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What am I thinking?
I sweep this thought aside and try to stay still. He passed the tests, and he’s part of the gang now. But as I see him put his fucking hand on Iris when he catches up to her, as I see his fingers wrap around her bicep, I tense up. And when she smiles at him and seems to mock him with a defiant look—the same defiant look she gave me earlier—I see red.
Iris is probably going to tell me to fuck off, to call me names, but I don’t think about it anymore and move away from the wall, heading in their direction.
28. Let’s Open Up
Iris
Sanchez removes his fingers from my shoulder as he notices my questioning and far from friendly look. I hate people who get touchy-feely too quickly.
“Do you understand anything about creating false memories? I admit I fell asleep in the middle of class,” he begins.
His smile seems fake. He’s seemed nice since we met, well, at least sort of. So why is my instinct to walk away from him? To run away from him?
I roll my eyes then finally answer him, trying to piece together what I’ve figured out on my end, “Loftus showed that memory could be…manipulated. We showed one hundred students a movie that showed a traffic accident. Then the group was split into three and each new group was asked a question about the impact between the vehicles, but worded differently. When the question mentioned violence, one-third of the students recalled seeing broken glass, except that there was none in the video. It’s a false memory that’s implanted in their minds. Get it?”
“Did you really just give me a super clear summary in a few sentences?” Sanchez seems almost stunned, as if he thought a few minutes ago that I was stupid.
I don’t know if I should be thrilled to look smart or offended. I open my mouth to tell him that I have actually been interested in memory manipulation for years, but I am stopped in my tracks.
Behind Sanchez, I see Tucker rushing toward us, shoving a few people in his path.
Oh, oh. I think we have a problem.
He looks really mad.
What the hell is wrong with that jerk?
Sanchez doesn’t see him. He says something to me, but I don’t listen to him. My attention is focused on the lion who seems ready to roar. He comes close to us and gives a small shoulder blow to Sanchez, who moves away a few inches. He doesn’t know it, but Tucker just did it on purpose. I know it. But what is the problem, again?
“Sorry,” says Sanchez with a small contrite smile.
“A problem?” I ask the tall, dark-haired man, wondering if there is indeed a problem. Maybe something happened between Trey and Yeleen. I swear, if that idiot hurt her again, I’ll punch him in the face. He doesn’t even realize that this completely clueless girl who loves him is suffering.
Tucker clenches his fists. He stares at Sanchez, then at me.
“We have work to do,” he spits.
I raise my eyebrows at his pitiful excuse. His tone and attitude let me know something is wrong.
“Oh, sorry, man,” Sanchez apologizes, “I was just asking about the class.”
“No worries,man,” Tucker continues through his teeth. “Now that you got it, you can leave. We’re in a hurry.”
“You do seem to be in a hurry. But it doesn’t look like Iris is,” Sanchez says brazenly.
Tucker squints a little more, and I hold back a smile. Oh, oh…maybe the lamb isn’t so weak, is he, my beautiful wolf?
Tucker continues to stare at him, with a mad look in his eyes. His jaw is clenched, and he looks like he’s on the verge of exploding. He bows his chest and says, “You should not play with me, Sanchez.”
The latter seems divided between the urge to get out of here and the desire to continue teasing him.
“I’ll see you later,” I tell Sanchez, signaling for him to leave.
He moves back waving goodbye. I ignore him and stand in front of Tucker.
“Did something happen to make you act like a lunatic?” I ask him, trying to get his attention, but it’s no use, he keeps staring at Sanchez’s back.
