CHAPTER 18
“A-Alone?” Helene asked, brows furrowed. “So it means I left the agency alone? Nobody brought me home?”
Minerva nodded. “Tomas told me that you even waved at them before you hailed a cab,” she said and knotted her foreheads. “Can’t you still remember anything?”
Helene shook her head. “I’ve been thinking about it since last night. Malcolm told me that he saw me lying on my doorstep, and I was burning in fever.”
Minerva gasped. “You’ve got a fever?”
She nodded. “And, when I woke up this morning, my whole body aches…” she said. “I don’t have plans on going to school today, but I wanted to ask you about last night.”
“You should have called me,” she said and touched her forehead. “Are you sure that you’re okay now?”
“I’m fine now, thanks,” she said and looked at the money in her hand. “Thank you for this, Minerva. I really owe it to you.”
“It’s nothing,” she smiled, then knotted her forehead. “By the way, who’s that Malcolm that you mentioned? Your boyfriend?”
Helene shook her head. “He’s my new neighbor.”
Minerva narrowed her eyes at her. “Then why are you smiling as if he’s your boyfriend?”
Helene felt the heat rise on her cheeks. She cupped her face. “Am I?”
Minerva chuckled. “Oh, my gosh. I think my friend found a lover now.”
“Hey, of course not!” she said and slapped her shoulder jokingly. “We’re just friends.”
“Whatever,” Minerva said. “So, I’ll see you at the agency again last night?”
Helene paused. “Ah, about that, Minerva…” she hesitated. “Because of what happened to me last night, I’m afraid to go there again.”
Minerva suddenly became serious. “What? Why?”
“I’m afraid that something bad might happened to me,” she explained. “You see, I couldn’t remember the things that I did last night. What if it happened again?”
“It won’t,” Minerva said undoubtedly. “It’s just normal on the first day—” she stopped as if she remembered something. “I mean, I will make sure that it will never happen again.”
Helene looked at Minerva. Her mood suddenly changed. “Can I skip tonight?”
She looked at her with a knotted forehead. “How will you earn big money for James if you’re not going to work every day?”
James…Helene hasn’t thought about James for a while. She hasn’t watched any of his live shows and online videos…since she met Malcolm.
“You wanted to go to Seoul, right? To meet James? This is your chance now, Helene. Don’t waste it.” Minerva took her hands. “I promised I won’t leave you tonight. I will wait until you finish your show so that we’ll go home together.”
Helene looked into Minerva’s eyes. She can see nothing but a pair of black marble eyes. “O-okay, but I’ll buy a new phone first—”
“No problem,” Minerva said. “I’ll go with you so you can choose the best model for the phone.”
During her class, Helene can’t stop thinking about what happened to her last night. She left the building alone, hailed a cab alone, and go home alone. Then why did she sleep outside her house? Why she didn’t make it inside? Did she collapse because of her high fever?
“It’s impossible…” she whispered. “Somebody was with me, I’m sure of it.”
“Helene, Helene Yamate!”
Helene looked up suddenly. She was startled by her professor’s loud voice. “Y-yes, Ma’am?”
“Are you with us? I called you many times!”
“I’m sorry, Ma’am. I didn’t hear you—”
“Because you’re always absent-minded,” the old lady said and opened the Psychology book on her desk. “Can you explain to us what Lucid Dreaming is again?”
“L-Lucid Dreaming?” she stuttered and looked down on her notes. “Lucid dreaming is when the dreamer is aware that he or she is dreaming. During the dream, the dreamer usually has the power to control their dream.”
The old lady nodded. “That’s right. But according to a particular poem, Edgar Allan Poe wrote, ‘All that we see or seem / Is but a dream within a dream.’”
Helene paused. ‘All that we see is a dream within a dream?’ She then remembered her dreams in which strange scenes happened, and Malcolm was always there to save her. Can a Lucid Dreamer control other’s dreams? That’s impossible, she thought and sighed.
“Hey, Helene.”
She heard Minerva’s voice from her back. When she glanced at her, she’s waving her phone at her. “What’s that?” she mouthed.
Minerva smiled. “I’ll tell you later.”
When she returned her gaze to the board, Helene caught Lexy looking at her. When their eyes met, she looked away from her. She felt sorry, and she wanted to talk to her. But how will she do that if she’s mad at her?
After their class, Minerva immediately told her what seemed to be good news based on her wide smile. She showed her cellphone screen to her.
“The agency has sent my salary for yesterday’s show,” she said with a big smile. “Look, I received eighty dollars just for one day.”
Helene was impressed. “I hope I got that rate too.”
“We’ll check your account later on your new phone,” she said and clung to her. “Let’s go and have some pizza. My treat!”
They’re about to walk towards the gate when Helene saw Arianne and Lexy having their snacks on the bleachers. They’re looking in her direction.
“Come on, Helene—”
“Wait, Minerva…I think I have to talk to them,” she said, but Minerva pulled her hand.
“What for? They’re not your friends anymore. They abandoned you,” she said and pulled her arm. “Let’s go and eat pizza.”
“Helene!” Adam called her as he ran in their direction. “Helene, can we talk?”
Helene’s heartbeat raced again. “Why?”
Adam glanced at Minerva, who was gripping her arm tightly. “Can we talk in private?”
“We’re going out,” Minerva said. “And, please, Adam, stop bothering Helene. Did you know that Bela broke her phone?”
“She did? I didn’t know—”
“Now, you know, so stop this act and stay away from her,” Minerva cut off and pulled her away from him.
But Adam held her hand. “Wait, Helene…” he looked in her eyes. “I just want to say that I’m really sorry and—”
“I don’t need your sorry, Adam,” Helene cut off. “It’s just nothing to me.”
***