Natalie and Kelsey headed to lunch together, laughing. They walked a short distance apart, always, as Natalie's mind continued to reject even the slightest possible physical contact. Flag football ended up being incredibly difficult for the first couple plays, until Natalie asked to be quarterback. After that, no one could get close to her.

"What's up?" asked Steven, as they slid into their customary seats.

"Jenny's better than me at every sport," said Kelsey, without any malice.

"I'm cheating," said Natalie, but she grinned too. Kelsey had already made it clear that she didn't mind—so long as Jenny never entered her actual soccer league. Their shared secret in gym class was a chance to really mess with the school.

"Every throw, right on target."

Steven frowned. "Jenny…"

"Hey!" Mitch interrupted, leaping into the seat next to Steven's. "Is it true?"

"What?" asked Kelsey.

"That Jenny broke a world record last period."

"What?" asked Steven, eyebrows furrowed.

Natalie's face got red. "...Who'd you hear that from?"

Mitch shrugged. "Dennis, who got it from Lisa, who got it from who cares."

"Did you guys run the mile today?" asked Tyler, looking up from his book.

"It's not true," said Kelsey.

"What, are you saying she couldn't do it?" Mitch shot back.

"Of course she can," Kelsey snapped. "But nobody's supposed to know that, remember?"

"Yeah well," Mitch shrugged, "they already do."

Natalie tried to glance around surreptitiously. She saw more than a few faces looking their way. Uncomfortable again, she tried to shrink down a little behind Kelsey, leaning against the wall. The mini-braids she'd done over her ears weren't quite so fun anymore.

"Where's Quinn?" she asked Tyler.

Tyler shook his head. "He had to talk to a teacher about some work he had to make up. He won't be here today."

"Oh."

"Want to play against me instead?" he asked, already reaching for the decks.

"...No, no thanks." At her refusal, Tyler looked crestfallen. Natalie winced. "Can we play after school though? I just… I need to go to the bathroom."

"Huh?" Tyler asked, confused.

Without another word, she hurried away. The guys all looked just as confused as Tyler, though Kelsey just shrugged and went back to eating. Natalie hoped they wouldn't chase after her again, since that would probably just cause more problems… though some small part of her still wanted them to.

She went straight to her old bathroom. There were two girls she vaguely knew, both seventh graders. They were talking about some bank robbery that had happened on Monday, way down in Tacoma. Natalie ignored them, heading straight for her old stall. As soon as the door was closed, she let out a breath she'd been holding since the cafeteria.

Why are you here?

I needed to get away from people for a bit, okay? I'm catching my breath.

This is not a retreat. This is flight. You're hiding.

Yeah, I am. I'm okay with that right now. Leave me alone.

"...heard it had something to do with those 'awakened'."

Natalie's ears perked up. With the faucet off, she could hear the other girls more clearly.

"Shut up! No way."

"Yeah! My brother said so! He said some freaky guy with magic powers robbed the place. He said someone's trying to keep it off the news."

"I thought they were supposed to be the good guys."

"As if! They blew up a town!"

The girls kept arguing as they left. Natalie sat stock-still on the seat, grabbing out her phone and diving through headlines.

How'd she missed that? She'd been watching the news all week. She even read the stuff on Rachel's site, though she was pointedly ignoring the blinking message indicator in the corner. She knew by now that Rachel wasn't going to message her, and she definitely didn't want to read anyone else's anymore. Not after they'd all ignored and abandoned her so many times… If somebody really needed her, they could just come find her.

There wasn't anything about a robbery, though. Apparently, no one had noticed this yet. Natalie didn't know what to think about it. She wondered if the robbery had been someone she knew. Julian, maybe? I can't think of anybody else who might rob a bank. Rika's crazy enough, but she's rich. If she's even still alive… nah, she's probably alive. She can do electricity stuff too, and that worked on the golems. It's probably someone new…

The door to the bathroom clicked.

Was that a lock?

Someone's trying to trap you in. Move!

Natalie got up, tucking her phone into her bag and heading for the door. It didn't budge. She tried again, and nothing happened. She reached for the little bar on the door to unlock it, and… it wasn't there.

There was just a tiny round dot where it used to be attached.

Natalie stared at it, fearful. Someone laid a trap for me.

Escape! Get out, now!

She whipped around, looking to the high-set window she'd snuck out through last time.

They could be watching that. You can't risk it.

"So what am I supposed to do?" she asked aloud, hating the total silence in the room. She could hear faint whispering outside, but even now, she couldn't make it out.

They wouldn't expect you to go out the front.

"But it's locked, and I can't get it open."

You've beaten locked doors before.

Natalie shook her head. "Breaking it down would be way worse."

Not Rallsburg. Quinn's door.

"Oh. Duh."

Natalie's mental grasp, like a tiny indistinct hand extending from her mind, flew into the door. She felt for the lock mechanism, and found where the lever would have connected to the doorjamb.

Wait. Listen.

She stopped, listening carefully. Nobody seemed to be on the other side anymore, though she couldn't be totally sure. She tried to feel out with her magic, grabbing at random. If there was a space she couldn't grab, then there was probably someone there.

"I think it's okay," she whispered. "I don't feel anyone."

Be ready.

