Adanic: Chapter 9

I was extremely careful with the mystic fire topaz ring. I no longer kept it in my hand for fear of dropping it. It sat on my right ring finger now, as Topaz had intended it to, with my hand in a tight fist clenched protectively around it. I knew that I couldn’t let my guard down with such a valuable object in my trust.
I, again, didn’t have to pay much attention in French that day, so I kept my mind plainly open to other things, mostly including Topaz and the ring. It seemed that the more information I got, the more confused I became.
Lab Bio fourth period came shortly. I found Courtney and sat beside her.
“Wow, you look so different!” Courtney pointed out with a bright smile. “Did you dye your hair?”
I sighed. I had already gotten this question so many times today. “No. I woke up with it. It has to do with Topaz, apparently. But I don’t know if I believe her”.
“Why?”
“She claims I’m not human”.
Courtney laughed. I could see that by the way I said it, it really sounded like a joke, but I kept my face serious. “I’m not kidding. She’s says I’m half Adanic or something like that”.
Courtney stopped laughing. “Is she crazy or something?”
I briefly gave her a summary of everything that happened from after when she left us at lunch the previous day. When I finished, she sat wide-eyed and speechless for a long time.
Finally, she said, “April, I think she really is crazy. You’re one of the most human people I know”.
“I know, but it all makes sense”, I said, and stood up. “I mean look at me. I’m five feet tall, and I was five two yesterday. I didn’t dye or curl my hair and I’m not wearing contacts. I didn’t do anything last night”.
“Are you sure Sally or Will didn’t pour radioactive fluid down your back while you were sleeping?”
“Positive”, I said.
Courtney blinked, unconvinced, and then asked, “Did you have another dream about her last night?”
“No, not of Topaz”, I said. I thought for a second and then asked, “What do janitors mean?”
Just then Topaz walked in. She glided over to her desk and smiled politely to both of us. She turned her head to look at me. “How’s it working for you?” she asked, holding up the hand with the sparkling pink Topaz that matched her eyes.
“Um, good, I guess”, I stuttered.
Courtney understood after a second. “She has one too?”
“There’s a whole race of them on Pluto, Courtney”
Class started then, but my mind was elsewhere. I recalled the dream that started all of this chaos…. the sinister, flawless pink eyes and the nefarious grin that had changed me in a few hours. Looking at her now, sitting a few rows in front of me, she didn’t look nearly as lethal. Not at all like her body was being used as a vessel for the Sun Goddess. She didn’t threaten or intimidate me nearly as much as she did only just earlier today. But her words were gnawing at my mind, and I was starting to feel extremely threatened by myself.