Overload

Chapter Seventeen - Ignorance Is Bliss

June awoke with a start, her hands gripping the edge of the bed. Her eyes shot open and her breathing quickened.

“Easy, June. Easy.” Danni grinned down at her, a smile that appeared more wolfish than usual. “Nicely done. You ended up in the infirmary.” She slid out of her chair and sat down on the edge of her bed.

“I – I what?” June forced herself upright, only to watch the room spin before her eyes. She squeezed them shut and dropped back down with a groan. Even the darkness of her eyelids seemed to whirl.

“Everybody’s been saying that you saw the rebels,” Danni told her after letting June catch her breath. “And that they knocked you out. But I know mental aftereffects if I ever see one. They used a telepath on you down in the Basement, didn’t they?”

“Alright, that’s enough Miss Lee.”

Both girls turned towards the voice by the door. June, however, was still half-asleep to notice who it was.

June took the moment of distraction to wake herself up, despite her drowsy state.

“I’ll see you later,” Danni whispered, the bed shifting as she got up to leave.

The door closed with a click but there was still another presence in the room.

“Mrs. Weaver?” June slurred.

“They had me look after you after you blacked out with Mr. Wright,” she explained and settled into the chair occupied by Danni moments before. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” came her immediate response. “What happened?”

“It was your first time withstanding any mental exercise,” she said sympathetically. “It’s only natural for you to feel so exhausted. Nobody does well when they first try to exercise their mind.”

“Mr. Wright – is he the Head?” June pieced together slowly, trying to recollect her hazy thoughts.

Mrs. Weaver nodded. “Your father came in to check on you before going out to patrol the borders. The school’s on lockdown ever since the rebels attacked.”

June frowned then licked her lips, trying to muster up some moisture to speak properly. Her throat was parched, as if she hadn’t –

“How long have I been out?” she asked sharply.

Her teacher merely smiled. “You’re quick, aren’t you?”

June made no reply.

“Just two days.”

June’s jaw dropped. “I’ve missed classes for two days?”

“Classes have been cancelled until further notice,” she reassured her. “You haven’t missed anything and honestly, it’s been a relief for us teachers and all the students. Lots of chaos to calm down from.”

June wasn’t interested in the light chatter that her teacher offered up. Her mind began turning quickly, recalling her last moments being unconscious.

She’d been in that white room, alone with the Head of the Telepathy Department. She remembered burning his fingers a couple times but afterwards, it was blank. Her head pounded as if she’d tried to solve a math problem, only this time, it was a ten times worse. Math had never been a strength.

But she fought through it somehow. June glanced to Mrs. Weaver in suspicion. Surely her defences would have fallen once she blacked out. Had Mr. Wright gotten something out of her? Did they know she’d been lying?

For a moment, panic flashed through her body and she tensed to make a move.

“Mr. Wright insisted on keeping you from the neut,” her teacher continued nonchalantly. “Stubborn man but he has a big heart. He got through to you in the end –” June sucked in a breath “– and he found nothing. Looks like you got off lucky there wasn’t a trace they’d left behind.”