Part 7
The next morning, I awoke from what felt like the best sleep of my life, mumbled a quick "hi-bye" to my parents, and headed off to U Chicago campus. The clouds were grey, but my spirits were high, for some reason. The wind blew at just the right angle to keep the hair out of my face, and it wasn't too cold, either. I'd found my outfit fairly quickly, and I looked good.
Sitting in Humanities, though, I found myself checking my phone too many times, with this nagging feeling I'd forgotten something. What was it? I browsed through some apps, checked my book bag three times--I made it all the way to Natural Sciences before it hit me...
Tony.
Tony was missing. Some mornings I'd see him heading to class, sometimes our schedules crossed and we'd be in the same hallway together--but I'd always see him, or I knew if I didn't see him in the morning, I could look for him in the afternoon. Even with his frequent hospital visits, I'd get a text letting me know he was okay.
Today, nothing. All I could think about were the empty seats where he could have been, and the fact that even if I did send a text, he wouldn't receive it. For all I knew, he might not even be conscious at the moment.
Mr. Gorden got up, but instead of telling us which chapter to begin with, he held up an envelope. "Before I teach today's lesson," he said, "I have a quick announcement for those who applied to the Macedonian dig with the Fortune Research and Educational Discoveries team. I have here the names of the five students chosen, based on their exam results. Some of you have received your acceptance letters already, and for others, you may collect your acceptance letters from me today. When I call your names, the following students will be excused from this class period, to give the five of you time to get to know one another, and get a head start on your research projects."
A few people groaned, but I was just confused. What research project?
Mr. Gorden grinned and nodded. "That's right, we want to make sure this trip really does count toward your education, so each of you will be expected to write a paper detailing your perspective on the trip, some interesting facts you discover, and some additional notes about the archaeological process. The specific requirements for the paper will be emailed to you by the end of the week, along with a projected deadline."
The class grew restless, murmuring and voicing complaints to their neighbors, or expressing relief that they never wanted to be involved in the trip anyway. I caught Tiffany's voice as she told a friend, "My grades are almost perfect--I don't even need the extra credit anyway!"
Gorden cleared his throat and flourished the paper in his hand. "Would the following students please meet at the table in the back of the room: Jordyn Teffa, Chelsea Perrit, Priscilla DelVento-Thiele, Derrick Gifford, and Kayce Marten."
I sighed and pushed my textbook back into my bag. Derrick and Chelsea I knew, but the other two I'd seen in class and heard their names, but never officially met. Jordyn was a dusky-skinned girl with smooth, dark hair and mono-lidded eyes, while Kayce, I could see from three tables away, had a severe undercut with long locks of bright-blue hair hanging over his ears.
The five of us slouched at the back table, casting wary glances from one to another.
Kayce rolled his eyes. "Dang, I thought I was just barely getting above the average." he folded his arms and rested his head on the table. "I didn't even want to be here."
I leaned forward, wanting to let Sulky-McSulkerFace know that the person he was most likely replacing was my best friend who was currently dying--but Chelsea laid a hand on my arm, giving me a knowing look.
She spoke up, taking charge of the group. "Let's go around and introduce ourselves, saying our name and what our major is, just to get a sense of the strengths in this group."
She even pulled out a notebook, writing down her name in it. "My name's Chelsea, and I'm majoring in Computer Science--so I'll probably be on the tech team at the dig site."
She nudged me, so I said, "I'm Priscilla, I'm a history major."
Chelsea recorded that.
Next was Derrick. "I'm studying Mechanical Engineering, so I'll likely be working on the generators, anything with a motor or an engine, and gear like that."
Kayce raised his hand before picking up his head. "'Sup, I'm Kayce," he said. "Studying Anthropology and World Cultures."
Chelsea paused in her note-taking. "Is that Case as in C-A-S-E?"
Kayce shook his head and spelled it for her. "Don't ask me why my parents decided that me and all my brothers would have names starting with K," he muttered.
Chelsea shrugged and made a note of that. "Well, at any rate, we will need somebody to be the actual archaeologist, so you'll be the one to know if something is artifact or just dirt."
Kayce pulled his hood down over his face. "Whatever."
Jordyn leaned forward and gave a little wave. "Hi, I'm Jordyn with a 'y'," she clarified for Chelsea's benefit. "I'm majoring in Geology, and I, for one, am really excited for this trip. I've got my passport and everything."
