Chapter Two- Symptoms

"Alexis, I love your necklace!" Mindy exclaimed as they walked to school the next morning.

"Thanks, Mindy, but it's not really mine. I'm wearing it in hope that the one who lost it will see it and ask for it back."

Her other friend, Jasmine, nodded. "I guess that makes sense, but you could have posted a notice on the school website's lost and found section."

"True. I'll do that too if no one's claimed it today." The girls went to their first class and all throughout the day, Alexis waited for the owner to show, but no one did. So, after her last class, she dropped by the computer lab and put a notice up on the website along with a picture she had snapped and uploaded to the computer. Afterwards, she went back to Obelisk and joined her fellow Obelisks in the cafeteria. She found a seat with her girl friends and Alexis half-heartedly joined in a judging contest of the first-year Obelisk boys.

Alexis wasn't boy crazy like her friends. She had some boys she was friendly with, but they were in Slifer and Ra. The only Obelisk boy she hung around with now was her brother, Atticus. I'm glad we're not sharing a room anymore. It was nice at first, but one he got his memory back, then he became annoying. And speaking of Atticus, there he is now. She spied him across the room, entertaining some third-year girls with his ukulele, the same one that he played last year when he tried to fix her up with Chazz.

She watched her brother play; watched his fingers move over the strings, saw him flash a charming smile at his audience, heard his heart pumping steadily…

Alexis blinked rapidly, shook her head slightly, and looked down at her plate. How could she hear Atticus' heart beating over all the noise in the cafeteria?

"Hey, Alexis?"

"Hmm?" She looked up at her name. "I'm sorry, Mindy. What did you say?"

Mindy had a twinkle in her eye. "Thinking about your boyfriend?"

Alexis almost choked on her baked potato. "What!? I don't have a boyfriend, Mindy! You know that."

"Really? What about Jaden? He did win that duel with Harrington."

"Jaden's just a friend. I already said I don't need or want a boyfriend. Dueling is my life."

"Okay, Alexis. Point made." Mindy returned to her dinner and again, over the sound of the students, Alexis heard Mindy's heartbeat. She looked sideways at Jasmine and heard her heartbeat as well.

What is going on here? Why am I hearing heartbeats when I never have before? And another thing, I need to get out of here. All these beating hearts are driving me crazy.

She got up, grabbed her schoolbag, and left the cafeteria. She headed to her room, enjoying the fresh air and the relative silence. The quarter moon still shined down, yet it was a little smaller. It would be the new moon soon, but that didn't concern her. The moon is pretty and occasionally noticed for its phases, but that was it; nothing more.

Alexis was confused about suddenly hearing heartbeats. It didn't make sense and she knew she would continue to dwell on it until she had the answer. She reached her room, shoved the heartbeat mystery to the back of her mind, and began her homework.

Alexis tried to keep her mind occupied with her studies and spending time with her friends. Jaden had befriended a first-year Ra named Hassleberry and she watched Chazz win a duel to be placed as an Obelisk, but surprisingly he turned down the offer. Yet, despite these events, she continued to hear heartbeats.

She was also constantly thirsty. It didn't matter what she had or how much she drank, this thirst wouldn't go away. She went to the infirmary, thinking she was sick, but Miss Fontaine was at a loss. "I don't know what to tell you, Alexis. You are in perfect health. Perhaps a bit pale, but nothing a little sunlight can't fix."

So, she continued to drink a lot, mostly water. She was convinced that she was ill, despite Miss Fontaine saying she was fine. She put on a cheerful face around her classmates, but alone she was concerned. She sat at her desk four nights after finding the necklace, staring out at the moonless grounds. No one had claimed the necklace, so she chose to claim ownership. But, her new jewelry was the furthest thing from her mind. She was extremely thirsty and her head was pounding. She was having trouble thinking and stumbled from her room to go outside Obelisk Blue and get some fresh air.

She roamed around the area, first the girls' area then the area open to both boys and girls. She sat on the rim of the fountain with her head in her hands, wishing the headache and thirst would go away. She wanted to stop feeling this way! What was wrong with her!?