Chapter 12

Class reminded me of Third Level. I didn't struggle to understand anything our instructor discussed or panic about taking enough notes. When our instructor dismissed us for our next class, somehow Shiri and Tristan got out ahead of us, leaving Kalle and me to catch up to them.

"Shiri! Tristan!" Kalle shouted. They turned to look at us, pausing so that we could catch up to them. When Kalle reached them, she immediately started in. "Where on Terminus were you? We all waited for you at the door, and you didn't show up!"

Shiri swallowed. "Well . . . we tried to meet up to walk to class together, but then we kind of . . . um . . . got lost."

I watched Kalle's jaw flex. She didn't believe Shiri at all. Still, she said, "Okay, but you could have sent us a message or something."

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I should have. We'll do that if it happens again," Shiri said. "Although it shouldn't, since we know how to get here now." She grinned.

"Right," Kalle said. She forced a smile. Unfortunately, the forced part looked all too obvious. "Well, do you guys have class with us next period? Or are you going somewhere else?"

Shiri and Tristan discussed their class schedules with Kalle, but I lagged behind, wondering what had really happened. Had they been together? Had they gotten lost? Or had they just taken a detour?

I caught up, but by then Tristan was departing for his next class, leaving Kalle, Shiri, and me. I could tell Kalle wanted to interrogate Shiri without Tristan in earshot, but she said nothing. Consequently, we walked in silence for several minutes.

Finally I said, "Do you ever dream about stuff that you think is real?"

"All the time," Shiri said. "One time I dreamed that we had cake. I thought it was real, but then I remembered that I just saw it in my Earth to Terminus textbook."

"No, I mean . . ." I paused. "This morning I was trying to remember this dream I had. But I don't think it was a dream. I think it was a memory. Something I forgot about and . . ." I paused. Kalle was glaring at me. "What?"

"You shouldn't talk like that, Miranda," she said. "If it was really a memory that resurfaced, you could get cited. It probably was a dream."

I cleared my throat. "Oh. Yeah. You're right."

So maybe she was. But on the other hand, what if it had actually been a memory? Who had that guy been, and why had I forgotten him? Had he become a criminal and disappeared from our memories, like the hooded man in the restaurant should have?

I pushed the thoughts from my head. Did I want to get cited? I'd never thought about such dangerous things before.

Then again, I'd never woken up with strange flashes of memory echoing in my head.

Kalle stopped at the door of our next class and sighed. "Well . . . are you guys ready for this?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Shiri said and reached for the door handle.

#

All of the academy classes finished at the same time, so we got out at the same time as always. I had to go over to Second-Level Academy to pick up Maegan. Kalle offered to join me. I told her she could go home if she wanted to, but she waved me away.

"I'll come," she said. "Maegan remembers me, right?"

My little sister had met Kalle while I was attending Third Level. She'd told me later that Kalle Curran was scary.

"She's only as scary as you make her out to be, Mae," I'd replied. She'd raised an eyebrow at me in response.

"Oh, Maegan remembers you," I said to Kalle. "Just try not to slit any throats while she's around."

"I didn't slit any throats when she was there last time," Kalle said.

"I'm just saying." I held my hands up.

We made it a few blocks before either of us spoke again. I spent the entire walk wondering how much time would have to pass before one of us brought it up. In the end, Kalle did.

"So what do you think happened this morning with Shiri and Tristan?" she began.

I hesitated. "I don't know," I said finally, twisting my hands together.

"They were together," Kalle said. "They came in together. They . . . Triad above. Miranda, I never saw it before, but . . ."

"I tried not to think about it that way," I breathed. "If you're right, they could get cited."

"Cited? They're Paired. And not with each other. They'd get thrown in Hex," Kalle said and ran her hands through her hair. "Triad. Regis, Ellayna, and Divina . . ."

"Kalle, calm down," I said.

"Calm down?" Kalle repeated. "What reason do I have to calm down? I don't want them to do this. I don't want to forget them."

"You can't let anyone else know," I said. "If you're obvious about it, then it won't even matter whether they tried to hide it or not. They'll pick up on it. They'll interrogate us. There won't be any chance."

"Triad damn it, Miranda, you're right." Kalle sighed. "Okay. Let's go get your sister. No more talking about Shiri and Tristan."

"Yeah."

We made our way back into the Plaza and toward Second-Level Academy.