Convergence II: Ella's Mystery

Chapter Five: Callbacks

Ella's hands were still shaking on the bus ride home, a ticket she (again) did not have to pay for.

Her arm was still broken, and positioned in a cast on a sling, so the adrenaline sent shooting pain through the arm. Ella lived through the pain most of the time, but today, she had nothing to distract her. Her plans were in the pits, as she'd killed the last person she knew could help her.

And Ella really didn't want to think of it that way. She killed Lydia in self-defense. She would have died otherwise, because that woman really wasn't holding back.

But it was her mother's sister.

Her dilemma wasn't black or white, nor was it any color. Ella's problem was something she couldn't even touch on, and it made her feel worse.

And the bus stopped in Norton City again, where Ella got off and breathed in the fresh air of her home. It felt like she came back a different person, someone this place wouldn't like at all. But she needed the comfort of seeing her friends again.

-

Walking to the apartment door, Ella's hands were still shaking when she knocked on the door, and her breath still bated, like they'd be able to see right through her.

The door opened, and it was Jackie, leaning through the doorframe. "Ella! You're back!" Jackie grinned widely. "You know you don't have to knock, right?"

"Yeah, I forgot," she laughed, walking in with them.

As Ella walked in, she immediately noticed another rug at her feet. This one was green and yellow striped, and already had some bootprints on it.

"Ella!" Nick walked in through the hallway. "I missed you way too much!"

"Hey!" Ella smiled, feeling a bit more at ease. "...You've done something different to your hair."

Upon closer inspection, they had. The two strands of hair by their ears were now up with the rest of their hair, and their bun had turned into a high braided ponytail. "Oh, yeah. My hair was getting pretty damaged from keeping it up that way for so long."

Ella had only been gone for two days at most, and minor things had already made big changes.

"Oh, and you know what else? I'm reopening the office!"

Nevermind. A pretty major change.

Ella blinked in surprise, smiling. "Wow, really?"

"Yeah!" Nick grinned, seeming excited. "Some people are booking appointments that I thought would be alright to take, and apparently this new technology with oxygenated water is being released for public testing, so I wanted to try it."

"That sounds like fun!"

"And you get to help me with as much as you want," said Nick, ruffling Ella's hair. Suddenly, they stopped, pulling out a leaf. "How in the world did this get into your hair?"

Ella laughed, taking the leaf and examining it. "I actually don't know!" She did know. It was from crawling around in bushes for the majority of her escapade.

"That's so weird," laughed Nick. "But, hey, I'm glad you're back!"

"I'm glad I'm back, too." She smiled, glancing down the hall. "I'll be right back, gotta use the bathroom."

"Okay!" As Ella skipped down the hall, and closed the door to the bathroom, Nick's smiling expression fell, and they turned to Jackie. "What's going on with her?"