~*~NORI~*~

Chasing Yesterday

By: Lucas McDrake

Chapter 6: Volition

I gazed blankly out the bus window, not really seeing the passing scenery.

Je-Muzu could control me.

It was the only thought that could occupy my mind despite the fact that I still had complete control over my mind. Except for the fact that I couldn't speak. Other than that, everything was still normal...

Last night, I had fell asleep crying.

What other orders could he give? What other orders would he give?

I had to be more careful from now on. I couldn't bear to provoke another such order from him. I had to make sure that I played along in the role of his servant...

That's when I realized.

Either way, I was doomed to become his servant.

I shook my head, tears cascading down my cheeks despite how much I tried to stop them.

"Are you okay?"

I jumped at the unexpected voice, glancing at the person speaking. It was an elementary student, across the aisle from me. Quickly wiping away my tears, a thought suddenly resonated in my head.

Servants only speak when spoken to.

It dimmed away, but remained, almost as if it was a reminder.

"I'm fine," I stated, slightly startled of what had just occurred.

"Are you sure?" the little boy asked, tilting his head in slight suspicion. Could he tell that something was actually wrong? That was the wrong question to ask, being that actual tears were on my cheeks for all to behold...

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"...Okay." The little boy turned away, looking as if he didn't believe me one bit.

I felt a slight urge to prove my lie to him, but the thought at the back of my head amplified until it was almost painful.

Servants only speak when spoken to.

Deciding it wasn't worth it anyway, I turned away. The pain immediately ceased.

~*~

Physics. Again.

I sighed as I entered the classroom, glancing around. At least it's my last class.

Before I return to see Je-Muzu again.

I closed my eyes, shuddering imperceptibly, before reopening them to see Jen.

Shoot! I had totally forgotten about the Rube Goldberg project!

Taking some nervous steps, I was about to start my apology.

Servants only speak when spoken to.

I shut my mouth, not wanting the pain to become obvious, or lingering.

"Nori?" Jen started.

Finally permitted, I gushed, "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for the project! I was..." Knocked out by a living doll? How did that work out, again?

"Sick?" Jen provided.

Hesitating for a second, I breathed, "Yeah."

"Yeah, we already knew," she stated, smiling slightly. "One of the custodians told us when we stopped by."

"Um... Okay?" Why did I make myself sound like such an idiot? I should be able to play along better.

"Anyway, you should probably sit by us today," she offered, putting her hand on a nearby desk. "If we have time, maybe we can work on brainstorming for ideas."

"Okay," I mumbled, sitting down in the designated desk as the bell rang.

"Quizzy-quiz time, everyone," Mr. Johnson announced, receiving various responses such as groans, and "ugh"s.

When the quiz was set down on my desk, I looked over the questions. They were all about either Rube Goldberg, or series circuits. I easily answered every question, sighing as I found that all of my peers were still writing by the time I flipped over the quiz, and set my pencil on top of it. Not being one prone to reading, I not-so-patiently awaited the moment that Mr. Johnson would check the quiz.k

After a few more minutes, Mr. Johnson declared, "Is everyone finished?" Everyone verbalized as much. "Then let's check the quiz." Pushing his glasses up his nose slightly, he pulled the paper on his desk toward him, and glanced at the smart-board to make sure that we could see what was on the quiz. "Pass the quiz one back."

I set my pencil to the side and grabbed my paper, turning to see that Vivi was sitting behind me. Exchanging a slight smile, I set the paper on her desk, but let my finger linger as I observed my ring that I'd totally forgotten about until this moment. Instead of being ruby red, like I had come to be used to, it was pearl. I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the contrast of the bloody jewel of my memory versus the milky jewel of the present.

Why did it change color? It wasn't a mood ring...

I looked up, and realized that Vivi was looking closely at it, as well. I jerked my hand away, probably proving her suspicions obviously true, and turned back towards the front of the class.

While we checked the quiz and homework, I kept becoming more and more paranoid over Vivi's suspicions about my ring. What could she possibly infer from that, though? That I was engaged, at worst?

Then, of course, came the fact that I'd never seen the ring change color on me before. It obviously wasn't a mood ring because it would've changed colors way previous to that...

It had always matched his eyes.

