POST HOLLOW SYNDROME
Chapter 6- Two
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Blackness.
"He can't hear us, Kai."
Yes he can.
"Well... It helps me feel better, all right?"
Where am I? Adam opened his eyes. What was he lying in... sand? Felt like it. Soft and warm, like a bed, but with the blazing sun and a bright blue sky gazing down upon him from above. Two worried voices resounded not far from where he lay.
"Well... OK." her voice paused. "It... makes me feel better too."
Adam blinked the sun out of his eyes and slowly turned his head to where he heard the voices.
Mira and Kai were here. They sounded worried. About me? Kai sat closest. He was on his knees, turned away from Adam, his head low. He was fiddling with a pile of sticks he'd gathered.
"Think he'll wake up?" The redhead glanced to where Adam lay. I'm awake now. But Kai didn't seem to notice. He turned away and dipped his head once more.
Mira sat beside Kai, her knees folded. She played with her long, dark hair to occupy herself. Adam could see her face, made several years older by the sadness that was in it. She also looked down at Adam. The boy locked eyes with her--- yet she didn't notice him either. Her gaze darted aside. "I don't know." She took a shaky breath. "We can only hope."
Adam grunted and rose up from the ground, baffled by his friends' behavior. "I'm right here, guys," said Adam. No response. He squared his shoulders and marched right in front of them. Still nothing. He plunked down in the sand before them, eyebrows scrunched.
Mira looked up at him. Yes! See? Can't miss me! But she teared up and buried her face in her hands, letting out a cry. "I just don't know, Kai! Look at him, lying there all cold and... What if he never wakes up? What then?"
For once, Kai said nothing. He just set a sympathetic hand on Mira's shoulder. She fell sideways onto his breast, trying to fight a further breakdown. Adam saw Kai shed a tear and turn his head--- right over to where Adam had been lying one minute before.
"Guys..." Disturbed, Adam turned around and looked. Over his shoulder he could see someone lying there still. It was him--- and he looked like a corpse.
I'm dreaming.
Adam's eyes opened for real this time. He lay spread-eagle on his bed, cushioned between the soft mattress and the hot comforter, sweat broken out all over his body. No wonder his dream had taken place on a desert island. He kicked the covers off and rolled to his side. 4:30. What a time to wake up. He just couldn't have stayed asleep for an hour and a half more, could he?
Adam muttered to himself and closed his eyes again. Sleep was a precious tool to Adam, and one that had to be maintained just right for it to work properly. If he slept too long, he would have a hard time getting out of bed. If he slept too little--- even ten minutes too little--- he would be tired all day. But as luck would have it, sleep refused to reclaim him, and after thirty minutes of failed dozing, the sluggish teenager slunk out of bed and dragged himself to the door. He may as well get up and get ready.
The smell of coffee wafting from the kitchen told Adam that someone was awake. It had to have been Seth. His brother had a 7:00 college class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and, as it was a bit of a drive to the campus from the house, Seth had to start getting ready before the sun even rose. Adam had already decided he wanted to live on campus when it was his turn, but waking up this early only solidified his decision.
Seth looked up from his light breakfast when his younger brother appeared in the doorway. He seemed pleasantly surprised. "Adam! You're up early."
Adam noticed that there was still coffee in the pot. It had never looked (or smelled) so appealing to him before now. He ambled across the room toward the pot. "I had a weird dream and I couldn't fall back asleep." He grabbed a clean mug and tipped the coffee into the glass.
Seth chuckled. "I thought you didn't drink coffee."
Adam turned around with his fresh cup of steaming coffee and plunked down in the seat across from his brother. "No better time to start." He took a sip. Bitter. He grimaced and set the cup down so he could cough the unpleasant taste from his throat.
"Whoah, whoah, whoah!" Seth exclaimed. "Maybe you should add a little milk or sugar to that," he said, rising up to get the milk from the fridge.
"Yeah... that would be preferable," Adam said, embarrassed. He'd known how bitter coffee was yet he'd delved right in and drunken it before he'd ever thought to sweeten it. I really am out of it.
The milk jug thumped down onto the table right next to Adam. Adam jumped, startled. Seth set a handful of sweeteners beside the teen. "Knock yourself out."
"Thought that's exactly what I was trying not to do," Adam remarked with a tired smirk. He added a portion of milk to his coffee and picked out a sweetener.
