Memory

Chapter Four- Dimitri

 

"Hey! What are you doing out of your classrooms?" the first police yells to us, his dark brown eyebrows furrowed. He has turned away from his comrades to speak to us.

It is no use to lie now.

"Answer me!" he says, now advancing towards Trystan and I with quick steps. At once, my breathing quickens as I remember last night's frantic scene; my father being forcibly arrested and dragged out into the night, never to be seen again.

But I will not be my father, this time.

"Trystan," I mutter, turning my head slightly so the policeman doesn't notice. "On my count, we run."

Her limpid blue gaze sets on me, and I don't trust myself to stare into them without being lost in those blue crystalline pools forever.

"What do you mean?" says Trystan, her voice harsh. "We can lie our way out of this!"

"No," I say, cutting her short. I rest my gaze on the police, who is muttering behind him to his squad to search the classrooms on either side. His face is tight with suspicion and anger, and for once I do not waver under his scrutiny. I am not ashamed to be what I am, nor is he ashamed to be Treated.

"Just do as I say," I tell her. Now I look at her fully, and I see fear and adrenaline rush through her eyes. "I saw this happen before, and if we are caught lying, we'll never escape."

I watch her nod, though reluctantly. Then, slowly, I take small steps backwards, towards the doors to the staircase.

"Do not move one muscle, young man," the policeman hisses, pointing his finger at me. I freeze, feeling Trystan's shoulder brush against my upper arm. She is tense even now, ready to flee. "You're gonna explain to me why you two are out of your classrooms!"

Trystan inhales deeply, and before I can stop her, she blurts out, "W-we're scared! Y-you'd just b-barge into t-the school, c-causing panic and c-confusion!" She makes a show of trembling in fear, cowering slightly behind my arm.

Damn, she is good.

The policeman's expression softens as he listens to her, and, after flicking his gaze between her and I, he nods. "Yes, yes," he mutters, taking a step back. "I'm sorry for disturbing you. Get back to your classrooms." He ended with a jerk of his head backwards.

I make a show of being tentative as I past him, nodding weakly before looking forward. Trystan scurries to my side, exhaling her trapped breath quickly.

Once we reach the last classroom to the right at the end of the hallway, I am sure that the police are paying no attention to us directly.

I nudge Trystan's shoulder. "Man, you should be an actress!"

She looks up at me, a small smile lifting the corners of her lips. "It's not really my thing, you know," mutters Trystan. "I hate pretending." Her tone is solemn, so I know not to continue the conversation.

I nod in understanding, tearing my gaze that seems to always be glued to hers now. "Yeah, well, we Recallers have to be actors sometimes." I turn the handle to Mr. Kidelle's room, our Biology teacher, and Trystan and I enter in unison.

The rest of the school day goes by more efficiently, with the boring subjects of Biology, Earth Science, and World History. I didn't have World History and Earth Science with Trystan, unfortunately. I had very much felt like sitting by her, constantly breathing her soft, sweet aroma. I'm just weird like that.

Trystan and I meet up after school, down in front of the steps of the school. Students mill past us silently, and I almost makes me cringe at how these kids' teenhood has been damaged forever.