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Author's Note: Two chapter post today.Chapter eleven is by far the shortest chapter I've written though. My narrative is going to possibly change a bit from here. The next upcoming chapters may jump a little bit ahead but I promise to explain the days that are jumped through. I'm only doing this because I feel this day by day thing might make my story a billion chapters long. But I'm not sacrificing content for speed, it will still be the same but some parts are going to be condensed.

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Chapter Ten:

I held up the bathing suit and couldn’t help but smile. I just hoped Trish didn’t see my smile. I had nothing against bikinis; in fact I used to love seeing girls prancing around in them. But they weren’t really for me. Would I wear the one she bought me, yes but only to make her feel better. I’ll probably be extremely embarrassed but I’ll wear it. The one in my hand, the gray one piece, I’d have no trouble wearing that.

Someone knocked on the locker room door. I jumped, glad that I managed to lock it. I didn’t want anyone barging in here to see me in my underwear. I took a deep breath and listened. I was starting to get the hang of this whole listening thing. Matilda and I talked a bit about it last night and though she couldn’t see the color of sounds, she said that each person had their own distinct one. So when Trish came to get me this morning I tested her theory. It turns out Matilda was right; Trish had a squeak when she walked. I’m not sure why but I made a note to ask her about it later.
The person at the locker room door had no squeak.

Trish and I arrived at the lab promptly after lunch was over. I had been dreading it all day, especially after some of the things the girls told me they might do. Apparently everyone had the same Endurance test but different Tolerance tests. For example, they put Matilda in a sound proof room for the first part of her test to see if she could hear outside stimuli. Then they flooded the very same room with a high-pitched noise. Her goal was to find some kind of control and make the noise stop. Matilda was able to do so successfully. When she told me that I thought she was fantastic.

It was the third part of Matilda’s test that was making me so nervous.

After she proved that she could control sound, they tried to see what kind of control that entailed. So during her Skill Test, they made her scream. Well not really scream. The way she describes it is that she can “manipulate the pitch and tone of her voice, making it louder or softer”. It’s how she was able to send her whispers to me. Apparently her power worked both ways. She made the sound so loud that she popped the eardrums of several technicians and even made one permanently deaf. After that they deemed her too much of a threat to herself and others. They fastened some kind of control harness on her (in the form of a silver choker around her neck). I forgot to mention that, it didn’t seem relevant at the time because I thought it was just jewelry. But it wasn’t. In fact if she manifested loud enough, then the collar actually gave her a shock.

The knocking got louder; more intense. Now I knew it definitely wasn’t Trish.

I stripped out my underwear and stepped into the bathing suit. When I slid it up and adjusted the straps, it felt wrong somehow. I’m not sure how to describe it unless you’ve actually worn one. I couldn’t help but feel naked, a little bit. Even though technically there was more fabric here than in a boy’s swimming suit.

The knocking got louder still. Someone on the over side was definitely not a patient person. So finally I walked over to the door and unlocked. When I opened it, Dr. O’s battered face glared at me. When I say battered what I really mean is that his nose was slightly swollen and he had a fat lip. The sight of him made me smile.

“Why was this door locked?” He barked.

“Because you’re a perv”

He grumbled. “That sass of yours is starting to get on my nerves”

“And your fat ass is getting on mine”

I pushed past him out into the hall. My two goons left their position at the door and followed in my wake. I could feel their eyes on my backside and it felt wrong. I snapped around, my long braided ponytail whipped about like a deadly weapon. They snapped their heads away but I knew where they were looking. I felt my skin crawl. Dr. O huffed to catch up with me. He got in front of me and steered me toward Lab One. Which made no sense because I thought we were going to the pool? He saw my confusion and it made him chuckle. What the hell did they have planned for me now?

As soon as we entered the room, I saw Trish sitting in the corner, Blue standing dangerously close to her. Dr. S was at her console as usual and the Corporal was sitting on the far side of the room, looking edgy today. I looked about; trying to see what was going on. The exercising equipment wasn’t prepped so I knew I wouldn’t be using it. The only other thing in the room was the tall tank of water in the corner. I looked at it and groaned, realizing why I needed the bathing suit. These bastards were going to dunk me. I gritted my teeth. I wasn’t a fan of water. I could swim well enough but I didn’t being in the pool and I definitely did not like the ocean. Frankie took us there once and it was a memory that I’d like to forget.

“Good afternoon, Subject 0F09” said Dr. S. She was a little less cold today but not by much.

God I wish she’d stop calling me that. I’m a person, not a stupid number.

Dr. O. cleared his throat. “Miss Howe, today we will be testing your tolerance to certain outside stimuli. The first test will take place in the tank over there. Any subsequent testing will take place next door in Lab Two”

Trish stood up finally, pushing past Blue. She came to my side, putting her arm around me. She whispered in my ear. “The water is going to be really cold”
Blue grabbed her shoulder and gently pulled her from me.

“What did you tell her?” Dr. O. didn’t seem to like interfering.

I didn’t want to get Trish in trouble so I answered for her. “She said good luck. Is that against your rules, perv?”

Dr. O grumbled some more and I was satisfied.

He told me to approach the tank and climb the small ladder on the side. I found the ladder without a problem and climbed slowly. The water was going to be cold; Trish’s warning was underrated as my big toe touched the surface. I felt it immediately. It was like a hundred thousand needles stabbing into my toe at once. I nearly fell off the tank. But I stood firm. I looked at Trish and she nodded, her eyes were red rimmed so it looked as if she had been crying. I took a deep breath and slowly lowered myself into the water. Before I could get my head under, one my of my goons climbed the ladder and handed one a portable air breather. It was a small air tank with a mouthpiece. I guess they wanted me completely submerged.

Here goes. I dunked my head under. The water was so cold that I felt my body go numb immediately. I couldn’t even tread it. I concentrated and forced away the pain but it was really hard to do. The water was dulling my brain somehow and it was making it real hard to think. Outside the tank, Dr.’s S. and O. were standing, both of them scribbling away. They were talking to one another and at first I couldn’t hear what they were saying. You know how it is when someone tries to talk to you when you’re underwater. Well that’s how it was, at first. But then their voices slowly came to me. They were a bit garbled but I understood all of it.

Dr. S: ‘This is incredible, is the cold having any affect?”

Dr. O: “Check the monitor, Henderson”

I saw the Corporal look at Dr. S’s console. So his name was Henderson, at least now I knew. He shook his head.

