Adie approached me the next day, her friend Dylan tailing behind. His hair was in it's usual spiky mess and his square glasses pushed up his nose. He trotted along after her, in complete contrast to Adie's heart felt smiles and perfect looks. I had never really taken notice of Dylan, but he always had an intelligent look in his eyes, not noticed by many because of his shy manner. Why he was with Adie now, I didn't know.
She stopped when she got closer to me and peered at my face. "You look awful."
"Very tactful." I gave her a grin. That was Adie, blunt and to the point.
"Of course. But seriously, what happened to you?"
I shrugged, choosing saying nothing over lying, the lesser of two evils in my mind. But it wasn't a surprise that she asked. I knew that I looked shocking. I hadn't got much sleep last night and when I had gotten up in the morning I had seen the bruises. My outing with The Resident had left ugly marks along my collarbone and scratches down my back from the wall. The most obvious was the red line spanning my right cheek, where one of his talons had caught me.
Dylan leaned in to scan my face and I could almost see him counting my injuries, which made me feel oddly self conscious under his scrutiny.
"You really have to look after yourself more, Isa. What am I meant to do if you get yourself seriously hurt?" She shook her head, then turned to Dylan. "I bet you five bucks she was sleep walking."
He gave a small smile, but seemed more concerned with making sure I was pretending to be okay. His head was tilted to one side, when suddenly an understanding look filled his eyes and he straightened. I was wary of him all of a sudden, wondering what he had thought of. It was impossible that he actually knew something, wasn't it?
"Anyway," Adie blurted, having noticed the exchange between us. "Dylan and I were heading to the Library so he can help me with my Stats homework. If you want, you can come with."
"Sure, I have a free period first."
I slung my bag back over my shoulder, holding onto my writing pad in the same hand. Since Arin's visit, all the things I thought I knew were being questioned and I had been compiling a small, but growing, list of things I had checked. It would take a while, but eventually, I knew I had to decide how I would react - accept his story and that I was probably mad, or reject and send him away. With something this big, there was no middle ground. I hadn't seen him since, but I somehow knew (or hoped) that he was there, purposefully staying out of sight so I could have time to think, which I appreciated.
On the way through the Library doors, Adie was greeted by a few people, one person calling back to Dylan, asking about the latest computer game. No one talked to me. Usually, I was content with the silence I received, like a protective blanket around me. As long as it was there, people wouldn't have to speak to me directly. They wouldn't have to get to know me. I wouldn't be laughed at. But today it was a dead weight, pressing on me enough to make me scream. So many things were different and I noticed them all.
Dropping into a table seat, I drew a pencil from my pocket and went back to drawing the number grids from the day before. They stuck in my head. The longer I looked at them the more they made sense until I began recognising strings of numbers. I was part way through my second sheet when I came to a sudden halt.
"What the hell?"
-What am I doing?-
I watched the numbers suspiciously, wondering how I knew them. The longer I watched, the less they made sense until I didn't understand them at all. It occurred to me that this could be one of the things I had known before I had 'lost my memory'. I would have to ask Arin, if I saw him again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The branches got in the way, but from what she could see, Isadore was still sitting at the table. At least she had arrived okay. But something was wrong, with the way she looked, the way she smiled. Something had changed. That was not an image she was comfortable with. No matter what challenge they had faced, Isadore had always been the same. But now, she looked almost normal.
She turned her head away, leaping from the branch she was on, much to the surprise of the students below. It was decided. More recon work was nessecary, then she would make her move.
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