I'm terrified inside... I don't know what's happening with Aurelia. Her existence itself is messing with my brain. Everything is.
Zinnia is one more. She told him everything!! I can't believe her... That conversation happened while we were having breakfast, in mine and Zinnia's room. I had gotten up to use the bathroom when I heard Archie.
"Is she okay? I'm worried that there's something going on... with Aura," he said.
Zinnia sounded a bit nervous when she said this next bit. "Well... she never looked 'normal', did she? Come on, you know her. She may seem cold and distant all the time but knowing my sister, it's just her resting face."
"But that's the thing, I don't know... maybe she's been stressed over something for a long time and it looks normal to you..."
"You like her, don't you?"
"What makes you say that?" I think he wanted to sound shocked but was actually lying.
"I see ship, I ship ship." Zinnia declared coolly. "But that's not the point. The point is that Aura is fine. You don't need to worry about her one bit."
Archie sounded sad now. "Then why are you sweating, Zinnia? Please tell me. There's more to it all, I can feel it. I know you probably aren't allowed to and I respect that but as her friend, I don't know what's happening."
Zinnia sighed. "You'll guilt trip me, won't you?"
"Mm-hmm..."
"Well... she's adopted, and she found this out really soon after our dad died." she sounded so scared.
"Wait, is that all? It's surprisingly less tea than I'd have expected. But what would really knock my socks off if she's like... Dr. Aurelia Oxide's daughter or something."
"No... she's her clone. My dad saved her when she was barely a day old and raised her as his own. And my mom, she was still coping with a miscarriage when a second chance presented itself." Zinnia seemed more steady. "But there's more... Aurelia isn't the big national hero you think she is, Archie..."
I think she broke him, because he didn't say anything after that. "She's the villain. She experiments on radioactive people, and she has a huge scheme in the making... That's the lab you'll be seeing in a few days. The science competition is all a trick, but we don't know what's going on... Aura is a part of the plan somehow, I think... but I'm scared, Archie..."
No response again.
"It's a lot to process, so take your time..."
With that line, she left for more food, and I silently opened the door a bit to watch the drama unfold. I was hoping neither of them had noticed that I was peeking through though.
Archie watched her walk away, his mind racing with the information he'd just learned. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this story. Gathering his courage, he called after her.
"Zinnia, wait! Where does Helios fit into all of this? We met him in the lab earlier—he knows you guys somehow... Does he have a part in this, too?"
Zinnia turned back, her expression troubled, but her cheeks were a bit red at the thought. I see ship, I ship ship, Zinnia... "Helios... he's different. He's one of the radioactive, and he's deeply involved. But I don't know all the details. My dad kept a lot of secrets, even from us."
Archie nodded slowly, trying to piece together the puzzle. "Thank you for telling me. We'll figure this out together, okay? "
Zinnia gave a faint smile. "I hope so. Just... be careful, Archie. We're in deeper than we ever thought, especially Aura."
"I get it... I've watched movies with this plot, from the 1990s or so, way before my parents were born."
Zinnia didn't bother listening to the geek session that followed... all I caught from there was 'Luke... something', from star wars.
She eyerolled at him and left the room. That's when I opened the bathroom door and came inside the room.
Archie noticed instantly, and came up to me. All he did was put a hand on my shoulder, in a friendly way. "I... you..." He tried to talk.
I just stared at him blankly - something that I've become something of an expert at. "I watch enough movies to know that these things happen with crushes," I cut him off. "But you can't let it get in the way of what you want to say. Pull yourself together, and think about it."
Somehow 'pull yourself together' got misinterpreted as 'pull me closer' and he enveloped me in an awkward hug. I could feel he was getting emotional. This will not end well, I thought. "I'm sorry... I just... I... I'm just sorry for you. Your sister told me everything, and it's just too overwhelming to keep under wraps."
I squirmed my way out of his hug and dusted my pants a bit. "Not everything. What she didn't tell you... is that I'm not just her daughter. I'm her clone. I am genetically Aurelia Oxide... but young."
Saying that felt like taking one of those horrible strawberry flavored cough syrups. You can try and flavor it however you like to make it seem attractive but... a cough syrup is a cough syrup. It's bound to be terrible. A necessary evil.
At that moment, the door slid open and a small robot rolled in. Its LED eyes glowed, and it carried a digital display that projected a history textbook page. I recognize the page - its from my sophomore book.
Archie and I turned to the screen, our curiosity piqued. The text read:
_"In 2027, the United Nations Security Council convened in Bangalore, India, to sign the treaty that abolished superpowers worldwide. The decision came after a series of catastrophic events and rising concerns over the misuse of powers. The treaty aimed to ensure global safety and stability by outlawing the use of any superhuman abilities."_
Archie frowned. "So that's the official history... we had this for the unit test. But why is this important now?"
The robot chirped and displayed another message:
_"Lab 6, tomorrow at 1020 hrs. Don't be late. - Au"_
ns 15.158.61.16da2
