O2

10

Nym sat quietly on her bed, tapping her pen against her leg absently as she waited for Kirsi. She hadn't spoken much with Mrs. or Mr. Brook's, not really sure if she should bring up her plans to them. She knew that if she did there was a chance they could help, but there was also a chance they would misunderstand and tell her and Kirsi not to pursue it. She also knew if they did that, her and Kirsi would have to disobey them in order to find 02, and disobedient felt worse in her mind.

Hopefully, the agents will want to speak with Kirsi's parents. Then maybe we won't have to worry about it. I can find ways around them if I have to, though, she thought, watching the pen as it bounced back against the fabric of her baggy jeans.

A strand of ginger hair fell in front of her face and she blew it back. It stubbornly returned, so she stopped bouncing the pen and brushed it back. Lifting her head some, she noticed the door crack open.

Her lips pressed into a worried line as she watched Kirsi step inside, one of the agents--the woman--following her inside. She led Kirsi back to the chairs and turned to Mr. and Mrs. Brooks.

"Would you two mind speaking with us? We want to get as much information as possible," the woman asked softly.

Nym watched Mrs. Brooks turn to Mr. Brooks. A silent exchange followed, then the two nodded and got up, following the agent out of the room.

Well, that worked out wonderfully.

Nym turned and got up, dropping her pen on the bed beside her journal as she shuffled over to sit by Kirsi. "Hey, you okay?"

Kirsi looked up at her some and nodded, taking a deep breath. "Yeah. I'm a little shaky still."

"Want to do something to get your mind off of it?" Nym suggested.

"What?"

"Well, I went looking for 02 while they were talking to you, and another agent out in the hall said they took him. I'm afraid they're gonna scrap him. Do you want to help me find him?"

Nym watched a frown etch itself onto Kirsi's face as she looked down. "Will we have to walk by the bodies again?"

Biting her lip, Nym followed her friend's gaze to the floor. "Um...I don't know. Honestly, I hope not."

She glanced up to see Kirsi nod, but the other girl took a deep breath and looked up as well, looking Nym in the eyes. "I'll help you look for him," she said.

"Thank you."

"Yeah," Kirsi answered, then looked around. "Did you run it by my parents?"

"Um..." Nym paused. "No, I wasn't sure if they'd like the idea...and I didn't want to tell them in case they said no, so we wouldn't be disobeying."

"Oh..." Kirsi looked over and pulled a bit of a grimace. "If we're not here when they get back they might worry. Maybe we should leave a note? It's too late to tell them, but we could at least inform them of where we plan to go."

Nym looked around, pursing her lips slightly. She had never seen Mr. or Mrs. Brooks get mad before, and she didn't really know if they would get mad over this, but Kirsi knew her parents. If she thought leaving a note was a good idea, it was probably their best bet. "Yeah, let's do that."

Getting up, Nym retrieved her journal, tore out a page, and grabbed her pen. "What do we want to say?"

She watched Kirsi as her friend sat there, staring at the wall. Nym frowned a little. 

Finally, Kirsi answered. "Tell them we went for a short walk and wanted to see if we could find out more of what was going on. We don't know when we'll be back, but I have my communicator with me if they need us."