Extremity

13 | Robin

Have you ever been in a situation where you don't know who to help? There's two people, or two groups of people, and you both care for both of them. But somehow, the world is forcing you to choose one and betray the other. And it kills you to decide.

Well, that's how I felt right now.

I was standing in between Erika Bennett and Wesley Wang, two of my classmates from before the Lockdown. Though I didn't know both of them very well, I still felt ecstatic to see them here, at the program. I mean, I hadn't heard of any survivors from the Lockdown. I had just assumed they were all dead.

But then again, my life was a complete lie, so of course there were survivors.

Besides the point. Long story short, I was very happy to see these two people. I'm sure they were going to this program for similar reasons to me - to recover from the stress of after the Lockdown - and that comforted me. It made me feel like I wasn't alone. That we would fight through this together, and everything would be all right.

And then there was Damien.

He looked absolutely appalled at Wesley's WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER EAST DELAVAN HIGH t-shirt. And then Wesley had to go and accuse him of being insane, which made me clench my fists in anger. But how could I blame him? Damien was the one who wanted to go to my school and shoot everything up. He was the leader, he was the one who made everyone else do it. So I understood why Wesley was shocked that Damien, the mastermind of everything behind the Lockdown, was here.

But who could I help?

I wanted to help my two classmates, the survivors of the Lockdown. I wanted us to get through this together. But I wanted to help Damien, my friend (boyfriend?), who helped me remember my old life.

Anyway, Damien had just sat down in his seat, leaving seething Wesley, quiet Erika, the confused parents, and torn me standing there to stare at him. I didn't know what to do. Should I confront Damien, or talk to Wesley and Erika, who I hadn't seen for quite some time?

Thankfully, my mom and that Mr. T guy come back in. My mom happily greets Wesley and Erika, along with their parents, who were told to stand off to the side while we all did our thing. Wesley and Erika sit down at the table, at the seats farthest away from Damien. He just sits there, arms folded, staring down at the table.

"Robin? Why don't you take a seat, dear. We'll be getting started soon," my mom tells me.

"What about everyone else?" I ask. There were more people coming, right?

"They called in and said they got a bit lost, but we can start without them," she informs me, and ushers me to the table. I awkwardly sit in front of Damien, who doesn't acknowledge me. My mom stands at the edge of the table, closest to me and Damien.

"Oh, Wesley and Erika? Why don't you move on closer here, so you can hear better. The others should be coming soon but they can sit next to you guys." she smiles politely, unaware of the thick tension in our midst.

I look over at Wesley, who uncomfortable looks over at Damien, who doesn't look at anything. Wesley looks at Erika who juts her head to the right. Finally, they both stand up and move closer. Wesley ends up sitting next to Damien, Erika next to me. To my surprise, she reaches over and squeezes my hand, as if in a silent greeting. A friendly way of saying hello after so long, even though we already greeted. But it made me feel better.

I wonder if Wesley grabbed Damien's hand and smiled at him?

Obviously not.

I smile back at her then turn to look at my mom.