Author note: Whala! Another chapter to read, yay!

Spot turned his head and looked straight at me like I was losing my mind.

"What would you change?" he asked slowly.

I sighed longingly and hugged my knees to my chest. My mind was fuzzy and I didn't even realize what I was saying. "I'd change when dad sent me away to a place that I wish I could leave," I said in a twisted kind of way. "I'd change my life so I never had to take a test-"

I instantly closed my mouth, but I don't know why. My brain wasn't in control.

"No, no, no," I said. "I take that all back. I'd change it so mom never died."

Spot blinked a few times at my insanity. I came back to reality and nearly gasped at what I almost told Spot.

"Have you evah thought of…maybe goin to an asylum?" he asked slowly.

I pressed my lips together in a straight line and felt myself swim back to the present. I was letting this get out of hand, and I nearly told Spot about my true secret. I was becoming one of them kids who start muttering to people about a deadly school, and then I'd be sent away to the crazy bin. I was lucky to come back to reality before I said anything.

"I'm not insane!" I said rudely.

I saw a slight smirk on Spot's face as he shook his head. "Yer hard ta read, Anorm, ya know dat?" he asked.

"I know, and you're a stuck up boy who thinks he's a leader," I said, getting to my feet. "When you don't know anything about leadership!"

I then turned on my heel and began to storm away. I felt Spot jerk my arm roughly and turned me around.

"I know more 'bout leadership den da next guy! Don't go around telling me, of all people, that I know nothin 'bout leadership! I mean, look at you, you ain't a leadah!"

I pushed Spot away from me by his chest and my eyes flared. "I know a lot more about leadership, you dog! All you do to your boys is push them around and yell at them! I'd never do that!" It was true; I was loyal to the people who called me their leader. Why torture them when they were already leading a painful life.

"I'm jus' teachin 'em respect," Spot said coldly.

"Respect?" I yelled. "How can you be teaching them respect when you don't even respect me?"

"I don't respect you 'cause yer so damn stuck-up and think yer better den everybody else!" he shouted.

"You know nothing about me, Conlon, so don't judge me! Just like you I'm leading a painful, hard life, so don't even start with me about being stuck-up," I told him.

Spot laughed amusedly and his eyes were cold. "You? Leading a hard and painful life? Dat's funny, Anorm, so funny. Whatever you want you get, and you don't have to work to keep yer life."

My eyes grew wide in surprise. "Oh there is so much you don't know," I said in the most deadly voice I could manage. "Don't tell me I don't know anything about pain, Conlon, because I can assure you that I'd have more scars than you do, and probably even more by the end of the week!" I said.

Spot looked at my disgustedly and snorted. "What, does daddy beat ya? Yeah, everybody's dad beats 'em."

"No! But he might as well beat me, because it's better than what I have to put up with everyday," I said in a coldhearted voice. "You don't have someone out there, waiting for you…"

Just thinking about Daniel made my heart sink.

"Look at you," Spot snarled. "Yer so pathetic it ain't even funny…actually, it is funny."

I then realized that I had broken down in a yelling fit at Spot, and lost my calm mood. I guess when someone you care about is murdered you take it out on other people.

I looked around oddly and then back at Spot. "Sorry," I muttered. "I…I'm just…She…everybody is leaving when things were starting to ware down, but when…" I closed my mouth and shook my head. The sadness in my eyes returned.

"I swear, Anorm, yer weird," Spot muttered.

I kept my head low and nodded. "Yeah, I know," I said. "I'm weird…and I'll never be normal."

I turned around and looked down at my bandaged wrist as I began to walk away. I might as well head back to the school now.

I knew that Spot was following me, but I didn't even glance back to ask him why.

I looked up for the first time and froze in my tracks. Just a few feet away, with his back turned to me, stood Ned Neeley dressed in a long black jacket, and handful of papers cramped between his fingers.

Spot ran right into me, and instantly I pulled him into an alleyway and peaked around the corner.

"What're we?-"

"Shh!" I hissed.

Spot peaked around too, to see who we were spying on.

A man walked out of the building we were leaning against and greeted Ned.

"Mr. Neeley," the man said.

"Ah, Mr. Carpenter, just the man I needed to see," Ned said.

I narrowed my eyes as Mr. Carpenter grinned and took the papers from Ned. "What did you need?" he asked politely.

Ned looked around suspiciously and then whispered, "It's about one hundred and one."

I suppressed the need to gasp as I clenched my fists together. Spot was breathing on my neck, which made me even more nervous.

"Ah," Mr. Carpenter said. "Come inside."

The two men walked into the building, and I cursed out loud. I looked around and then spotted a window just above Spot and I.

"Perfect," I said evilly. I moved a crate under the window and stepped on it. I pushed the window up and began to hoist myself in, but Spot stopped me.