Dr. S: “It must be in tune with her pain suppression. Somehow she’s blocking the cold from her body, regulating her temperature and keeping her core temperature constant”

Dr. O: “This is unheard of”

Dr. S: “How does this affect the other tests?”

Dr. O: “We don’t have enough data to confirm. Let’s see how she can keep this up and then we’ll go from there”

They talked about a few other things mostly technical stuff that meant nothing to me. I just thought it was really cool that I could hear them underwater. I didn’t know what to think of that other thing they mentioned. What the hell did it mean I was regulating my own temperature? I wondered if it was somehow tied into my sense of touch. So far I knew how cool my sight, smell and hearing were but I haven’t tested my touch yet. Was it possible that my skin was rejecting the cold? I looked at my arms, trying to see if there was any indication that my skin was different. I couldn’t find anything.

Dr. O tapped on the glass. He was looking at me strangely. Dr. S. started to look at me strangely too. I turned my head and wanted to stick out my tongue but the mask prevented it. Instead I gave both of them the finger. Dr. O scolded and Dr. S frowned.

Dr. S: “She’s clearly an interesting study but we’ll know more when we move onto stage two”

Dr. O: “How many do you want to stab her with?”

No one was going to stab me with anything. I banged on the glass, immediately getting their attention. They looked at me, confused. I started to make hand motions. First I made a stab motion, pointed to me and shook my head. Then I pointed at both of them and drew a line across my throat with my finger, signifying if they did I was going to kill them. Both doctors looked absolutely flabbergasted. They looked at each other then at me.

Dr. S: “0F09, can you hear us?”

Dr. O: “If you can, nod your head?”

Did I want to nod head? I looked past them to Trish, wanting to see what she thought. She looked perplexed at first and then looked right at me. If she shook her head no, then that was the plan. Instead, she reluctantly nodded her head. I smiled, understanding. I looked at the two doctors were strangely fish bowling me and I nodded my head.

Their faces lit up.

Dr. S: “Do you think we have another Audiokinetic?”

Dr. O: “Not likely. If we had, she would have shattered the glass by now. I think we’re dealing with something else”

Dr. S. turned back to me and spoke: “0F09, how much can you hear. Are there people in the hall and can you tell me what they’re saying?”

I inwardly sighed. It was getting harder to hear them because of the cold. Even though I couldn’t feel it, my body was starting to go numb. It was really affecting my concentration and even their words were blurring away. But I tried what she asked. I seemed to search out, listening. I heard the two heartbeats of the doctors, then those belonging to Trish, Blue and Henderson. But my sense stopped at the door. It was there and then it faded. I knew Cross and Willis were probably still outside but I couldn’t hear them.

So I looked at Dr. S. and shook my head.

Dr. O: “Must have a range. But it’s still a rather impressive thing”

“Get her out of there” said Trish, rather urgently, running up to them. “Can’t you see she’s turning blue? Even if she can’t feel…”

Her voice cut out, my uncanny hearing was gone. I started to feel lightheaded. The room kept blinking on and off as my eyelids fluttered. Darkness flooded my vision and I vaguely felt the two hands underneath my arms before darkness finally took me.

_____________________________________________________________

“Are you sure you’re going to be all right?”

I nodded but I wasn’t really sure. After all I was almost technically dead. According to Trish, after Corporal Henderson pulled me from the water, my heart stopped for a second. Luckily for me, she was able to do some CPR and get me back pretty quickly. But it was still scary to think that these bastards almost killed me. The worst part was that it didn’t even seem to faze them. Trish had been pissed and tried to get them to stop the Test but a call from Green ended any discussion. Trish said that Mr. Zero wanted to see this through. But he did relent to allowing me twenty minutes of relaxation before Stage Two of the Tolerance Test began. Wasn’t that so nice of him? Not.

So here I was now as Trish tested my vitals. We were in one of the exam rooms and I was sitting on a very uncomfortable exam table. I’d only woken up a few minutes ago and Trish was making sure everything was functioning properly. She asked me questions first to make sure there was no permanent brain damage. Then she proceeded to massage my still numb limbs. When she had gotten to my shoulders, it was fantastic. I told her so and she said there was a time when she wanted to be a Massage Therapist. She apparently was really good at it, according to her college boyfriend.

“How are your fingers?”

I wiggled my fingers. They weren’t numb anymore but they were still a bit blue. Trish mumbled something about insane bastards and I agreed with her. Who the hell dunks a sixteen year old in a tank of freezing cold water? What the hell was their plan anyway? I remember what Matilda said about them wanting us to be soldiers in their own personal army but that was crazy. Even though we had superpowers we were still only teenagers. There were only thirteen of us too, hardly an army. I was certain there was more to this but until I had any real proof I guess I had play dumb.

There was a knock on the door. Before Trish could even respond, Blue slipped his head into the room. He looked at the both of us, me sitting there in my underwear, Trish doing her best to block me from him.

“Twenty minutes are up” he said coldly. “Get her dressed and into Lab Two”

He shut the door before either of us could respond.

“He’s next” I said as the door shut. “But I’m aiming for the throat with him”

Trish laughed. But when she saw the serious look on my face she squeezed my hand gently.

Trish helped get dressed, into the same gray yoga clothes from yesterday. We left my hair the same and then I jumped off the table. My legs were a bit wobbly but I was good to go, I hoped. My goons were at the door again and they escorted us down the hall to Lab Two. WE passed another room on the right; this one had a glass window that you could see through. I was surprised as we went by because the room was occupied. I saw Holly, she was lifting a bunch of weights but her hands were at her sides. It was pretty impressive. I wanted to tap on the glass and wave but I figured it would be distracting.

“She’s not done with her tests yet?”

Trish looked at the window and nodded. “She’s done with her initial tests. But every month or so everyone is retested. Holly and your friends are in the Intermediate Class because either their powers aren’t as powerful as the others or their concentration is not as strong yet”

“Can people move from one class to the other?”

Trish nodded. “Your friend Max did a few months ago. Like I said it’s all about control and concentration. Max’s ability is vital, according to Mr. Zero. His ability to walk through most surfaces makes him a valuable asset”

“An asset for what?”

