DUALITY

Chapter 11: "is this like our own little girl squad?"

Vanessa Monroe was in her room when she got the call.

Bonnie Bennett was in hers when she made the call.

She remembered Vanessa from when she went to Duke. She wanted find out if spectramorphs were real. What could be more proof than rescuing one?

"Hello?" Vanessa asked groggily. She was in the middle of preparing for final exams so she could finally burn her books and be done with university.

"It's Bonnie... Bennett?"

Every ounce of tiredness left her body the moment she heard those three words. "They're real?"

"Well, that'll be up to you to find out... if you decide to help me rescue my friend." Bonnie replied.

"Is she—"

"—You'll find out, Vanessa," Bonnie replied.

"When do you need me?" Vanessa asked.

Bonnie smiled, glad at least one with wanted to stay with her. "Tomorrow morning, around 9."

"How do I get there?" Vanessa asked with a sigh.

Bonnie looked at Yvette before she replied. "Yvette has a spell that can help with that."

Yvette's eyes widened. When did she tell Bonnie that?

"Who's Yvette?" Vanessa questioned.

"A very friendly person," Bonnie told Vanessa, sticking her tongue out at Yvette. "She's also my mentor, she's around your age I think. How old are you?"

"Twenty five," Vanessa replied.

"Great!" Bonnie exclaimed. "She's just one year younger." Almost 500 years ago but that didn't matter right now.

When Bonnie hung up, Yvette threw a pillow at her. "You're out of control!"

"Am I?" Bonnie asked with giggle when she caught the pillow.

Yvette shook her head. "This is Amelie's influence."

"She's not in control of my actions though," Bonnie replied.

Yvette gave her a deathly serious look. Bonnie's confidence faltered a bit as she opened her mouth but nothing came out. "There's the Bonnie I saw six days ago." Bonnie sighed, but then Yvette spoke up again. "Lesson one in confidence: don't ever show when you lose it."

"Wh- what?" She asked, a bit dumbfounded.

Yvette shrugged. "You heard me. Lesson two: one look shouldn't make it all go away."

"I don't under—"

Yvette stood up from Bonnie's bed. "Lesson three: It won't come in six days so don't beat yourself up."

Bonnie looked at her confusedly.

"That is what you're trying to do, yes?" Yvette asked. "Be more confident?"

Bonnie sighed before nodding. "How'd you know?"

"Not the time," Yvette replied. "Anyways, you don't have to act like Amelie to be confident. You're Bonnie."

Bonnie bit her inner cheeks before she mumbled, "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, automatically assuming that Yvette was insulting her personality.

"You're not being confident if you're acting like somebody else. You're just acting like somebody else." Yvette told her. "You're not Amelie, you're Bonnie and she is just as good as Amelie," Yvette begrudgingly admitted. She wanted the girl to feel better about herself. Her self esteem was in the gutters at the moment.