"What're you doin? You can't break in," he whispered.

"I have to find out what's going on!" I snapped.

I climbed through the window and landed on the floor. Spot looked around and sighed, and then followed suit.

I stepped around the corner, but stopped once I saw Ned and Mr. Carpenter sitting in the living room at the couches, and I instantly spotted a closet. I pulled on Spot's arm and forced him into the closet and then crammed in after him.

Our bodies were literally pressed together, and Spot seemed to have a surprised look on his face.

"I find dis…uh…" he looked down at our chest pressed together, "uncomfortable."

"Oh suck it up!" I snapped.

I pushed the door opened a crack and the two of us had to move around a bit, and then we peered out at the two men having tea.

"So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" Mr. Carpenter asked.

"Well you see, she is acting strangely," Ned said, referring to me of course.

"How strangely?" Mr. Carpenter asked.

"I can't explain, exactly, but I'm afraid that she-"

"Might find her brother," Mr. Carpenter finished for him.

Ned nodded and I felt a spark of hope in me. What if they said where Daniel was? Then I'd be able to go look for him.

"I can assure you, Mr. Neeley, that Miss Carter won't find him anytime soon," Mr. Carpenter said. Miss Carter? He's using my former last name?

I was so nervous now that I grabbed Spot's hand for support, and never even noticed.

"But, she is a clever girl, George, more clever than she shows," Ned said. "That girl has outsmarted me many times, and probably doesn't even realize it. I wouldn't be surprised if she already knows where he is and is just making it look like she doesn't know."

So Ned was afraid of me? Interesting…

"Ned, my friend, this girl is clever, I know that much, but she has no idea where Kaiden is," Mr. Carpenter said. Kaiden? Why use Daniel's real name?

"But I'm afraid. You could never know how smart this girl really is – clever as a spy, she is, and probably plotting something against us right now!" Ned sounded frightened, but I knew it was an act.

Mr. Carpenter chuckled, sipping a cup of tea. "Why worry about her true self, Ned? Hmm? This girl is no more dangerous than we are. She may be able to live through your tests, but I'll be sure she doesn't live through the next one."

This time I gasped, which caught Spot off guard and he nearly fell back when I jerked on his arm.

"Shh!" I said.

Spot sent me a look but resumed spying on the adults.

"But George, Eve knows a lot," Ned said. And there it was, like a buzzing noise echoing in my ears, my real name spoken out in the open to anybody listening.

I felt myself suppress the need to scream, to tell them to shut up, but I'd blow our cover.

"What is the next task, for Eve Carter?" Mr. Carpenter asked.

"I do not know, yet," Ned sighed. "I haven't thought of any tasks yet, for anybody. I suppose I should leave and get to that now."

Mr. Carpenter nodded and escorted Ned to the door. I numbly slipped out of the closet and dragged Spot with me. We quickly ran for the window and literally jumped out, and I closed it shut.

"What was dat 'bout?" Spot asked. "Who's Eve?"

"I don't know," I said.

Spot shrugged. "Didn't answer my udder question. What was dat?"

"I don't need to tell you!" I snapped. I then turned to him fully and stared at him coldly. "Listen, whatever you heard tonight stays with you and you only, and if you can erase it from your memory then do it. Let's just go back to hating each other, okay?"

Spot crossed his arms firmly over his chest and smirked. "I never stopped hatin you, Anorm," he said.

"Good, you keep doing that," I said. I peaked around the corner, and when I looked back at Spot he was giving me a very odd look.

"Did you just tell me to keep hatin you?" he asked.

"Yes," I shrugged. "So what?"

"Yer odd, Anorm, very odd."

"It's Anomie!" I finally yelled. "Who in the world would name their child Anorm?"

"Well, who'd name their child Anomie?" Spot asked.

"Not that it matters, but my mother named me!" I snapped. I knew I lost my cool a long time ago, and by tomorrow I'd go back to being a smartass, but tonight just wasn't a good night.

"You get really worked up 'bout da stupidest things, Anorm," Spot said.

I tuned Spot's voice out as I leaned against the brick wall and closed my eyes. My eyes were as heavy as ever, and I was on the verge of dreaming.

Spot was still rambling on as I slipped down the wall and closed my eyes. I heard his words come in and out, and then a laugh.

"Anorm, did I bore you ta sleep?" he asked.

I groaned, a sign for him to shut up, and Spot furrowed his eyebrows.

"When was da last time you slept?" he asked.

I didn't even get to answer his question, because I fell asleep.

Next Chapter: More deadly secrets are revealed that could hurt Cadince, and some that might help Anomie in finding her brother. The secret behind Anomie's real name is revealed.

Author note: Ha, you didn't see that coming!