“Infiltration” said Blue as he walked down the hall to meet us. “Mr. Redcliffe makes for an excellent spy. Can you imagine the possibilities of a soldier who can walk through walls? Never again will there be any need for messy lock picking or door busting. Max can just walk right in, take out the target and walk back out without tripping any alarms”

He paused. I think he realized who he was talking too because as soon as he said those things he shut right up. He looked at me, trying to see if I was going to blab. I wasn’t going to blab because I was now really confused. What would these guys need with someone like that? I know Matilda said they wanted us as weapons but didn’t Zero say this place was to protect us. How can taking out targets be meant for our protection? Maybe I was right after all and they really were trying to turn us into their private little army. That was definitely a scary thought.

Mr. Blue kept his mouth shut as we walked the rest of the way to Lab Two.

Lab Two was similar in size and look to Lab One. But instead of exercise equipment, it was filled with things you might find in a gymnastics training room. The walls and floors were padded with safety mats, there were a couple of balance beams and in one corner there was something that looked like a medieval iron maiden. Yes I know what one of those are, I watch the History Channel. This Iron Maiden thing looked a little more high-tech though. But it still gave me the creeps because I just knew they were going to stick me in it.

I was right.

As soon as they checked my vitals via the chip in my arm, they walked me over to the Iron Maiden thing.

“We know about your pain suppression” said Dr. O “but know we want to test how long it can last”

“Didn’t we already do this?”

Dr. S. looked at Dr. O, confused. Dr. O wiped his sweaty brow and bit his lower lip. I knew then that the hallway from yesterday was not a part of the plan. I felt Trish tense beside me and wondered if she was going to hit him this time. My anger started to bubble. This guy was a real piece of work.

Dr. O cleared his throat. “The hallway was an unfortunate accident. We had no idea that the lights were on, it was clearly a glitch”

Dr. S’s eyes narrowed. She apparently didn’t approve either.

They glared at each other for a few seconds and then we started.

Dr. S. turned to me. “Stage Two, as stated before, is to test your tolerance to outside pain stimuli. We know that you have a photosensitivity to light already and that it causes you a great deal of pain unless properly covered. But now we want to know how much pain you can take”

So first it was the Iron Maiden. I wasn’t too happy to go in there but it didn’t last long. I was in about ten minutes. There was a small slit for my eyes and I could see the bastard doctors on the other side. Once again they were making notes. Me I was concentrating on all the sharp barbs sticking into my body. I couldn’t feel any of it but I could see them sticking into me. I could see each spot of blood as it formed and ran down my body.

“That’s enough” I heard Trish say.

Dr. S: “No pain. It’s as I suspected. Take the Subject out, get her cleaned up and then we can move on”

The door opened and I stepped out. Trish gasped as she helped me walk over to a bench along the wall. Corporal Henderson brought her a first aid kit. He had a look of concern on his face but it disappeared as quickly as it came. Trish used peroxide soaked gauze and dapped all my little cuts. The spikes didn’t go too far into my skin but when I looked down it looked as if someone stuck me with thousands of little needles. I’m definitely going to be feeling that tonight. I groaned for the pain to come. Trish continued to dab at me, swapping out blood soaked gauze for new ones. The Corporal assisted but he tried not to look too interested. But I knew better. There was something up with him?

After I was all cleaned up, Dr. O came over and announced they were ready for the next test. Don’t these people have consciences? I groaned and stood up. Trish tried to keep me seated but I told her the quicker we did it the quicker it would be over.

We stayed in Lab Two but three black suits entered. They were carrying this wicked looked clubs. They were padded in foam but they still looked threatening. Once again Trish protested. Blue came up behind her and grabbed her shoulders. My anger flared and I went at him. Blue nodded and the black suits went at me. I wasn’t prepared for it. The first blow was at my knees, dropping me to the mats. But there was no pain. So apparently I could suppress it without concentrating. I got to my feet and the black suits looked a little confused.

“Give her everything you got” said Dr. O giddily.

Dr. S. added. “Within reason. This is a test after all. If any of you break bones, I’m going to put you in the Box”

The black suits came at me viciously.

They avoided my head but they didn’t go gentle. They wailed on me. The first blow hit my left side, the second grazed off my right shoulder. The third went for my knees again but I jumped it this time. They didn’t like that. I was hit in the back and the side at the same time. I was staggered but still felt nothing. They went harder, aiming at everywhere but my head. Trish screamed, trying to get them to stop. But they ignored her, still going.

I’m not sure when I happened but one of them got carried away. I got hit in the back of the knees, dropping me to the mat again. Then I took a blow to the back of the head. I heard Dr. S. reprimand the man but I blacked it out. I fell face first onto the mat and as soon as I did so the room went black. I wasn’t unconscious but as soon as I raised my head my normal vision was gone. In its place was the blackness. Oh god not again.

I got to my feet. Everyone was blue now and all the big items were green. I blinked my eyes, trying to make it go away but it wouldn’t. The black suits, waving their green bats, came at me again. Give it a rest, it’s over. The first one came at me but it was like in slow motion like it was the first time. I saw every move he made. I saw something else too. On his arm, or his elbow actually. It was in the inside of his elbow, where it bends. The blue there was darker. It seemed to throb too.

It was the arm holding the bat and when it came at me, I aimed for the elbow. I meant to grab it but I must have grabbed it too hard. The man screamed, dropped the bat and sprang away from me. The shock of the move brought me out of the blackness and back to normal. We both staggered from each other. The black suit was holding his arm, mumbling about it being.

He glared up at me. “What the fuck did you do to my arm, freak!”

His two companions dropped their bats and reached for their tazers. Like that would help.

‘ENOUGH!” shouted Blue.

“Stand down now” said Henderson as he walked over to his injured man and then looked at me. He looked back at the man, flexing the man’s arm up and down.

“Looks like she hit a pressure point. The numbness and pain will go away”

“We’re done now” said Trish as she came over and put her arm around my shoulder.

Dr. S. nodded. “You can take her back to her room. We have enough information for now. But tomorrow I want her here for the Skill Test. Mr. Zero is getting impatient”

Trish nodded. “C’mon Becca, let’s get you really cleaned up”

Becca, huh? I kind of liked that.

________________________________________________________________

I groaned as I continued reading, trying to figure out how people read this garbage. It was insulting to women everywhere. But Trish seemed to like it. Me, I just couldn’t get my mind around the romance. I sighed, frustrated and almost threw it across the room. But if I did that then I’d have to explain why it was so battered. Trish gave me the book I good faith, hoping it would take my mind of today’s hell. She said whenever she had a bad day at work; she curled up in a comfy chair and read a good book. I responded that I had neither. She said she could about the chair but she had plenty of books.

