The Wheel

84. Emma

A couple of months later my friends and I decided to meet in a Water Tower Place mall and have a snack in the café. Having sat at the table and made an order, we started talking, and Kate was looking over showcases of the boutiques she liked.

"I can't decide where to go today. Zara? Mexx? TimeToKnow? Luxerium? Maya? Love&Love?" she was choosing contentedly.

"Don't waste all of your money," David laughed. "They ran out very quickly."

"I will manage my finances myself, thank you very much," she smiled. "Mike, Emma, how are you?"

"Oh, we're fine," I answered. "The other day we had a serious talk with Jasper: he won't treat Mike this way anymore – there are some things that you just have to discuss."

"I don't know," Kate shook her head. "I would blackmail him. I bet Mike knows some secrets of his brother's."

"We've already solved that problem," my boyfriend replied. "I'm just glad that this nightmare is over."

"Well, Miguel, we can congratulate you on getting into Los Angeles film school?" David asked.

"Yes!" he exclaimed joyfully. "They accepted me the the second I sent out my works – they told me that I have a talent. There will be 'Disney' sound director, so I may have a chance to get an internship in Pixar."

"I'm very happy for you," David supported our jollier. "And how was your summer, Veronica?"

Veronica was sitting there without saying a word. She looked so exhausted.

"You lost your sleep over what happened?" Kate asked.

The girl nodded.

"Listen," I tried to support her, "we all have gone through the horror of that room! Some suffered more, some less. I'm not trying to say that you didn't suffer enough; we saw how scared you were that we might die. I remember the look on your face when that jackass Chris pointed the gun at you and fired. We gather together to support each other and to be grateful that everything is over now."

Veronica nodded and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"I think about Sam," she said, "I think about DarkHOLEnet and about people that had suffered because of that show. I can't stop thinking about what might be happening in the lives of people who surround me: friends, professors, random passengers on the bus, my yoga instructor, even that waiter who is serving us – I instantly think about all the possible problems that the person might hide."

"I understand you," I put my hand on hers. "We all go through this. We just need time, we need support."

My phone vibrated. I took out of the bag a small flip phone and opened it: my father texted me that I had to be home by six o'clock. Damn it.

"Oh," I grumbled and put the phone on the table.

"Is it your parents again?" Mike asked.

"Yeah," I muttered, "it's weird, I have three hundred thousand dollars and I can't even buy a new phone. If my parents find out how I got this money, it will be a disaster. I'll wait till I finish the university, we'll get married, move somewhere far away from here and I'll buy a new phone then."

Mike laughed: it's so nice to see his eyes glowing with happiness.

"To Russia?" he asked. "We'll see all the rivers and lakes, like you wanted to."

I smiled widely, kissed him, and then turned my head and got very surprised: Veronica was suspiciously looking over my phone.

"Veronica?" I asked.