Unforeseen Dives – 19a – Training

18b – Division

I jittered on my mom’s couch while she poured two glasses of lemonade in the kitchen. I had called her during my lunch break and dropped by straight out of the office. She was a bit surprised to see me again barely two days after dinner but since I would be travelling a lot in the next week, I had a plausible excuse. I wasn’t sure how I would touch on the subject of my “special skill”. It had to be done now; it was bound to hit the news in a few days and I couldn’t bear the idea of my mom learning it that way.
How does one tell her mom one has a condition so taboo that people don’t reveal they have it before they are too insane to care? The fact that I promptly reported my case probably gave me a few chances to control it, with the right support. I’d rather be an outcast than be crazy. Luckily, none of the people in the know seemed to judge me so far.
My mom walked in with the two glasses and we sipped. Better dive right in!
“Mom, there’s something I have to tell you…”
“Casey got you pregnant?”
“What?”
My jaw dropped to my knees and I shook my head to clarify my thoughts. I pieced the thing together pretty quickly though I was genuinely shocked.
“Mom, what have you seen?”
Her wide eyes were as surprised as mine.
“Oh… My bad.”
“What did you see?”
“Nothing important, really. Pretty innocent.” She blushed.
“Mom!” My nerves were already tightly wound and she was getting on the last of them.
“A kiss. One passionate kiss. That’s all.”
“You dived into my love life?”
“No! I didn’t mean too. I wanted to see how your PR stuff would go. That’s public life. He’s the PR guy so his future kinda got in the way.”
I sighed. Sometimes, having a psychic mom sucked. I couldn’t even imagine what telepaths went through during adolescence.
“What’s the name of the guy you’re seeing?” I asked bluntly.
“Beg your pardon?” She sipped her lemonade in an attempt to hide her rosy cheeks.
“You know something you shouldn’t. It’s only fair for you to share. Spill it.”
“Samuel.”
“Good!”
We both took a big gulp of our drinks. Me and Casey, huh? Could he really settle down? I didn’t want him any other way.
I slowly breathed in and set my glass aside.
“Mom… I’m a prompt diver.”
To my surprise, she sighed and put her glass on the table to take my hands in hers. No one was taking the news as I expected them to.
“I so hoped it would jump another generation.” She murmured.
“Huh?”
“Your grandma had a sister.”
“Oh!”
I had never heard about the sister in question, which was a telltale sign in and of itself.
“How long have you known, darling?”
“Three days.”
It was her turn to go “Oh!”
“It’ll be on the news this week. They’re going to create a new division in PSI to try and train me.”
“Wow! That’s… that’s great news! Considering…”
“Yeah… I guess… Let’s hope they find the funding before I go nuts.”
“Red tape is a bitch.” She laughed.
I knew she worried. Any mother would. Her barely veiled stress was still way better than the rejection I could have suffered.
Everyone had been so supportive. Maybe I wasn’t the one going crazy.

I flew all over the country for the rest of the week. Talk shows and radios wanted me to gossip on the routine of a psychic agent. Schools wanted me for inspirational speeches. It was numbing and it wasn’t getting any easier either.
“If you want that funding, you better make yourself essential,” Aaron had said. Well, I was everywhere.
Psychics and telepaths had been recognized for three years and a certain amount of readers’ exploits had occurred. Never something of this magnitude. It felt like the whole continent had been waiting for an occasion to celebrate readers and acknowledge their strengths. It blew my mind.
We had never suffered from segregation because of the positive image big investors built for us. We weren’t revered either and remained fairly misunderstood. To be an instrument in a better relationship between readers and non-readers was an honour. And incredibly scary. I wasn’t giving autographs or anything but the shows I appeared on almost doubled their ratings. Americans were suddenly interested in us, not just letting us be. That kept me going.
Rebecca and Casey travelled everywhere with me as my bodyguard and my personal assistant – though “mentor” sounded more appropriate. Every panic attack, they countered. Every involuntary dive, they covered. In the middle of the circus, they anchored me in waters as calm as could be managed.
Aaron found the funding for the new division in two weeks. As I had predicted, the FBI was reluctant at first. When Psychic State Department stepped in, the pieces fell in place. Back home in Washington D.C., I gave my most daunting press conference yet.
I couldn’t step on that stage. My feet just wouldn’t budge. I didn’t care that public relations wanted me standing strong, alone in the spot light. I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t deliver that speech. I had come a long way since my first conference yet the five steps in front of me were way too high to climb.
Then, Rebecca slipped her hand in mine and Casey slipped his in the other one.
“We don’t care what they say,” they thought in harmony and their strength overflowed my senses. I held back the tears. Daniel called my name from the stage where he had been preparing the audience. He had fought his own jitters to get on there, which had been pretty funny. The PSI’s Director wasn’t used to the spot lights either.
I walked on the stage, Rebecca and Casey still holding my hands. They flanked me as I face the crowd. I liked this image better; their loyalty was more telling than the strength I would have shown by standing here alone.
I inhaled and started my speech.

19b – Training >>