The brothers sat quietly for a minute as Adam prepared his coffee. Then Seth broke the silence. "So. Want to tell me about it?"
"About what?" Adam tried his coffee again. Deeming it acceptable, he sipped some more.
"Your dream."
"Oh." Adam bit his lip. He knew he could tell Seth about his nightmare. But it had been... disturbing. After all, how was he supposed to tell his brother that he'd seen his own dead body in a dream? How was he supposed to tell his brother that he was still thinking about the Hollow to the point that he was having vivid nightmares about it? No. Seth had enough to worry about.
He sloshed the coffee around in his mug. "Nah, not really."
Seth sighed. "You're getting more introverted all the time," he said. Adam returned his attention to drinking his coffee. "I just thought maybe you'd want to talk about it. You usually do where weirdness is involved."
"Well, I don't," Adam emphasized, perhaps a bit more tersely than he intended.
Seth hesitated. "All right." He sounded disappointed.
"Right."
There was an awkward silence between the two. At last, Seth finished his coffee and scooped up his breakfast dishes. "Well, it's about time for me to go to class," he said. He motioned toward the coffee pot. "Feel free to finish up the coffee. There's about a cup left in there."
Adam glanced into his mug. One sip left. He looked toward the pot of coffee. Well, he decided... it was as good a day as ever to fuel up on caffeine. He needed to keep himself awake somehow. No sense in being dead tired when he had classes to attend. Grades to uphold. A reputation to keep.
And a close friend who needed his support.
Kai nervously checked the time on his phone. He didn't get it. Adam was usually right on time for all of his activities, arriving at school included. He was already three minutes later than he tended to arrive at their regular meeting spot.
Kai had gotten there first today. He wanted to take no chances of running into Spud before he had a buddy on either side. Adam was an imposing enough figure by himself to keep Spud away, but Mira provided even more protection from the towering villain, as Spud never seemed to bully anyone too harshly while there were girls there to see him do it. Maybe he hoped a girl would see him as some "bad boy" instead of the horrific person he really was and would actually give him the time of day.
Fat chance of that happening, with a face like Spud's.
Kai's anxieties fell from his shoulders the moment he saw Adam coming over the sidewalk. He was walking quickly--- maybe he was really, really excited about today? But the closer he got, the more Kai realized... Adam looked kind of weird. He hadn't taken nearly as much care to comb his hair, for one thing. For another, he looked like a deer caught in headlights. His eyes were wide and his mouth was set straight. Kai couldn't decide if Adam wasn't quite all there or if he was so there he'd hear a pin drop from a mile away.
"Hey, Adam," the redhead greeted his friend.
Adam blinked at him with bloodshot eyes. "Good morning," he said. The taller teen tipped his styrofoam coffee cup to his lips and took a few final gulps of the stuff.
Kai blinked. "I didn't know you drank coffee."
"I do now."
Kai rocked on his heels. "So, ready for the day?"
Adam crushed the empty cup in his fist.
A nervous chortle escaped Kai's throat. "I'll take that as a... yes?"
"Believe me, Kai. I've been ready since five," said Adam. His eye twitched.
"Good! Cause I'm ready to tell Mira about yesterday." He folded his arms with confidence.
Adam raised an eyebrow and flexed his shoulders. "You're sure about that?"
"Yeah. Really sure. Never been more sure in my life! Like, if Mira were to walk up to me right now I'd tell her---"
"Tell me what, Kai?"
Kai yelped and whipped around. Mira was approaching, an amused smile gracing her lips. "Oh! Um... No-nothing! Nothing yet anyway," he stuttered. "Um... maybe at lunch?"
Mira laughed. "All right then."
"Come on, guys. We're gonna be late," Adam said bluntly. He threw his coffee cup into the nearby garbage can and walked away muttering.
Mira gave Kai a questioning look. Kai shrugged in response. Mira must have noticed Adam's... unusual behavior as well. There was no time to worry about it now, though--- it was almost time for the bell to ring. Maybe he'd loosen up as the day passed.
By the time lunch came around, Adam didn't seem to be much better. In fact, Kai thought he'd gotten worse. He'd actually not noticed when the history teacher had called on him today. Him! The guy who not only always responded when the teacher called on him, but always got the questions right! Not to mention how often he was muttering under his breath today. He did that anyway, but it was way worse today.
