Sorry, I Can't Remember

Chapter Three

Introducing my newfound brother to my friends was severely awkward. 

As we stepped into the wooden cabin, the blonde boy, who had introduced himself as Oliver, declared that he was hungry. Terrible move, considering that the last thing that these kids ate were mashed peas, and not even quarter of a plateful. 

"Sorry, didn't mean to offend you or anything," he quickly covered up after he realised that everyone, including Zain and Aaliyah, were glaring at him. 

"Who are they?" asked Rayelle, obviously not in a good mood. 

"This is my brother, Jason," I told them. "And this is his friend Oliver."

"I thought you lost your memory," Aaliyah said, barely audible. 

"How you can 'member zem?" 

"It was just a feeling," I said, my temper rising. They didn't know how I felt at all. The first sign that I had a life before this all, how could I make this up?

"Maybe we should go-" said Jason, nudging me, while Oliver nodded and backed out of the wooden shack. 

"No! Why would you think I'm lying?" I demanded. 

"We thought you'd lost your memory, as Aaliyah said," Carter informed, looking more intense than usual. 

"I have!" I shouted. Just then, the low arched door opened, revealing a very worried looking Jenna. Her dark brown hair was messily tied up and her olive coloured skin seemed to be glowing due to the overuse of products. She was wearing what she was wearing when we met a few hours ago on the mountain, a short sleeved bright pink top and a white skirt. 

"I heard shouting. What's going on?" 

"How'd you hear the shouting?" Zain asked. "You live in Laban Rata."

"Yes, I know that, thank you. I was just going to visit you lot and bring some food." she handed each of us some bread, and laid pots of butter and jam on the floor. We ate greedily, before Jenna realised Jason and Oliver were there, as they were silent and their backs pressed against the wall. 

"New transfers?" she asked. 

I stopped eating abruptly, answering, "That's my brother and his friend, Oliver."

Jenna was about to say something, but stopped and looked from me to Jason thrice. 

"There is a definite resemblance," she said at last. "Is this what you were waiting for?"

I nodded. "I didn't know exactly what, but now I do."

"Are you going to leave now?" she asked quietly. 

Before I could answer, however, Quinten interrupted. "You b'lieve zis?" he said, looking incredulously at Jenna, who nodded. 

"Can't you tell? Look at the hair. The eyes. Everything looks either the same, or similar." 

I push the long dark brown hair behind my shoulder, and looked at Jason's much shorter, messier hair. Same shade of brown. And the eyes. That bit is like looking into a mirror. 

"OK, this is very fun and all, guys, but we need to go now," Oliver spoke for the first time. 

"Oh yeah," Jason agreed. "Come on, Evie. Need to leave. Say bye to your friends."

I took one last look at everyone, and uttered the word "bye," not meeting Jenna's eye. We left the way I presumed I arrived- down the mountain trail- with Jason and Oliver. 

"Where are we going, then?" I asked them, as we made our way down the winding road that ran through the mountain. 

"Oh, you'll see," Jason said mysteriously, which really wound me up.

'Stupid brother,' I thought, which made me smile because I had a brother, which made me wonder where my memory went, which made me annoyed that I didn't know anything, which made me- Oh, you get the point.

It took an age, but finally, we arrived at the foot of the mountain. Oliver checked a map quickly and we walked silently to the secret destination they wanted to go to. 

We arrived there very soon, and after Jason knocked four times on the door and had an eye scan (weird), we were let in. 

Nobody spoke until we got very far away from the door, and when someone did, it was Jason. 

"We have her."