Free Minds

Chapter 27.

    At this point, I'd be an idiot to believe things couldn't get any worse. That, however, didn't stop the shock that jerked within me when my eyes rested on a bewildered Talise.

   She strutted from the coffee shop's main entrance straight towards the booth. I rushed out of my seat, nearly crashing into her as we met at an empty table.

"Tali!" My anxiety was released through my exaggerated greeting. "What are you doing here? It's not even lunch at Ridgeton High yet. You should be in class by now."

"Mr. Pierce was absent today and the substitute was making us watch one of those old documentaries so..." She shrugged. "I didn't see the point in staying. I'll go back after lunch."

   Her gaze seemed to have instantly lost interest in whatever the ramble of excuses I was trying to come up with. It switched to a curious one when she caught sight of our usual booth over my shoulder and the people that occupied it.

"Who are those?" She asked, keeping her eyes in their direction for a little while before turning to me.

   I stifled a sigh as she walked further to get a better view.

"Schoolmates."

"Hold up." She waved her hands, a small frown formed in her features. "Why are you all here and not at Zavlon?"

"Listen." My face began to pick up heat. "I can't—"

"Wait, I recognize him!" she gestured to Dorian's seat at the back. "He's the reason you skipped school the other time."

"What are you talking about? I did not—"

"I saw you two through one of the classroom windows in front of Ridgeton High on that day," she said.

   Oh.

   She was talking about the day Dorian had come over to help out with the drones and decided to lurk around Ridgeton High. Why had I encouraged his weird urge? I should have known that it would come back to bite me at some point.

"You were going to lie to me." The sour expression that clouded her stare as she spoke made me wince. "Then I guess I shouldn't bother asking the real reason why you've been coming to your house late, not wearing your uniform sometimes, might I add."

   She knew that too?! Damn. Not even I had realised the few slip ups I'd made with my uniform till now.

"It's not for any reason you think, I promise." Or could ever imagine, I thought.

"Oh?" She crossed her arms with a displeased glare. "Because I have a pretty good theory. It's because I'm not as smart as your new friends right? Everyone else who isn't within your new social circle."

"Stop saying that!"

"Not until you tell me what the hell is going on with you! And don't say it's nothing." The concern in her appearance at the moment just made me feel worse. "I'm your best friend. Talk to me."

   So that she could get involved in all this? The occurrence we had just given up all hope of preventing? After being responsible for the imminent doom that the world was going to be under, I think I could do this one good deed of making everyone else bask in the unknown till then.

"I can't," I uttered.

   Those two words, though a mere whisper, were strong starts toward the destruction of the solid foundation of our friendship.

"Are you going to introduce me to your friends at least?" she asked. "Or you can't do that either?'

"Talise,"