Page 73 of Switch!
Charlie nods. “Both the forum and chatroom are heavily moderated, don’t worry. Do you still have your flyer? The website is right at the bottom.”
“Sure do,” I say, patting an empty pocket. “Thanks for listening.”
I grab a powdered donut on the way out, not wanting the meeting to be a complete waste. I’d like to find Gismonda and make her jealous by eating in front of her.“I’ve got your circle of light right here,”I’ll say before cramming it in my mouth.
Or I could leave the building and stand outside with my back to the wall, licking sugar off my fingers while trying not to give in to despair. That’s exactly what I do, because this sucks. I’m no closer to learning the truth about myself or how I can help Caleb. The experience with Gismonda was interesting, to say the least, but not very educational.
“Hey.”
I look over and see the one person from the group that I found tolerable. Trixie. She’s holding a large flat cardboard box, which she opens to reveal three more donuts.
“Charlie said I could have the leftovers. Want one?”
“Yes,” I admit. Jesse likes to eat when he’s upset, and my unhappiness is making his body crave carbs. I opt for a strawberry frosted donut. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Trixie turns her back to the wall I’m leaning against and gets down on her butt to sit. The cardboard box is open in front of her, like a busker’s guitar case. I’m tempted to throw some change inside to see what happens. Instead I hunker down to join her.
“Your superpowers sound really cool,” she says.
I laugh and feel a little warmer toward her. “That’s what I call them sometimes. But only in my own head. I don’t usually talk about this sort of thing.”
“I do,” Trixie replies. “For a while, I told anyone who would listen. Most of them thought I was crazy. Or just really good at reading people. Which I am.” She glances over at me and frowns. “For instance…”
“I believe you,” I say out of sheer politeness.
“That’s a lie.” Trixie leans forward to tear a donut in half, glaring at me while she chews.
“Sorry,” I say. “It’s hard to know what to believe anymore. Especially in there. Everyone sounded so looney. Including me.”
Trixie nods her understanding. “I can prove it to you. If you want. I usually don’t like to, but I know you’re for real. I want you to know that I am too.”
“Okay.” I can at least give her a chance. But first I try to lighten the mood. “I once saw George Washington on the bridge of the Enterprise.”
“That’s a lie,” Trixie says, “but I think there was a Next Generation episode with him in it. The one where Data gets his head cut off?”
“You’re thinking of Mark Twain,” I say with a grin. “That’s one of my favorite episodes.”
“Another lie. It’s not your favorite.”
Wow! I was trying to be cunning. And she picked up on it. Maybe she is for real. Then again, it’s not a very popular episode.
“What’s your name?” she asks. “I don’t do so well with half-truths. Jesse might be the name of the body you’re in, I’m not sure. All I know is that it didn’t sound right when you said it.”
Impressive. But also guessable. “It’s Tommy,” I reply.
She shakes her head. “Keep going. List as many names as you want, as long as the real one is in there somewhere.”
“Garret. Juan. Christine.”
She nods. “Keep going.”
“Keith. George. Ralphie. Caleb.”
Trixie squints. “Another half-truth?”
“Yeah! That was the name of the body before this one. You still haven’t guessed the right one though. “Richard. Travis. Justin.”
“That’s it!”
