Silent Symmetry (The Embodied trilogy Book 1)
Page 5
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While I waited for Mom to get home, my mind raced. There had to be a logical, normal explanation, right? Something that didn’t rely on a huge coincidence or some kind of conspiracy theory. I sat in my nook with Flash purring on my lap. He was good for calming me down. He somehow helped me think more clearly. He was also the cutest cat ever. I scratched the white patch on his black belly that inspired his name. He stretched and purred even louder.
Okay, so the ToT had another office as well as the one in the skyscraper where Mom worked, nothing strange about that. And it was in the same building that Mom and I just moved into. Fine – it was a huge building and I had noticed the names of other non-residential tenants on the plaques at the various entrances. So I guess the people at ToT needed to find a place for me and Mom, and simply looked right under their noses, in this building. Yes, it made sense. What didn’t make sense was that handholding. And that’s what kept alive the nagging feeling in the back of my mind. The fact that we were living in the same building as the head office of Mom’s employer might not be a coincidence. But the fact that Noon was sitting two desks away from me and I saw him do the same handholding as the women outside the Warrington was just eerie. And there was something else about Noon, the older man and the woman in white. Something about their faces...
A key turned in the front door and Flash jumped down from my lap, catching a thread on my skirt in one of his claws. “You little...!” I exclaimed, distracted from my thoughts.
“Honey, I’m home!” called out Mom, and I had to smile.
“How did it go?” I asked, uncurling myself from the nook and following Flash into the hallway.
“Great! They’re such a nice bunch of people. Really made me feel welcome,” she continued. She hung her coat on a hook in the entrance and pulled off her boots. “The guys on my team are super smart. Oh – hey there, Flash!”
The cat rubbed his head against her bare feet and Mom gave a little squeal. “That tickles!” It was great to see her relaxed and happy after the stress of the move. “How about you, pum... honey?”
“Cool.”
“That’s it? Cool?”
“Yeah. It’s a good school.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say. I was so preoccupied with the day’s non-academic events that it was hard for me to focus on what any parent would normally want to know about their child’s first day at a new school.
Mom washed her hands at the kitchen sink. “My goodness, it’s like when you were six years old! ‘What did you do at school today? Nothing! Nothing? Yeah, nothing!’” She laughed as she rushed past me. “I’m just gonna change quickly and then we’ll go eat. I’m starving. Can you feed Flash while you’re waiting?”
I opened about five cupboard doors before finding the cat food. Flash meowed as I filled his bowl with crunchy brown goodness. Mom came back into the kitchen wearing a pale yellow shirt with a sweetheart neckline and jeans. “Nice!” I encouraged her.
“Well,” she said coquettishly, “What if I meet the man of my dreams?”
“You go, girl!” I said with an approving nod, as I grabbed my jacket.