Natalie nodded, reaching into her bag and picking up a couple of gemstones just in case. She still had the emerald tree pendant hanging around her neck, too, tucked away inside her shirt. She'd worn it because it fit with the whole elf idea, but she couldn't access it unless the stone actually touched her skin. Practicality won out, so she'd hidden it away.

She drew a tiny bead of energy out of all three to reassure herself. The little burst of power, really insignificant by any useful measure, felt like a warm friendly glow in comparison to the chilly bathroom in November. She felt it join with the fire of magical energy by her heart, kindling it stronger and brighter. Natalie set her feet, prepared for anything, and shoved the lock aside.

She hurled the door open, as fast as the resistor would allow it to move.

Nobody stood on the other side.

Natalie took a cautious step forward. She glanced down the hall to the left, and saw nobody all the way to the exit doors.

Someone running this way. Quick!

Natalie whipped around, and instinctively drew upon the burning magic inside her. She ducked low, a flame bursting to life just inside the bathroom door and out of sight. She was totally prepared to fling it at anyone who dared approach.

At her fierce glare, Tyler skidded to a fearful, trembling halt.

Tyler? Oh god, what if I'd…

Natalie dismissed the flame in a panic, releasing all the magic she'd summoned. She stood up straight, feeling embarrassed.

Tyler started coughing almost immediately. He fumbled for his inhaler. Natalie took the opportunity to walk over to him, leaning against the wall and waiting for him to speak. It gave her a chance to let the adrenaline pass out of her system, while her heart still pounded in her ears.

"I… was worried… about you," he huffed.

Natalie was surprised. "I'm okay," she reminded.

"I didn't want you to go away again," he mumbled.

…What? She shook her head. "I'm not… I just had to get out of the cafeteria for a bit."

Tyler nodded sagely. "Sometimes it's the worst."

Natalie smiled. "Yeah, it really is."

"But you like hanging out with us, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I really do."

"Okay."

Natalie glanced around, confused. She'd been so certain she was about to get attacked, or something at least, but there wasn't anyone in sight. "Tyler, you didn't see anybody else, right?"

"...No?"

"...Okay." Natalie shrugged. I don't want to scare him… and if it's not an attack, then maybe it didn't even have to do with me. Except they waited til I was alone… and they knew my bathroom. Only one person it could be.

"We should go back to the cafeteria," Tyler added, glancing around.

"You go. I'm just going to go to class."

Tyler looked nervous again. "But you didn't eat or anything."

Natalie shrugged. "I'm not really hungry." It's true, too… I should be, but I'm not. I feel like breakfast was enough for the whole day.

His eyes widened. "You're really her."

"What?"

"They don't have to eat as much because of how their bodies work. They're more efficient and so on. Like, they use energy better."

Natalie frowned. "You mean—"

Tyler looked totally in awe. He almost bowed to her. "Linnethea."

"Tyler, don't say that—"

He shook his head. "It's okay. Your secret's safe. I've always been a friend to the elves."

The bell rang. Tyler had a class far from hers, and hurried away before she could get a single word in. Natalie felt rooted to the ground, while the halls began to fill up with kids all around her. Finally, she got swept away in the current, forced to move before anyone could run into her.

What was that? Does he really think I'm you?

I am you. The sooner you accept this, the sooner we can move forward.

I'm not listening to you.

But you are talking to me.

"Shut up," Natalie muttered, sitting down in her next class. "I'm trying to think."

"Huh?" asked Quinn, taking the desk next to hers.

"Nothing," she said quickly.

You have larger concerns. She's changing tactics. She's going to be a real concern.

Blake's just a stupid bully. It's not like she can do anything.

She could pose a threat. You should not underestimate her.

You're a voice in my head and she's a dumb girl who doesn't know anything about the real world. I can handle her. I'll just ignore her. Unless you've got any better ideas.

The voice didn't respond.

...Hello?

Yes, Natalie?

She shivered. Quinn glanced over. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly, while the teacher started into a lesson about quadratic equations.

"Yes," she whispered back. "I'm just cold." Except I'm holding a real conversation with a voice in my head. What's wrong with me?

"Steven said something about gym class."

"It's okay." She hesitated. "I got carried away."

"Oh." Quinn waited, giving her the chance to explain — or not.

Natalie didn't. She couldn't. Being noticed in gym was just one little thing. She could brush it off if she had to. The problem was how many little things were starting to stack up. Blake had decided to start causing problems for her personally. The students were all paying even more attention to her. Her friends were all treating her differently. Her teachers were noticing her more. If the principal got involved again…

You can deal with her.

Natalie shivered again. That was the scariest thing of all. She could hear a voice. An actual voice. Somebody else in her head. It wasn't her. It wasn't a voice she'd ever heard before. She'd first noticed it downtown, three weeks ago to the day—and every day, it got a little bit louder. A little bit stronger.

I'm only here to help you. You don't need to be afraid.

Except, she was afraid. This wasn't something to do with magic, unless Natalie had done it accidentally somehow. A voice in her head was more like… like she was crazy. Like she was starting to go actually insane — just like her mom, whom she could vaguely remember was always talking to herself, barely paying attention to the world. She neglected everything around her for something Natalie didn't understand. Her mom was exactly what everyone else would call crazy.

Just like her dad.

When you need me, I will be here.

Natalie shivered again, and it definitely wasn't from the cold.