The stress of saving her classmates and the break down of her relationship with Jemma has pushed Pandora to the breaking point. And the corruption of the box isn't helping anything either. She's then offered a way out by the person she's worried abo...
Light shines through the slightly open drapes of Jemma's bedroom window. A sleeping Jemma stirs as the sun hits her face, eventually making her wake up. The sound of a text message on her phone makes her pick it up.
'I'm really sorry. Can we talk?'
She turns over to look at the ceiling. After a few moments, she smiles, getting up for the day.
* * *
Jemma steps off the bus in front of the school. She makes her way toward the entrance, dodging a few classmates who weren't looking where they were going, on her way.
"I can't believe I forgot." a classmate says as she passes Jemma.
"I... I can't..." another of her classmates mumbles as she goes.
The previously possessed girl notices several of her classmates grouped together, trying to figure out what they're doing.
"Do you remember where it is?" questions one of them.
"Why the hell are you asking me?" responds another with a question.
She walks into the school and heads to her locker. Just as she does, Jemma can't help but look towards the locker of her former best friend and almost girlfriend. There's no one there. For a while, Jemma just watches it before turning her focus back to her own. She sets her bag into it and pulls out what she needs for her first class.
"Get the hell away from me."
Jemma turns to hear Sarah while the head cheerleader passes her.
"I can't..." insists Kat, adding, "You... you remember. You can... remember... things..."
"And that makes it okay to harass me?" responds Sarah.
"I... I don't know... I..." stumbles Kat.
"Go bother Nina about this." Sarah says.
"Who?" a confused Kat asks.
"You don't remember your best friend?" Sarah questions rhetorically.
Jemma closes her locker door and walks away.
* * *
Jemma smiles as consciousness comes back to her. She wraps herself in her blankets in something of a hug. After a while, she lets go of the hug and pulls herself to a sitting position on her bed. Her phone goes off and she takes a look, knowing who it's probably from.
'I know you're angry with me, but I need someone to talk to.'
Running a hand through her hair, she stretches out, throwing her phone on the nightstand and leaving her bed.
* * *
"It's happening again, isn't it?" Sarah asks, turning to Jemma with concern.
Jemma turns to Sarah with a bit of a strange look, "You know it is."
"But... why?" an uncertain Kat asks, "I still don't totally understand what's going on."
Again it's Jemma who turns to Kat, "Probably has something to do with the whole forgetting thing you went through. Trust us, this is what it was like when you did it."
"She's right." agrees Sarah, "It was really freaky the way everyone was forgetting stuff. Still not entirely sure how I kept my memory."
"Probably the same reason whatever you did wasn't working on me." Jemma suggests to Sarah, "We both already went through it. I guess that makes us immune or something."
"Does that mean I'm part of the team?" Kat wonders out loud.
"We're not a team." Jemma declares rather forcefully in anger, "We're her victims."
Kat points towards the people around them, "Like them?"
All around them, the classmates of Jemma, Sarah and Kat are lying down asleep. The entire room is filled with their sleeping fellow students. Each of the formerly possessed barely have room to move, with their feet in the small holes left between friends.
"Sorta, but not like us. We have to live with the consequences. We have to know what's happening and not be able to do something about it. She did this to us." insists Jemma, "It's like I said... we're her victims."
Sarah and Kat look at each other, then Jemma, and they both get a sad look on their faces before turning their attention to the rest of their classmates.
* * *
Jemma is woken up by the sound of her phone beeping. She reaches over and grabs it, wiping her eyes so she can look at it.
'You're the only one I really care about. Please.'
The formerly possessed girl dismisses the message, puts her phone back on the nightstand and goes back to sleep.
* * *
"Are you seeing this?" Ian says, going through her phone.
"It's pretty crazy." responds Kat, his tone a mixture of concern and excitement as he watches his phone, "It's great isn't it?"
Sarah looks up from her phone to give Kat a look, "You and your gossip obsession. This isn't like anything I've ever seen though."
"You're right. This is different." confirms Kat.
"What? Why? What's different about it?" Jemma asks.
Kat smirks at Jemma, "You really need to be more plugged in J. Gossip has always been a thing at this school, but what they're doing is vicious. Most of us are doing it for fun. We're not trying to hurt anyone, at least unless they give us a reason to. This isn't meant to be fun. They're attacking for the sake of attacking. And usually the journalism kids stay out of it. But..."
"It's coming right from the school paper." Jemma finishes Kat's thought, "It's happening again."
"You're sure? Maybe they're just having a little fun?" suggests Sarah.
"Not the way they're going at it." Kat responds, "I know most of these people. This isn't normal for any of them. J's right, it's some serious Harry Potter stuff going on."
"Actually, more like Percy Jackson." Jemma corrects him.
"And you're saying this is all Dora's fault?" asks Ian, "Because I'm still not entirely clear how that happened."
"You're new at this. Wait until it happens a few more times, you won't be able to deny it." Jemma responds.
* * *
Jemma's phone vibrates with a phone call, waking her up. She picks it up, sees the name 'Her' on the caller ID before sending it to voice mail. A few seconds later, the name pops up on the phone again, trying to connect. Again Jemma sends it to voice mail. She watches the phone, expecting another call but it doesn't come. Then after a while, a text message pops up.
'Fine, if that's the way you want it, screw you.'
Jemma dismisses the message, puts her phone back on the nightstand and goes back to sleep.
* * *
Jemma walks through the door of her high school. The school is normal based on what's been happening for the past few weeks. She passes by her classmates, themselves headed either to class or their lockers. As she makes it to her locker, she looks towards Pandora's locker, currently with no one at it. There's a long moment where she just watches the unattended locker with a somewhat longing look.
Her look is interrupted by the sound of someone coming down the hall. Jemma sees Pandora headed her way and it makes her shut the door, heading away before Pandora can see her. Just as quickly, she enters the nearby classroom where Hermes is at his desk, preparing a lesson.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asks Jemma.
Hermes looks at Jemma with a smile, "Good morning to you too, and what do you mean?"
"You really think that freezing her out is the right call? I'm not sure it's helping." a concerned Jemma wonders.
"I know it seems harsh. I know it doesn't seem like you're helping, but you are. She thinks she's making the world better. She thinks she's saving it. But that's only true because she caused the problem in the first place. No one would've needed any saving if it weren't for her. She opened The Box. She made you a victim. She needs to learn there are consequences to her actions. That she can't just do whatever she wants. This is the least painful way you can do that." explains Hermes with confidence and a little bit of anger.
Jemma isn't so convinced by the suggestion, "And you don't think she has?"
"Did you receive a message from her today?" Hermes asks with a bit of a playfulness in his voice.
Jemma doesn't respond.
"That's what I thought." continues Hermes, "She hasn't learned her lesson yet. We can't stop what we're doing until she realizes what she did wrong. Don't worry, it's not going to be much longer."
"I hope not. The way she texted me this morning? I'm worried she's going to crack." Jemma's concern growing in the way she speaks.
"It'll be okay, she's going to be better for it. I promise. Now please, I still have work to do before lunch." Hermes insists.
Jemma watches him for a few moments before leaving. Hermes waits to see that she's actually gone, then pulls a solid gold apple out of his bag. He holds it firmly in his hand as he concentrates, then transforms into the lunch lady. As he changes, so does the apple into an edible golden delicious apple.
Hermes stares at the apple and a grin comes over his face.
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