Eniola looked up again, shaking her head and looking through her otherwise delirious eyes. She was home. Home. She slowly got up, eyes gazing around the room quickly, trying to grasp at her memories. She was back in her dining room. It was filled with all their usual furniture and it was full. This must’ve not been a recent memory.

Paradox was in her mind.

Eniola looked around, slowly walking just in case Paradox had another mind trap. She, Kol, and her mom and dad were all sitting around the table. Her parents looked antsy like something was bothering them. Her dad’s fingers were repeatedly drumming onto the table, and her mom was looking down at her food in a half-smile while Eniola and Kol sat there.

Eniola finally recognized this day and realized what was going to happen. Her mom cleared her throat. “Eniola, Kolapo. We have an announcement to make.”

The Eniola and Kol of this simulation both looked up.

“What’s wrong?” Eniola remembered how she was so scared but curious. A baby? Did someone die? Possibly forgiving Olu for doing nothing wrong?

“Nothing’s wrong,” her dad said. “We have talked about this for months, and I have such a great opportunity. I got a job offer in New York. Their top hospital wants to promote me to the head of the cardiac department. They have also offered your mom a position there.”

This was the moment that Eniola stopped eating and froze in her tracks. “We’re moving?”

“Yes,” her mom confirmed. “At the end of the summer.”

“But what about me?” Eniola asked. “I’m going to UCLA.”

Her dad sighed in disappointment. “We want you to apply to NYU so that you can come with us.”

“But the plan was UCLA,” Eniola said, more antsy this time.

“But the plan for the family will be New York,” her dad reiterated. “You did the early application, so NYU is still open for applications. You will apply to their pre-med program.”

“But I want to stay here. Why can’t I just stay?”

“We want you close to us,” her mom said. The Eniola left it at that, watching this go down. Her parents didn’t know about SCOPE yet or what she had here. Maybe she should’ve let go.

Suddenly the world froze, and Eniola felt herself stay cold and still in time. A line of code ran across her vision as she tried to move. She felt it throughout her entire body. The image disappeared and reappeared in a staticky shape of colours.

It felt like she was fading. Like she had no control over her body. Then suddenly her body started moving until something completely fused it with the one in the simulation.

Eniola searched through her vision before seeing her SCOPE avatar flash in front of her. It was now in the same white room, and it seemed like her avatar was now in front of her, like it was a separate entity and not an extension.

It ran for her before pushing her. Eniola felt like she was slipping off some ledge or something before she fell backward. Suddenly the world shifted to the glitches of colours, flashing around her as Eniola held on, her avatar looking back at her, ready to push her down one more time.

Eniola let go.