Emily gave her a thumbs up and said she was in.
“Yeah…” The guy scratched his neck. “I guess if you think it’ll help, I’m in too.”
“It will. Thank you, Max.” Penelope turned to Vivienne.
“I’ve had enough needles stuck in me this week,” she said, touching the fading bruise on the back of her itchy hand. “I may hold off for right now, if that’s okay.”
“That’s entirely up to you.” Penelope’s smile never wavered. She set a small red booklet on each student’s desk. “Unlike donating, following Neverland’s rules is mandatory. To stay safe, we stay hidden. And to stay hidden, we follow the rules.”
Vivienne lifted booklet. Neverland Policies was printed in bold black letters on the front.
“These policies have helped us hide from outsiders and from HOOK for over a century. One of the rules states that only Kensington-approved cellular devices can be used on and near campus. Did you bring your cell phones?”
“Don’t go anywhere without it,” Max said, pulling his phone from his back pocket.
Although it was currently in pieces, Vivienne had brought hers out of habit. She found the bits in the front of her backpack and reassembled them on her desk.
Penelope brought four black bags printed with the Kensington crest from behind her desk and asked them to trade their phones for orientation bags.
“What? Why?” Max clutched his phone to his chest.
“We don’t want HOOK tracing them to our location.”
“But HOOK doesn’t know about me.”
Penelope leaned close; the smile that had been on her face since the beginning of class disappeared. “Are you willing to bet your own life—and the life of every other PAN in Kensington—on that?”
Max shook his head and handed over his cell phone.
Penelope took the phone and gave him a bag. “Don’t worry, there’s a new one inside of this.”
Emily looked down at the dark screen in her hand and asked about all her photos. Vivienne had been wondering the same thing.
“You can save everything to your new laptop after our technicians disable them.”
“We get computers?” Emily shoved her phone away, and Penelope replaced it with a bag.
After a brief hesitation, Vivienne set her phone on the desk too. The orientation bag Penelope handed her was heavier than she’d expected.
Penelope opened a fourth bag and started pulling out the contents one item at a time. “Your new phones come pre-loaded with all imperative phone numbers, including Kensington’s main line and the extension for extraction, Neverland’s version of 911.” She pressed a button on the phone and the screen turned on. “We’ve also stored contact details for your fellow classmates and your recruiters, if applicable.”
Vivienne’s stomach flipped when she scrolled to find Deacon’s number in her small list of contacts. Was he out finding more PAN, or was he close by? Would she see him again soon? She secretly hoped so.
Penelope explained that they wouldn’t be allowed to access their social media accounts on their phones or laptops unless they were outside of the state. “Vivienne, because of the situation at the hospital, it would be best if you deleted your accounts altogether. We’ll organize a secure location for you to do so in the next few weeks.”
Vivienne nodded, uncomfortable with the way Emily and Max stared at her.
“What’s she talking about?” Emily whispered.
“Tell you later.”
Penelope continued digging through the bag. “You each have a copy of Peter Pan and Wendy, signed by Peter.”
Vivienne’s hand trembled when she opened the front cover of her book. After the title page was a picture of Kensington’s crest. Below the crest was a handwritten note.
You’re as much a part of this story as I am.
Welcome to Neverland
-Peter
She traced Peter’s bold signature and tried to picture what he looked like. Definitely short. Red hair. Pointy ears, like an elf.
Penelope cleared her throat, and Vivienne closed the cover with a snap.
“You’ll get to choose a watch from the catalogue.” Penelope showed off the silver one on her wrist. It looked similar to the one Deacon had worn. “All Kensington watches have an altimeter fitted to let you know how high you’re flying. You also have a schedule of classes for the next few months—the remainder of your high school curriculum will be covered in the mornings, and PAN-based classes are held in the afternoons.”
Max groaned.
Vivienne felt the same way. When she’d left Ohio, she had assumed high school was a thing of the past.
“You’ll find some additional Kensington shirts at the bottom, and I have a credit card for each of you that gives you access to Neverland funds.” She passed around cards stuck to a piece of paper. “You can use them at any ATM or as a regular credit card for purchases. If you buy anything online, use the address listed on this sheet as your mailing address.”
Vivienne pressed her thumb against the name embossed on the card, leaving an indentation of the words PANE Aviation, Inc. on her skin.
Emily slipped her card into her copy of Peter Pan. “Is there a spending limit on these?”
“No. And I trust that none of you will take advantage of it.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Emily hid her smile behind her hand.
“Since the administrative stuff is out of the way, I’m giving you this list of career paths.” Penelope passed Vivienne a stack of spiral-bound books. Vivienne took one, then handed the rest to Emily. “I encourage you to find roles that foster your individual passions. I’m passionate about teaching, so I teach. Emily? What are you passionate about?”
“Um…” Emily tapped her nail against her lips. “I like shopping.”
“Would you believe we have personal shoppers in Neverland?” Penelope stepped in front of Max’s desk. “What about you?”
“I dunno about passion,” Max said with a shrug, “but before I came here, I wanted to join the state police.”
“It sounds like extraction may be your calling.” Penelope moved next to Vivienne. “And you?”
“I don’t know.” Vivienne scratched the back of her hands, but the motion only made the itching worse. Penelope kept staring at her like she was waiting for a better answer. Vivienne shoved her sleeves up to her elbows and scraped her burning arms.
Couldn’t she move on? Talk about something else?
“What made you decide to come to Neverland?”
The unbearable tingling under her skin forced Vivienne to rip off her sweatshirt. Her ponytail came loose, and she collected her hair tie from the floor. “I said I don’t know.” Her nails left angry red streaks on her arms.
“Close your eyes and take three deep breaths.”
Vivienne stopped scratching. “What?”
“Breathe…” Penelope’s eyes fell closed. “In through your nose…and out through your mouth.”
Vivienne felt her face turn red, but she followed Penelope’s instructions. After she exhaled the third breath, the itchiness subsided. “Thanks.”
“The tingling was always the worst part for me too,” Penelope said in a soothing voice. “Your body is adjusting to surges of adrenaline from your fight-or-flight response. It’ll even out soon enough.”