This is not a book. I’m not what you might call a reader, unless you count the occasional Sports Illustrated. But even I knew what good writing was and this wasn’t it. The book was called The Passion; it was about some girl in the medieval ages that was captured by an evil wizard and the brave knight who raced off to rescue her. The narrative was filled with fluttery words and the woman sighed a lot. When the knight rescued her, about a third of the way through, they made mad passionate love, over and over again. It was total crap, people weren’t like that. Even if they were they were so full of it that you knew they were fake.

I knew I’d never be like that.

A knock on the door was my salvation. I nearly screamed in excitement. I jumped off the bed, set the book aside and raced for the door. I grabbed the doorknob, taking a deep breath. The door knob was there when I returned earlier today. Apparently they trusted me enough to allow me to leave my room freely now. I looked at my watch, another new addition (a gift from Trish) and realized we were still well within Free Time.

I got on my coat and gloves. I’m not sure where my glasses were but I’d find them in a moment.

When I opened the door I half expected to see one of the girls. Matilda told me earlier after lunch that they might come and visit. But instead of seeing one of their smiling faces, I saw a shirt. Ok so he was taller than me and that could only mean a few people. When I looked up at the face, my knees almost gave out on me. My mind screamed “yes” and my heart thumped wildly. Barry smiled at me but not one of those full smiles; it was kind of a half smile, something cool guys did in those sappy teen soap operas on The CW.

“Hi” he said, scratching his shaggy mop of hair. “Umm, Mattie and Clara dragged me out of my room so I could ask you to meet them down the hall, in E-1”

I nodded. Why did they send him, I’m going to kill them. “What’s E-1?”

He laughed awkwardly. “Oh sorry, yeah, it’s the Entertainment Room on this floor. Yours is E-1 and ours is E-2. But during Free Time hours, we’re allowed to co-mingle. A couple of us get together, well a couple of them; they invited me tonight for some reason. Anyways, we’re watching a movie. It’s one of the old ones because it’s hard to get new stuff and it’s a comedy, I don’t know if you like those…umm they sent me to get you”

He was rambling. It was kind of cute. No wait, it can’t be cute, I don’t like this guy. He’s a guy, he’s tall, awkward, dresses like a slob…gorgeous, great hair, tall…oh God.

I smiled. ‘What’s the movie?’

He shrugged. ‘Some Adam Sandler thing. I wasn’t really paying attention”

I nodded. He smiled.

“I have to get my glasses before I can go out there”. I opened the door a little more. “You can come inside and wait but you have to shut the door”.
I turned away as he stepped into the room and closed the door. I walked over to my dresser and found them, slipping them on. When I turned and saw Barry he looked a little nervous. I think I understood why. This morning in class a new rumor started circulating, perpetuated by my new best friend. Apparently Beatrice was spreading around that my ability was actually a form of vampirism and that I sucked the life-force out of people. She was called me the “Vampiress”, which was kind of cool if it hadn’t come from a bitch. I wonder if there really is someone who can suck the life-force from people that would be neat right.

I saw the nervous look on Barry’s face and laughed. “I’m not a vampire and I’m not going to suck your soul out of you or whatever”
Barry let out a small sigh. Then he nervously laughed. “Why is so dark in here?”

“I’m photosensitive”

He looked a little clueless.

So I elaborated. “I can’t go out into the lights, they burn my skin. That’s why I wear the coat and gloves and the shades”

He nodded. I could his heart beat slowly and the smell of his sweat died down a little. I thought it was finny that he actually thought I was going to do something to him.

“What is your power, if you don’t mind me asking?”

There was still some nervousness in his voice which made him even cuter. God, I gotta stop thinking that. He’s a boy and I’m a…well I’m a girl but he’s a boy. Yesterday’s lapse in judgment is over. There is no way I can like boys, it’s just sick. Ok it’s not sick but it’s not for me.

I answered him: “I’m Super Sensitive, I think”

“Cool. But how do you not know?”

“Well I have enhanced sight, obviously. I also have enhanced hearing and sound. I think I have enhanced touch too”

Then I told him about today. I told him about the tank and how the cold didn’t bother me. I told him about not being able to feel pain and about the guys beating the hell out of me. I almost told him about the blackness thing I could do but I left that out. After hurting that guy and telling Trish what happened, she told me to keep it a secret. When I asked why she said there were only a few people here with secondary abilities and that they were rare. Apparently if Zero knew I had them, then the tests would never stop and I’d be a guinea pig for months.

There was only one other person here who had them and not even Trish knew who it was.

When I finished filling him on my day, he smiled and frowned at the same time. “Sounds like you might be Advanced Class material”

‘Great” I moaned.

He laughed. “Don’t let Beatrice get the better of you; she’s just jealous that you’re pretty than she is”

We both blushed at that one.

‘Maybe we should get to that movie, I’m sure the others are wondering where we are”

He nodded and reached for my hand. I almost gave it to him but pulled away. Why did he want my hand? He seemed to notice what he did and put both hands into his pockets. I looked at his pockets, at his hands and my heart skipped a beat. Did I want him to hold my hand? I bit my lip and felt kind of fluttery. Of course not. I shook the fluttery thought away.

We left my room, I shut the door securely. My goons were nowhere in sight now. That was the other good news. After I got to my room and found the doorknob, I also got a message from Green. It was a note, in an envelope, slipped under my door. Apparently due to my potential, The Syndicate no longer viewed me as a threat. Which meant my detail was gone and I was given all the liberties as everyone else. Trish told me they usually did that for everyone as soon as they passed both the first two tests. It still made me happy to know that those two pricks wouldn’t be following me around anymore.

E-1 was a large room that looked more comfortable and felt more like home than any other place in the whole of the facility. There was carpet on the floor, actually carpet and it had large windows, the curtains were closed and one wall was a huge bank of flat screens, probably twenty or so. It looked like a giant screen. The room’s furniture was set up in a circle, with two large tables in the center. Everyone was there when Barry and I entered. Clara and Matilda sat on one couch, Holly and Chloe on the other. Beatrice and her Clones were sitting on two couches and the other guys were next to them on a third.
They looked at us as we entered. I looked around the room, seeing my friends smiling and Beatrice scowling. Matilda beckoned us over. Barry reluctantly followed me. Matilda made room for me, but Barry looked lost.

“You can sit with us?” piped in Holly, I could hear the giddy in her voice.