Or maybe Kai had only noticed the muttering part because he was paying a little more attention to Adam than he usually did. It was hard to keep track of Adam's progression when Kai only shared one real class with him--- the aforementioned History for first period. He had no idea what sort of things Adam had done during the two periods prior to lunch.
And this was the state his friend was in for this exchange? Shaggy hair and bloodshot eyes? Tired out of his mind and strung out crazy on caffeine? Much help he was going to be.
Well, Kai thought as he approached their usual table with his bag lunch, I can't back out now. He shared a knowing glance with Adam, then looked back up at Mira. He sat down. Time to face it like a man, regardless of what she thought.
"So, I'm sure you're dying to know what I..." Kai saw Adam twitch in his perhipheral. He shot his head toward his friend to make sure he wasn't glitching--- thankfully, he was not. "...And Adam wanted to tell you." He heard Adam grunt. "I... hope you don't mind we're bringing up the Hollow to you again."
"It's OK, Kai," Mira said with a soft smile. "I'm in a good mood today and I haven't heard much about it from anyone the past few days anyhow. So, go ahead."
So Kai told her about yesterday. He told her about his confrontation with Spud, how the terrible teen had glitched and frozen at just the right moment, and how that had allowed Kai to get away before anything worse happened. He was sure to emphasize how time had seemed to skip ahead for Spud, judging by his reaction.
And, judging by Mira's reaction after Kai relayed his tale, she was intrigued. She appeared thoughtful, chin clasped in her hand. At least she didn't look as if she was going to disregard his story this time.
"Well?" Adam asked. "The verdict, Mira?"
Mira sat back, eyes fixed on Kai. "Well... I don't think you're lying," she said. "The thing about time jumping is, admittedly, convincing... but..."
Kai's heart sank. "But... what?"
"I'm still not sure what any of this is supposed to imply. What are you guys trying to say is going on, exactly?"
She was trying to have an open mind. Good! Kai thought with excitement. But when he opened his mouth to respond, Adam's earnest voice came out.
"We don't know! Just... something," said the frazzled teen. "Something serious. And we'd really like your help getting to the bottom of this."
Kai glared at Adam. Stealing the show as usual, he thought cynically. This was his story, wasn't it?
"I don't doubt there's something going on," Mira defended herself. "Kai's convinced. You're convinced. But I just..." She shook her head. "I can't accept that we're still in the game or whatever."
"It doesn't have to mean that," Adam said, leaning in closer to Mira. "It could be mental. It could all be in our heads. But you know as well as both Kai and I that we were all trying to move on. I didn't want to dwell on it, but I did. Kai was doing just fine until he saw that bug glitch out." He took quicker breaths now as his tone grew harsher and harsher. "What if it's something worse than just... being crazy? And what if we're all affected somehow by that corruption thing?"
Kai gulped. He didn't like where this was going.
"I'm not," Mira told her forceful classmate. "At least, I don't think I am. I haven't experienced anything out-of-the-ordinary like you guys are talking about."
Adam's entire body was tense. His brown eyes were narrowed and his dark brow had lowered to a dangerous level. "Maybe you haven't," he spoke. "But we have. Now, do you want to help us figure out what's happening or not?"
Mira scoffed in some mix of confusion and defensiveness. "I'd like to, believe me, but... well, how am I supposed to help you guys if I haven't even---?"
"Fine then!" Adam snapped, pounding his fist onto the table. Both Mira and Kai turned to him with stunned expressions. Adam's sudden outburst also caught the attention of a host of nearby students. "Kai and I'll look into it ourselves. Without your help." He stood, scooped up his lunch tray, and stormed away to another table.
Kai looked at Mira, who seemed shocked to the core. The redhead frowned apologetically at her and gripped the top of his bag lunch. This... this wasn't what he'd wanted to happen at all. "Sorry about him, Mira. He's um..."
"Are you coming, Kai?" Adam shouted from across the cafeteria. Still more students turned to look at him. Spud was one of them.
Kai stiffened. "He's just tired. Try not to take him too seriously, OK?" He stood up and awkwardly danced away from the table. "I'd better join him. Sorry again." With that, Kai skirted past the girl and hurried to join Adam before Spud figured out there was an empty seat beside him.
