The Cure To All Disease

Chapter 20:

"I would like to walk to school on my own this morning.” I hold my trembling hands behind my back as I stand in the doorway of Troy and Nika’s bathroom. In one sink Troy is using the mirror to braid her hair and in the other Nika is shaving his stubble away. They both stop what they are doing, Troy drops her brush and Nika drops his razor, both to stare at me with wide impressed eyes.

“Um okay, you can go ahead, make sure you get there on time though.” Troy swallows her shock away to talk to me after standing there dumbfounded for a solid minute.

“Yes that’s why I have gotten ready already and I am leaving right now.” I begin to make my exit down the hallway, I stop navigating and run back to the bathroom, another thought suddenly in my mind. Hanging over the door frame of the bathroom I call out. “Yes I have also eaten breakfast too.”

“Well okay, have a good day at school then.”  Nika picks his razor up from the floor while gulping through his words, still dumbfounded.

Last night I had another dream, that aspect alone was enough to completely baffle me. However the contents were baffling too, the people I had seen in those articles coming to life as though I had known them personally. They speak to me, their voices seeming perfectly accurate but it was not like I had known them to know this for sure.

The words they spoke as they pointed toward my bare chest were engraved within my mind. I remember gazing down to find a panel the color of paler flesh, they place a door handle on it, it transforms into a door. They begin to reach inside but I wake up and in a cold sweat I can’t seem to fall back asleep so I get ready for the day.

“I’m sorry that sounds awful. What did they say to you?” Lennox stands with me in front of the school while waiting for the door to open. She speaks to me eagerly to know, but I can barely stand to open my mouth let alone even look her in the eyes. I don’t want  to know what she’ll see if I do.

“ Something about finding the key to life or some sort of cure I don't remember now.” All this time I wasn't able to think of anything else but now that I can finally vocalize it the words are all scrambled in my brain. I stand there my frustration is replaced with shock for a moment but then it begins to burn again.

“Are you okay, Ambrose? You seem kind of off, I know I already asked you but I feel like your dream isn't actually the reason why.” I can feel her presence inch towards me even while I'm looking away. It’s prying away at me to reveal what needs to be concealed.

“ I'd prefer not to say.” I briefly glance over at Lennox and she's making completely unbroken eye contact with me. I try to quickly break away but her eyes seem to follow me.

“I went to the library by the way, the gym teacher's wife actually owns it.” If the contact I can break is not physical but verbal and mental then so be it. Hopefully this can make her forget about the conversation we had moments ago, anything to make her forget about that dream.

                  “ That's great, Mrs. Argento is honestly like a second mother to me” Lennox breaks away for a moment and then she clings onto me again. “Now, no more distractions. It's okay if you don't want to tell me what happened even though talking about it will help. I just want to know if there's anything I can do for you” I don't think there's anything that she can do for me but there’s something so comforting about knowing that she is at least willing.

“Thank you.” I let a sense of comfort wash over me, I can feel a little bit of my affliction dissipate and my trembling hands are at bay. Yet a residue of it remains.

Through the glass doors of the school entrance a flash of red hair appears. I immediately recognize him as Phenix and I begin to contemplate ways that I can effectively ignore him despite being right in front of me. He’s unlocking each of the glass doors, I guess it's time for the school to open. I've never been here early enough to witness this, apparently Lennox does almost every single day.