Social Experiment

18291 (Rodney)

I pull on a blue button-up shirt. Looking in the mirror, I frown. Tonight I have a meeting with Ozzie, not that he knows it yet. Clad in jeans and what is pretty much a glorified t-shirt, I head to his room.

I knock. The door opens and there's a thud as Ozzie's fist connects with my face.

I hold my jaw, cussing under my breath.

"Who's there?"

I look at him, astonished. Then I notice that he doesn't have his glasses on.

"It's Raw-knee." I attempt, my jaw still throbs.

"What are you doing here this late?"

"Came to taw to you abow somefink."

He takes a minute to answer, I know he's trying to decide whether or not to trust me.

At last he sighs. "Come in."

I notice his glasses on the desk everyone has in their room. I hand them to him.

"Thanks. I think I have an ice pack somewhere in here..."

I remember that he's the closest thing we have to a doctor, and Abbi gave him responsibility of all medical supplies.

"Here you go." He pulls it from the chest at the end of his bed and hands it to me, "Hold that on there for a little while, so when you talk I can understand what you're saying."

After what feels like an eternity of awkward silence, he asks me to try to talk.

"Yeah, it's a little better." It still hurts, but at least I can talk okay. I grin, which makes it hurt more, "I knew you wouldn't be happy to see me, but I wasn't quite expecting that."

"What did you want to talk about in the middle of the night?"

"Well, you left before the votes were counted, so I thought I'd..."

He narrows his eyes, clearly impatient.

I take a deep breath. "Irisha was elected. I don't know how it happened, but she can't be leader."

"What do you want me to do about it? We all agreed on a vote. However much I disagree with her leadership, there's nothing I or anyone else can do. Anyway, I'm surprised you're not celebrating."

"Celebrating?"

"She's one of your gang friends, you're bound to get special treatment under her watch."

"Special..." I laugh borderline hysterically, "special treatment?"

"Are you deaf?"

I laugh again. "Are you stupid? I sold Terrance out, I've told them that. I didn't vote for Irisha, she's just his puppet! Notice how they were grouped together at the election? Notice that I wasn't with them? They've been sneaking off to visit Terrance every night, and I've refused to come."

Ozzie scowls at me. "And you haven't bothered to tell anyone because..?"

"I'm afraid of them, especially now that Irisha's leader. She'll use her power against me..."

"So why are you telling me this? If you're so scared of them?"

"I've been talking to West. Hailey came to my room one day and said that he wanted to see me. He trusts me."

"So what did he tell you?"

"He thinks he knows part of what that paper he found on Davin means."

"How'd he find that out?" Ozzie inquires.

"He had a dream that-"

"That's what this entire theory of his is based on, is it? A dream?"