"Is there anything else, Ms. Rowan?"
Her eyes looked up slowly. And there—she wished she could have been surprised—was Zee. In glasses. He looked like a dork. A cute dork. In a violet jacket with black trim. He looked very smart in glasses. And he was staring at her.
He was staring at her.
So she spoke intellectually. "Huh?"
"Do you have another question about the assignment?"
Assignment? Ooh, god. She smiled weakly. "Do I have to do it?"
Zee smiled at her, the edges of his mouth going up quickly, and his hand went up to his glasses. "Only if you would like to continue having a passing grade in the class, of course. I don't force students to do anything."
Ro gave him a look. There was some twisted Zee logic in all that bull. Zee was a teacher. Teachers did not say you didn't have to do the assignment. They bullied and tricked and were evil overlords. "Ha ha, very funny."
"Merely a small lesson in free will, Ms. Rowan. Have a nice day." He nodded kindly at her, then set out down the hall, briefcase in hand protectively. Ro leaned slightly, watching as Zee went down the hall. Her eyebrows set themselves at weird angles. Zee fumbled and looked lost, a ship in a rolling sea of bodies. Zee was at high school, teaching high school, and he was lost, a little boy looking for mommy's hand. Ro almost felt sorry for him. She didn't for two reasons though. One, he was not actually Zee, her Zee. This was all made up, not real. Two, he was a teacher. Teachers equal Evil. Of course, under that logic, Zee would equal Evil, but that was wrong. Still, teacher. Evil.
Poor Zee.
Her view was blocked suddenly, and Ro looked around to find herself surrounded by a group of girls. And she recognized one. "Tiffy?"
Tiffy, although not quite Tiffy, because her hair was curled in soft waves, said with light humor, "Now that you're done harassing Dr. Smith, we have to get going, Ro!"
"I can't believe you just walked up to him after class," another girl said, almost in awe.
"He's just a sub for Dr. Selig, Marguerite. Nothing important."
"Ro!" Tiffy wailed. "We have to get going, otherwise our ride is going to take off without us. Again."
Ro nodded blankly, trying to absorb everything that she could. Zee was a sub. Well, that didn't equal evil. That equaled stupid and insane, which she could identify with Zee. "Umm, right. Sorry, guys, can't afford to lose the ride."
A chorus of byes followed her and Ro tailed Tiffy. She and Tiffy Morgan were friends? Okay, someone is definitely smoking something naughty here.
"Man, if he ditches us again, I am so gonna kick his ass," Tiffy swore.
Okay! That's not Tiffy! Tiffy would never utter such profanities, and Ro had to struggle not to gap in astonishment. The worst her Tiffy Morgan ever uttered was "Darn" and "Heck". They were sad battle cries, in Ro's opinion.
They navigated through the throng, Ro merely clutched her books to her chest and following Tiffy, looking widely around like a scared little rabbit, except when Ro looked like a scared little rabbit, she tended to look like a scared little pit bull. When they reached the outside, Ro turned carefully and looked up at the building. The impersonal title Nosis Creek High School announced this purgatory's name, and she bit her lip.
"Where is he?" Tiffy demanded, swearing slightly.
Ro turned her head, wildly, still unsure. "Wh—"
A loud honking halted her question, and when she saw the source, her books fell from her hands. There, sitting in a blue convertible hover car, just like so many Zee had purchased before, in the real world, was Casey, still with his red hair and beard and silly dress outfit, waiting impatiently for them.
"Whheeee!" Tiffy squealed as she rushed towards the car and unto the backseat.
"Ro!" Casey—well, not Casey, it couldn't be, it couldn't be, because Casey had never picked her up from school, because he couldn't have—yelled, aggravated. "Hurry up!"
Tiffy laughed, and Ro's eyes were wide at that laugh. It was so maniacal and inheritably Ro-ishly evil. It was a fun Tiffy laugh, not a silly, bubbly, air headed one. "Poor whittle baby has to pick up his whittle sister again," she teased as she leaned forward to pinch the redhead's cheek.
"RO!"
"Shouldn't play cards against us, whittle baby."
"Get in here, or I'm leaving without you!" Casey yelled, fending off Tiffy from pinching his cheeks again.
"Yeah, come on, Ro! We can't miss the new Travell's tonight!"
Ro took a small step back. She didn't want to get into the car, she didn't, but . . . but what could she do? She looked wildly around for a savior.
And there was Zee.
Standing there straightening his should bag of books and files like the classic nerd.
It wasn't her Zee.
But Heaven help her, Ro wanted to run to him, scream for help and have him rescue her pretty damsel in distress.
But—kneeling down slowly to gather her books—this wasn't her Zee . . .
"Ro!" Tiffy whined. At the voice, Zee looked up and met her gave small, shy smile, and gave a small wave. She waved back, then watched as he ducked his head down to finish his task, preoccupied. Another student came up to him at his elbow, and Zee turned his head to listen.
"RO!"
She gather her books to her arms and clutched them tightly to her chest, rising slowly. Then, talking a deep steadying breath, she slowly made her way over to the once lost, now found brother and the once-needed friend, to the sporty, expensive—did Zee's unlimited cred card know it!—convertible, like a waking dream. Towards a perfect dream at one time.
She briefly looked over her shoulder.
Walking away from Zee.
She looked back at the two in the car. Slowly she was walking them.
Towards the gallows.
Numbly she sat opened the door and sat down, avoiding eye-contact. It wasn't real.
"About time, Ro," Casey growled, slamming on the gas and driving away.
Tiffy laughed at his anger and patted his head. "Poor, Casey . . . you want a mint-tac to make it all better?" She was already shuffling through purse, winking at Ro.
"Bite me, Brat."
Ro looked back over her shoulder again, at the shrinking school, at the shrinking purple jacket, while the car swerved and weaved through the slower moving vehicles, Tiffy laughing all the while.
Not real, she thought softly, squeezing her eyes shut against the bright lights of the sun and reflection off of glass, blocking out the blaring horns that scolded Casey's driving. "Not real."