Page 32 of Inception

“Caleb here plays for the Weston Bulldogs. He’s our star player,” she beamed. “Best slap shot in the West Coast.”

She must be referring to that last place hockey team she was bitching about earlier, but I didn’t bother mentioning that part. I smiled back at her as though I cared.

“I was out half the season,” he offered as though that might explain their current standings. “Shoulder injury.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Yeah, but he’s back now. Right, Cale?”

“You know it.” His grin spread across his face, alive with the possibilities. “We’re playing Easton next Friday. It’s my first game back. I better see you both there.”

“Are you kidding?” said Taylor, playfully pushing him. “We wouldn’t miss that for anything.” She was dead serious.

Personally, I could think of a few hundred other things I’d rather be doing on any given Friday night.

After a few more minutes of tantalizing hockey talk, I politely excused myself, letting Taylor know I had a catch-up assignment due and that I would be spending lunch in the library working on it. Luckily, she didn’t offer to come with since she was obviouslynormaland not willing to spend her lunch break doing homework.

Once in the library by myself, I spotted a deserted table near the very back of the library, furthest from any prying eyes, and started in on the hospital records. I skimmed through the stack of files fairly quickly, only to realize there really wasn’t anything new or useful in there—mostly just official records, some background information, and notes about things that I had discussed during my one-on-one sessions with my attending physician, Dr. Javier. All of which weresupposedto be confidential and sealed. I didn’t even want to start thinking about how my uncle got his hands on these.

I moved on to the book. On pins and needles, I carefully removed it from my bag and unwrapped my shirt from around it. It was definitely old. The leather binding alone was like nothing I had ever seen before, and the corner bosses and clasp definitely looked as though they were hand-crafted in a different era. I had to be extra cautious with it. The last thing I wanted to do was snag the cover or accidentally tear a freaking page out.

I wiped my palms against my skirt, said a little prayer, and cracked open the book.

The first detail that caught my attention was the paper. Or lack thereof. I didn’t know what this thing was written on, but it definitely wasn’t paper, that I knew for sure. Papyrus swiveled around my mind as a possibility but even that didn’t seem to do the texture justice.

The second oddity was that the entire book appeared to be written by hand and had no copyright or author information anywhere in it. It looked a lot more like some old diary than it did an actual book. Then again, even diaries usually had a name scribbled somewhere on the jacket, didn’t they?

My heart picked up as I peeled back the first page.

“Jemma Blackburn please report to the administration office. Jemma Blackburn,” called a voice over the intercom.

Really, though?

I shut the book and tucked it back into my schoolbag.

Taylor was already waiting for me outside the office when I turned the corner. “What’s going on?” she asked, her eyebrows raised with curiosity.

I was about to ask her the same question. “No idea.”

“I think your uncle’s in there.”

“Seriously?” I said and then peeked in through the window.

Yup. He was definitely in there. I couldn’t help but think about the last time I was called into the office at school—six months ago when the men in white jackets came for me.

I pulled open the door and stepped inside. “Uncle Karl? What’s going on?” I asked, already feeling queasy. “Is everything okay?”

“Jemma.” He nodded his greeting. “You’ve been excused from your classes today. A family matter has come up.” He motioned for the door. “Do you have all your things?”

I didn’t move. “Did something happen? Is Tessa alright?”

“Yes, yes. Tessa is fine. Everyone is fine. Come on, let’s get your things, and we’ll continue this in the car.”

I nodded and then followed him out, waving ominously at Taylor as she signaled for me to call her.

Outside, Henry was already parked and waiting for us at the front of the building as the rain continued to adorn itself to the world around us. My uncle and I both climbed into the back of the car, each taking a window seat.

He raised his hand to Henry who responded with a nod through the rear-view mirror and then raised the glass partition.

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