Chapter 11: Recovery
The four of us stood in front all the teachers the next morning. After we told them the story of what happened, they sat in stony silence. Hutchins and Yang looked furious, while Mistaké, Borg, and Neuro looked displeased. Ronin didn't seem to care at all.
"Well boys," Mistaké said at last.
Nya shifted. "And girl," she muttered under her breath.
I hid my smile by looking down at the ground. I was glad my sister was regaining her old spirit back.
The old teacher didn't notice. "In the past 24 hours, you've probably broken over a dozen school rules."
The four of us shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, ma'am."
"And there is sufficient evidence to have you all expelled."
"But professor—" I protested.
"Silence!" Mistaké shouted. We all fell quiet, even the other teachers. "Therefore, it's only fitting…"
I held my breath. "…that you receive Special Awards for Services to the School."
I gasped and looked at the others. I couldn't believe it. Awards?
"Mistaké," Yang complained. "You can't really mean that."
The old teacher folded her arms. "Of course I do. These students have defeated a great evil that not even us adults could take care of. It is only fitting we award them for their bravery." She paused. "And I'm sure when Master Wu returns, he'll say the same."
The other teachers remained quiet, and I'm sure some of them disagreed, but I couldn't care less. I was just relieved none of us got expelled.
When Wu was reinstated and arrived a week later, he did say the same and gave us the awards personally. I placed my medal in my suitcase, where it hopefully couldn't be stolen. Chen was brimming with jealousy and I wouldn't put it past him to try and steal it from me.
Now, all that was left was for the Golden Plants to mature and for the victims to be cured. Fall seemed to purposefully stay out of reach, just to torture us. Homework kept us busy, but we could never forget that one of our library seats was empty.
I missed Zane, and not because my grades were suffering. He was a loyal friend. Someone you could always count on. His absence left a void in our lives. After summer break, fall was only a month away and my friends and I needed to come to an important decision.
"Should we tell Zane?" I asked the group.
"Tell him what?" Nya asked.
I flushed with embarrassment. "That he's, you know…"
"A machine?" Cole said bluntly.
"I think he has a right to know," Nya said.
"I guess," I replied.
"Why do you ask?" Cole questioned between bites of food.
I sighed. "It's life changing information. Do we have the right to break that kind of news to him?"
Jay shrugged. "Do you think he already knows he's an android?"
I looked at Jay. "And lie to us the whole time? That doesn't seem like Zane."
"Then we should probably tell him," Jay said.
I noted that he was also agreeing with my sister. The two of them had been getting awfully cozy after the whole Great Devourer incident.
"After all," Jay continued. "I would want to know if it was me."
That was a good point. For better or worse, Zane deserved the truth about himself. So the four of us agreed to tell him as soon as he woke up. The leaves were changing colors and the Golden Plants were finally beginning to ripen.
This was finally it. Wu announced at breakfast that the drought from the plants had been successfully created and the victims would be back to normal soon. My friends and I ran down to the infirmary to see for ourselves. Mistaké wouldn't let us come in though, until all the patients had been treated.
We sat outside the doors and waited. One by one the students came out the doors, looking healthier and brighter than they ever were before. Even Dareth came out with Goldie, who looked like she was ready to bite something, including her doting owner.
At last, Zane slid out into the hall. I stood up suddenly.
"You're okay!" I exclaimed as I enveloped my friend in a massive hug. He stiffened and blinked in surprise, then slowly returned my hug.
"We got your message," Cole said.
"You saved us, buddy," Jay added.
Zane smiled slowly. "I did?" He almost sounded surprised.
I stepped back. "Yes, you did," I affirmed.
We stood in silence for a moment, each of us waiting for the other to speak.
"What is it?" Zane asked, sensing something was wrong.
"Well…" I said slowly. "While you were out of it, we discovered something."
His brow furrowed in concern. "And?"
We all looked at each other. Nya nodded at me in encouragement.
"You're a android," I blurted out.
"What?" Zane asked, not comprehending.
"A machine," Jay explained.
Zane backed away from us. "It can't be…" he said.
Cole nodded. "It's true. Mistaké opened up your chest and it was all full of wires and things."
Zane went from shocked to horrified. "She did what?"
This wasn't going well.
"Maybe it would be best if we showed you," Nya suggested.
Zane froze, and momentarily hesitated, but then he undid the front of his kimono.
I searched for the panel Mistaké had lifted. It took a moment, but I found it. Zane's creator must have gone through a bunch of hoops to make sure no one would discover his secret.
Zane looked down at his metal insides in shock. "No," he kept saying. "It can't be." He gently fingered the wires in his chest, as if to make sure they were real. "This can't be," he repeated.
My heart ached for my friend. I didn't know what to say.
"You're still the same person as before," Cole said tentatively. "This doesn't change our friendship."
"Yeah!" Jay said, building off his statement. "In fact, it probably makes you a better wizard, with all the magic flowing through your wires."
Probably the wrong thing to say. Zane slumped to the floor.
"Are you okay?" I asked him. He didn't answer.
"Come to the feast with us," Nya suggested. "We can figure this out."
He shook his head. "You guys go ahead," Zane said. "I just don't feel right."
I felt terrible leaving my friend by himself, but there were something things people needed to work out on their own.
"Alright," I relented. "Come on guys," I said to the others.
We reluctantly went to the celebratory feast in honor of the revived students. It wasn't the same without our friend.
"I hope he'll be okay," Jay said.
"Sure he will," I said. "He just needs time." I said it as much for myself as for the others. I had to believe Zane would pull through. I had to.
