Perfect Storm

Chapter 11

I don’t know how much longer I slept until I heard Ben shout, “What the hell, Mags!”

            I jumped up, and shouted, “The Fibonacci sequence is a recursive formula of numbers that arise all over math and in nature.” I looked around. Still not in school, Mags, come on. I rubbed my eyes, and looked at Ben. “Hi.”

            “Don’t hi me, what the hell is that?” he asked, pointing at the machine.

            “The machine that in theory turns us back to normal. Uh, Reed went, um somewhere, with Sue maybe… I don’t know, I was half asleep, and I the only thing I remember clearly him telling me to go back to sleep and he’d be back in an hour.”

            “Back to sleep?” he asked.

            “Yeah, I kind of passed out somewhere in there,” I frowned. “What time is it?”

            “Ten,” Ben told me. “PM”

            “What day is it?” I asked. He nearly growled.

            “Thursday, Maggie,” Ben said.

            “Ten on Thursday, ten on Thursday,” I murmured, trying to remember.  

            “Are you having a relationship with Johnny?” Ben asked, half shouting.

            I looked up at him, frowning. “No. I mean, we kissed a few times, but I decided it wasn’t in my best-”

            “A few times!” Ben shouted. “Are you kidding me, Maggie. Do you know what that kid will do to you?”

            “Yes,” I said dryly. “That’s why nothing is going to happen.”

            He started yelling again, and then looked at me. “Well… alright then.”

            He stomped out, muttering, and I decided it was time for coffee, so I could be alert before Reed got back.

            I heard Sue and Reed come in laughing, and it stopped, probably when they saw Ben. I knew they had been worried about him, and I hadn’t woken up enough to think about calling them to tell them.

            “Yeah, I have that effect on people,” Ben said, and I frowned, deciding I should go out there. Ben was obviously looking for a fight.

            I walked out stirring coffee.

            “Ben,” Reed said, over the shock.

            “Oh, so you remember my name now,” Ben said. I looked at him, confused.

            “Dude, what crawled up your ass tonight?” I asked, sipping my coffee. Sue looked at me confused. I gave her a look that told her I’d explain later. I sat at my drawing desk, sipping my coffee.

            “Do you two also remember what you swore, with every last breath?” he asked.

             “We’re working as hard as we can,” Reed said.

            Ben chuckled sarcastically, and looked at Sue. “Yeah. I can tell. Victor was right.”

            “Victor,” I muttered, and sipped my coffee, eyeing the cameras I knew were placed around the apartment. I hadn’t had time to disable them yet. It had been on my checklist too.