Chelsea finished writing and looked up. "Has anybody ever traveled overseas before?"
Derrick bobbed his head. "I've been to Mexico a few times, but not off the continent."
"Does Hawaii count?" Kayce asked. "I went surfing there a couple times. It's flying over the ocean, for sure."
"I've never been out of the country," Jordyn confessed.
I raised my hand. "I've been to Canada a couple times with my parents, but that's about it."
Chelsea nodded. "See? We're getting to know each other already. I've been to places like Canada, South America, and London, but I've never been east of Europe--so I guess this is going to be a new experience for all of us."
Derrick raised his hand. "Okay, next order of business--does anybody actually know anything about these people? This Fortune Developing Educational..."
"You mean Fortune Research and Educational Development?" I corrected him.
He pointed at me. "That," he said. A long lock of dark hair fell over his face as he pulled out his phone and began swiping and tapping. "There was some kind of website, wasn't there?"
Chelsea pulled out her phone too. "Way ahead of you. I was looking it up over the weekend, because my parents wanted to know about it. The Daeva-Staite Foundation, too."
I shrugged. "My parents said they knew the Foundation was listed as a donor to the adoption agency."
Chelsea set her phone aside and picked up her pen again. "Philanthropy? Good..."
Meanwhile, Kayce suddenly sat up. "Whoa wait--Pris... Thiele? As in Rick Thiele, of Acropolis Urban Developers? The company that owns half the skyline of Chicago?"
I blinked. I never thought of my dad as a "Rick;" he was always "Pat." "Umm, yeah?" I answered reluctantly. This was the most animated Kayce had been this entire time--so why did his energy need to focus on me?
He leaned his head back so his hood fell off. "Oh man! He's your dad? How come I am just now hearing that your his daughter?"
I started fidgeting in my seat. "Well, we're not actually related, I mean, he adopted me--"
"Oh man, that is so cool! I've heard his wife is pretty hot too--your parents are, like, god-level in the real estate world..."
I detected Mr. Gorden wrapping up his lesson, so I took the opportunity to stand up. "My parents aren't gods..." I muttered, shoving my books into my bag and slinging it over my shoulder. The whole room seemed stuffy and stagnant. I needed air.
I plunged out the doors and into the quad. The wind pushed against my face, and I gasped it deep into my lungs.
I hear his wife is pretty hot... What a jerk! To sit there and talk about someone's mom like that--least of all mine!
I caught my breath and made straight for the park leading to our driveway. I wasn't anybody special. Just a girl who was about to...
I stopped in the doorway, gasping for breath again--but this time, no amount of heaving could dislodge the tightness in my throat. I let my chin tremble, I let the tears well, and I gave a little sob. Tony! All the money we had, the big mansion in Hyde Park, of all places... and I didn't have one thing that could stop my friend from dying.
Nothing except... Whispered the little voice in my head. I stepped forward and let the door close behind me, listening hard. My parents could be disturbingly quiet when they didn't feel like making noise.
"Mom?" I called. "Dad? Zella?"
No answer. I made it into the kitchen, where I saw another note from Mom.
Gone to lunch with the Fishers. Back in time for dinner! See you after school. Much love, Mom
That tiny except still rang through my thoughts. I wandered back into Mom's display room, back to the wall of artifacts--back to the supposed healing amulet. It was so small, barely the size of a watch face. It looked simple enough, and my geology textbook had a chapter or two about the mineral composition of such things.
I could just hear my mom's shocked and angry voice--which didn't differ all that much from her normal speaking voice, just the way she could make you feel when she said it--berating me for touching things in the room, even as I carefully slid back the panel that would release the reinforced plastic casing. Now I could touch it--but dare I? Did I really believe this mere object contained some mystical powers?
What have you got to lose? said the little voice. Just Tony--you'll lose Tony if you don't at least try. He's dying anyway.
I gritted my teeth and grabbed the amulet.
