyone afraid of the possibility of real magic instead of our being amazed and in awe of it. And isn’t spreading terror the definition of what makes someone a terrorist? If so, then she’s the one who sounds like the real terrorist here.”
I thought it was a pretty darn good argument, and I looked around , expecting at least a few nods of agreement. Instead, all I found were frowns and scowls, a look of pure horror on Hayden’s face, and the usual evil smirk on Kyle’s.
Kyle stared at me. “All the proof you need is in the name Clann. Sounds an awful lot like the KKK to me."
"It's Gaelic Irish for—" I began.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Kyle snorted. "If they were smart, they would have picked a different name, Irish or not. And besides, if they're not really evil, why go with the whole magical abilities story for a cover? Everyone who's ever read the Bible knows God hates witches. These Clann members might as well just go ahead and call themselves demon worshipers while they're at it! And who would go around proudly telling the world that they worship demons? Someone who wants to make others afraid of them. In other words, a terrorist.”
Oh wow. I had to blink fast a few times at that. I felt like I’d just woken up in the middle of a plague of stupidity. “You’ve got it all wrong. Their magic has nothing to do with religion. I'm sure quite a few of them are Christians too. It's like Simon Phillips said. They're born with these abilities, and someday science will be able to explain exactly how they work. It's a genetial gift, not terrorist activity. For all we know, they could end up changing the world for the better.”
“ What have you been smoking?” Kyle said. “Lay off the incense and wake up, hippie! You heard the president. The Clann isn't a bunch of peace-loving vegans dancing around a bonfire singing ‘Kumbayah’. They blew up our freaking president! Who knows what they’ll do next? And did you notice how nobody can explain what the bombs were made of or how the terrorists got the bombs past security onto both a plane and right outside the White House gates? How do we know these Clann members really don't have some freaky abilities the government can’t explain, like that Simon Phillips guy claimed on TV, and all those other outcasts on YouTube? Abilities that probably came from…where?”
Several students murmured “from demons” and nodded.
No matter how much I yearned to, I would not jump out of my chair a nd try to smack some sense into them or Kyle. That would just be giving them what they wanted.
So I gripped the edges of my desk, took a deep breath, and did my best to stay calm. “How do we know our own government’s not actually behind the explosions? Simon Phillips could have been wrong about his boys’ causing them. He wasn’t there. At the very least, the government could be making up the terrorist story to cover up the fact that they haven’t got a clue what really happened.” I sat back in my seat and tried not to notice how the plastic chair bumped against a certain someone's desk behind me. “I think the government’s just using
I smacked a palm against my forehead. Oh geez. Where did I start? “Okay, first off, Eli and Caleb Phillips, the so-called ‘suicide bombers’, actually didn’t mean to kill anyone. If you saw their dad on TV, he explained how they just lost control of their abilities. And second, where is that woman coming up with this whole story about there being some secret Clann terrorist organization? Real descendants of the Clann don’t gather to learn how to terrorize people. They gather so they can help each other learn how to control their abilities so things like the explosions in D.C. don't happen. Palmer didn’t even give anyone any proof! She just stood there flinging completely unfounded accusations against an entire group of people, kind of like Hitler did against the Jews, to try and make everyone afraid of the possibility of real magic instead of our being amazed and in awe of it. And isn’t spreading terror the definition of what makes someone a terrorist? If so, then she’s the one who sounds like the real terrorist here.”
I thought it was a pretty darn good argument, and I looked around , expecting at least a few nods of agreement. Instead, all I found were frowns and scowls, a look of pure horror on Hayden’s face, and the usual evil smirk on Kyle’s.
Kyle stared at me. “All the proof you need is in the name Clann. Sounds an awful lot like the KKK to me."
"It's Gaelic Irish for—" I began.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Kyle snorted. "If they were smart, they would have picked a different name, Irish or not. And besides, if they're not really evil, why go with the whole magical abilities story for a cover? Everyone who's ever read the Bible knows God hates witches. These Clann members might as well just go ahead and call themselves demon worshipers while they're at it! And who would go around proudly telling the world that they worship demons? Someone who wants to make others afraid of them. In other words, a terrorist.”
Oh wow. I had to blink fast a few times at that. I felt like I’d just woken up in the middle of a plague of stupidity. “You’ve got it all wrong. Their magic has nothing to do with religion. I'm sure quite a few of them are Christians too. It's like Simon Phillips said. They're born with these abilities, and someday science will be able to explain exactly how they work. It's a genetial gift, not terrorist activity. For all we know, they could end up changing the world for the better.”
“ What have you been smoking?” Kyle said. “Lay off the incense and wake up, hippie! You heard the president. The Clann isn't a bunch of peace-loving vegans dancing around a bonfire singing ‘Kumbayah’. They blew up our freaking president! Who knows what they’ll do next? And did you notice how nobody can explain what the bombs were made of or how the terrorists got the bombs past security onto both a plane and right outside the White House gates? How do we know these Clann members really don't have some freaky abilities the government can’t explain, like that Simon Phillips guy claimed on TV, and all those other outcasts on YouTube? Abilities that probably came from…where?”
Several students murmured “from demons” and nodded.
No matter how much I yearned to, I would not jump out of my chair a nd try to smack some sense into them or Kyle. That would just be giving them what they wanted.
So I gripped the edges of my desk, took a deep breath, and did my best to stay calm. “How do we know our own government’s not actually behind the explosions? Simon Phillips could have been wrong about his boys’ causing them. He wasn’t there. At the very least, the government could be making up the terrorist story to cover up the fact that they haven’t got a clue what really happened.” I sat back in my seat and tried not to notice how the plastic chair bumped against a certain someone's desk behind me. “I think the government’s just using
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