“Don’t you dare sit with those losers, Benny’ Beatrice called from across the room.

Barry looked over and smiled. HE looked right at me. “I better go before she blows her top and burns the room down”

I smiled, fuming myself, not sure why though. “Thanks for getting me”

He left and Beatrice pulled him onto the couch next to him. He looked happy as she put her head on his shoulder and squeezed his hand. I had half a mind to walk over there and punch her in the face. I was good at that. I’m not sure why it was bothering me so much. I could see that she liked him; it was obvious, hell half the girls in the room were google eying him, but at least she could get his name right.

“Why did she call him Benny?”

Matilda laughed. “That’s his name, his real one. We call him Barry because right after the change he started to talk in this really deep voice. He sounded like Barry White. He was kind of a ditz before…I mean Melissa was. She thought that’s how boys were supposed to talk” Matilda laughed even more. ‘Bee and I had to teach him”

I looked over at Barry, at Beatrice clinging to his arm and couldn’t see it at all. There was no way he was a ditzy girl named Melissa once. I told Matilda that there was no way Barry was ever a ditz.

“She was a ditz, trust me” Matilda sighed.

“How long were you here before the change?”

She thought for a second. “Three days maybe. The Syndicate found me first then them. I’m not sure how they knew but one day I was out riding my skateboard and then the next thing I know I have a bag over my head and I’m in a van. They didn’t even let me see my family”

She started to cry so I grabbed her and held her tight. That’s what girls do, right?

After she stopped crying and wiped away her tears, I asked the question: “They kidnapped you?”

She lowered her voice, until it was only the whisper. “They kidnapped all of us. I told you before, they can’t be trusted” She then raised her voice and spoke normally. ‘Anyways, I have a picture of the four of us before the change. It’s in my room; remind me to show it to you sometime”

“The four of you?”

She nodded. “Yeah, Declan was there too. It was before everything of course. After he changed he got real quiet and secretive then he just disappeared. He’s still around I guess, but I don’t see him much”

I nodded and then thought of something. “Do you have any pictures of him after the change?”

She laughed. “It bothers you that much, huh. The Declan thing I mean. You’ll see him eventually; he’s not as allusive as the Colors make him out to be”

“Just one more question” She nodded. “What were Declan and Beatrice’s names before the change?”

“Beatrice was Brian. He was pretty cool. He was like me. We both liked video games and skateboarding. He had this skater cut and always wore his shirts on backwards” She laughed.

I looked over at Beatrice. She was prim, proper and coifed. She was dressed in a skin tight shirt and another one of those mini-skirts of hers. This was white though, I’m not sure what kind of material it was made out of. She was wearing tons of makeup and dangling hoop earrings. She looked like a slut not a former skater boy. I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to her? Was it possible that the change had done that to her.

“She wasn’t always like that” said Matilda, sadly, looking at Beatrice too. “She was nice and sweet. She used to dress like a normal person and loved to talk about normal things. She didn’t start dressing like that until the other three came. Then the Advanced Class started and things changed. I guess I was no longer good enough for her”

Matilda started to tear up again so I gave her another hug.

“Can we start this damn movie already?” shouted Max, always the charmer.

Barry got up and started the DVD player. I smiled at him as he bent over and fiddled with the machine. It wasn’t until the movie started playing and that he was back in his seat that it dawned on me. I wasn’t smiling at him, it was his butt. I was looking at his butt. I blushed as the lights turned off and couldn’t help but smile.

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Chapter Eleven:

I think I may have mentioned the iron taste in my mouth, well when I woke up this morning it was dry mouth. It was horrible too, I hate dry mouth. The worst part is they don’t allow food or drink in our room. I found that out the hard way last night after the movie was over. I tried to bring my Sierra Mist with me and one of the guards stopped me. Liquid contraband, I felt like I was on an airplane. I made that joke last night, it got a couple of laughs and the guard scolded me.

I’d like to tell you it was a good movie but I’m not a fan. It was another stupid attempt of Adam Sandler’s, at being an idiot, trying to woo a girl and take care of his sister’s kids or something. It was all disguised at some Disney fluff. I wasn’t really paying attention to tell you the truth. I spent most of the movie watching Beatrice climb all over Barry. It made me sick. If she could have gotten any closer, she would have been in his pants with him. It made me so pissed. Ok, I’ll finally admit I like guys and I think I have a crush on a mop headed one.

But it was the second half of the movie that really stressed me out. Apparently looking across the room last night was some kind of open invitation. I hadn’t been paying attention to who was sitting near Barry but apparently he had paid attention to me. Max plopped down next to me and put his hand on my leg. He spent half the night trying to get to first base and the other half on his way to second. By the end of the night I felt severely violated. Every time I tried to brush him off he took it as an invitation to try harder.

I went to bed last night feeling so dirty that I was making a politician jealous.

The real fun started though as my head hit the pillow. I had been too tired to think and as soon as I lay down, the pain came. It tore into worst than before. I actually might have screamed a few times. My screaming only made things worse because then I heard Clara scream. I felt horrible all night, it wasn’t just my pain it was what she was feeling as well. I’m not sure what time I went to sleep last night but it was real late.

School was miserable too. After waking and running into Clara in the bathroom again, I apologized a hundred times. She told me she was used to it but I swore I’d make it up to her. After that things only got worse. Apparently I screamed loud, real loud. The whole of the dormitory heard it both floors. All through morning classes, Beatrice kept whispering “Orgasm Girl” in my ear and Max kept giving me lewd looks. At one point he passed me a note while The Priss’ back was turned: Hey babe, I didn’t think I made that much of an impression on you. If you ever want to try the real thing then my room is 202. He is such a fucking pig (sorry about the language). The Priss was exceptionally bitchy all morning too. She kept calling on me, knowing very well I didn’t know the answers. I have been public enemy number one with her ever since the incident in the cafeteria where I made precious Beatrice cry.

The only highlight was Greg’s class. We’ve moved on from still life (I finished my fruit yesterday and it sort of resembles the bowl) and now we’re painting landscapes. We were supposed to paint something from our childhoods but I had nothing. The others were busy sketching away (you’re supposed to draw it before you paint it, did you know that because I didn’t). I couldn’t think of anything. It didn’t help that Max kept trying to put his hand on my ass. Greg finally inspired me when he told me it didn’t have to be a real place, it could be a made up one. So I instantly thought up a field thousands of miles away, especially from Max.

