René and his father are now flanking me. There’s nowhere to run, and that stupid pit in my stomach is telling me something is wrong. And that I’ve forgotten something important. But what? I don’t understand what’s off about this. Other than I hate it.

“Hello, Kara, it’s a pleasure to see you again.” Mr. Pelletier extends his hand to me, and I absent mindedly shake it. He has this feeling about him that it wouldn’t be good to make him mad.

His son is standing beside him, and the look on his face is as self-assured as ever. I used to admire his confidence but now I just see a cocky a-hole. Hm, no, there’s a crack in his over-confident façade today. Like it’s being forced.

Wait, was it… maybe always forced? I look back at his father. Because of him? The sad case of an overbearing CEO daddy messing up his kidlets?

…So what? Why should I care?

Nothing else seems off about René today. His hair is such a pale blond that under these harsh lights it looks white. Same goes for his skin, but its not pasty like David and his fathers.’ I’m shook a bit by his nose he’s got in the air. It always had an odd hook to it, but now it looks truly beak shaped. Is he some sort of were-bird? His dad has the same colour hair and same nose.

“Um, yes, it’s nice to see you… again… Mr. Pelletier, um, I mean Lord.” Why does it feel weird to say ‘again?’ What is this off feeling for? I hate this.

“No need to be so formal now that we’re out of there.” He thumbs at the door leading back to the Council Room. “Mr. Pelletier is just fine.” He gives me a smile that would put politicians to shame.

“Okay…” Ah, that pit is growing. Why does it feel so wrong to be talking casually to him? I’ve talked to him before. Before… wait. Wait a second!

“Well, I just wanted to greet you properly. My son wanted to chat a bit, so I’ll leave you kids to it.”

René’s dad nods to me and leaves but it barely registers.

Because I haven’t met René’s dad before.

No, that’s not right, I’m sure I have. But when? Why don’t I- NO, I haven’t met him. But that doesn’t feel right. What is going on-

“Kara, I wanted to talk to you. Explain some things and- uh, are you alright?”

My expression must not be too good. Can’t help that right now.

“When did we meet?”

“What? Chayla introduced us, remember? When I joined the student council and-”

“No, not you, I don’t care about you. I mean your dad.”

“You don't have to be so-”

“When the fuck did we meet, René, it’s not a difficult question.”

“God! Alright, it was when my brother had the accident back in March last year. Duh? I got pulled out of school, you noticed me leaving and butt in as usual, so I told you about it, and then introduced you to my dad and my mum, remember?”

“No,” kinda, “Yes?”

It’s starting to come back now. I can see an image of his mother now. Yeah, of course, that’s where he got his softer features from while his dad looks all… chiseled.

“What do you mean, ‘no?’ You forgot my brother’s accident?”

“Shut up. This isn’t about you. It’s not like he died.”

“No, but he- you know what? Whatever.”

I remember now. I was heading to the cafeteria when I saw René talking to two people, a man and woman, wearing fancy suits but their backs were to me. I was suspicious and went to talk to him and it was obvious looking at them from the front they were related. René introduced them as his parents, explained his brother was in a car accident and they were heading to the hospital. I said I hoped he was okay blah blah blah… they left.

But… then I forgot. Why? How? When? And why that specifically? Even last Friday when René and Chayla were attempting yet another intervention and I escaped, I remember one of the many things I was mad at René for was that he never introduced me to his parents. It made him less of a friend. Proved everything was fake with him.

But… he did. A little late, sure, and it never would have happened if I didn’t intervene, but it happened. Why erase that?

And why am I remembering it now?

During my thinking René has been pretty quiet aside from clicking his tongue, but he’s probably curious too. I turned away from him slightly at some point and now I’m facing the wall.

The wall… of this room. Without thinking much about it I walk forward and place my hand on it. There’s no weird stucco siding like in Limbo or the Ivory Tower, but there’s those weird vibrations and that… buzzing if you listen close enough.

This room is enchanted and blocks powers from being used. Does that mean it cancels out, like, any active powers being used on someone? Is that why I’m remembering that meeting now, and when I was outside these walls, I didn’t?

Technically I remembered in the Council Room too, but they have the same enchantment. That’s why I felt something was off during the Council Meeting. At some point my subconscious remembered that I shouldn’t know his parents. Or, that I should, but hadn’t until then.

So… when I leave this room, does that mean I’ll forget again? Although it’s possible it was a one-time spell cast on me and this room neutralized, or erased it, it’s possible that spell is only being suppressed here, and will activate again when I leave. Yes, I should assume that’s the case.

In that case I should write down-

I take the little notepad out of my pocket and stare at it. Then I look around the room, find Apisi, and stare and him.

He seems to feel my gaze and turns to me, grins, gives me a friendly wink that comes off super creepy, and then returns to his conversation with his look-alike brother.

How did he know I would need this?

Did he know? Or was he just trying to be friendly when he noticed me staring? No, I can tell he knew. Don’t ask how, I very much doubt there’s any sound science behind it.