Nothing happened. It was just a creepy-looking art piece in my hand. It didn't burn my skin or release a cloud of mystic energy. I sat down and inspected the casing closely. At first it looked like one ornate piece, but as I turned it over, I realized that there were actually tiny fissures that proved the existence of hidden levers in the piece. I dug in with my fingernail and pushed a few of the pieces--getting my fingertip pinched a couple times, but I did hear a soft click and the stone rattled slightly. I carefully held the amulet flat in my hand as I gently lifted the weird eyeball thing from its setting. The domed glass over the top made it feel like the eye was watching me from every direction. I pulled out a piece of notebook paper and raced upstairs to get the science kit from my room. I found the right minerals, followed the steps I found online, and within half an hour, I had a near-perfect replica of the eyeball stone sitting beside the real one. For some reason, my dupe didn't have the depth or dimension--it kind of looked flat compared to the real one, but I figured there was something in its construction that I couldn't have done with an at-home, college-issued science kit. At any rate, it was close enough to pass until I didn't need it anymore.
The guilt threatened to creep back up. In a moment of panic, I wanted to put the actual stone back and get rid of the dupe I'd just made.
"I'm not stealing it!" I said out loud to no one in particular. "It's practically mine anyways, since it's part of Mom's private collection. I just need to borrow it--if it works and Tony revives, I'll put it back." I hesitated a moment. "And even if it doesn't work, and he still revives..." I concluded slowly, "I'll still put it back."
I placed the dupe in the setting and put that back on the display shelf. I brought the real stone up to my room, where I pulled out my wire-wrapping kit and did my best to disguise the stone's appearance by wrapping it in a crisscross of wires, sort of putting it in a "cage", almost. I looped the wire over a necklace chain to make it easy to carry, and I slipped that into an envelope with Tony's name on it, stowed safely in my purse. I grabbed myself a quick lunch of leftovers and then departed to my afternoon classes.
Immediately after my last class, instead of heading straight home, I detoured to the Advocate Health Center. On my way there, I dialed Mrs. Rosen, and she met me in the hospital lobby.
Her eyes were red and her skin looked all deflated and sagging. She gave me a big hug, and I could feel the bones in her shoulders.
"Oh Priscilla," she choked. "Thank you so much for coming. I know this would mean a lot to him."
The eyeball necklace was practically burning a hole through to my hip. "Has there been any change?" I asked, fearing the worst.
Mrs. Rosen shook her head. "He was awake for a little bit today, but unresponsive, and now--I mean, I guess they say he's sleeping, or just unconscious, but I..." Her voice caught and she gave a shaky sigh.
Here we go, I thought to myself. Moment of truth. "Can I see him? Is that all right?"
Mrs. Rosen nodded. She led me back and down a maze of hallways to the hospice wing. The whole family was there, all sitting with their arms around each other, staring at the floor, nobody smiling. His sisters, Lacey and Dot, looked up when I walked in. His little brother Freddy hopped down and made straight for me, to wrap his arms around my middle as I walked by.
"Priscilla's just going to see Tony, and then she'll need to get home," Mrs. Rosen explained to her husband. He just sat there, as if he'd been turned to stone.
She pointed to the door and opened it for me.
Everything in the room was quiet, except the low thrum of the air conditioning, the steady whoosh of the respiratory machine, and the periodic beeping from the monitors attached to him. The blanket had been pulled down to his waist, so that his chest, with all the tubes and needles and monitors was left exposed--but I forced myself to focus on his face, with the big ugly breathing mask strapped to the front of it. Swallowing hard, I pulled out the envelope and took up the chain. I let the makeshift amulet dangle from my hand over his chest, and with the other hand I pulled up the website where I'd found the "healing incantation" earlier.
When I first saw it, the words had seemed like a bunch of barely-discernible gobbledegook, I had not even the foggiest clue how to pronounce any of it. But now, spurred on by a desperate hope for my friend, I looked at the words on my screen and did my almighty best.
"Vlavi, Nashtam, Egamad; Ekawa! Az zindoni xud baroed, Dava adhikaram, Tvirdat ovie koski!"
The strange words rolled off my tongue. I waited a few seconds, but nothing happened. All the sounds continued exactly as they had been before. I wanted to watch, wait for some kind of flicker--but the only change that came was the ping of an incoming text that just about made me jump out of my skin.
On our way home. Bringing dinner. Mom texted.
So much for staying and waiting. I tucked the amulet back into the envelope as I turned back to the table full of gifts from family and friends in the area. As I did, something stopped me--was it just a trick of the light, or did the eyeball just freaking blink at me? I stopped and watched it for a good ten seconds, but it didn't move, except to do that freaky follow-you-everywhere effect.