Lunch was just as dismal. Beatrice was convinced that I had no ability and kept ribbing me about it. The others told me to ignore her but it was really hard when she and her friends kept throwing grapes at my head. You want to know the best part of lunch though, Barry showed up. For the third day in a row, which according to Matilda was unheard of? Holly and Chloe were ecstatic, me I was just happy to see him. He sat with Beatrice again which kind of pissed me off.

I saw Trish waiting for me outside the cafeteria. I frowned at her as I trudged over, throwing my arms around her and sighing.

“You look exhausted”.

“Are they going to beat on me today? Because last night I was in such pain that I was screaming and it sounded like” I whispered the last part in her ear.

“Like I was having multiple orgasms”

Trish started laughing, hard. I gave her a playful shove and she hugged me.

“Honey, it’s going to happen sooner or later”

“Not to me” I said defiantly.

“You say that now” she said as she watched the boys leave.

Max gave me a big smile and wave but I turned my head away.

‘What’s going on with Max?”

“Nothing, he’s a pig”

Trish smiled and nodded. “A cute pig, right?’

“Max?” I made a gagging gesture. “He sits next to me in the Priss’ class and makes fish faces at me then he stole Matilda’s spot in Greg’s class, he walked right through her, how embarrassing is that. Then last night he spent the whole movie trying to kiss me and stick his hand up my shirt. This morning he passed me a disgusting note and in lunch he kept staring at me like he was going to run through a brick wall just to get me”

“That last part might be true”

I gave her another playful shove.

‘It sounds like he has a crush on you. Have you told him you’re not interested?”

I shook my head. It was embarrassing. I was only a guy less than a week ago and now I’m a girl. I know he’s been a guy longer but still how can he even think that way about me. It wasn’t that long ago that he was wearing the panties (Oh crap I said it). He should know what it feels like to have someone with a perpetual tent in their pants following you around like a lost puppy. He was a pretty decent looking guy, I’m sure he was an ok looking girl. There must have been someone.

We started walking down the hall, at the end of it, Blue and my favorite goombas were waiting. I thought I didn’t need an escort today. The three of them looked just as smug as ever. I looked to Blue’s belt and saw my friend the tazer was back but my new friend the flashlight was right there too. Double barrel packing now, he must really thing I’m a baddie now. When he saw me looking, he curled his lip slightly. I smirked. I wasn’t afraid of Rent-a-Cops.

“I thought I didn’t need these guys anymore” I asked in a whisper as we stopped in front of them.

‘You don’t” said Blue, my whisper must have been just loud enough. “We’re only here to escort you to the West Wing”

“No torture lab?”

Blue smiled evilly. “Nope, today you’re in the Dojo”

I looked at Trish and it looked as if all the color drained from her face. That’s never a good sign.

Blue and the goons led us down several winding corridors, down three flights of stairs and across one courtyard. The courtyard was not fun. It was the first time I’d been outside in several days and the sun was particularly bright today. I grimaced as we stepped outside. Trish held my hand and I managed to make it. I never felt a single bit of the light which was a good thing because I haven’t felt real direct sunlight yet.

Finally we came upon a set of wooden double doors. Blue and the goons stopped before they opened them.

“You’re on your own from here” said Blue, looking wearily at the doors.

He looked at the two goons and they had the biggest smiles on their faces.

‘This is the Skills Test” said Trish before she opened the door. ‘On the other side is the Dojo. They’re going to test your abilities in there. You need to stay focused and on your toes at all time. It’s going to be tough”

She gave me a comforting hug.

“You’re going to be in there with me right?”

She shook her head. “Mr. Black runs this part of the show his way. The only ones in the room and you and him. He doesn’t like outside interference”
Mr. Black, huh, the last of the Crayons. I wonder what his problem is going to be. Besides Trish and Greg, almost everyone here are absolutely psychotic, except maybe Dr. V. but she had the biggest stick up her ass. I could only imagine what kind of monster would allow himself to be called Black.

I took a deep breath and opened the doors. The first thing I noticed was how different this room looked from the rest of the facility. It was a long room, with a low ceiling. There was a mirror all along one wall, a strange bar running along with it. The floor was covered in floor mats like Lab Two but unlike Lab Two there were no mats on the walls. Instead the three remaining walls were padded, which probably meant they were soundproof. Didn’t they soundproof the walls for Matilda? The most dangerous thing about the room was the man standing directly in the center of it.

He was absolutely enormous. He looked like the Rock on steroids. His arms were bulging with muscles and the black karate gi that he wore barely contained them. His head was shaved bald and he had a small goatee. His eyes were beady but sharp and his chin was large and square. It looked like he could break glass with that chin. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and his face was devoid of emotion as he stared at me. I’m not sure if I wanted to run, scream or throw up. I felt like doing all three at once and taking my chances.

The first thing out of his mouth was an insult: “You planning on catching a cold in here, girl”.
It was coat, why did everyone go after the coat.

“It's for the light. Don’t you read the memos?”

Ok sassing the giant muscle man probably wasn’t the best idea. HE was fast, real fast. He flew through the room, grabbed me by the throat and slammed onto the mat hard. The force knocked the wind out of me. The look on his face was crazed, like he took too much pleasure beating on little girls. While I was on my back, he put a knee in my stomach and still kept his hand on my throat. I don’t know what he expected me to do but I felt nothing. I just smiled but that seemed to piss him off even more. He began to grind his knee and put all his weight behind it but still I felt nothing. HE kept putting more and more pressure on his knee and the more he pushed the more I suppressed. I wasn’t even thinking about it anymore.
Finally he quit and got off me.

“For your information, I know everything about everyone who walks through my doors”

He held out his hand, I reluctantly took it and he pulled to my feet.

“You’ve got a great gift there” he said with a nod. “I’ve seen every single one of you come through here and you’re the one with the most potential”

“The most potential for what?”

He smiled but didn’t answer. Instead he walked across the room to where he had a large wooden barrel sitting. I completely missed it when I scanned the room before. Out of the barrel he took a pair of heavy looking head phones and a blow horn. He looked at me, shook his head and put them back into the barrel. I sighed in relief, only imagining what he could have done with those. HE spent some time looking through his “Barrel of Fun” taking things out, shaking his head and putting them back. I spent a long time wondering how he was going to torture me and with what. Finally after about twenty five minutes he gave up and walked back over to me.

‘I’m supposed to spend the next two hours giving you that damn Skill Test that they make me give all of ya” he groaned. “But skills like yours can’t really be tested. Well not in any real sense of the word”

I nodded. I already knew what I could do and so did the Syndicate.