It doesn’t mean he knows anything about this in particular. In fact, if he did, he’d probably be involved and thus wouldn’t want to help me record the truth. So then what? He had a hunch I’d learn some things I’d want to write down, and to get on my good side he gave me this?

It’s no less logical that literally anything else that’s happened to me, lately.

It’s more likely that he is involved or at least in-the-know about this, doesn’t really agree with it, and giving me a notebook isn’t illegal. That seems more his style.

“Kara, hellooo, did you forget I am here?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Hey, come on-”

“You’re not in a position to scold me.” His lips purse at that. “If you can shut the fuck up for five minutes, I’ll give you the five minutes you were begging for on Friday.”

He’s quiet for a moment. “Okay.”

But I’m not paying attention to him. I quickly pull out the pencil, flip open the pad, and get ready to write when I freeze. Seems he gave me used goods. Someone else has already broken the notebook in.

Beware the Ides of March

That’s all it says. And it’s definitely that beggar’s handwriting because I recognize it from his cardboard signs. Is he trying to be dramatic and mysterious?

Wait, March? That’s when René’s brother had the accident. The ides of March is the… it’s typically the 15th, isn’t it?

“Hey dingbat, what was the date of your bro’s car accident?”

“You are so insensitive-”

“If you don’t wanna talk now, we don’t have to talk later.”

“Gah! You are infuriating. It was the 15th, okay? Why does that matter?”

“Did he have a gambling habit?”

“Pardon?”

Okay that pissed Frenchie off. “Forget it.”

But the 15th of March, in the ancient Roman Calendar, was known for being the deadline date for paying one’s debts. Also as the day that roman guy got stabbed a whole bunch.

But I don’t have any debts. I have no clue if René’s brother did, or his family, but they seem to be doing pretty well for themselves. So why the ‘beware?’ Is it just for me to know for sure and take note of this day, that was erased from my mind?

Maybe I’m paying too much attention to the whole forgetting René’s mum and dad thing. That meeting was spontaneous. There were a million ways that it could not have happened. Yeah, that’s not the key takeaway. It’s just the reason I noticed something was wrong. If I hadn’t met them that day, I never would have noticed that I lost a whole day.

Yeah, that whole fucking day is gone. What the fuck. I remembered his parents because I saw them here. That was a trigger. But I keep thinking and outside of meeting them, I can’t remember anything else about that day. This just doesn’t happen. I don’t forget things.

Not unless they’re erased, apparently.

I’m serious, my memory is impeccable. Maybe not photographic but I should know what I ate for lunch on a day my good friend, at the time, had his elder brother almost die.

But I don’t. It’s wiped. And I don’t have any other triggers because I don’t know what those would be. It’s not about his parents. Something else happened that day.

What? Is it connected to all the other memories Fintan said were doctored? What happened and why do I need to be wary of it? Or is it not that simple. Is it the fact that day was wiped in the first place? That there could be others? Oh god, how much have I forgotten, really?

I stare down at the notebook. I flipped to another page, and I’ve written down everything I know. About how much I forgot, what I remembered, that it was triggered by the enchantments, everything I could think of that might be relevant. The cheap notebook is half full now. I’ll put all this on my wall of conspiracy when I get home.

“It has been five minutes. You done?”

“What else happened that day?”

“What day? Can we talk now?”

“The 15th, what else went on?”

“You mean other than my brother getting paralyzed?”

Wow. “Uh, yeah, other than that.”

“You are so unsympathetic to everyone other than yourself.”

“You’re right, I have no sympathy for you freaks. And I think it’s important that at least one person cares about me. Even if it’s myself.”

“We all care for you, Kara.”

I laugh, but even to my ears it sounds bitter. “This is the exact thing I do not need right now. You have a lot of nerve looking me in the eyes and spouting that kind of bull-”

“You don't have to believe me. Or like it. But it is the truth. I know I was not fair to you. I know what I did was not good. I know that. I am not saying we were best friends; I know Chayla has that title. But I do think of you as a friend. No matter what else was going on behind the scenes, we spent almost three years together. You don't just spend that kind of time with someone and… not care.”

Ugh, I don’t wanna listen to this.

“I really don’t care what you have to say-” I try to move past him despite my earlier promise, but René spreads his arms out. He obviously isn’t going to let me go so easily. Arrogant brat.

“That is fine. Just listen anyway.”

Che. This fucker. But I’m still cornered by him, and I don’t want to make too much of a scene, so it looks like I don’t have a choice but to listen to his bullshit.

“When you first moved here you and your mum caused a massive panic. You apparently don't have all your memories so you would not understand. We did not know about your memory loss back then, Lord Spencer only informed us of this after you… died. But your family did not originally leave Ashvale under good circumstances. In fact, you guys fled.”

Uh, come again? Fled? Why?

“And then after years of trying to find you, you and your mum came back to town on your own, without your father, and you didn't seem worried at all. You were also acting as if you were Normies and this was a Normie town. No one knew what to do with you, so you were monitored, and we decided not to break the illusion you were living under.”

“Uh, we weren’t acting, we had our memories wiped.”

“Like I already said, we did not know that then.”

“Spencer figured that out in two seconds, not two years. You’re saying he had that ability that long and never used it? Really?”