"Whatever," I muttered, shoving it into the paper and dashing from the room. I said my goodbyes to the Rosens and hurried to catch the next bus to the stop just down the road from our house.
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Sitting in Humanities, though, I found myself checking my phone too many times, with this nagging feeling I'd forgotten something. What was it? I browsed through some apps, checked my book bag three times--I made it all the way to Natural Sciences before it hit me...
Tony.
Tony was missing. Some mornings I'd see him heading to class, sometimes our schedules crossed and we'd be in the same hallway together--but I'd always see him, or I knew if I didn't see him in the morning, I could look for him in the afternoon. Even with his frequent hospital visits, I'd get a text letting me know he was okay.
Today, nothing. All I could think about were the empty seats where he could have been, and the fact that even if I did send a text, he wouldn't receive it. For all I knew, he might not even be conscious at the moment.
Mr. Gorden got up, but instead of telling us which chapter to begin with, he held up an envelope. "Before I teach today's lesson," he said, "I have a quick announcement for those who applied to the Macedonian dig with the Fortune Research and Educational Discoveries team. I have here the names of the five students chosen, based on their exam results. Some of you have received your acceptance letters already, and for others, you may collect your acceptance letters from me today. When I call your names, the following students will be excused from this class period, to give the five of you time to get to know one another, and get a head start on your research projects."
A few people groaned, but I was just confused. What research project?
Mr. Gorden grinned and nodded. "That's right, we want to make sure this trip really does count toward your education, so each of you will be expected to write a paper detailing your perspective on the trip, some interesting facts you discover, and some additional notes about the archaeological process. The specific requirements for the paper will be emailed to you by the end of the week, along with a projected deadline."
The class grew restless, murmuring and voicing complaints to their neighbors, or expressing relief that they never wanted to be involved in the trip anyway. I caught Tiffany's voice as she told a friend, "My grades are almost perfect--I don't even need the extra credit anyway!"
Gorden cleared his throat and flourished the paper in his hand. "Would the following students please meet at the table in the back of the room: Jordyn Teffa, Chelsea Perrit, Priscilla DelVento-Thiele, Derrick Gifford, and Kayce Marten."
I sighed and pushed my textbook back into my bag. Derrick and Chelsea I knew, but the other two I'd seen in class and heard their names, but never officially met. Jordyn was a dusky-skinned girl with smooth, dark hair and mono-lidded eyes, while Kayce, I could see from three tables away, had a severe undercut with long locks of bright-blue hair hanging over his ears.
The five of us slouched at the back table, casting wary glances from one to another.
Kayce rolled his eyes. "Dang, I thought I was just barely getting above the average." he folded his arms and rested his head on the table. "I didn't even want to be here."
I leaned forward, wanting to let Sulky-McSulkerFace know that the person he was most likely replacing was my best friend who was currently dying--but Chelsea laid a hand on my arm, giving me a knowing look.
She spoke up, taking charge of the group. "Let's go around and introduce ourselves, saying our name and what our major is, just to get a sense of the strengths in this group."
She even pulled out a notebook, writing down her name in it. "My name's Chelsea, and I'm majoring in Computer Science--so I'll probably be on the tech team at the dig site."
She nudged me, so I said, "I'm Priscilla, I'm a history major."
Chelsea recorded that.
Next was Derrick. "I'm studying Mechanical Engineering, so I'll likely be working on the generators, anything with a motor or an engine, and gear like that."
Kayce raised his hand before picking up his head. "'Sup, I'm Kayce," he said. "Studying Anthropology and World Cultures."
Chelsea paused in her note-taking. "Is that Case as in C-A-S-E?"
Kayce shook his head and spelled it for her. "Don't ask me why my parents decided that me and all my brothers would have names starting with K," he muttered.
Chelsea shrugged and made a note of that. "Well, at any rate, we will need somebody to be the actual archaeologist, so you'll be the one to know if something is artifact or just dirt."
Kayce pulled his hood down over his face. "Whatever."
Jordyn leaned forward and gave a little wave. "Hi, I'm Jordyn with a 'y'," she clarified for Chelsea's benefit. "I'm majoring in Geology, and I, for one, am really excited for this trip. I've got my passport and everything."
Chelsea finished writing and looked up. "Has anybody ever traveled overseas before?"