... Could it be possible that my ring represented what his moods were?

"Get with your groups and work on your project now," Mr. Johnson stated, standing to go to his office.

Glancing, I saw that everyone was already close together, so I just turned to face Jen, hoping that they would take over from here.

Seeing something shining in my peripheral vision, I looked down at Vivi's fingers, adorned with two rings; one was decorated with a milky rose, the other a jade sword.

"Nice rings, Vivi," Stevey muttered, smiling at her.

Vivi glanced at me, her eyes very nervous, then placed her hands under the table. "Yeah... I got them yesterday."

They moved on to talk about the project. I let myself zone out, knowing that I couldn't really bring attention to myself even if I wanted to. Unless I did something really stupid, anyway.

"By the way," I noticed Jen say, "what did you do with that doll you got yesterday in that suitcase?"

Doll? I turned my gaze back on Vivi, trying to hide my obvious interest in the matter.

Vivi and Dave shared a glance, which seemed to communicate their mutual, sudden tension, then she stated, trying for a casual tone, "I put it in my room, under my bed in the suitcase. Why do you ask?"

I thought that Vivi was really pushing it, but Jen seemed to eat it right up. "I'd..." She shuddered. "I...was just wondering."

A few more minutes passed while they talked about the project, then Jen looked at her watch. "We only have, like, five more minutes in here."

"Okay." Vivi asked, "So we're meeting at my house again tonight?"

"Yeah," Jen stated, a slight grin coming to her face. "We can't exactly do the project if we don't have the project with us."

"Oh," she whispered. "Yeah..." She seemed very distracted.

"All right," she giggled, amused. "We'll go around and pick everyone up at five again, I guess."

Everyone reached a consensus just as the bell rang.

"Well, see you guys at around five, then." Jen stood up, grabbing her backpack. "Come on, Dave. Let's go."

Before I turned around to walk out the door, I saw that Dave and Vivi were having another of those meaningful gazes.

I hoped, for her sake, that it wasn't for the wrong reasons.

Shaking my head imperceptibly, I took my leave.

~*~

"You're back," Je-Muzu muttered as I closed my bedroom door behind me.

"Yeah," I mumbled. I was about to say a rude comment, but reminded myself not to provoke another order.

He just huffed, and resumed looking out the window.

I plopped onto the bed, and decided to do my assignments before it came time to go to Vivi's place.

When I glanced at the clock after finishing my last assignment, it stated that it was four forty-five. I stood up, throwing my hand through the loop of one of my backpack straps, and put my hand on the doorknob.

"Wait."

I turned around, and looked at Je-Muzu, who was staring at me as he stood on my bed. "What?"

"Where do you think you're going?" he questioned me.

"I'm going to wait for Jen to pick me up," I stated. "She's taking me to...a place where we're going to work on a school project." As I finished my sentence, I reasoned with myself that he didn't need to know everything.

"Where would that be?" he asked.

"To where another person in our group lives."

His head started shaking visibly. "Servants tell the full truth."

His fingers snapped.

My mouth forced itself open, and said, "I'm going to Vivi's house, where we'll be working on-"

"That's enough-"

"-our Rube Goldberg project with Stevey and Dave, as well." I found that I couldn't stop myself from speaking. "I also-"

"That's enough!"

"-fear that Vivi might...have..." I was struggling against the order, trying not to give away so much information freely. "...a..."

"Go on," he encouraged, smiling.

I couldn't help it. "Doll."

He sat on the bed, soaking this in. While he seemed preoccupied, I opened the door, and was already halfway through it.

"Servants don't leave until excused," he hurriedly gushed, snapping immediately after the words left his mouth.

My feet suddenly glued themselves to the spot.

"I have one more thing to say before you go," he stated.

I waited, hoping the obedience charm, or whatever you'd call it, would permit me to leave after he said his 'one thing'.

"Servants don't give away their master's secrets."

Snap.

I tried to force myself to leave on sheer willpower-

Servants don't leave until excused.

-but it wouldn't work. I felt like I would implode, the pain was so horrid!

"You're now excused from my presence." His voice seemed to be on the verge of a chuckle, so full of delight and pleasure.

I hesitated, then quickly closed the door behind me.

~**~