Disclaimer: Yeah, I didn't put one on the last chapter. Forgot to and now I'm way too lazy to go back and change it. The only character that belongs to me is Lorelei. The rest goes to Lois Lowry.

It was a blessing for the Giver to be in a much better mood the next day. If not, Jonas wasn't sure what he would have done.

It was a pain to get the girl past the receptionist, of course, since when he presented himself that day, the lady looked at him as if he had grown another head. She eyed Jonas's companion with a gleam in her eye that suggested that if she made even one move, she'd get her head blown off.

"Err- she's an experiment. With my memories, you see?" Jonas lied, knowing fully well that memories didn't cause human projections. But it wasn't the secretary's place to argue with the Receiver-in-training. Nodding, she pressed the button that unlocked the door, never taking her eyes off the girl.

"You're 30 seconds late, Jon-" The Giver cut himself off when he realized that Jonas was not alone.

"I know. Sorry. I had a little trouble getting her past the lady out there." Jonas gestured at the girl next to him.

The eldest of the three stood silent, scanning the girl up and down, waiting for Jonas to continue, despite the fact that Jonas had nothing else to say.

"Okaaaay." The girl looked from the boy adjacent to her to the old man, back and forth. It was practically silently agreed that she was the one who would speak next. She cleared her throat, knowing that neither of them knew why she was there or even who she was.

Yesterday, she had taken the liberty of taking off into the forest again, being stopped only once by Jonas. "Where are you going?" He had asked her.

"Uh- into the forest?" She pointed up at the clock in the Central Plaza that displayed the time to everybody. "Most of your friends' training will be over soon today, and I can't be seen." As if that explained everything, she disappeared into the shrubbery.

She knew who Jonas was from the Ceremony, as well as the Receiver of Memory, the council of Elders, etcetera. She had caught on quickly within the time she had been here. "I'm Lorelei Tress." She started slowly, looking at the both of them.

"Loreleitress?" Jonas repeated. "That's a long name. I've never heard of it, either."

"Err- well, it's two names." She explained, narrowing her eyes and wondering why he hadn't realized that.

"You have two names?" He asked, perplexed.

"People in this community don't have a first and last name, Lorelei." Came the Giver's voice, understanding what she meant.

"No first and last-" Lorelei stopped, thinking over this fact. This community was certainly much more different than the one she had grown up in. She shook her head, as if that would rid her head of the confusion. "Whatever. I've been here for about a year now…" Her voice trailed, her eyes gazing sheepishly at the two before her.

"How'd you get here?" The Giver asked, motioning for her to sit down in the chair behind her.

She turned to see where the elder was pointing and nodded, backing up and flopping herself in the seat. "Stowed away on the jet." She shrugged, "It was forced by your Elders to land in the clearing in the forest."

"That's right," The Giver recalled, nodding, "That's what I told them to do. To land the jet instead of shooting it down."

"Thank goodness you didn't." Sighed Lorelei gratefully, "I fled to get away, not to die. Anyways, when you guys were dragging the pilot off, I just got out and ran off."

The Giver contemplated this for a moment, "But how did you get on the plane? Did the pilot know you were there?"

Lorelei shook her head, "The plan goes into detail, none of which I feel like elaborating on. Just know that it was one heck of an idea to drag my sorry butt on there. The pilot was clueless the entire time."

It stuck her now that these two were the only people she would ever tell her story to, but they were members in this community that could easily turn her in. Where would she go then? What would they do to her?

The Giver seemed to have read her mind. "Don't worry, Lorelei. We're not going to say anything. I'm the ex-Receiver of Memories-"

"Yes, I know. I heard at the Ceremony."

He only raised an eyebrow at her, as if to tell her that she was to explain this later. "But you may call me the Giver. And this is-"

"Jonas. I heard. You know. At the Ceremony."

Jonas was nearly relieved to finally be included in the conversation some way or another. From what he had perceived, she had arrived in the jet that had frightened him when he was still an Eleven, almost a Twelve last November. She had been out and about ever since, and had known the two of them before they knew about her.

"Yeah. I attended the Ceremony, settling myself somewhere in the back. I was surprised that no one turned their attention towards me, especially since I look so different." Lorelei nodded at her clothing, then to Jonas's. "You guys look weird." But then she gave a laugh, "Or maybe it's me who's a freak in this community."