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She sits down, brushing imaginary hair out of her face. “Sorry. I got caught up.”
“We have class soon,” says Jordyn. “It means we’ll have to keep this quick.”
“Keep what quick?” asks Elara. Has she forgotten one of their birthdays?
Kira leans forward, her crossed arms on the table. “Spill the beans. What’s going on, girl?”
Elara works hard to keep her face neutral. She’s about to play dumb when she registers their serious, resolute faces. Of course her two closest friends have noticed something. She won’t be bluffing her way out of this.
She’s going to have to choose her words carefully.
Except she’s never had this much trouble focusing before, and she’s starting to wonder if perhaps the shock of being attacked by a wild animal has done something to her mind. That would explain the hallucinations she’s been having. “What do you mean, what’s going on?” she asks, stalling.
“We've noticed a change in you,” says Kira, her voice uncharacteristically soft. Almost gentle. “And we're worried about you.”
It’s a simple statement, one that even Elara has to take notice of with her issues focusing, and she swallows as hard as she flushes. They're right, of course. She’s never had this much trouble before. And yet, some part of her objects to being confronted like this, and she forces down the urge to growl. The reaction only scares her more. Since when does she growl? It's not a normal thing, and she wonders if she should go to see someone.
Like a psych hospital with a nice, padded cell…
Because it’s more than having trouble focusing. If she told Jordyn and Kira she’s having trouble with that, they’d just tell her that it was something to do with the attack, which might have been true. But then there’s the curtains changing color, which certainly hadn't been a hallucination because her parents had seen it too. She can’t tell them about that. She just can’t.
Conscious that too much time has passed, Elara glances at them. “I know, I don't know what's wrong with me lately. I just can't help it.” Not a lie, but also not the whole truth. But how can she tell them the whole truth? They would never believe her. Heck, she doesn't even believe it herself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
Almost exactly the same thing that she had told her parents, which feels more like an omen than anything else. These are all people who love her, all people who want the best for her. Andyet here she is, lying to them. Her gut clenches as she can feel her world slowly unraveling.
Jordyn and Kira glance at one another, as if they aren't sure exactly what to do with what they just heard. Not that Elara blames them. She’s all over the place at the moment.
“You’d tell us if something was up, wouldn’t you?” Kira asks.
“Of course I would,” says Elara, working hard on keeping her gaze steady. “I think it’s just taking me a bit to catch up after missing a couple of days.”
Kira opens her mouth to speak but Jordyn’s cell phone starts trilling. “Next class,” she announces.
Kira rolls her eyes. “No one has their timetable scheduled into their reminders.”
“Obviously someone does,” says Jordyn primly. “And she hasn’t been late for a class yet.”
“I’ve got a free,” says Elara. “I might get myself one of those delicious smelling muffins.” Another lie. Her churning stomach can’t handle the thought of food right now.
Jordyn and Kira stand up and sling their bags over their shoulders. “Muffins?” Kira asks. “I hadn’t noticed they had any.”
Elara shrugs, hoping her cheeks aren’t as red as they feel. “I got a whiff coming in. Maybe they’d just got delivered or something.”
With Jordyn rushing the goodbyes—she likes to get to the lecture theaters ten minutes early—the two girls leave.
Elara folds over the moment they exit, dropping her head in her hands. The sounds of the cafe crash around her, spoons clanging on plates, the medley of voices, someone’s keys jangling in their hand.
She’s slowly going crazy.
“Hey, it can’t be that bad.”
She looks up, surprised to find Laith beside her table, holding a takeaway coffee cup. Caramel from the smell of things.
Elara smiles weakly. “Hey, Laith.”
He frowns. “Is everything okay?”
Tired of the lying, she shrugs. “It could be better.” Remembering her manners, she tries to focus. “Thanks for the flowers, by the way.”