And Mira was left alone, stunned, and unsure of what just happened.
"He can't hear us, Kai."
Yes he can.
"Well... It helps me feel better, all right?"
Where am I? Adam opened his eyes. What was he lying in... sand? Felt like it. Soft and warm, like a bed, but with the blazing sun and a bright blue sky gazing down upon him from above. Two worried voices resounded not far from where he lay.
"Well... OK." her voice paused. "It... makes me feel better too."
Adam blinked the sun out of his eyes and slowly turned his head to where he heard the voices.
Mira and Kai were here. They sounded worried. About me? Kai sat closest. He was on his knees, turned away from Adam, his head low. He was fiddling with a pile of sticks he'd gathered.
"Think he'll wake up?" The redhead glanced to where Adam lay. I'm awake now. But Kai didn't seem to notice. He turned away and dipped his head once more.
Mira sat beside Kai, her knees folded. She played with her long, dark hair to occupy herself. Adam could see her face, made several years older by the sadness that was in it. She also looked down at Adam. The boy locked eyes with her--- yet she didn't notice him either. Her gaze darted aside. "I don't know." She took a shaky breath. "We can only hope."
Adam grunted and rose up from the ground, baffled by his friends' behavior. "I'm right here, guys," said Adam. No response. He squared his shoulders and marched right in front of them. Still nothing. He plunked down in the sand before them, eyebrows scrunched.
Mira looked up at him. Yes! See? Can't miss me! But she teared up and buried her face in her hands, letting out a cry. "I just don't know, Kai! Look at him, lying there all cold and... What if he never wakes up? What then?"
For once, Kai said nothing. He just set a sympathetic hand on Mira's shoulder. She fell sideways onto his breast, trying to fight a further breakdown. Adam saw Kai shed a tear and turn his head--- right over to where Adam had been lying one minute before.
"Guys..." Disturbed, Adam turned around and looked. Over his shoulder he could see someone lying there still. It was him--- and he looked like a corpse.
I'm dreaming.
Adam's eyes opened for real this time. He lay spread-eagle on his bed, cushioned between the soft mattress and the hot comforter, sweat broken out all over his body. No wonder his dream had taken place on a desert island. He kicked the covers off and rolled to his side. 4:30. What a time to wake up. He just couldn't have stayed asleep for an hour and a half more, could he?
Adam muttered to himself and closed his eyes again. Sleep was a precious tool to Adam, and one that had to be maintained just right for it to work properly. If he slept too long, he would have a hard time getting out of bed. If he slept too little--- even ten minutes too little--- he would be tired all day. But as luck would have it, sleep refused to reclaim him, and after thirty minutes of failed dozing, the sluggish teenager slunk out of bed and dragged himself to the door. He may as well get up and get ready.
The smell of coffee wafting from the kitchen told Adam that someone was awake. It had to have been Seth. His brother had a 7:00 college class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and, as it was a bit of a drive to the campus from the house, Seth had to start getting ready before the sun even rose. Adam had already decided he wanted to live on campus when it was his turn, but waking up this early only solidified his decision.
Seth looked up from his light breakfast when his younger brother appeared in the doorway. He seemed pleasantly surprised. "Adam! You're up early."
Adam noticed that there was still coffee in the pot. It had never looked (or smelled) so appealing to him before now. He ambled across the room toward the pot. "I had a weird dream and I couldn't fall back asleep." He grabbed a clean mug and tipped the coffee into the glass.
Seth chuckled. "I thought you didn't drink coffee."
Adam turned around with his fresh cup of steaming coffee and plunked down in the seat across from his brother. "No better time to start." He took a sip. Bitter. He grimaced and set the cup down so he could cough the unpleasant taste from his throat.
"Whoah, whoah, whoah!" Seth exclaimed. "Maybe you should add a little milk or sugar to that," he said, rising up to get the milk from the fridge.
"Yeah... that would be preferable," Adam said, embarrassed. He'd known how bitter coffee was yet he'd delved right in and drunken it before he'd ever thought to sweeten it. I really am out of it.
The milk jug thumped down onto the table right next to Adam. Adam jumped, startled. Seth set a handful of sweeteners beside the teen. "Knock yourself out."
"Thought that's exactly what I was trying not to do," Adam remarked with a tired smirk. He added a portion of milk to his coffee and picked out a sweetener.
