Selena exclaimed. “Mom’s home.” She turned around to look at Xavier. “You won’t like this.”
Xavier knew what she was going to ask. He nodded. “I will call you later.” He went to Jade’s window and jumped out.
“I hate to say it, but you guys have to go shower for school; I will face Mum.”
“You said you didn’t remember anything. How will you do that?” Dalett inquired.
“I will take care of it. You guys should just leave.” Selena made her way out of Jade’s room and down the stairs. “Hey, Mom. Good morning.” Isabel was sitting on the couch when Selena approached her.
“Hey, hun. How’s your night like?”
“It was fine. I’m getting ready for school. How was your trip?”
Isabel took a deep breath. “That was fine.” She looked around the living room. “Is it just me, or does the house appear odd?”
Selena started laughing anxiously. “What do you mean? The house appears to be in good condition. Just the way you left it.”
“No. Something is wrong, Selena.” She rose to her feet and moved towards the window. Isabel folded her arms across her chest and looked around.
“Mom. It’s exactly as you left it.”
“Nope. Ah! I see what is wrong now. Where is my table?” She looked at Selena.
Selena swallowed. “Eh?”
“You never liked that table, so you got rid of it while I was gone.”
Selena rolled her eyes. “Okay. You have got me. I despise that table, and you will not let it go. I know it is for Daddy, but he isn’t here.”
Isabel exclaimed in surprise. “How did you know that? Are your memories coming back?”
“I just do.” Selena shrugged. “I have to prepare for school. See you later, Mom.” She made her way back to her room. She lied about the table. She can not remember anything about it.
The girls arrived at school in two cars. Max drove Trisha, and Selena rode in the same car as Dalett. Selena got down and approached Trisha. “I’m still mad at you for what you did last night. I still believe you were the ones who made Xavier in that way. He even claimed it was a man.”
“It wasn’t us. Selena. You should believe what Xavier says.”
“Okay, Trisha. This is not over yet. I’ve got therapy this afternoon. See y’all later, guys.” Selena found her way into the classroom.
She was able to concentrate in class, but she couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened the day before. Something did happen, but why can’t she remember?
Selena and her friends didn’t eat lunch together during the break. She had gone to a book reading with her group. It was the only place where she remained sane. It was the only place she could express her nerdy side. “I will do the reading. Mister Peckham.” Selena said as she stood up. She reached for the book on her desk and flipped it open. “Now. Let us all start with Chapter One. It was a book about 'Valeria from Wonderland.' Selena wondered why they were reading a children’s book, but this was full of adventures, so she didn’t mind.”
“Down the rabbit hole.” Selena started. “Valeria was tired of sitting on the bank with her sister and having nothing to do. She had peeked into her sister’s book once or twice, but it did not contain any pictures or conversations. Valeria questioned the purpose of a book without images or conversations. So she was debating in her head - as well as she could, because the hot day made her feel sleepy and stupid - whether the pleasure of making a daisy chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when a white rabbit with blue eyes dashed past her.”
“There was nothing remarkable about it, and Valeria didn’t think it was particularly unusual to hear the rabbit say to itself, “Oh, dear! Oh, dear! I will be too late!”
"When she thought it over afterward, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural; but when the rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat pocket, looked at it, and then hurried on, Valeria started to her feet because it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat pocket or a watch to take out of it, and, burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it."
Selena paused before continuing. “In another moment, Valeria went down after it, never thinking about how she was going to get out again. The rabbit hole went straight on like a tunnel for a while, then dipped suddenly down, so quickly that Valeria had no time to consider stopping herself before falling down what appeared to be a deep well.”
“Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, because she had plenty of time as she descended to look around and wonder what would happen next. She first tried to look down to see what she was coming to, but it was too dark to see; then she looked at the sides of the well, and noticed that they were filled with cupboards and bookshelves, with maps and pictures hung on pegs here and there.” Selena paused as the bell rang.
“We will continue reading sometime this week.” Mr. Peckham spoke.
With the book in hand, Selena excused herself and left. Selena did not wait to speak with her friends after school before leaving for therapy. When she parked her car, she jumped out and dashed for the door. Suddenly, the door was pushed open, almost causing her to fall, but she was caught in midair. Thank you. She spoke while turning to face the person who had grabbed her. “You?” She recognized him. “I have seen you before. In the parking—"
“—lot.” Titus completed.
“What are you doing here?”
“My therapy session has just ended. I’m Titus.”
“I recognize you, Max’s brother. I want to thank you once more. Although I am here for my own therapy session, I would like to buy you a cup of coffee. Are you free?”
“But how about therapy?”
“It can wait.” Selena smiled as she spoke.
“I would like to thank you again for saving me back there.” Selena smiled as they settled into their seats. She gave the waitress a signal. “What coffee do you prefer?” She questioned Titus. Titus ordered a mocha and raised an eyebrow at the waitress. Selena exclaimed. “You do like mocha too?” Titus nodded. “That’s my favorite coffee.” Selena raised her head as she addressed the waitress. “I will like that as well.” Selena focused her attention back on Titus after the waiter had left. “I didn’t realize you were a mocha guy. I can assure you that if someone had tried to guess your favorite type of coffee, they would have chosen the black expresso.”
Titus chuckled. “Really?”
Selena nodded. “Yes, you resemble a black expresso guy.” Selena cut the conversation short when the waitress brought them their coffee. Thank you. She spoke while watching the waitress leave. She reached for her cup and took a sip before returning her attention to Titus. “I didn’t realize you were seeing Dr. Gabriella for therapy.” She said, resetting the cup on the table.
“Seeing you still dressed in your uniform suggests you were in a hurry to meet her."
“I was a little late. She hates it when I am late. Anyway, when did you start seeing her for therapy?”
“Only two weeks ago. 4-5pm.”
“Ah. No wonder, if I had arrived earlier, we would have met.”
“We would have, but please keep this between us.” Selena turned back to face him when he said that. “My sister doesn’t know yet.”
“Oh. I completely understand. There are so many things that my sisters don’t know too.” She inhaled while her eyes closed. “I could swear I saw you before.”
“In the parking lot.”
Selena shakes her head. “No. Before that. You don’t have a face that people will easily forget.”
Titus chuckled. “I will accept that as a compliment.”