Chapter 5

When I walked into school the next day, I saw the back of Paulo's head, dragging his feet down the hallway. He looked utterly beat down. "Hey, Paulo!" I called out to him. When he heard his name, he turned slowly, only turning to the side so I could only see half of his face. He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks, the bags under his eyes more black than I had ever seen on a person. His eyes looked miserable, like someone had died or his heart had been broken, but his face had a scowl sown into its features. When he realized that it was me who called out to him, he slowly turned away from me again and continued to lumber down the hall. Everyone who was in his way stepped out of his path quickly, looking at him like he had the plague. I didn't understand why he was avoiding me. I hadn't done anything wrong. I ran to catch up with him, matching his pace when I got to him.

"What was that about, hmm?" I said in a light tone, trying to get him to at least look at me. He didn't answer, or even acknowledge I was there. "What, are you ignoring me now?" No reply. "It would be nice if you would at least tell me what was wrong. Did I do something?" His eyes pointed straight ahead, but I saw his lips twitch for a moment. "Ok, I did do something wrong. Mind telling me what that is? I can't exactly fix it if I don't know."

Paulo turned to me quickly, his eyes now more angry than sad. "Gee, I wonder. You've been ignoring me for quite some time now, and now you suddenly feel all better? What am I, a charity case? How does that even work?" I opened my mouth to respond, but he held his hand to my face, shutting me up. His posture straightened as well, and he seemed much taller and more threatening as his expression darkened and shoulders rose. "You know what, I don't need you. I don't need your friendship, as fake as it may be. I don't need you in general. Just leave me alone, ok Vero?" He stormed off as I stood in there, dumbfounded. He had called me Vero. The only one that ever did that was…

"Did I make it just a little too obvious?" I heard Claudia's soft voice whisper in my ear. I turned quickly, but she was nowhere near me. I looked around, trying to find her face in the barely occupied hall, but all I saw were the usual early people, gossiping as usual, paying no attention to me.

I needed to talk to her about this, but I was sick of constantly stopping time to do it. Plus, she could just start it again whenever she pleased. I tried instead to whisper back to her. "What the hell are you talking about?" I whispered. No one around me seemed to notice.

Claudia's laugh reached my ears like she was right beside me, but she wasn't actually there. "Oh, I just tempered a little bit with your friend over there. Just a teensy weensy bit. He doesn't seem to notice though. Who would? I'm literally that good."

"Tempered with him? What are you saying?"

"Well, tempered might be the wrong word. Maybe…implanted or…persuaded are better terms. Maybe."

"What did you do to Paulo?" I whispered through clenched teeth. If she were anywhere near me, I would've punched her in the teeth by now.

"Oh, touchy are we? Well, you're going to have to figure that out yourself. My god, how wound up you are getting. It's so exciting to experience you like this. All the fun we're going to have, Vero…I just can't wait."

"Why him? Why now? What game are you playing, Claudia?"

"The best kind. And in case you're wondering…" She paused, but I could hear the menace creeping back into her voice. I could only imagine what her face looked like, and it most definitely did not have a smile on it. "This is a sort of punishment. You piss me off, I get mean. Get the picture?"

"What, are you punishing me for not telling you every little detail in my life? Are you some sort of stalker?" Claudia growled at that. Literally growled, like a lion, only more girly. "What did you do to Paulo?"

Claudia laughed as though she was the evil queen in a Disney movie. "All I did to your precious boy toy was remind him how cruel you've been to him lately. He might have been asleep or maybe in a trance, but that's irrelevant. He remembered how much you've ignored him on your 'path to rediscovery' or whatever you want to call it. How could you be so mean? I thought you cared about the poor fool. Who's the bitch now?"

"Still you."

"Oh, grow up. You didn't deserve him anyway."

"He was my friend. I don't have to be a certain made up qualification for that, unfortunately for you."

"Was. Past tense. You already don't give a crap about him, don't try to lie to me. Gosh, Vero, this is so fun. I haven't had this much fun since I started a royal scandal in England. You should've been there. People freaked when their perfect prince went dark and scary. It was so beautiful, I almost cried."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Like I said, you had to be there."

"Why are you doing this to me? Haven't you messed with my life enough?"

"Not quite. Plus, I really like pushing your buttons, seeing how far you'll go. How far you'll fall."

"What makes you think you can get me to fall?"

Claudia laughed. "Oh, trust me. I know, Vero. But I really do want to know how far you're going to fall. I'm taking bets with a couple other beings. They are very interested in the issue."

"And I'm assuming they know more about it than I do at the current moment?"

"Do you even have to ask? Of course they know the whole story. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to make a proper bet."

"That's irrelevant and you know it. How do I change Paulo back to how he was?"

"Gee, I don't know. Maybe you just have to talk to him. Maybe you have to delve into his subconscious and plant thoughts there. Maybe you have to hypnotize him. One of them is bound to work…if you can figure out how to do any of them."

"I will then. Thanks for the help anyway." I was trying to draw her out, maybe make her crack bit by bit. I needed more of a hand navigating this new twisted life I was living. She seemed to be one of those people who opens her big mouth, thinking she is mysterious and clever but really, she just gives me whatever information I need. It was very, very helpful in the long run.

"I-I'm not helping you, you selfish brat. You haven't done anything to earn it."

"Well, you helped me anyway. If I didn't know better, I would say you want to help me in the back of your mind. Do you really value our friendship that much? I'm touched."

Claudia snarled in my ear, the sound resonated through my body and gave me an eerie chill. "Watch your tongue, sock puppet. One wrong move, I will literally cut it off. Go to class." The feeling that Claudia was right beside me abruptly left me as she dismissed me. I really needed to learn her tricks.