“It is against the law. Even if you were suspects. There are protocols. Warrants. Besides, they wanted to figure out what your mum was planning-”

“Planning? She’s a fucking nurse, René. She’s planning her retirement.”

“Nurse, huh? Nah, she is a lot more than that. So is your father. So are you.”

“Is this really how you want to spend your five minutes? Being cryptic, and trying to imply my mother is some kind of criminal mastermind? I knew you freaks were stupid, but this takes the cake.”

“No, and it is not just your mom, your father- Okay, okay, I’ll drop it. Look, I just wanted you to understand my position. Everyone’s position. We had a lot of tough choices to make. I think you will understand it in time.” He must notice my expression worsening further because he coughs and drops that particular line of bull crap. “And- and I wanted to apologize for everything. I know I was a rat, but I was not a very good one. I never told them much. And I genuinely enjoyed spending time with you.”

So after spying on me a while he ended up enjoying my company, and that makes it okay?

“The person you were reporting to was Spencer, so it doesn’t really matter that you kept shit out cause he can kinda read minds.”

“How did you know it was Lord Spencer?”

“He needs to branch out a bit with his colour schemes.”

“Come again?”

“Grey. Suit. It’s not rocket science. Anyways, the important part of that sentence was the mind reading, not basic logic.”

“We went over that already, laws, protocols, remember? It is like entering a house without a warrant, you can’t just do that.”

“It’s adorable that you believe that none of those monsters broke the law. They broke so many regarding me and my mom, but you think they happened to honour that one in particular?”

“You were a suspect. I was an asset. I have different protections.”

Smug asswipe. “And what’s Jordan’s stance on all this? I noticed he skipped out earlier. One minute he’s asking me out and the next minute I’m not even worth apologizing to?”

René’s face contorts a little before going back to normal. “That imbecile was never spying on you in the first place. His only crime would be not telling you the truth, but that would have been a crime if he did. He never told anyone else anything either, and trust me, he was asked. Repeatedly. He was not even supposed to go near you. His whole family was ordered to keep their distance, but they did not listen.”

Uh… oh. Well, that’s unexpected.

“And I’m supposed to be grateful for that?” More importantly, “why were they supposed to stay away?”

“Well, that is-” He’s dodging the question.

“Just spit it out, bird-brain.”

Whoa, he just swallowed very angrily. He did not like the bird thing. Huh, so he is a bird of some kind. I was mostly just ragging on his nose, but I am good at this.

“I can’t really speak to that-”

“Then our conversation is over.”

“Okay! But I don’t know a lot, alright? Don’t look at me like that, I really don’t. All I know is your family and his family have connections, and that made things complicated. His family also has… other connections that… are not good. Not for you. You know, he was not helping you and your mom’s case for innocence by cuddling up to you guys.”

I look down at my feet and take a deep breath. It seems there’s still a lot I don’t know. And all this new information isn’t helping me. My heart feels physically ill. And the world suddenly looks a lot darker.

My mom and I, and maybe my dad, are all suspected of something, but what? Is it connected to the questions the Queen of the Nitwits said she had for me? But I don’t know anything? We aren’t criminals?

Jesus the Martyr, this makes no sense at all. Why is it the more I learn the less I know?

Let’s not think about it for now. I don’t have enough information, there’s no way to figure it out right now. I’ll wait until the next Council Meeting; I should get enough then to find out the truth. Or part of it. Not that I can believe anything they say but it’ll give me more to go on. Then I can find the real truth myself.

I turn back to René. He looks pretty bummed out. And nervous. Time to make it worse.

“After I died, why didn’t you visit me?”

He sighs. “I wanted to. I was forbidden. I did think about just… sneaking out and sneaking in to see you but I-” He makes an exasperated sound. “Look, not everyone is as brave as you are, Kara. The way you were talking in there was really-” He sighs. “I am surprised Jordan didn’t break in. I don’t really know what’s been up with him lately. We aren’t exactly talking right now. I am glad Chayla stopped by. So you, you know, you had someone.”

His face is pitiful. I think he means what he’s saying. But I’m too disappointed to care.

“Well, you’re definitely a coward, I’ll give you that. If I’m not worth sneaking out for, then it woulda been better if you just never bothered with me at all.”

“No.” René shakes his head and gives me a sad smile. “I don't regret anything. I enjoyed being your friend, even if this how it ends. I didn't have any choice. Well, my choice was either to be a rat or not know you at all. At first, I was just willing to do my part to protect Ashvale. But it was obvious quickly that you were not a bad person. I stand by my decision. I am glad I was able to know you.”

“Everyone has a choice. You could have said no. You could have told your stupid Queen just how fucked up it is she would even ask that of you. To ask that of a child.”

“I was thirteen. And scared-”

“I was thirteen. I was scared.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Fuck you. And you’re right, this is the end. Don’t worry though, I’ll always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you. But I still wish I’d never met you.”

His five minutes are up. It’d be nice if this is our last conversation, ever.

René’s face looks crestfallen and the arms that were blocking my path fall to his sides, and I finally escape.

Only to run into another ambush.

God damn it.