Susanne took the keys from Stacy and agreed to get them to Solomon and then Stacy and Martin dismissed themselves saying they needed to go back to the nurse’s office to wait for Emily's mother with her.
I smiled at Susanne wanting to thank her for cutting Martin off, but not sure I wanted to bring the subject up again. “Can you do me a favour?” Susanne asked.
“Sure.” I answered.
“Can you get these to Solomon? I'm down in block three next and I really should get on my way there now. I have some assignments to finish.”
“Oh. I would, but today's probably not the best time for that. I'm sure when he hears Emily's gone home he'll come to your class to look for his key.”
“I doubt it. I'm quite sure he wouldn't even know what class to come to.” she said shaking her head and laughing a little.
“I'm sure he does. He always know what classes I have.” I said, regretting my words as soon as I said them. Susanne just raised her eyebrows, shaking her head slightly.
“Fine.” I said taking the keys, “I'll go now, they're probably already in the gym.”
“Great,” Susanne said, “I'll catch you later.”
The boy’s dressing room wasn't far from the canteen. I knocked and asked for Solomon. Perhaps coming in today wasn't so bad, I thought as I waited. At least we got everything out in the open.
“Hey,” Solomon said when he came out from the dressing room.
“Hey.” I responded.
“Everything ok?”
“Yeh. Umm ... Emily had to ... go home” I said, for some reason not being able to focus on what I was saying properly, “I was asked to drop your keys off.”
“Ok,” he chuckled, “I thought you'd come for the cheerleader try-outs.”
“Ah, I see.” I laughed. “Is that why none of you guys showed up for lunch?”
“Yeh. But I'm innocent, honestly. The coach told me I had to stay. You know, to supervise. Cheerleaders aren't my type.” he said smiling shyly.
“Really?” I asked, not really needing an answer. “Well, I'm sorry for interrupting you. Susanne was supposed to take the keys, but she had to go to class and she said you might not know where to find her.”
“You're not interrupting me, and Susanne was right. You've probably saved me a lot of stress by coming.”
So Susanne was right about that, seems Solomon doesn't pay as much attention to her schedule as I had thought.
“I'd better go.” I continued, but I didn't leave. I just needed to see how much attention he paid to my schedule. I waited a few seconds, rubbing my head as if trying to remember something. “I can never remember what lesson I have after lunch you know?” I said pulling my rucksack off to get my journal out.
“Science." He said. "You're in the next block.”
“Oh yeh, that's it.” pretending to suddenly remember. The sound of the gym door distracted me and I turned around to see a group of cheerleaders walking towards us.
“Bye, Solomon.” they all said in unison in soft, coquettish voices.
“Hmm.” he responded nodding slightly, not once moving his gaze from mine.
I clenched my teeth tightly trying to hold the smile that was attempting to give away an overwhelming joy, suddenly spreading through me. You know when someone really pays attention to you, and makes you feel like you're the only person in their world, Rachael's explanation of when someone really loves you ran through my mind.
And it wasn't just this instance. This was Solomon's normal interaction with me. That was one of the reasons I loved being in his company so much, because he made me feel like I was the only person in the world that mattered. Warmth spread through me slowly and I felt my face glowing slightly.
“I'd better go.” I said again, looking away so he wouldn't notice my blushing. “Will I see you later?”
“I have to stay behind today for practice. But if you're free in the evening the guys are meeting up at the juice bar.”
“Alright, I'll see you there.”
“Ok.” he said. I pulled my bag back onto my back and turned to walk away.
“Claudia?” He called.
“Yep.” I replied, turning back to face him.
“I know I've agreed not to mention last night again, but I just want you to know that I'm not going to give up.” he said.
“What do you mean?” I asked. I hadn't asked him to give anything up.
“I'm always going to feel this way about you, and I won't give up until you admit you feel it too.” he said.
“Solomon, please.”
Solomon smiled, it was one of his cheeky smiles he often shared with Michael when they were talking privately. “I promise I won't come on as heavy as I did last night. I'll make it as painless as possible.”
I tried to frown but I couldn't get angry with him when he had one of the cutest looking smiles on his face, so instead I smiled back, sighing heavily.
“Fine.” I said. “And if you're wrong! What happens then?”
“I'm not.” he said.
“Hmm.” I thought out loud. I liked a challenge, there wasn't normally one I couldn't win, but this was one I actually wouldn't mind losing. “We'll see.” I said.
CHAPTER 18
“Do you think you could throw the ball the whole length of the field?” I asked Solomon as I tossed his football from hand to hand.
He put his school bag down on the bench next to him, taking out two or three heavy looking science books. “Very doubtful Claudia.” he chuckled.
“Hmm.” I said “It has been done though, hasn't it?”
“Yeh, I guess. I don't think by a high schooler though.”
I spread my fingers out and pressed the football into my palm trying to get a good grip on it. “Is it hard to learn?”
“It depends.” He said, his lips curving into a small smile. “That's the right place to start though.” He took hold of my hands, his eyes staring intently at them as he positioned my fingers along the ball. “You need a good grip before you can throw well.” His face was serious, as it always was when he talked about football.
