Chapter Twenty-Three: Senior Trip | Part 7
Rhea and Benn guided Thirtyx to a bench near one of the walls. Sitting wasn’t nearly as fun as standing and swaying and moving. He tried to stand, but Benn pushed him back down. “Hey, no, stay here. You’re not acting normal. What’s going on?”
“I’m not?” What was normal, anyway? He tried to pin down the concept, but his mind slipped and slid around it.
“You’re not,” Rhea said. Was that fear in her voice? “Do you feel normal?”
“Of course I feel— fl— flagh.” His attempts to finish the sentence trailed into a giggle. Okay, maybe that wasn’t normal. He typically hated when his tongue stopped working.
“It’s like he’s drugged,” Rhea muttered. “Wait—do you think the professors messed with his potion?” Her hands flew to her mouth. “Did they poison him?”
“I don’t feel poisoned,” Thirtyx chimed in.
Benn eyed him curiously. “How do you feel, exactly? That might give us some clues.”
He’d have typically given his answer more thought, but in the moment, only one statement captured his feelings perfectly. “Like my brain is floating in happy juice.”
The crowd near the portal had shrunk considerably. If they didn’t get over there, would they be left behind? Thirtyx tried to stand again, but Rhea pushed him down. “Why slip him drugs, though?” she hissed. “To make it look like misconduct?”
Thirtyx spotted Seerla watching them from the back of the crowd. Had he ever truly noticed how beautiful her eyes were? He could be close to her eyes and her face and her skin as soon as he got through that portal—and oh did he want to. Every nerve in his body suddenly yearned for her, striking a powerful harmony with his intoxication that made him feel more incredible than he’d ever dreamed he could feel.
He could run across the room and kiss her. There was some reason he shouldn’t, but it didn’t seem important right now. Benn yet again kept him seated, but this time, Thirtyx tried to elbow past him. Benn only strengthened his grip. “But how could they have targeted his potion when C brought around a tray? Mental nudging? They’d have to simultaneously nudge everyone else not to pick the drugged one, which is nearly impossible!”
Seerla was moving closer to the portal, even though she kept glancing over her shoulder. Thirtyx didn’t want her to leave. “Seerla!” he called. “No, Seerla! Come back!”
Heads turned. Seerla blushed bright red and snapped her attention away from him. That didn’t feel nice at all. “Seer—”
Thirtyx’s voice cut out, and while it felt amusing, it frustrated him. Rhea had drawn a sigil at the base of his throat. The sparks in her eyes temporarily mesmerized him, but when they died out, she was on his level, speaking in a low but insistent voice. “Hey, I know you’re not in your right mind, but we need you to be calm while we figure this out. Okay? Can you do that?”
He shook his head stubbornly. How could he be calm when the love of his life was leaving the planet while he could be over there kissing her? Rhea squeezed his arm. “Please, Thirtyx. Someone drugged you! And if you want to go on the trip, we have to fix it!”
What if he didn’t want to fix it?
