JANE'S POV
I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling while absentmindedly turning from one side to the other, hoping that somehow I would finally become comfortable enough to fall asleep.
The room had long fallen silent, but sleep refused to visit me.
I turned onto my back and sighed before reaching toward the small bedside table beside Emma's bed. My fingers found the little alarm clock, and I lifted it just enough to read the time.
2:17 a.m.
I groaned quietly and placed it back where it belonged.
Emma's bed, only a few feet away from mine, remained perfectly made, just as it had been since she was taken away. Nobody had touched it.
For some reason, seeing it there made the room feel emptier. It was strange how quickly someone could disappear, yet still leave their presence behind.
I rolled over again, pulling my blanket closer around myself.
No matter how hard I tried, my mind refused to settle.
It wandered from one thought to another, refusing to stay in one place long enough for me to rest.
Nobody had heard from Jason.
The cult group had not held another meeting since the news about Nafisat spread throughout the school although the founder's day event tends to have overshadow all the news.
At first, I believed Vivian when she insisted she had nothing to do with the rumour.
Now...
I wasn't so sure anymore.
Because if the information had truly come from someone inside the group, wouldn't they have held another meeting by now?
Wouldn't they have tried to discover who had exposed one of their own?
Instead...
Nothing.
No meetings.
No announcements.
No masked figures disappearing into the Founders' Building at night.
Nothing.
Which meant only one of two things.
Either the group had become frightened enough to stop meeting...
Or Vivian had lied.
The second possibility settled heavily inside my chest.
I hated admitting it, but everyone around me had begun to look suspicious.
Vivian.
Nafisat.
Andrew.
Even Jason.
The only person I still trusted completely...
Was myself.
Then again...
Considering how many times I had doubted my own instincts lately, perhaps I wasn't doing such a wonderful job either.
I shut my eyes tightly, hoping sleep would finally come.
Instead...
Another face appeared.
Doctor Festus Macaulay.
"Tomorrow."
His voice echoed inside my head.
"Nine o'clock."
"Don't be late."
I opened my eyes immediately.
How could I have almost forgotten?
Somewhere between everything that had happened over the past few days, the old man's words had buried themselves beneath all the chaos.
He had promised me something.
Not answers to my past but something even greater.
He had promised to help me remember the part of my life that feels like it never existed.
The next morning, I woke before the first bell had the chance to ring.
I freshened up as quickly as I could, threw on my uniform, packed my books into my bag and quietly slipped out of the dormitory before anyone could stop me with unnecessary questions.
Then ran back in because I cant leave a room once without forgetting something.
I hurried, picked my shoe's left leg.
Hummm...yeah I wore the wrong one
I ran out.
Within minutes, I found myself standing outside the Protocol Office once again.
Before I could knock, the door opened.
"I was beginning to think you had changed your mind," Doctor Macaulay said with a faint smile.
"I almost did," I admitted.
He stepped aside.
"Come in."
The office looked exactly as I remembered it.
But, I saw a framed photographs that had witnessed generations of students on a side in the shelve.
The large wooden desk sitting neatly beneath the window.
Everything about the room felt older than the rest of the school.
He waited until I had taken my seat before speaking again.
"I imagine you've spent the entire night thinking."
"You could say that."
"And?" He sits as well.
"I have questions."
"I expected as much." He said crossed his leg, one could think he own the school or maybe he did.
"So..."
I leaned forward slightly.
"Who are you?"
He smiled.
"A man trying to help a young girl find pieces of herself." He replied nodding.
"That doesn't answer my question."
"No?" He asked surprised, I guess because his expression was hard to read.
"It doesn't."
Silence settled between us before he reached into one of the drawers and carefully removed a worn leather file.
"There is a reason your memories before coming to this school feel incomplete."
I felt my heartbeat quicken.
"why can't I remember?"
He looked directly into my eyes before answering.
"Because those memories were suppressed."
The word caught me completely off guard.
"Suppressed?"
He nodded.
"Why?"
"That is the brain works. If it feels it needs you to be protected, then it suppress it naturally."
I stared at him.
"How would you know?"
"What is my name again?"
"Your name?" I asked but he just replied with a nod. " Doctor…...I get it now."
He adjust his seat like he was now interested in the whole story.
"And you know those things?" I asked.
"I know enough."
"Can you tell me?"
He was quiet for several seconds before answering.
"No."
Frustration rose inside me immediately.
"Then why ask me to come here?"
"Because," he replied calmly, "I can help you remember them yourself."
I blinked.
"What?"
"The memories are still there, Jane."
"They've simply been locked away."
"And if you're willing..."
He folded his hands neatly on the desk.
"I believe I can help you unlock them."
I didn't know whether to feel relieved...or terrified. I had no idea who he was, maybe he was saying was true, but yeah I do know, I had no memory of my life before this school.
"What of Nafisat? She has no memory of what happened before this school? "
"I am not here for her, just you." He replied, falling right into the trap I set for him.
"So, you do know who Nafisat is?"
"That will be all for today. Go through the pictures and let me know what you think." He stood up, walked over to the door and opened it then stood beside it.
I took the file he dropped then stepped out.
"It is nice to meet you Miss Macaulay, also, trust fewer people than you already do." He said then took a bow.
I did the same.
He shut the door.
My head felt heavier than when I had entered. All the answer he gave seemed to create more questions.
So he did know Jane and her case. We had the same surnames and also, what was in my past that could have made my brain remove all those information. I thought as I walked on without a particular destination.
I was still trying to make sense of everything Doctor Macaulay had said.
"Jane!"
Someone shouted behind me.
I turned instinctively.
Too late.
Someone crashed lightly into me.
The force sent both of us stumbling forward.
I instinctively grabbed the person's arm while another hand caught me around the waist before either of us could fall, although I was closer to the ground.
For one awkward second...none of us moved.
I slowly looked up.
Andrew.
"Andrew?"
His breathing was uneven, as though he had been running across the entire school.
We were standing far closer than either of us intended.
His hand was still around my waist.
Mine was gripping the front of his shirt.
Our eyes met.
Neither of us spoke.
A few students walked past, forcing us to step apart almost at the same time.
"Sorry," he said quickly, running a hand through his hair.
"I wasn't looking."
"It's... okay."
An awkward silence settled between us for a while.
"What happened?"
He shook his head.
"Not here."
"Andrew"
"You need to come with me." He said then placed his hands on my shoulders. "We have a problem."
"What is it?"
"I'll explain when we get there."
Without waiting for another question, he turned and began walking quickly.
I hesitated for only a second before following him.