xx48.11.18 / 19:56 / Still Friday

Okay, okay, I admit it, I started a new entry just for dramatic effect. Can you blame me? It turned out I had to explain for C2's benefit, though, which took about ten minutes, but by the end of it I almost had her convinced that I was right.

"I concede that it's a possibility," she said, after I'd finished explaining. "But even if you're right, I don't see how this changes anything. What can we do?"

"Stop it, of course! Stop this evil mind control and free these students!"

"We're just two people. There are over a thousand students at this school; if this is 'mind control' then it's not an unreasonable assumption to make that they could all turn against us, possibly violently. Also, if you are right and 'supervillains' are responsible for this then the implication is that they have scientifically promoted abilities. The presence of thugs or similar minions is also likely. I ask this not as pointed repetition but instead due to an earnest desire for clarification: what can we do?"

Actually that kind of stumped me. If I had my powers—but no, Charlotte, you've got to stop saying that. The simple fact is that I DON'T have my powers. I'm just an ordinary girl, and so is C2. Well okay so maybe 'ordinary' isn't the right word to describe her but she definitely doesn't have super-strength or anything like that, and now that I think about it I really don't want to put her in any danger. So basically it's down to me, a single unpowered girl against a potential army of mind controlled students and their supervillain masters. Also probably thugs and/or minions. I wouldn't put it past the teachers to be involved in this, either.

"Um," I said.

"I haven't seen any evidence of 'control'," C2 said. "Except from Veronica Flux and the new student head of council, and from the teachers who arrived at around the same time that they did."

"Aha!" I said.

"But that isn't 'mind control'," C2 was continuing. "In fact, the mood alteration often seems to work against their desire to encourage the students to become more organised."

"More organised?" I said. "You're making it sound positive!"

"It is positive?" said C2. "There was a lot of bullying and other bad behaviour before the new staff were brought in. I was often treated badly, as were my friends. The teachers had trouble controlling the students."

"Huh," I said. I actually couldn't think of anything to say to this.

"That's why I suggested that the school board—"

"Okay, so clearly we have to investigate this whole thing further," I said. "It wouldn't be a good idea to make any rash moves."

"I agree," said C2. "That's why I think you should join the self-improvement program."

I stared at her.

"You're shocked," C2 said, in a kind of satisfied way—I guess because she was happy to have figured out my feelings, not because she was trying to shock me. "But as I said to you before, being there is less conspicuous than not being there. As long as you resist, Veronica Flux will continue to notice you."

"I joined the chess club," I said, weakly.

"It's not enough. The self-improvement program is different. Veronica Flux wants every student to join."

"It MUST be for some evil purpose. What do you do there?"

"Self-improvement activities. Trust exercises. Roleplaying. We listen to lectures about teamwork and often put theory into practise—"

"Okay, okay. But what's BEHIND all that?"

"Behind?"

"Like some kind of sinister undercurrent, maybe a repeated message or motto?"

"I think 'teamwork leads to success' would be the principle 'theme' of the program," said C2. "Perhaps also 'trust in your peers' as a strong secondary—"

"Isn't there ANYTHING even a LITTLE sinister about it all? Nothing unusual? Nothing strange?"

C2 thought about this while I paced around my lounge.

"Some students are selected for advanced self-improvement," she said, eventually. "Would that be considered 'strange'?"

"That's exactly what I'm talking about!" I said. "Do they get taken away to somewhere else?"

"Yes. I don't know where."

"Do they come back?"

"Yes, several days after being taken away, usually three days but sometimes one day less or more, they're often taken on a Thursday but slightly less often on a Friday, although there have been several times when students were taken on a Wednesday and once they were taken on a Tuesday. Never on a Monday. I don't know if that's significant or not."

"I'm ... not sure either," I said. "But they're definitely taken away, right?"

"Yes, in a bus or truck."

"But where?"

"As I told you, I don't know."

"Is it out of town?"

"Possibly. It is certainly out of the school grounds."

"Okay, and then they're brought back—severely traumatised, I bet!"

"No, they seem happy."

"But totally zombie-like, right? Dull, flat eyes, kind of a vacant stare?"

"No, they're not much different to before they left. Perhaps more confident and with greater belief in themselves—"

"Huh," I said, just before the first bell rang—we'd talked all morning! After that we went to school together and split up to go to our classes. School was pretty normal, but now that I was looking I definitely noticed that the 'mood' today was focused and serious; every student was intent on their work and irritable about distraction. But what I also noticed was that some were definitely more focused than others—some students just wanted to get their work done, most students were kind of intensely focused, but then some of them were like totally zoned-in on their work. If this is mind control, and I'm almost certain it is, it must work better on some people than it does on others. Maybe I'm just naturally resistant? But that doesn't explain why even the most lightly-affected students are clearly much more focused and serious than I am. I don't feel at all serious today, except about getting to the bottom of all of this and somehow stopping it.

Anyway, it's late now and I've written a lot, remembering it all was tough even with my curse-perfect memory, especially my conversation with C2. I think I'll go to sleep and write the rest tomorrow, about Veronica's stupid class etc. Goodnight!