The brothers sat quietly for a minute as Adam prepared his coffee. Then Seth broke the silence. "So. Want to tell me about it?"
"About what?" Adam tried his coffee again. Deeming it acceptable, he sipped some more.
"Your dream."
"Oh." Adam bit his lip. He knew he could tell Seth about his nightmare. But it had been... disturbing. After all, how was he supposed to tell his brother that he'd seen his own dead body in a dream? How was he supposed to tell his brother that he was still thinking about the Hollow to the point that he was having vivid nightmares about it? No. Seth had enough to worry about.
He sloshed the coffee around in his mug. "Nah, not really."
Seth sighed. "You're getting more introverted all the time," he said. Adam returned his attention to drinking his coffee. "I just thought maybe you'd want to talk about it. You usually do where weirdness is involved."
"Well, I don't," Adam emphasized, perhaps a bit more tersely than he intended.
Seth hesitated. "All right." He sounded disappointed.
"Right."
There was an awkward silence between the two. At last, Seth finished his coffee and scooped up his breakfast dishes. "Well, it's about time for me to go to class," he said. He motioned toward the coffee pot. "Feel free to finish up the coffee. There's about a cup left in there."
Adam glanced into his mug. One sip left. He looked toward the pot of coffee. Well, he decided... it was as good a day as ever to fuel up on caffeine. He needed to keep himself awake somehow. No sense in being dead tired when he had classes to attend. Grades to uphold. A reputation to keep.
And a close friend who needed his support.
Kai nervously checked the time on his phone. He didn't get it. Adam was usually right on time for all of his activities, arriving at school included. He was already three minutes later than he tended to arrive at their regular meeting spot.
Kai had gotten there first today. He wanted to take no chances of running into Spud before he had a buddy on either side. Adam was an imposing enough figure by himself to keep Spud away, but Mira provided even more protection from the towering villain, as Spud never seemed to bully anyone too harshly while there were girls there to see him do it. Maybe he hoped a girl would see him as some "bad boy" instead of the horrific person he really was and would actually give him the time of day.
Fat chance of that happening, with a face like Spud's.
Kai's anxieties fell from his shoulders the moment he saw Adam coming over the sidewalk. He was walking quickly--- maybe he was really, really excited about today? But the closer he got, the more Kai realized... Adam looked kind of weird. He hadn't taken nearly as much care to comb his hair, for one thing. For another, he looked like a deer caught in headlights. His eyes were wide and his mouth was set straight. Kai couldn't decide if Adam wasn't quite all there or if he was so there he'd hear a pin drop from a mile away.
"Hey, Adam," the redhead greeted his friend.
Adam blinked at him with bloodshot eyes. "Good morning," he said. The taller teen tipped his styrofoam coffee cup to his lips and took a few final gulps of the stuff.
Kai blinked. "I didn't know you drank coffee."
"I do now."
Kai rocked on his heels. "So, ready for the day?"
Adam crushed the empty cup in his fist.
A nervous chortle escaped Kai's throat. "I'll take that as a... yes?"
"Believe me, Kai. I've been ready since five," said Adam. His eye twitched.
"Good! Cause I'm ready to tell Mira about yesterday." He folded his arms with confidence.
Adam raised an eyebrow and flexed his shoulders. "You're sure about that?"
"Yeah. Really sure. Never been more sure in my life! Like, if Mira were to walk up to me right now I'd tell her---"
"Tell me what, Kai?"
Kai yelped and whipped around. Mira was approaching, an amused smile gracing her lips. "Oh! Um... No-nothing! Nothing yet anyway," he stuttered. "Um... maybe at lunch?"
Mira laughed. "All right then."
"Come on, guys. We're gonna be late," Adam said bluntly. He threw his coffee cup into the nearby garbage can and walked away muttering.
Mira gave Kai a questioning look. Kai shrugged in response. Mira must have noticed Adam's... unusual behavior as well. There was no time to worry about it now, though--- it was almost time for the bell to ring. Maybe he'd loosen up as the day passed.
By the time lunch came around, Adam didn't seem to be much better. In fact, Kai thought he'd gotten worse. He'd actually not noticed when the history teacher had called on him today. Him! The guy who not only always responded when the teacher called on him, but always got the questions right! Not to mention how often he was muttering under his breath today. He did that anyway, but it was way worse today.
