I got up from the floor and went to my mirror to take another look.
Of course, nothing had changed. I looked like a corpse in a coffin, ready for burial.
Dissatisfied, I turned away.
I would read something and maybe my condition would improve as the day went on.
I looked for the hoodie and when I discovered it in the corner of my laundry and reached for it to get Alarik's book out of the pocket, I groped in the void. The book had disappeared.
“Mum...” I whispered.
Without hesitation, I stormed down the stairs.
“Mum!”
I spotted her at the kitchen table, with her reading glasses over some lab papers.
“Where's the book?”
Mum looked at me questioningly.
“What book, darling?”
“You took it from me because you didn't want me to read it!”
Mum raised both eyebrows. “I don't know what you're talking about.” She gathered up the papers and stowed the glasses in their case. “But while you're here, feel free to clean out the dishwasher.” She walked past me and planted a kiss on my forehead. “I've got another shift now, so we won't see each other again until next week.”
And with those words, she disappeared through the front door.
My jaw dropped.
She couldn't be fucking serious!
Chapter 55
Julie
“I hate it!” Grace threw her notes to the floor. “How am I supposed to learn all this crap when I have absolutely no clue about the basics?”
She looked stressed.
Normally, Grace was cheerful and easily swallowed discomfort. But right now, Grace wasn't being rational, and that's what made it so hard for me to understand her.
“What's wrong?” Bayla asked.
She looked up from her black notebook, where she had started making countless notes since last Thursday. Mostly a few moments after she'd asked me or Grace questions.
I had a bad feeling that – if we really had to erase her memory – we would have to get rid of this book too.
“I hate statistics!” Grace looked angrily at her binders, which were now strewn all over the floor. “I wish I was a Fire Quatura and all this was on fire.”
I looked up in surprise away from my puppy, who had just rolled over on my blanket.
He was cute, but he was nibbling on all sorts of things. But I couldn't be angry with him because he was still so small and every time, he scratched his ear with his little paws and tipped to the side, my heart melted.
I'd only had the little guy for a week, but already I got on better with him than with anyone else here.
It was relaxing to run through his soft fur or play with him.
My mother had taken him to her heart first when I had brought him to Moenia, which had immediately turned me off. She had stroked him and played with his little ears until I had simply picked him up and disappeared into my room with him.
Amara had asked Grace why she had brought such a hairy troublemaker into the house and told her that we both had enough on our plates and couldn't take care of a dog, but Grace had argued that it was my dog and I could manage it.
“Julie would need a few more friends.”
“Very funny,” I had replied, but Grace had been serious.
She often wanted me to meet up more with the other Quatura because socializing within the Circle was important. Unfortunately, I didn't function that way. I had Grace, Erik, and now a little dog who seemed to be looking for attention.
Buddy sat up and shook himself before he slipped off my bed and pranced across the floor to disappear through the open door.
“Then change your major. You still have the chance.”
Bayla made it sound like it would be so easy.
“We both would have liked to study something else...” I said and reached for my smartphone.
Bay looked at me with a slight grin, but I tried to make it clear to her with a begging look not to make any hints so obvious in front of Grace.