Derrick bobbed his head. "I've been to Mexico a few times, but not off the continent."
"Does Hawaii count?" Kayce asked. "I went surfing there a couple times. It's flying over the ocean, for sure."
"I've never been out of the country," Jordyn confessed.
I raised my hand. "I've been to Canada a couple times with my parents, but that's about it."
Chelsea nodded. "See? We're getting to know each other already. I've been to places like Canada, South America, and London, but I've never been east of Europe--so I guess this is going to be a new experience for all of us."
Derrick raised his hand. "Okay, next order of business--does anybody actually know anything about these people? This Fortune Developing Educational..."
"You mean Fortune Research and Educational Development?" I corrected him.
He pointed at me. "That," he said. A long lock of dark hair fell over his face as he pulled out his phone and began swiping and tapping. "There was some kind of website, wasn't there?"
Chelsea pulled out her phone too. "Way ahead of you. I was looking it up over the weekend, because my parents wanted to know about it. The Daeva-Staite Foundation, too."
I shrugged. "My parents said they knew the Foundation was listed as a donor to the adoption agency."
Chelsea set her phone aside and picked up her pen again. "Philanthropy? Good..."
Meanwhile, Kayce suddenly sat up. "Whoa wait--Pris... Thiele? As in Rick Thiele, of Acropolis Urban Developers? The company that owns half the skyline of Chicago?"
I blinked. I never thought of my dad as a "Rick;" he was always "Pat." "Umm, yeah?" I answered reluctantly. This was the most animated Kayce had been this entire time--so why did his energy need to focus on me?
He leaned his head back so his hood fell off. "Oh man! He's your dad? How come I am just now hearing that your his daughter?"
I started fidgeting in my seat. "Well, we're not actually related, I mean, he adopted me--"
"Oh man, that is so cool! I've heard his wife is pretty hot too--your parents are, like, god-level in the real estate world..."
I detected Mr. Gorden wrapping up his lesson, so I took the opportunity to stand up. "My parents aren't gods..." I muttered, shoving my books into my bag and slinging it over my shoulder. The whole room seemed stuffy and stagnant. I needed air.
I plunged out the doors and into the quad. The wind pushed against my face, and I gasped it deep into my lungs.
I hear his wife is pretty hot... What a jerk! To sit there and talk about someone's mom like that--least of all mine!
I caught my breath and made straight for the park leading to our driveway. I wasn't anybody special. Just a girl who was about to...
I stopped in the doorway, gasping for breath again--but this time, no amount of heaving could dislodge the tightness in my throat. I let my chin tremble, I let the tears well, and I gave a little sob. Tony! All the money we had, the big mansion in Hyde Park, of all places... and I didn't have one thing that could stop my friend from dying.
Nothing except... Whispered the little voice in my head. I stepped forward and let the door close behind me, listening hard. My parents could be disturbingly quiet when they didn't feel like making noise.
"Mom?" I called. "Dad? Zella?"
No answer. I made it into the kitchen, where I saw another note from Mom.
Gone to lunch with the Fishers. Back in time for dinner! See you after school. Much love, Mom
That tiny except still rang through my thoughts. I wandered back into Mom's display room, back to the wall of artifacts--back to the supposed healing amulet. It was so small, barely the size of a watch face. It looked simple enough, and my geology textbook had a chapter or two about the mineral composition of such things.
I could just hear my mom's shocked and angry voice--which didn't differ all that much from her normal speaking voice, just the way she could make you feel when she said it--berating me for touching things in the room, even as I carefully slid back the panel that would release the reinforced plastic casing. Now I could touch it--but dare I? Did I really believe this mere object contained some mystical powers?
What have you got to lose? said the little voice. Just Tony--you'll lose Tony if you don't at least try. He's dying anyway.
I gritted my teeth and grabbed the amulet.
Nothing happened. It was just a creepy-looking art piece in my hand. It didn't burn my skin or release a cloud of mystic energy. I sat down and inspected the casing closely. At first it looked like one ornate piece, but as I turned it over, I realized that there were actually tiny fissures that proved the existence of hidden levers in the piece. I dug in with my fingernail and pushed a few of the pieces--getting my fingertip pinched a couple times, but I did hear a soft click and the stone rattled slightly. I carefully held the amulet flat in my hand as I gently lifted the weird eyeball thing from its setting. The domed glass over the top made it feel like the eye was watching me from every direction. I pulled out a piece of notebook paper and raced upstairs to get the science kit from my room. I found the right minerals, followed the steps I found online, and within half an hour, I had a near-perfect replica of the eyeball stone sitting beside the real one. For some reason, my dupe didn't have the depth or dimension--it kind of looked flat compared to the real one, but I figured there was something in its construction that I couldn't have done with an at-home, college-issued science kit. At any rate, it was close enough to pass until I didn't need it anymore.