“You have to hold it more with your fingertips than your palm. Firm, but light.” he said looking up at me. My chest tightened as his gazed burrowed into mine. His eyes were calm, but somehow gave me a helpless feeling, similar to how I imagine someone would feel stranded out at sea and lost in nothing but blue water and sky.
“Ok, got it.” I whispered, finding it hard to catch my breath.
Solomon's eyes narrowed slightly from confusion. “Why the sudden interest anyway? I thought you hated football.”
“Well, I guess if you love it so much, it can't be all bad.” I smiled. Solomon's gaze slowly drifted around my face, a small smile in the corner of his mouth. Then, before saying anything, he clicked his tongue and sat down, picking up one of his books to go over some of his homework. I laughed quietly to myself. I had come to understand a lot of Solomon’s habits and over the last few weeks he had been clicking his tongue quite a lot, which was something he normally did when he didn't want to say whatever he was thinking.
Groaning softly, I put his football back down next to him. I knew my actions were beginning to verge more to the flirtatious side than usual and it probably wasn't fair since I was the one who had turned him down not too long ago. But over the days following the snowball fight I had slowly given up the desire to fight how I truly felt, although I hadn't admitted it yet, and I really couldn't help the way I was starting to act around him. Besides, he had already told me that he wasn't going to give up on me, so I wasn't really doing any wrong by letting him know his attention was noticed and appreciated.
The laughter and chatter of the other students arriving at the school yard echoed through the air. The sea of students moving almost in unison, except one girl, or woman I decided. A woman who looked undoubtedly familiar. Solomon was oblivious to my presence as he completed his assignment so, without disturbing him, I walked towards where the woman was standing.
As I drew closer, the focus of the woman became clearer, my nerves running more on edge with each step. She looked older and whereas she normally had her hair tied in a bun, today her brown hair was loose; falling in silky waves around her emotionless face but there was no doubt, it was Dr R. The same lady I had met at Mrs Maple's house and who had taken me to the facility.
“Hello Claudia.” she said as I approached her, “It's been a long time hasn't it? You've gone and grown into beautiful woman.” Dr R's thick accent covered me, smothering me. My stomach burned, the heat quickly spreading through my body.
“Why are you here?” I asked.
“I need to talk to you Claudia, and I need your help.”
I clenched my fists, inhaling deeply trying to keep myself under control. “You want my help?” I hissed.
“Claudia calm down.” she said quickly, backing away slightly. “Please. There are some things I need to explain to you.”
“All I want to know is where I can find Q. That's explanation enough.” I said, I wasn't open to conversation with Dr R. As far as I was concerned R was just as responsible for everything that had happened as Q was.
“That's why I came. I'll take you to the facility where Q is. But you need to help me with something.”
“I don't need to help you with anything.” I said, my voice raising slightly. Keeping calm was out of the question, I was already burning up, trying to keep that under control was effort enough.
“It affects you just as much as it affects me.” she said calmly, her eyes suddenly diverting slightly away as if watching something behind me I glanced over my shoulder quickly to see Solomon approaching.
“Hey Claudia, what's up?” he said glancing back and forth from me to Dr R.
I forced a smile, still trying to moderate my breathing and keep myself under control. But I guessed Solomon would have noticed I was having a not-too-pleasant conversation.
“Nothing.” I said quietly, “Just talking to...”
“Hello.” Dr R extended her hand towards Solomon “My name is Regina. I just came to see how Claudia has been doing.” Regina, I thought, so it was her who was assigned my guardianship.
"Regina?" He said, his eyes narrowing as if trying to recall something. Slowly he extended his hand towards her.
Forgetting I was so heated, I instantly reached out and grabbed hold of Solomon's wrist. He flinched, his mouth opening slightly to say speak.
“She's just a doctor from the orphanage." I said quickly. "Would you mind giving us a minute?”.
Solomon rubbed his wrist, his eyes flicking quickly between me and R. “Claudia?” he said the sound of protest in his voice.
“I'll be right there.“ I replied feigning a smile. He looked back at Regina and then nodded, his eyes rolling slightly.
"Don't be long!".
"Sure." I said. He sighed loudly before turning and walking away.
“We should go somewhere to talk.” Regina said.
She was right. Solomon hadn't returned to where he was previously sitting, choosing instead to lean against a nearby wall and talk to some younger students I'd never seen him speaking to before. “Where will we go?” I asked.
“My car is over there.” she said nodding towards a vehicle parked on the corner on the street.
I signalled to Solomon to give me a minute and then followed her to the car. “Where is Q?” I said as soon as we were both sat down.
“He's at the facility. The department I worked at.” she answered.
“And where is that?” I asked.
“I can't exactly tell you. But I'll take you there.”
“Tell me where it is!” I demanded.
“Claudia,” she said turning to face me. “They have someone else at the facility now and I need you to help me free them.”
“You need my help? Why would I help you?” I said.