The next day at lunch, I saw him sitting in his usual chair reading a book, with another by his side. I smiled. Maybe things would go back to normal after all. Then I caught a glance at the titles. One was about self-discovery and the other had something to do with machines.
"Zane?" I asked.
He didn't respond. I sighed. There seemed to be nothing I could do, until he was willing to open up again.
"Well, if you need someone to talk to, we're here for you," I told him, though I knew he couldn't—or wouldn't—hear me. We sat in the library together in silence.
The same pattern continued for one, painfully long week.
Then, one day, Jay to tried to break up the tension. "You guys ready for exams?"
I shrugged. "I guess. My grades have been dropping from B's to D's, so I don't know. I'll probably end up failing. You, Cole?"
"As ready as I'll ever be. I could use some help studying though."
Nya sighed loudly. "You guys are hopeless. I'm getting all A's and B's right now. All you have to do is pay attention and take good notes."
I shook my head. Nya had always been a great student. "What about you, Zane?"
I didn't want to leave him out, even though he was buried in his book. I don't think he heard me. "You ready for exams?"
Zane lifted his head and looked at me. "Yes," he replied flatly.
My hopes soared. This was the most communication we had had since the day we told him he was an android.
"Maybe you could help me out," I said hopefully. "I'm having trouble in Charms right now."
A pause. "Of course."
I looked at the others. Concern showed on all their faces. Zane was too detached.
Jay snapped. "Come on, buddy! We're your friends! Talk to us!"
Zane pulled his book up higher.
"You can't shut us out forever," Cole said.
"We're worried about you," Nya added.
"Zane, please," I begged.
Zane lowered his book. His face was expressionless. "Thank you for your concern," was all he said.
We all looked at each other again. I wished he could understand that we were there for him. But this was life changing news. To suddenly learn you weren't human…well, I don't know how I would respond myself. He just needed some more time.
I met Zane for my study session in the library that afternoon. He was already there, still reading his book.
"Hey," I said.
"Hello," Zane replied automatically.
He put down his book and started showing me how to cast charms and brushed up on my potions and transfiguration as well. He was doing a good job, but I could tell my friend's heart wasn't in it. His mind appeared to be elsewhere.
I closed my transfiguration book. He looked at me in surprise. "We have several more spells to review," he said.
I sighed. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."
"As your friend—" Zane started.
"As your friend, I say you should be able to do what you want," I insisted. "I know you've been upset since you found out that you were…" I tried to find the right word but failed. "…different," I finally said. "If you want to be alone you can. You don't have to help me or even sit with us at lunch."
Zane stood silently, absorbing what I was telling him. "You have done so much for me, that's why—"
I shook my head. "I don't want you to feel like you have to be with us. We're your friends. We want to help you, but we're not going to force you to do anything."
Zane nodded. "I see."
I gave him some time to say something else. He never did. I took a deep breath and left him with one last thought.
"If you ever need us, we're here. Until then, do what you need to do, just know it won't be the same without you." I left the library to give Zane space.
He came into lunch the next day, but he didn't say much. I didn't go to another study session to try to give him some space. Instead, I met with Cole and Jay and we attempted to study together. Jay asked if I had talked to Zane lately. I told him about our conversation and he nodded.
"That makes more sense," Jay said.
"What does?" Cole asked.
"Zane was asking me a bunch of questions before I came over here," Jay answered.
I wondered what they had talked about, but Jay was not didn't give me any straight answers. He just shrugged and said things like, 'he asked about robots' and 'I made some jokes and Zane didn't laugh', which was not helpful.
At lunch, he continued to read his books and say very little. "You know you can talk to us, right?" I asked.
"Of course," he said. But he still was being very mysterious.
The next day, he didn't show up at all. The exams were tomorrow and Zane was nowhere to be found. My heart sunk and I had no appetite. I couldn't believe he had left us.
"We just got him back, and now he's farther away than ever," I commented.
Jay sighed loudly, but didn't say anything.
"Hello, friends," a voice said.
I turned around to see Zane holding two pies in his hands.
"I thought you left for good," Jay said.
Zane looked at him in surprise. "Why would I leave?"
"You've been withdrawing from us lately, so I thought…" I trailed off.
Zane shook his head. "I was making these pies for you. I have apple and cherry. Since tomorrow is the exams, I thought you would like them."
Cole rushed forward eagerly. "Yes please!"
Zane pulled out a knife from his kimono and cut Cole a generous slice of both. He ate them all in a flash.
"This is delicious," Cole exclaimed.
I tried some of the cherry, and I could tell it was not made by magic. Magical desserts tasted almost too sugary and perfect to be real.
"You said you made this yourself?" I said between bites.
Zane nodded.
Jay took a bite. "I didn't know you could cook," he said.
Zane shrugged. "I just picked it up."
"Well you should do it more often. This is amazing. Seriously," I said. I reached for a slice of the apple.
Zane smiled. "I'm glad you like it."
We ate in silence, except for noises of pleasure. Even Nya had seconds. "I'm glad you're back," I said. "I was worried about you."
"I'm sorry I worried you," he replied. "You are all my friends, and I want to thank you for staying with me."
We all smiled. "So are you good now?" Nya asked.
Zane nodded. "Yes, but after school ends, I'll have to confront my father. He kept the truth from me my whole life."
That must be rough. I put my hand on Zane's shoulder. "It'll be okay," I said. "We'll be right here by your side."
"Thank you," Zane said.
The five us stood together as friends, ready to take on the world. After this year, it seemed like nothing could stop us. We could handle Zane's father next year. We had become a family and nothing was going to separate us again.
The End.
AN: To be continued in Book 3: The Shadow of the Warlord. Thanks for your support!