“So I’m going to try a few very simple things”

Out of the barrel he pulled a deck of cards. He walked across the room, opened the deck and tacked one of the cards to the wall. To a normal person it was too far away to see. It world look like a blur but to me it was supposed to be one of the face cards. I knew exactly what he wanted me to do. So I stared at the card, concentrating as hard as I could. I’d never tried anything like this yet. I figured my ability to see was all the enhanced sight I got. But as I concentrated on the card, it slowly started to unblur and become as clear as day.

“Ace of Clubs” I said, satisfied.

He nodded. He took the card off the wall and put another one up. We did this for the next twenty minutes. Each card he put up, I saw clearly. WE went through all fifty two cards three times. Then he tried coins. He held up a coin between his fingers and I guessed what it was. We did this for a while until he switched to writing. HE took a black sharpie and wrote something on the wall. Usually it was one word and real simple. First it was dog, then cat, then bird and after ten minutes of this it was: DAMN THIS IS POINTLESS.

“I’m going to switch to sound now” he said from across the room, in a real low voice.

I nodded and gave him the thumbs up. I saw the slight smile on his face. He started whispering words and I repeated them back to him. He laughed, a lot. I laughed too. For a big scary looking guy he was better than everyone else. But I knew better. It was most likely an act. I’m sure there was some kind of hidden window somewhere and we were being watched like rats. Even though Black seemed like a pretty good guy he was probably setting me up somehow. Right now I’d play along.

He came back to me after he exhausted all his options. “We could test smell and taste but we both know where that would lead us”

I nodded. I’ve done smell; I’m not getting overwhelmed like that ever again.

“The way I see it with those gifts of yours you’re easily a Level Three. That’s usually a recommendation for the Advanced TST class but therein lays the problem. There’s really no way to train your skills. Your kind of like Redcliffe, you both have great and useable skills but they’re only practical if used in the right situations. I suppose we could set up eavesdropping scenarios for you and have you shot targets from hundreds of feet away but those are all pointless. So I’m going to do with you want I did with him”

He took a deep breath. “Tomorrow after lunch I want you to report here for combat training. I’ll develop a regiment for us tonight and we’ll start tomorrow. Everyone else has offense capable skill except for you and Barry. I’m going to compensate for that. Besides my training, I’m going to have Mr. Red drill you small arms and I want Miss Yellow to give you some ballet basics”

I groaned at that. I already spend way too much time with the Priss as it is. Now he wants me to prance around in some tutu with her.
“Some of the football greats learned ballet. It helps with balance and coordination. It will make you agile and quick on your feet. You’ll thank me if you ever get into a fight and your opponent is three times your size”

I nodded reluctantly.

“Good I’ll see you at twelve fifteen tomorrow. You’re dismissed, have a good evening Miss Howe”

I left through the double doors I came through. Trish was waiting for me and she looked a little worried. I smiled and she sighed.

“So what’s the verdict?”

I held up three fingers.

There was a look on Trish’s face; I’m not sure how to describe it. It was one of both triumph and fear but it was only there for a second. It worried me a little bit. I wanted to bring it up but she pulled me into a hug and congratulated me. When I told her I was to come back tomorrow and start combat training, she was surprised. She asked about my TST and I told her I wasn’t getting any. A small smile came to her face but it vanished as we walked down the hall, back toward the dormitories.

________________________________________________________________

“He was nice?”

I nodded my head and the others stared at me like I’d grown a second one. I shrugged my shoulders as I continued to stare at the pink walls.
We were all in Matilda’s room. It was the girliest room I’d ever seen. The walls were pink, the curtains were pink, the furniture was white but it had pink trim. There was a loveseat by the window that was upholstered in pink fabric and was filled with an assortment of stuff animals, some of them were pink. Matilda and Chloe were sitting on her white canopy bed; the canopy on top was pink. Do you see where I’m going with this? I nearly had a heart attack when I walked into the room. Matilda was taking this girl thing way too far.

I met up with them shortly after leaving the Dojo. Trish took me by the empty Galley; we ate a quick dinner and then went back to my room. When we got into the room there were two envelopes waiting for me. One contained three pieces of paper, the first two being letters from Green and Zero congratulating me on passing my Skills Test with flying colors and the third was a schedule. It said TST on the top but it basically outlined the regiment that Black told me he was going to work up. I didn’t look at it right away. The second envelope contained a letter from Dr. V, telling me we had an appointment in two days.

After Trish left was when Clara knocked on the door, claiming she felt my “pain” as I got there. She told me Matilda was having a get together in her room and we were all invited.

So now here I was listening to my friends complain about how badly Mr. Black had treated them the first time.

“He broke my wrist” said Matilda.

She jumped off her bed, scampered across the floor in her stocking feet and over to her vanity. All along the sides of the mirror were pictures. It looked like a thing you’d find in any teenage girl’s room and definitely not in a room of a girl that once was a boy. But I kept forgetting that Matilda wasn’t a newbie at this whole thing. She’d been a girl for almost four years. That was her whole teenage life so far. She didn’t know how to be anything else except a teenage girl. I looked at her, with her hair in pigtails and dressed in her bright yellow sundress and white stockings. I looked at her and wondered if I could have been her. Would I have turned out like that if I’d changed sooner?

The thought frightened me.

“See right here” she said as she took one of her pictures and waved it under everyone’s noses.

I caught a glimpse as it zoomed by. It was her, a much younger version, holding up her arm with her wrist in a cast. What she forgot to mention was the two black eyes and how she was missing two teeth. But she was smiling in the picture which meant she held no grudge.

“He made me cry” said Holly with a shudder.

“He just screamed a lot at me”.

When Chloe spoke she seemed down again. She was always a bit melancholy but she was even more so tonight.

Clara was particularly gloomy tonight. “He said nothing to me but I could feel his pain. That man has a lot of hurt”

We talked for a few more hours. We talked about nonsensical stuff until the topic of boys came up. Clara and I were the most uncomfortable. She smiled a bit when Donovan’s name was mentioned but hid her face behind a pillow; I was the only one who saw. Holly and Chloe started to compare Barry and Max and wanted everyone’s honest opinion about them. They were real interested in my opinion when it came to both of them. I tried to change the subject but they kept trying to drag me back into it. I was starting to get pissed, Clara winced a little and Matilda finally cut it in the bud.

