Dusk

Chapter Nineteen

"Are you crazy?" I hiss. "What's with you shoving me against the wall like that? And can't you just go yourself?"

"Of course I can't go myself, damn it! My father would never allow that- just think about what those people would do to me!" Neo peeks around the corner and swears. "Do we run? Norman's coming."

"Your guard?"

He nods up and down quickly.

"If we run, don't you think we'd look suspicious?"

"Right." He lets go of my hand and cups my cheeks, leaning in close enough for me to feel his breath on my face.

I stare into his eyes, gulping. I can see that tiny imperfection in his iris again, but the shadows cast over his eyes by his hair makes it impossible for me to tell what it is. His hands on my cheeks are slightly colder than my own skin, and he draws closer and closer, as if he's about to kiss me. For a moment, I think he will.

Footsteps round the corner and suddenly go back the other way.

"I apologize for intruding, Master Neo!"

Neo visibly relaxes. He sighs in relief.

"What are you doing?" I ask softly. He's squeezing my cheeks a bit, making my words sound muffled.

"Ah. What indeed." He steps back and rights himself, his hands leaving my cheeks to push his hair out of his face. "Sorry about that. It was all I could think of."

"Just... warn me next time." I say, a little breathless.

He grins at me, flashing perfect white teeth. "Let's get to our lesson."

I push myself off the wall. "Where is it?"

"Just down that hallway, there," he says, pointing. "Where we just came from."

I follow him. His guard, Norman, follows closely behind us, and when I glance back at him, he looks away.

The hallway is bare save for a few holograms that spring up every now and then, advertising extracurriculars and tutoring. Apart from me, Neo and his guard, there's no one else here. I ask Neo about it.

"This wing of the school is reserved specifically for people with relations in the government, so that's us and a few others."

"Where are they?"

"Already at their lesson."

"So we're late?"

"No, no, that's preposterous! I'm never late, and as long as you're with me, you won't be, either. They just like coming early, the bastards. Sometimes it's like a competition. I don't participate, usually."

He counts under his breath, now, looking at door numbers, until he stops in front of one.

"Here we are. This is our room."

The door opens, waiting for us to step inside. It's almost completely dark in there, but I can see that it's a blank room with blank walls and a single seat in the middle.

I raise my eyebrows. What sort of teaching goes on in here?

"I guess my request for an extra chair didn't reach them. Strange." Neo shrugs and goes inside.

Norman stands by the door, arms crossed. I guess he won't be coming in.

"Cassandra?" Neo prompts. "You alright?"

"Yeah." I enter the room, looking around for anything I might have missed, like a teacher or something, but the room is indeed completely blank. It's devoid of detail- even the chair has nothing much to offer in terms of aesthetics.