Me & Her

Her

Drive? He wants to teach her. Her. Not me. Her. Is it Groundhog Day? I can see it now, eight months down the road. After our birthday, whenever that is. Driving along in a sleek grey convertible, hair flowing in the wind as she and the Doc' make eyes at each other while cruising along the Sunset Strip. Still, it's better than therapy sessions, so I'll take it. Anything is better than sitting in the that colourless room talking about feeling neither of us have.

When Light recoils, I can't hide my grin. Hello Doc'. He's getting better at noticing the change, the tiny signs that someone else has moved in.

Raising my hands in mock surrender, my grin widens.

"I said I was going to teach Alice. Not you," Light snaps. Not me. It's never me, is it?

Leaning back, I prop my feet upon his too-clean dashboard. Begin to rally my questions. The Foundation must be getting suspicious, especially since I'm still supposedly 'dormant' or whatever that is supposed to mean.

Chewing my nails, I lower my grin to meet Light's granite stare.

"Ooh, that's a killer. Do you practice that expression in the mirror or just on unsuspecting Drive Thru employees?" I mean, the man must have been to McDonalds once, right?

No reaction. Just that steely glare. Look at me, I've got chills. This guy...

Folding my arms, I survey the car park. Nothing has followed us. No one else is here.

"Why are you here? Alice should be here," Light is saying under the illusion that I care. I shrug.

"Tell me," Dr. Light growls. "Why are you here? It can't be because I've offered to teach Alice to drive. What do you want?" Light senses me eyeing the keys and he snatches them away. Temper, temper. Unfolding my arms, I prepare a line of questioning. An interrogation, so to speak, like a divey cop from one of those 1970's crime shows. I slip the question in so calmly that Doc' has to do a double take.

"Who is monitoring us at the Academy?" I've suspected since the day we arrived, but everywhere I looked, everyone seemed guilty of something. That's the annoying thing about suspects: they need narrowing down.

Before Doc' can spill the beans, he catches himself. Ah, too slow Doc'. Too slow. I know there's someone watching me.

"I don't what you're talking about. No one is monitoring you". Sorry, I wasn't born falling off the back of a truck.

"I know someone is watching me, Doc'. Faculty or student though, that's what I'm struck on," I tell him, though I don't mention my top suspects: Emma Li and Noah Tremblay. It would hurt Alice and I won't let that happen.

"Come on," I say, puckering my lips. "All I need is confirmation. I know someone is monitoring us, I just don't know who". Doc' says nothing. Sighing, I move to stare at the carpark – that dead sea of tarmac. Dead grass, wilting and dry. The perfect place for a driving lesson. Or a murder.

"You know how this works, Doc'. I will kill Alice. You either help me get our lives back, or I will destroy them. Destroy us. Your choice". Dr. Light slams the steering wheel.

"Leave her alone," he hisses. I shake my head.

"She needs to know the truth just as much as I do. If you lie to me, you lie to her. This is her life too and you might as well be killing her". He sits back, eyes wide and staring. For a moment, we sit in a cliff-edge silence, our hearts dancing on a tightrope over a cavern filled with pitch. But every silence needs to be broken. Preferably, by the truth. Dr. Light sighs.

"Yes. I've been told an operative has been posted at the school, with the permission of the education board."

"Only one, I imagine. Bet the Academy would get more than affronted if the Foundation took over the faculty". I clap my hands together.