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A/N: Sorry I haven't updated. I've been busy and also left my story in my locker all through Winter Break. Enjoy my next chapter please. One more thing ((...)) usually will stand for (...), since (...) is used for thought speech.

Normal Life...or Not?

I thought I would be back to leading a normal life like before when I started school today. Boy was I so wrong...

The morning started out like most Mondays. I shot down the steps of my aunt and uncle's house after dressing. I snatched up a packet of instant cinnamon oatmeal. It's just a safety precaution. I reminded myself. ((In case word never gets out again, cinnamon oatmeal is the only thing I know of that the Yeerks are allergic to. It makes them go crazy and possibly die. We tried to cover it up about two years ago, but somehow the Andalite Bandits found out. They dumped a whole bunch of the stuff into the Yeerk Pool. Unfortunately Kornath wasn't in it. I was pretty mad. My one chance to get rid of him and... I'm getting off subject. Anyway, Esplin was somehow involved in it too. You know, Visser Three's twin.))

Speaking of twins... oh, never mind. You'll find out soon enough.

I choked the stuff down. It felt like slime going down my throat, all gooey and gross. ((Can you tell that I hate the stuff?)) To keep myself from hurling, I snagged a banana and ate it as I drove to school, since my aunt let me drive her car.

School was great. I was adjusting to the public system and had plenty of teachers to help me get from class to class. Life couldn't have been much better. Until lunchtime came.

They didn't have much choice in the food department. I ended up snagging a salad, deciding to toss the chicken when I was done. I found myself a nice empty table and plopped myself down.

"Is anyone sitting here?" a polite voice asked. I shook my head. "Mind if I sit here."

"No, go ahead. Seat's open." I looked up from my salad to see a guy about my age with dirty blond hair and hazel eyes sitting down across from me. He smiled warmly.

"Hi, I'm Alex." He extended a hand to me.

"Tiamate," I responded through a mouthful of food as I accepted his hand.

He studied me for a minute. I ignored him until he inquired if I was going to eat my chicken. I said no and explained that I had decided to become a vegetarian. When he asked about it, I told him that I couldn't stand the sight of dead things, let alone eat them. He nodded and paused for a moment. Then he shook his head quickly, almost like he was trying to get rid of a strange thought or something.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I started thinking about Darex, Lily, and Kat and wondered how they were doing when, "Hey, do you wanna go to the Sharing Meeting tonight?" Alex abruptly asked.

"Uh..." I responded, totally lost.

"Do you want to go to the Sharing with me tonight?" he repeated.

"Not really, no. I tried it, but it definitely wasn't for me. So I dropped out."

"Lucky you. I have to go. I'm a full-fledged member."

I nearly choked on my soda, causing most of it to come out of my nose. Coughing, I looked up at him. He was smiling causally.

"By the looks of it, you're shocked to hear me admitting it. What may shock you more is the fact that I'm not bringing in anyone to recapture you. That's only because-" I opened my mouth to cut him off, but he held up a hand to stop me, "That's only because I'm perfectly content with where I am. Plus, you'd make her gay. Would not. I'm the master of stealth. Well mister 'master of stealth' how come I am talking to you through my mouth? Oh, crap..."

"What the heck is going on here?" I inquired in a low voice.

"Um, well listen, have you ever heard about the Yeerk called Aftran. You know the one who knew who the Andalite Bandits were?" I nodded, still trying to wrap my mind around what was going on. "Well, she was a part of a group called the Yeerk Peace Movement. So am I."

I frowned, Why is he telling me all this? Why should I care? All I want is a normal life. Not one that is screwed up by the Yeerks.

"Hate to break it to you girl, but your life was screwed up by the Yeerks the minute you joined the Sharing. Even though you've left, you're still in danger. So we're here to offer you some peace of mind and some sanctuary. So what do you say?"

"Huh?"

"Your comment about a normal life and all. Duh."

It was then that I realized that I had been thinking out loud. "H…how do I know that I can trust you?"

"You remember when Kornath told you that his real name was Norkath 3722? And you remember that when he found out that his brother's host was your father? He had you burn the entire house down. He killed your father, but he didn't kill me. I am Norkath 3722. Kornath's twin."

I couldn't believe it. All these years of envisioning both dead. I still remember it like it was yesterday. I had come home from school late. I had gotten a "detention". Actually it was the excuse for me to meet with the assistant principal about our new partner/boyfriend. Tom. I was still in eighth grade, but would be moving up to the ninth grade in the private school soon. When we arrived home we received a phone call from Visser Three, warning me/Kornath that my father had a new Yeerk and it was his twin Norkath. We waited for him to come home. He was later than usual, but that was to be expected. We sat in the couch with Kornath holding a lighter in my hand and a cigarette sticking out of my mouth. I didn't smoke, it was for dad. Kornath lit it and flicked it onto a spot of alcohol near my dad. Kornath smirked as the fire started to burn the house and the floor under my father's feet. The fire had created a circle around my dad that was rapidly spreading outward and inward. "You won't get away with this!" Norkath had shouted through my father's mouth.

"On the contrary, little bro, both alcohol and smoking can kill a person." I had started screaming and crying then, inside my little part of my mind as Kornath forced me to walk out the door and watch as the house began to burn down. He started to laugh evilly. My mom came home early. She saw the lighter in my hand, the evil grin on my face, and dad's car in the driveway. She ran over to the neighbor's house and called the fire department. We were questioned endlessly about it, but Kornath knew some people on the force and they took care of keeping the blame off us. The last thing I remember about it was my father crawling out of the rubble and Kornath standing over him. "Now, you die." He turned and we walked off. I remember a boy about my age walking by, but we ignored him. My father then inherited a ranch from my grandparents and enough money that my mother could afford the tuition of the private school and still manage to come home drunk every night since then.

"I was that kid who walked by your house that day. Your father convinced me to take Norkath and join the Sharing. I've been a member ever since." The guy studied my face for a minute.

"How can I trust this?" I finally asked.

"Let me come over to your house tomorrow afternoon. You can talk to Alex about it then." He walked off and the bell rang for us to get to class.

I barely got through the next two classes. My mind was on that kid Alex and tomorrow. I was so lost in math, my last class thankfully, and had to keep poking myself with my pencil to stay awake. Maybe it would have been better if I had stayed with Kat, Darex, and Lily. I might not be so lost.

Well now you know what my day was like. How am I gonna get through tomorrow? Oh, like you'd know. You're a computer.

A/N: Well I hope you like it. Next chapter will explain the torture that Kat is going through. Please review.