Although she was trying to keep herself as composed as possible, she was fidgeting almost uncontrollable. “They have my son Claudia.” she said, finally meeting my gaze. “He's your son too.”
"Huh?" I grunted, letting out a small laugh. “I don't understand what you mean and I really don't have time for your games R.”
“Claudia,” she said, her voice starting to sound shaky and weak. “Surely you remember the experiments they did, the operations? What do you think they were doing?”
I shook my head, “I don't understand.” I said again grabbing hold of Regina's arm. “Just speak straight R. I'm starting to have enough with this conversation.” I allowed my hand to heat up around Regina's arm. “I've been waiting a long time to find Q,” I said leaning in close to her “I don't need you wasting my time with cryptic stories.”
“Claudia, calm down.” Regina groaned as she tried to pull her arm free.
“Don't tell me to calm down." I said, almost shouting. Calm down. A mantra they forced down me at the facility in an attempt to keep me from losing control. "And I will not count to 10. You are going to tell me how to find the facility or I swear I'm going to do something one of us will regret.” I grabbed hold of her other arm allowing the heat to rise enough to burn her.
“Claudia, please stop” she whimpered “Your school friends.” I looked out of the window quickly. Solomon wouldn’t have the best viewpoint from where he was standing, but I was sure he would come to look for me again soon. I let go.
“I promise you won't be leaving without me satisfying my revenge in some way. It would be easier for both of us if you told me where I can find Q so I can take it out with him rather than you.” I said coldly, sitting back in my seat.
Regina sat slumped over in her seat rubbing her arms and whimpering quietly. She did look very different from how I remember her. Her eyes were tired and slightly bloodshot as though she were accustomed to crying, and even though her hair was loose, it looked more due to lack of consideration than anything else. Seeing her in such a state and comparing her to the elegant, well-kept woman that I could remember of her almost sent a wave of pity through me.
I briskly shook my head as I remembered the day they came for me at Mrs Maple's, how insincere her concern for me was and how quickly she dismissed me after we arrived at the facility.
“What do you want from me?” I asked eventually. “Your son? Why do they have him?”
Regina looked back up at me with tears slowly weeping out of her eyes and sighed deeply. “Because he's the same as you, he's genetically your son Claudia. Q convinced me to be a part of an experiment, one where I was implanted with, amongst other things, embryos made from your egg cells.”
My eyes suddenly widening with fear, gaped back at her. “My egg cells?” I said weakly. "They made a baby from my egg cells? That's your son?”
“Yes.”
Yes? How? “What are they doing to him?” I asked.
“Tests, experiments, similar to what they did with you. They wanted to train him when he got older, they wanted to make some kind of weapon out of him.” Regina closed her eyes and shook her head violently.
“But?” I said, noticing the tense she was using.
“He's too small, he wasn't strong enough. He's been getting weaker and weaker every day.”
I stared out of the window and thought back to my last conversation with J. They were happy to allow me to die as long as they had their research. And now they were making their own test subjects and depending on how many more eggs they had, it seemed they could just keep creating more children to experiment on. I couldn't leave R's son at the mercy of Q and the other doctors at the facility, I had to help and it had to be now. I looked back over to where Solomon was standing. He was still engaged in conversation with the younger boys, but the bell would go soon and he would definitely be back. “We need to move from here. Start driving!”
“Where to?” Regina asked.
“The facility. You can fill me in while we drive.” I said coldly without looking at her.
I didn't look back to Solomon again, resigning myself to the consequen
ces of my decision. I didn’t speak either, instead I watched the city and hoped it wasn’t the last time I would see it.
Regina didn't speak either until we drove past the outskirts of the city.
“Aren't you going to ask about Jason?” she asked.
I continued to look through the window, the scowl on my face growing.
“Are you not going to ask about you son?” Regina said, this time clarifying what I already knew.
“You took my eggs R, without my permission. I hardly think that validates you calling him my son.” I answered staring at her, the hatred apparent on my face.
“I would have thought so too, if he didn't resemble you so much.” she replied quietly.
I turned back to the window, my heart suddenly heavy with grief. All this time I had thought that I was free from the facility and they couldn't hurt me anymore. And all this time they had managed to create a smaller version of me who they seemed to have less regard for and who was alone without the protection of someone like J. Somehow this hurt more than if I were still there myself.
“How old is he?” I asked after a few minutes.
“He turned one not too long ago.” Regina answered smiling softly.
“You mean he was born while I was still at the facility?”
Regina nodded slowly.
“And no one would ever have told me?”
“No” she said bluntly. “I know what you must think of me Claudia, of all of us at the facility. But we're not all the same. I never wanted you or anyone to be harmed; I just wanted to do the research, to find answers. It was doctors like Quinten who perverted the whole system and the rest of us were foolish enough to blindly follow them. But I honestly believed your ability held the answers to a lot of good, so did others … like John.”
“Don't ever mention him again.” I cried out, “He was nothing like any of you.”
“He worked alongside us. He knew what was going on and he went along with it, just like the rest of us.”
“No.” I said shaking my head violently. “No. He cared about me and protected me. He got killed trying to help me.
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