Chapter 190 Imagination Run Wild


    As I sat there in the bar, seeing the two new transfer students kiss like that made me feel not only sad,


    but also jealous for some strange reason. I didn’t understand it; why would I feel jealous over two new


    students who I had never even met?


    That feeling wouldn’t go away, either. I found myself hardly able to enjoy the evening, and eventually


    decided that I needed to get out.


    “I’m gonna go home now,” I said, pushing my chair back once I’d finished my second drink. “I’ll see you


    allter.”


    My friends frowned up at me. Justin checked his watch. “It’s not even ten o’clock,” he said. “You’re


    really leaving now?”


    “Yeah. I have work in the morning,” I replied, which wasn’t a lie. I did promise Phil I would work at the


    diner in the morning. With things getting back to normal in town, businesses were opening back up and


    he was even able to get a shipment of food so he could get the diner running again. I needed the


    money, too.


    “I’m actually pretty tired myself,” Jessica said. She nced at Lori, who nodded in agreement, and they


    both stood. I could tell that they weren’t actually tired and really just wanted to be there for me as my


    friends, but I wasn’tining. It made me feel better to have them by my side; I just needed to get


    out of this bar.


    As we began to walk home in the cold winter air, it seemed that my suspicions were correct as Jessica


    immediately began questioning me.


    “So,” Jessica said, “what’s going on with you? You kept staring at those two new transfer students all


    night.”


    I shrugged. “I don’t know exactly,” I replied. “Maybe they remind me of me and Enzo. I’m not sure.


    But… Don’t you think there’s something a little, I don’t know, off about them?”


    Lori furrowed her brow and exchanged nces with Jessica. “They seem pretty normal,” Lori said with


    a shrug. “I even talked to the girl a little bit at one point when I went up to the bar. She seems nice


    enough. A little full of herself, maybe, but that’s about it.”


    “Did they mention where they came from?” I asked. “I mean, why would two new students suddenly


    transfer here now, not only almost at the end of a semester, but also right after what just happened?


    That doesn’t raise any red gs for you guys? I mean, what if Selena sent them—”


    “Nina.” Jessica stopped and took me by both arms, staring at me intensely. “You’re just being paranoid.


    We know you miss Enzo and you’re worried about him. And if he doesn’te home soon, then we


    promise we’ll all do everything we can to find him and bring him back. But for now, you need to try to


    take a chill pill and have a little faith that maybe not everything is doom and gloom. Maybe, just for


    once, two students just like Mountainview and wanted toe here.”


    I swallowed as I processed Jessica’s words. Sure, maybe she was right that the new students were


    here without any sort of ulterior motive or connection to Selena; but I just couldn’t shake off that strange


    feeling about those two students. And even more so, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I swore, for


    even just the briefest of moments as I locked eyes with that boy in the VIP box, that Enzo was staring


    back at me. Had Selena and Enzo returned, somehow? Was it possible that they were wearing


    disguises?


    “When I look at that boy for long enough, I swear he looks just like Enzo,” I said, feeling hot tears begin


    to prick at the backs of my eyes. “You guys don’t see it?”


    Lori sighed then and stepped forward. She took my hand and squeezed it with concern drawn across


    her face. “I think you’re imagining things, Nina,” she whispered. “You’ve barely been sleeping. All you


    do is sit in the infirmary all day and all night, trying to replicate Tiffany’s antidote. Don’t you think that


    maybe it’s starting to get to you? Theck of sleep? Hell, even the fumes from all of that chemical


    mixing you do all day?”


    I felt my heart sink. Lori was right; I hadn’t been sleeping, and I had been spending my days mixing


    chemicals in the infirmary. Maybe it really was just starting to get to me, and besides: why wouldn’t


    Enzoe and see me or his friends right away if he was here. Unless Selena somehow made him


    forget…


    No, I thought to myself as I realized that I was starting to reach for answers again. I need to stop this.


    Maybe I did just need some sleep, and then I would feel better. I couldn’t find Enzo, Luke, or create the


    antidote if I was so exhausted I was hallucinating that Enzo and Selena were right here, in


    Mountainview.


    …


    The next morning, after somehow managing to get almost a full night of sleep, I made my way to work.


    Cleaning the diner and serving customers gave me a sense of normalcy that made me feel a bit better,


    and a few hours into my shift, I started to feel like myself again. In fact, the longer I thought about it, the


    more I realized that Lori and Jessica were right; I was just imagining things. And somehow,ing to


    this realization filled me with more drive to find Enzo; I already had ns to do another sweep of the


    town after my shift ended to look for Luke so that he could open a portal for us.


    Around noon, my shift wasing to an end and I was excited to get to work in the infirmary. But only


    twenty minutes before my shift ended, the door opened and Justin walked in with a grin on his face.


    I was standing behind the counter, wiping it down with a wet cloth, when I looked up to see Justin


    standing there. He was holding what looked like a big white piece of posterboard in his hands.


    “Hey, Nina,” he said, smiling and blushing like a teenager. “I wanted to ask you something.”


    I furrowed my brow and set down the cloth I was using to wipe up the counter. “What is it?”


    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    Suddenly, Justin turned the sign around with an even wider grin. On the sign were big letters, written


    carefully and neatly, that read: “Nina, will you go to the dance with me?”


    I couldn’t help but blush a bit. It was honestly cute seeing how much effort Justin had put into the sign,


    and the sweet look on his face made me smile.


    “Well?” he asked. “Will you?”


    I hesitated for a moment, biting my lip. I wasn’t even nning on going to the dance, as I needed to


    focus on the antidote and trying to find a way to get to Enzo; but at the same time, seeing how excited


    Justin was made me soften a bit. He was beaming like a little kid as he held the sign.


    I didn’t want to be with Justin as long as I knew that Enzo was out there somewhere, but maybe a night


    of fun would be necessary to clear my head. I supposed that we could go as friends, at least, and I


    knew that Enzo wouldn’t want me to kill myself with exhaustion.


    Finally, I nodded. “Sure,” I said, managing a stiff smile. “I’ll go with you."