Infinity

3: Salem

Chapter 3

I didn't know what kind of awful things that my mother and the Bloors had planned for me, so I ran. All I knew is that they had hypnotized me once and they had a habit of making people disappear. I think that their interest in me had something to do with Uncle Lyell because I remembered him, even if it was faintly. They didn't want to take that risk and have me ruin everything that they had worked for in the past ten years. I managed to slip behind a car and evade their line of vision for just a few moments so I used that time wisely and slipped into a book store across the street and hid amongst the shelves. If they were trying so hard to make sure I wouldn't recognize Uncle Lyell, that meant they were hiding him close. Somewhere where Uncle Paton and Aunt Amy wouldn't see him, but somewhere that I might. He was in the academy. Charlie had been correct. They were hiding him right in front of his face. I heard the bells above the door jingle and pushed myself further between a bookshelf and the wall.

"You know you're not welcome here." A soft voice murmured. The voice sounded very young and feminine.

"We're looking for someone. Mind your business, Emma Tolly." Manfred sneered. I heard him moving around. "Did a blonde girl with a red coat come in here?"

"No." She squeaked. She sounded absolutely terrified. "Please leave. No one has come in for a while."

"I think you're lying to me." Manfred's voice got closer to my hiding place. I held my breath and tried to push myself further into the crevice. Emma Tolly was the name of the girl Charlie told me was hypnotized so deeply that she forgot her own identity. No wonder she sounded so afraid. "Do I need to get the truth out of you?" Manfred threatened.

I exhaled sharply and stepped out from my hiding place. I didn't want to subject Charlie's friend to any more trauma than she had already endured at the hands of the Bloor family. "Leave her alone. I'll go with you." I looked over at Emma Tolly, a very tiny, fair skinned girl. She had large blue eyes and she wore her corn silk colored hair in braids. Manfred grabbed my arm with his bony fingers and yanked me out of the bookstore. "I would have gone with you willingly if you wouldn't have intimidated me by approaching the way you did." I hissed as he forced me into the car. I shot my mother my most hateful look before driving away.

I stayed silent in the car the whole way to the academy. The angry looking bald man drove and Manfred kept peeking back at me through the rearview mirror. "You're not going to be a problem like your cousin, are you?" He asked finally. I looked down at my hands and remained silent. "You are supposed to answer when someone speaks to you, Infinity Jones."

I always found it weird that my mother hyphenated her last name when she married my father, but when I was born she gave me her maiden name rather than hyphenating it like she did hers, or just giving me my father's name. Part of me was grateful not to have two ridiculous names. When I asked my mother why she named me Infinity she told me it was because she waited for me forever. She had fertility issues and had been told that she couldn't conceive. I never understood why she ignored me when she went through all that trouble to have me. In vitro was expensive and not 100% effective, but she and my father still ignored me.

I continued to give Manfred the cold shoulder as we pulled up to the academy. "Could you take her trunk to her room, Weedon?" He asked the bald man. The bald man nodded. "Alright, it's time for your tour. You already know where the coatrooms and great hall are. I'll just show you some of the important parts of the academy that your student mentor won't show you when they give you the tour on Monday. Then I will show you to your dormitory." I only half listened to the things he told me. I was trying to remember Uncle Lyell's face. That was the single most important thing to me in that moment. I had to recognize him if I saw him. "And this is the music tower." Manfred placed a hand on my shoulder when we got to one of the two towers of the academy. I could hear piano music. It piqued my interest and he could tell. "Ah, that's just Mr. Pilgrim. Some of the staff live here, such as Dr. Saltweather, Mr. Pilgrim, Cook, Mrs. Marlowe and so on. I'm sure Dr. Saltweather is up there if you would like to meet the head of the music department."