Alita's POV:
"Do you mind if I borrowed your notes?" I asked Jeremy. I had stopped by his room after school.
"No problem." he said, barely glancing up from his computer.
"Have you gotten any results yet?" I asked as I pulled out the note books for the subjects I had missed & sat down on his bed.
"The scan didn't find any active towers, but I took a closer look at the data. For some reason, the desert sector took a lot longer to scan than the mountain sector. I'm running a few tests, but it's very possible that XANA has messed with the scan in order to hide an active tower somewhere in that region."
"Maybe I can find the tower if you send me to Lyoko." I suggested. As much as I missed my parents, I was tired. It was frustrating to have so much time with them in a world that was all in my head…I was even starting to question whether or not I actually was crazy…
"No, I don't like the idea of sending you in without a good idea of what to expect, especially in the condition you're in." he said. "I noticed you were kind of spacing out during science class."
I smiled at the memory. "My father & I were playing piano together in the hospital's music room." I didn't mention that I had also missed most of my history & math classes too…
I went back to copying his notes when I realized my note book wasn't on my lap anymore. I wasn't even in Jeremy's room anymore…
It looked like I was in an office. A door opened & closed behind me.
"I'm glad to see you're still with us." Tyron said. "I'm glad your parents are able to spend some extra time with you, but you still need to have your therapy." He sat down behind the desk. "So, how are things on Lyoko?"
"Like I'd really tell you." I said. "You just want to destroy our supercomputer."
"If that's how you want to describe me helping you defeat the madness in your mind…" Tyron said as he scribbled something down in a file. "How about XANA? Has he been up to any of his nasty tricks again?"
"XANA is more evil & powerful than anything you've ever known." I said. "What makes you think he's going to need you after he regains his strength?"
"Now, I don't think that's true. Your previous therapists have mentioned details of things like a pack of wolves, a meteor shower hitting the school, or a bus crashing into a nuclear power plant. Now, it seems like all XANA does is send specters after you & your friends. That doesn't seem so scary. That's certainly something that you can overcome."
He paused, waiting for a response. I didn't give him one.
"You're a smart girl, Alita. Your knowledge of computers & computer systems is incredible, & can lead to a promising & lucrative career path, but you must accept that Lyoko isn't real. What seems more likely: a young teenager fighting the forces of evil with her friends, or a young teenager who has a great amount of intelligence, but whose mind also plays tricks on her?"
"Alita!" Jeremy's voce brought me back. Now that Tyron wasn't right in front of me, I didn't have to worry about staying strong. I took a few deep breaths to clam myself, but I couldn't help that a few tears slipped out any way. Jeremy was by my side in an instant.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled." Jeremy said. "I was just trying to bring you back…"
"It's ok, I'm glad you brought me back." I said. "I'm just so confused right now. What if I am crazy?"
"You're not crazy, Alita."
"But what if I am? People our age worry more about social media than saving the world!" I said. "The mental hospital just feels so real! It's not like I'm on Lyoko, in some type of ghost channel. It feels like it could actually exist…"
"It doesn't." Jeremy said with enough confidence that I almost believed him. "Why don't you use your laptop & help me analyze the data. We'll figure out what's going on faster with both of us working on it. Ok?"
I nodded, taking a shaky breath.
Jeremy always seemed to know exactly what to say…
I'm sorry about the delay…I had horrible writer's block for some reason. It's strange, it shouldn't be hard to write scenes like this since I doubt my own sanity from time to time…lol
Please review!