After that Holly and Chloe left. Holly had lots of homework that she was putting off and Chloe had some levitation exercises she needed to do. After they left, Clara slipped out as well. Apparently she had some meditation to do. It had been Trish’s idea, something to help her to try and block out the pain. She said she’d been doing it for a few days now but so far it wasn’t really helping. When she left, Matilda and I were alone.

Her giddy girl persona disappeared and she got right down to business. “Combat training. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing”

I decided to be direct. “What the hell is going on around here?”

She shook her head. “I’m not sure. At first I thought they wanted to make us into their own private army but then with all the advanced classes now I’m beginning to think we’re weapons. They seem really keen on us learning to control our powers and being able to do maximum damage with them”

She fingered her choker as she spoke.

‘Is that why Beatrice is a member of the Deviants?”

Matilda nodded. “She and the others are pretty wicked together. I don’t know exactly what’s going on but I’ve heard a few of the guards talking. They’re training them to work as a team and use their powers as one. It’s like unleashing all four elements at once”

“All four?”

“You know how Beatrice is fire well Rachel is ice, Sara is earth and Natasha is air. Together they make up the four elements, more or less”

“And you think they’re trying to turn them into some kind of fighting force?’

She shrugged. ‘It's not just them. You know about Max right?”

I nodded. “Blue told me, he’s the perfect spy or something”

“They’ve already got Holly working too” she sighed heavily. “Before you got here she announced that she’d just been moved up to the Advanced Class. That’s why she had so much homework”

And that’s why Chloe was so upset? It must have crushed her to know her best friend was probably going to have to hang out with those four all day and Max too. I knew hanging out with Max would drive me nuts. There was also the whole Beatrice thing. Hadn’t Matilda said the Advanced Class had changed her somehow? I know brainwashing was crazy but maybe the pressure was too much and Beatrice cracked. It would explain why she was such a bitch, at least on the outside. As much as I felt bad for Chloe, I felt even worse for Holly.

“You’re next you know” I could hear the sadness in her voice. ‘Then I’ll be alone again”

I hugged her tightly. She started to cry on my shoulder. “I’m never going to let them get me. They can try all they want but it’s not going to happen. I promise”

“They can be very persuasive” she sniffled.

I pulled her head from my shoulder and wiped her tears. “What are they going to do, taze me? You seem to forgot, I can’t be harmed”

“Except by a flashlight”

I grabbed one of her pillows and smacked her upside her head. WE both started to laugh and Matilda hit me with a different pillow. Soon we were going at it and I was having the best time of my life. I’d never had a real friend, not like her. Dell was a good friend and we were buds but it was different now. The friendship between two girls felt solid and more emotional. With guys it was all “I like this” and pats on the back. But with girls there was crying and hugs and lots of laughing. A few days ago I would have said it repulsed the hell out of me but now, I kind of liked it.

After nearly five minutes of softly smacking each other up side the head, Matilda looked over at her mirror and the pictures. She jumped off her bed and slid across the floor. Those tights were pretty amazing. Matilda was slipping and sliding all over the place. They actually looked kind of fun. I wonder how comfortable they are. Oh God I did not just think that.

“Here’s that picture I told you about” she said as she slid back over to the bed.

She handed me an older photographer. It contained four awkward looking preteens. One of them was Matilda which surprised me because I thought she said Matthew was in the picture. I pointed this out to her and she smacked her forehead. She told me she forgot. Melissa pointed out a cool looking kid with shoulder length sandy blonde hair and grunge look. That was Brian, which floored me. There was no way that could turn into Beatrice. Next to Brian was a red head with freckles. She was kind of cute. She had a big smile on her face that went from ear to ear. She was wearing a pink top, a white knee length skirt and black Mary Janes. Her fingernails were painted pink and she was playfully waving at the camera. Matilda laughed and said ‘I told you she was a ditz”. I couldn’t believe that bubbly rd head was the tall and handsome Barry.

‘Is this Declan?” I asked, pointing to the last girl in the picture.

The girl in question was beautiful. She had long silky blonde hair that fell to her shoulders and bright green eyes. Even at twelve she already had the beginning of a bosom. She was dressed in a white tank top and denim skirt. She wore knee high cowboy boots and would have been even more beautiful if not for the scowl. She did not look happy and something about her unhappiness felt very familiar to me. Her face was familiar but I couldn’t place it.

“Yeah that’s her” said Matilda, tapping her own pink painted fingernail on the girl. ‘I tried remembering her name after you asked me but it’s drawing a blank. It must have been one of those boring ones like Britney or Tiffany. You know those preppy, happy names”

We laughed.

“Why does she look like she wants to punch the camera man?”

“Right before the picture was taken, they just found out they were going to change gender. Miss Declan to be was not very happy. She ranted and raved for a bit. She refused to go to sleep that night for fear of waking up with a penis in the morning. They finally had to sedate her. She really loved being a girl, I felt kind of bad for her”

I nodded. I felt bad for her too. If I had been told beforehand that I was going to change into a girl I think I would have thrown a fit as well. But I’m sort of glad it happened, especially while I was asleep and didn’t know it was coming.

I walked back to my room thinking about all the kids here who had to change like me. As far as I knew Matilda, Barry, Beatrice and Declan were the only ones who knew beforehand. It had to be rough to know that your whole life was going to change. Did the kids that the government had, did they know about the change before hand? I can imagine the government is a little more with it as far as these things go so I’m sure the kids knew. I bet they might even have a cure now. That thought kept me thinking hard as I walked into my room and got dressed for bed. Would I want the cure?

I groaned as I slipped into the pink pajamas. I’m definitely going to have to get some better ones. Maybe I can convince Trish to let me go shopping. Would they even let us do something like that? If they did I’d see if the others could go with me. Maybe not Beatrice and the Clones but definitely the girls, Barry can come too if he wants. Definitely not Max though, I don’t need him chasing me around a shopping center. I could just see him following me into a clothing store and sticking his head into the women’s changing rooms. No, Max would be staying behind. But one person who wouldn’t: Chloe. I needed to do something to cheer her up. I wondered if she liked shopping, didn’t all girls like shopping? Do I like shopping?

I lay down, wincing from the dull pain that hit me as I tried and failed to get comfortable. Luckily there wasn’t as much today. But I was sorry that there was any. I closed my eyes, tossed and turned for an a half an hour and fell asleep.

Photo Credit: MeetMeByTheLake2Nite

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