Intrinsical - Lani Woodland [101]
“So I got my memory back today,” I confessed, gnawing on the end of my straw.
She wheeled toward me, putting her smoothie down on the stone ledge. “It must be something major for you to tell me here,” she commented, her eyebrows arching.
I nodded, grasping the Styrofoam cup tightly. “Yeah.” I bit my lip, trying to figure out the best way to start, and decided just to dive right in. I confided in her about Brent’s ability to astral project, and then filled her in on everything∫from the party, to my death, coming back to life and concluded with my conversation with Brent today. By the time I had finished, Cherie had kicked off her shoes and was lying face up on the lip of the fountain, her hands tucked in the small of her back, her ankles crossed, and her mouth gaping open.
“I can’t wrap my mind around this. You died?” She questioned numbly.
“Yeah, but you saved me. I’ve always loved your perfume.” I sat with my legs crossed, making sure my skirt hung over my knees.
“Brent’s dead? Someone else is walking around in his body?” Cherie shuddered. “I can’t even stand letting people borrow my socks.” Cherie was silent for a minute, letting everything digest.
“So they can’t get us here . . . off campus.” I shook my head. “You think that he’s collecting souls or whatever so he can be strong enough to leave?”
I lifted my shoulders. “That’s my best guess.”
“So what’s your plan?” She asked.
“I’m not exactly sure.”
“Well, I have some ideas.” She pulled her hands out from under the small of her back and angled her head so she could observe the people milling around the various stores. “We need to get some of that licorice stuff. I’m guessing it’s not like the candy we get from the store?”
“The stuff Thomas gave me was a purple powder. It probably has some other stuff mixed in.” The pounding of the fountain filled in the calculated silence we had both fallen into. “I can probably get what we need from my sister. And Vovó would know where to get a recipe.”
The door of the ice-cream store swung open, letting out the sound of the happy jingle its employees sang each time they received a tip. Some girls from our old school walked out, carrying their frozen treats. Cherie turned her head and I let my hair veil my face, both of us hiding from our former peers. I wasn’t up to making small talk with people I didn’t really care about.
“Yeah,” Cherie continued once the girls had passed. “Call in the reinforcements; we’re seriously outclassed right now. Too bad we can’t get Brent’s help, since he’s determined to keep you safe. No worries though. We can work around him.” Cherie was always good at making plans and I could see the gleam in her eye letting me know she had already started to formulate one. “You’ll have to call your sister from here so we can talk without being overheard. We can use the computers at the coffee place to email your grandma. Why is she in another country right now?” Cherie asked rhetorically with a sigh. “Let’s go visit our old friends over there and see if we can use their phones.” She gave a little wave to the girls. “By the way, I think this week Steve and I are going to have a huge fight.”
****
“Fine!” Cherie yelled at Steve the following week. Classes had just let out for the day and the halls were emptying into the quad as students made their way home. Cherie stood directly in the flow of traffic.
“You’re making a scene,” Steve fumed, motioning toward the crowd surrounding them. He reached out and grabbed her elbow. “Let’s go talk about this someplace else.”
Cherie ripped her arm from his grasp and stuck her chin in the air. “I don’t care who sees this. Let everyone know. It’ll save the gossips some work. We. Are. Over.” Cherie turned abruptly and stalked across the quad toward me at our prearranged meeting place. I draped my arm around her shoulder, leading her back to our room.
“I think that was one of my best performances ever.” She giggled once our door swung shut.
“How did you get Steve to agree to that?”
Cherie waggled her eyebrows. “I can