Polarized

Possession

TW: suicidal ideation

To hide or not to hide? That was the question Skye mulled over while she locked herself in the bathroom. She knew she could leave and return to the meeting room if she wanted to, but if she did, she'd be letting the officials inject her with lightning juice. Skye shuddered at the thought.

But could Skye get away with locking herself in a public restroom instead of coming out to get tagged? She didn't know. If Skye had somehow managed to stay hidden, not only would she be protecting herself, but she'd also be doing something much larger: proving that maybe, just maybe, she wasn't so powerless after all, and somebody as insignificant as her could win a victory against an institution as large as HACF. But what if somebody found her? What if nobody found her? When would Skye escape the bathroom? Would she escape? All of those questions flooded Skye's mind, swirling around like dirty clothes in a washing machine.

What would happen to me if I stayed here? Skye thought. What would happen if somebody found me in here, a HACF worker, perhaps? Would they beat me up? Drag me out of the bathroom? Hold me down by my arms and legs so I can't resist, and force their shock tags into me?

Or would they tell my school? Skye wondered. Maybe I'll end up getting expelled from Springs because I refused to go along with HACF's procedures. That wouldn't be so bad.

And what if nobody finds me? How will I know when it's safe to get out? What if there are security cameras outside the bathroom, and as soon as I leave, I get discovered? And if I get discovered, then what? Will the HACF people tell my parents about my transgression? Will my parents stop loving me? Skye worried.

And what if they never loved me at all in the first place? Skye thought as she sat there, ruminating. I'm an aura-haver, after all. A ticking time bomb. I could impale somebody with an icicle at any given moment. Who in their right mind would love someone like that? It goes against all common sense. My parents are crazy for risking their lives, all so an idiot like me could gain a semblance of happiness.

Maybe I'll stay in here forever, rotting away in a bathroom stall. Good riddance, Ivan will say. Finally, I don't have to deal with that problem child anymore, Dad will think. And Mom will finally get a break from me. If I dissapear in here, that would be better for everyone.

Maybe I'll become a toilet ghost and haunt the bathroom when I'm dead. People will pass me by and speak of a translucent girl in a red beanie and a striped scarf. And then they'll open the stall door and find my rotting corpse...

Minutes passed while Skye sat on the toilet, contemplating anything and everything. But as soon she heard the bathroom door open and a knocking on her stall, she jumped.

"You're a HACF worker, aren't you?" Skye asked accusingly. "If you are, you better stay away from me!"

"What's taking you so long?" Maia asked from the other side of the door. Her voice shook with concern and fear. "It's been twenty minutes already. Are you okay?"

***

Skye dragged her feet down the corridor after her mother, and Maia opened the door to the main meeting room. "Get on the platform," she ordered Skye. "All of the aura-havers who are getting tagged are up there. I'm sorry, I know how much you don't like this, but you've got to go. Otherwise you can't go back to Springs."

"Oh, so now you want to send me back to that damn school?!" Skye snapped. "Though you said you were sorry for sending me there, you still want me to go back? Make up your mind, are you sorry or are you not? Did you know how miserable I was at that place? How many hours of pain I've endured?!"