Page 33 of I'm Gonna Get You Back
That we can both hide a little longer in the dark.
As the moment settles, the five of us sit without talking as Kenji plays a calming melody on his guitar. We stare at the pins of light that don’t seem to exist anywhere else. It should be peaceful, but I’m distracted by the warmth radiating off her and the jump in my pulse whenever she so much as shifts.
“I missed this,” Delaney murmurs.
Kenji and I hum in agreement. It’s definitely been too long since I was swallowed by the silent dark like this.
“Is it weird? Being back?” Mitchell asks no one in particular.
Delaney answers first. “Yes and no. Like, everything is so familiar but still somehow feels really different. I don’t know; it’s hard to explain.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. Of course it feels different.
“Is it weird having everyone back?” Kenji asks, his plucking fingers never faltering.
“I thought it would be. But what’s weird is how normal it feels,” Mitchell says. “At least for me.”
We all wait for Clara to say something. Or maybe that’s just whatI’mwaiting for. But she fidgets with her hair tie and stays silent through the conversation as it meanders to college and the differences in our dorms, our towns. I don’t say much, either. College is nothing like I expected, and I don’t know how to talk about that yet.
“But, like, how do you get with anyone if you’re sharing a room?” Mitchell asks seriously.
I reach around Clara to smack him. “Jesus, Mitchell.”
Kenji laughs. “There are work-arounds. My roommate and I have a system.”
Mitchell’s laugh sounds forced, his words halting. “Oh. Nice—that—yeah, thattotallymakes sense.”
“My roommate and I do the same thing. Her girlfriend lives off-campus, so they stay over there a lot, too,” Delaney says. “Definitely makes it easier to have people over.”
I don’t realize I’m tapping the side of my leg until Clara glances at the motion. I close my hand into a fist as my gut churns with anxiety.
“We sound so slutty.” Kenji laughs again.
Another fake laugh explodes out of Mitchell, too loud.
“It’s not, like, all the time or anything,” Delaney says over a yawn. “I barely have time to sleep anymore. Keeping up with classes and all the rehearsals for the different shows I’m in. I mean, if Legacy taught us anything it’s how to juggle. Even if the whole Legacy process wasrough.”
“Would you be willing to talk about that on camera?” Clara asks. It’s the first thing she’s said since we sat down. Her husky voice is even more enticing in the dark.
“Talk about what?” Delaney asks.
Clara shifts, and now that my eyes have fully adjusted, I can make out the faint lines of her face. “Your experience of Legacy. Yourrealexperience.”
Delaney adjusts so that she can look at Clara directly. “I thought you were making a video for the banquet?”
“That’s true.Officially.”
Delaney narrows her eyes. “Unofficially?”
“What if that Legacy Lore account is onto something about telling the truth about the program?” Clara asks.
Delaney and I exchange a glance that Clara catches. My pulse spikes higher.
“You mean the account that’s targeting us?” Delaney asks, her tone incredulous.
Clara spins the hair tie around her fingers faster. I can practicallyhear how quickly her mind is moving. “I just mean, wouldn’t it be great to show what the program isreallylike? The way it’s impacted all of us?”
Delaney studies her. “I don’t think that’s what the account is trying to do.”
