5 Chapter 4: Mysteries

I watched quietly as Christopher Earlstone and Melissa started taking their coats from the rack. "I hope you understand what Chris said I hope to explain to you about," Melissa said softly. "It's going to be a very hard journey for you, Margot, but remember, this is for the future of our country."

I nodded. To be honest, I didn't really care about the experiments they were going to use on me as if I was a lab rat – all I honestly really cared about was saving the world. It sounded like a far-fetched cliche, but I was sick and tired of all of the causes overpopulation has done. And it totally sucked sharing a house with a no-brainer who scolded me for rollerblading in the railings. Earlstone smiled at me. "Well then, we look forward to seeing you once you've turned fifteen, young lady. Good bye."

I waved good bye at them, and they left the house. At the second after the Sapphires left, T.K. came running down the staircase. "Woah," she said, looking surprised to see me intact, "how was the meeting?"

I shrugged. "Crappy."

T.K. sighed and rubbed her arm. "You have to get used to it, Margot. These are the government officials – well, they're Sapphires. They can manipulate minds and sacrifice lives just to obtain what they call justice. Trust me, I've already worked with them." she said.

I didn't reply. All I knew was that my life isn't ever going to be the same as before, and it's all because of a stupid meeting.

•°•°•°•

The next day at school wasn't normal. As soon as I walked through the huge double doors of the school, I expected Ryan Stone to start pestering me about my ponytails or something – but instead, he and his gang passed by me, not even noticing my presence. I sighed in relief. It was better if they just pretended I was invisible, rather than bother me for the rest of my life.

The day seemed to drag on forever. Nobody was making eye contact for more than two seconds with each other, and students only talked to one another if they were asked to do so. It was strange. I started to wish Ryan had bullied me earlier. The unusualness was starting to make me feel uncomfortable.

I walked home by myself again. I didn't meet Quinn on my way home, so I decided to visit him. It wasn't a long walk to his house, so I arrived there early. I knocked on the door.

It opened immediately and I found Quinn standing before me. The only thing is, I could barely recognize him: his face was swollen, he had a black eye on his right, his lower lip was puffy, and he had a long scar across his face. There were bruises on his hands, and even though his arms were concealed by his jacket, I could tell that there were more wounds in there too. "Goddamn it, Quinn, what happened to you?" I said.

He shrugged and looked around warily. "Look, Margot, you shouldn't be here, okay? I really do want to hang out with you, but times are harsh and unpredictable."

"Dude, tell me everything," I insisted. Quinn shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't. Just go back home, Margot, they might see you. Something bad might happen to you –" He started to close the door, but I stuck my foot in the doorway.

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what happened with you," I said sternly. "And who's 'they'? What do you mean?"

"I don't know," he whispered. His eyes were scared, and he looked weaker than his normal self. I decided to give up on asking him and go back home. I bade my friend good-bye, but he already closed the door behind him.

T.K. was standing outside the house. I could see her from meters away. I ran up to her and said, "What's up?"

"A lot of fishy stuff," she replied, opening the door and hurriedly pushing me inside. "Look, Margot, you shouldn't be loitering around by yourself. It's just too dangerous."

"T.K., just please tell me what's going on," I begged. "I'm tired of what's happening right now. It seems like as if everybody's not themselves! And Quinn –"

T.K. put a finger to her lips. "Shhh. We shouldn't be talking about this, Margot."

I looked into her eyes. I trusted T.K. I would obey anything she would say to me, but this time I needed answers. It wasn't easy not knowing anything.