Chapter Seven: Goin' In

"Miss Cassandra, Mr. Yoji, and Mr. Max-Ernest?"
The pleasant, distinctly female voice made all the Terces trio jump in their singular seat. Cass glanced, feeling a little paranoid, at the vaguely smiling Asian woman in a white lab coat standing near a doorway about ten feet away from the entrance, a clipboard in her hand. "The doctor wants to see you."

None of them moved. "Umm," said Cass quickly, "We were just leaving." She grabbed her friends' hands and stood up. The nurse's smile grew a little more faint.

"The doctor is expecting you," she repeated cheerily. "Perhaps you'll feel more comfortable in his office. This building can be a very daunting place." She strode over to the children and put her hand on Cass's shoulder. The girl immediately shook it off, undaunted by her firm grip. Her eyes blazed.

"We're leaving," she repeated coolly, and pulled Max-Ernest and Yo-Yoji over to the entrance.

"But Miss Cassandra," cried the woman in a strained voice, "The doctor knows you're afraid. He is no longer part of the Midnight Sun."

The elf-eared girl didn't answer. She just strode through the smacked-open door, fear filling her mind. How did she know my name? she wondered, more creeped out than she'd like to admit. Ms. Mauvais must have told her, she reassured herself as the trio stepped out onto the cold concrete. That woman was lying.

Her friends, however, weren't so sure. "Dude," Yo-Yoji pointed out, "Why didn't we go in? She said they weren't apart of the Midnight Sun. Plus, she wasn't wearing any gloves."

"That doesn't matter!" Cass snapped, overwhelmed. "The rest were. If we went in, who knows what could've happened? If there's anything I've learned from being in the Terces Society, it's to be cautious about people - especially people with gloves."

"But - "

"And weren't you the one who was asking how this Yufredo doctor guy was legitimate or not? I don't want to get trapped in another one of their stupid schemes. Not on summer vacation. Not when we just a month ago got transported to Las Vegas accidentally to learn the Secret which wasn't even - even - ugh! That wasn't even solid!" Cass was breathing hard, and though you would have to make her eat nails before she'd admit it, her eyes were welling with tears. "Not with Pietro gone." Her voice trembled, and her throat ached in that way that often happens when you're about to cry.

Yo-Yoji looked somber. "Cass," he began, "Master Wei sometimes says - y'know, about Pietro - that wise men seem crazy to people unwilling to listen. Imagine how crazy he might have seemed when he was an old hermit living in his house - heck, that realtor lady thought he was dead when his house burned down, and so did your grandfathers. Imagine how hard it would be to live in fear of gloved people, even in the winter, unsure whether they're your enemies or not. Especially with his brother gone and all." He shuffled his feet. Cass wiped her eyes hastily and looked at her friend with a small sniffle.

"Well...what I mean to say is," Yo-Yoji fumbled through his speech, "I...well...Pietro never gave up. He always investigated - whatever crazy plan those Midnight Sun dudes were cooking up, he always had some sort of idea of it. Yet even then he was paranoid about gloves...er...I mean - well - what I mean to say is, if you keep on gettin' scared of people with gloves on, you're going to become a hermit." He paused, flushing. "Uh. You know what I mean."

Cass wiped her nose with the back of her hand (she didn't have any tissues in her backpack, unfortunately). "I do," she said, sniffling. "...Thanks, Yo-Yoji. I mean - that was pretty great. I understand - Pietro'd want us to stop their scheme anyway, even when we were scared. And who knows?" She smiled crookedly. "Maybe they just like gloves."

Yo-Yoji blushed scarlet and stuffed his hands in his pockets - as you may know, Cass almost never said "thank you" (unless it was sarcastic), and he felt grateful for her words. Max-Ernest, meanwhile, was bristling silently.

Hand in hand, the youngest members of the Terces Society took one deep breath...and walked through the doors for the second time that day.

Author's Note: Omigosh, I forgot to add my signature on Chapter Six! *smacks forehead* Well, I'll just have to do it twice this time. I hope you liked this chapter. Weird, I'm starting to like Yo-Yoji more since I'm making him so reassuring. O.o

Well, nothin' much more to say. I feel like I'm making the story so SLOOOOW-PAAAACCCEED. Sorry. :^P Until Chapter Eight!

Signed,

PancakesWithMilk

Signed,

PancakesWithMilk (DOUBLE THE PANCAKESWITHMILKNESS)