The guilt threatened to creep back up. In a moment of panic, I wanted to put the actual stone back and get rid of the dupe I'd just made.
"I'm not stealing it!" I said out loud to no one in particular. "It's practically mine anyways, since it's part of Mom's private collection. I just need to borrow it--if it works and Tony revives, I'll put it back." I hesitated a moment. "And even if it doesn't work, and he still revives..." I concluded slowly, "I'll still put it back."
I placed the dupe in the setting and put that back on the display shelf. I brought the real stone up to my room, where I pulled out my wire-wrapping kit and did my best to disguise the stone's appearance by wrapping it in a crisscross of wires, sort of putting it in a "cage", almost. I looped the wire over a necklace chain to make it easy to carry, and I slipped that into an envelope with Tony's name on it, stowed safely in my purse. I grabbed myself a quick lunch of leftovers and then departed to my afternoon classes.
Immediately after my last class, instead of heading straight home, I detoured to the Advocate Health Center. On my way there, I dialed Mrs. Rosen, and she met me in the hospital lobby.
Her eyes were red and her skin looked all deflated and sagging. She gave me a big hug, and I could feel the bones in her shoulders.
"Oh Priscilla," she choked. "Thank you so much for coming. I know this would mean a lot to him."
The eyeball necklace was practically burning a hole through to my hip. "Has there been any change?" I asked, fearing the worst.
Mrs. Rosen shook her head. "He was awake for a little bit today, but unresponsive, and now--I mean, I guess they say he's sleeping, or just unconscious, but I..." Her voice caught and she gave a shaky sigh.
Here we go, I thought to myself. Moment of truth. "Can I see him? Is that all right?"
Mrs. Rosen nodded. She led me back and down a maze of hallways to the hospice wing. The whole family was there, all sitting with their arms around each other, staring at the floor, nobody smiling. His sisters, Lacey and Dot, looked up when I walked in. His little brother Freddy hopped down and made straight for me, to wrap his arms around my middle as I walked by.
"Priscilla's just going to see Tony, and then she'll need to get home," Mrs. Rosen explained to her husband. He just sat there, as if he'd been turned to stone.
She pointed to the door and opened it for me.
Everything in the room was quiet, except the low thrum of the air conditioning, the steady whoosh of the respiratory machine, and the periodic beeping from the monitors attached to him. The blanket had been pulled down to his waist, so that his chest, with all the tubes and needles and monitors was left exposed--but I forced myself to focus on his face, with the big ugly breathing mask strapped to the front of it. Swallowing hard, I pulled out the envelope and took up the chain. I let the makeshift amulet dangle from my hand over his chest, and with the other hand I pulled up the website where I'd found the "healing incantation" earlier.
When I first saw it, the words had seemed like a bunch of barely-discernible gobbledegook, I had not even the foggiest clue how to pronounce any of it. But now, spurred on by a desperate hope for my friend, I looked at the words on my screen and did my almighty best.
"Vlavi, Nashtam, Egamad; Ekawa! Az zindoni xud baroed, Dava adhikaram, Tvirdat ovie koski!"
The strange words rolled off my tongue. I waited a few seconds, but nothing happened. All the sounds continued exactly as they had been before. I wanted to watch, wait for some kind of flicker--but the only change that came was the ping of an incoming text that just about made me jump out of my skin.
On our way home. Bringing dinner. Mom texted.
So much for staying and waiting. I tucked the amulet back into the envelope as I turned back to the table full of gifts from family and friends in the area. As I did, something stopped me--was it just a trick of the light, or did the eyeball just freaking blink at me? I stopped and watched it for a good ten seconds, but it didn't move, except to do that freaky follow-you-everywhere effect.
"Whatever," I muttered, shoving it into the paper and dashing from the room. I said my goodbyes to the Rosens and hurried to catch the next bus to the stop just down the road from our house.
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