Or maybe Kai had only noticed the muttering part because he was paying a little more attention to Adam than he usually did. It was hard to keep track of Adam's progression when Kai only shared one real class with him--- the aforementioned History for first period. He had no idea what sort of things Adam had done during the two periods prior to lunch.
And this was the state his friend was in for this exchange? Shaggy hair and bloodshot eyes? Tired out of his mind and strung out crazy on caffeine? Much help he was going to be.
Well, Kai thought as he approached their usual table with his bag lunch, I can't back out now. He shared a knowing glance with Adam, then looked back up at Mira. He sat down. Time to face it like a man, regardless of what she thought.
"So, I'm sure you're dying to know what I..." Kai saw Adam twitch in his perhipheral. He shot his head toward his friend to make sure he wasn't glitching--- thankfully, he was not. "...And Adam wanted to tell you." He heard Adam grunt. "I... hope you don't mind we're bringing up the Hollow to you again."
"It's OK, Kai," Mira said with a soft smile. "I'm in a good mood today and I haven't heard much about it from anyone the past few days anyhow. So, go ahead."
So Kai told her about yesterday. He told her about his confrontation with Spud, how the terrible teen had glitched and frozen at just the right moment, and how that had allowed Kai to get away before anything worse happened. He was sure to emphasize how time had seemed to skip ahead for Spud, judging by his reaction.
And, judging by Mira's reaction after Kai relayed his tale, she was intrigued. She appeared thoughtful, chin clasped in her hand. At least she didn't look as if she was going to disregard his story this time.
"Well?" Adam asked. "The verdict, Mira?"
Mira sat back, eyes fixed on Kai. "Well... I don't think you're lying," she said. "The thing about time jumping is, admittedly, convincing... but..."
Kai's heart sank. "But... what?"
"I'm still not sure what any of this is supposed to imply. What are you guys trying to say is going on, exactly?"
She was trying to have an open mind. Good! Kai thought with excitement. But when he opened his mouth to respond, Adam's earnest voice came out.
"We don't know! Just... something," said the frazzled teen. "Something serious. And we'd really like your help getting to the bottom of this."
Kai glared at Adam. Stealing the show as usual, he thought cynically. This was his story, wasn't it?
"I don't doubt there's something going on," Mira defended herself. "Kai's convinced. You're convinced. But I just..." She shook her head. "I can't accept that we're still in the game or whatever."
"It doesn't have to mean that," Adam said, leaning in closer to Mira. "It could be mental. It could all be in our heads. But you know as well as both Kai and I that we were all trying to move on. I didn't want to dwell on it, but I did. Kai was doing just fine until he saw that bug glitch out." He took quicker breaths now as his tone grew harsher and harsher. "What if it's something worse than just... being crazy? And what if we're all affected somehow by that corruption thing?"
Kai gulped. He didn't like where this was going.
"I'm not," Mira told her forceful classmate. "At least, I don't think I am. I haven't experienced anything out-of-the-ordinary like you guys are talking about."
Adam's entire body was tense. His brown eyes were narrowed and his dark brow had lowered to a dangerous level. "Maybe you haven't," he spoke. "But we have. Now, do you want to help us figure out what's happening or not?"
Mira scoffed in some mix of confusion and defensiveness. "I'd like to, believe me, but... well, how am I supposed to help you guys if I haven't even---?"
"Fine then!" Adam snapped, pounding his fist onto the table. Both Mira and Kai turned to him with stunned expressions. Adam's sudden outburst also caught the attention of a host of nearby students. "Kai and I'll look into it ourselves. Without your help." He stood, scooped up his lunch tray, and stormed away to another table.
Kai looked at Mira, who seemed shocked to the core. The redhead frowned apologetically at her and gripped the top of his bag lunch. This... this wasn't what he'd wanted to happen at all. "Sorry about him, Mira. He's um..."
"Are you coming, Kai?" Adam shouted from across the cafeteria. Still more students turned to look at him. Spud was one of them.
Kai stiffened. "He's just tired. Try not to take him too seriously, OK?" He stood up and awkwardly danced away from the table. "I'd better join him. Sorry again." With that, Kai skirted past the girl and hurried to join Adam before Spud figured out there was an empty seat beside him.
And Mira was left alone, stunned, and unsure of what just happened.