Connection

Chapter Nineteen: Cliff

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Chapter Nineteen: Cliff

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Cliff's mother did not return for at least an hour, by which time Jean had left, leaving him to his own monstrous thoughts. What if they had been after him? What if they knew something was weird between him and Charlotte?

He'd pondered what the motive of that attack could have been many times, but never came up with anything very useful.

The moment his mother arrived home, he bounded to the door alongside Celtic, badgering her with questions right away.

"What did they say? Have the woman been found yet?"

His mother took a deep breath and moved into the kitchen.

"No, they honestly didn't say much of anything," his mother answered, running a hand through her hair.

"They don't seem to be as of late," Cliff muttered to himself, thinking back to his conversation with the mayor where he talked circles before sending Cliff out of the festival.

"Did they say they have an idea who did it?"

"They claimed they knew who she was, though it didn't sound like they were in a rush to find her. Just like Charlotte. God, can you imagine how her father must be feeling. I'd bet he's worried out of his mind."

"Maybe," Cliff said awkwardly.

"You guys are getting a talk on Monday at school about how you shouldn't be scared, but I daresay most of the students will be scared out of their minds," she said, staring out the window.

"We'll see," Cliff answered, then left the kitchen abruptly.

The rest of the night began in Cliff attempting to do a mountain of schoolwork and ended with Cliff laying in his bed going over who that woman could have been and where she could be now.

As he fell asleep, he tossed and turned, his dreams wandering through various attacks in which the woman was present for all of them.

He woke feeling as if he hadn't slept at all and dressed for the day, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Throughout the weekend, he and Jean concocted any other motives to this attack that they hadn't yet talked over, and pondered the lack of motivation their mayor and his workers were showing.

In the end, they couldn't come up with much more than they started, and they went into school on Monday wondering what they could possibly be told about the attack.

Halfway through their first class with Preceptor Flintwhisk they were stopped and asked to report to the school library for their meeting.

The class stood up and began the long walk to the water sector of the school, all talking excitedly about what the school may divulge in them and what they may hold back. The various pupils of all grades streamed out of the building heading in the same direction, pulling their coats tight to their bodies.

"Did you see that woman, though?" Riley asked, who'd been speaking about it incessantly since the attack was orchestrated. "She had these weird, creepy blue eyes. She didn't even have whites. And then while we were fighting, we all assembled and attacked her at once and almost took her down ourselves! Then she almost shot me with fire but I dodged it!"

She laughed as she went on talking about it like a thrilling ride.

Adam walked on the other side of the group, making sure to stay as far away from Jean and Cliff as possible. He was conversing timidly with Patrick, one of their classmates, though he looked bored out of his mind.