Arc 3: Learn Quickly

The next day, I met Nell outside of Kay’s house. She was quiet as we boarded the bus. Her emotions flickered like a burnt out lightbulb. Should I bring it up? I was afraid to say the wrong thing. It was perfectly understandable that Nell had the reaction she did. She interpreted an overly pushy […]

Kay dropped us off at a thrift store so Nell could buy some clothes that fit her. “I gotta go to a welcome committee meeting at Sillwood U,” she said. “I can come pick you guys up later?” I waved her away. “It’s fine. I can show her how to bus back to your place.”

Kay found a place to park near Alek’s apartment and we set off on foot. Nell’s head was tilted so far back I thought she might tip over as she looked at all the tall buildings around us. “There’s some good arcades around here,” Kay said. “I have a group of friends that hang out

I scrolled through the local news while lying on my bed. Nip purred next to me, occasionally batting at my hand when I stopped petting him for too long. Unsurprisingly, there was no mention of anything beyond just the fires that sprung up in the countryside. “None of the families affected were available for comment,”

A flicker of pain snapped me out of my stupor. I watched a thin trail of blood run down my chin, then my neck. I gently set the razor down on the lip of the sink. That was probably enough. I’d shaved as much as the razor would allow and then kept going, scraping away