“Dude, take Hereon with you.” Aeon sighed as Karkos made to leave. “You bring him here, you take him back.”

  Karkos paused by the door.

  “He’s asleep.” He answered in his usual deadpan without turning back.

  Aeon looked down at Hereon who was curled up on the hard floor, chest rising and falling slowly.

  “Seriously?”

  “He found your sleeping tablets.”

  “And you didn’t stop him?” Aeon asked, outraged.

  “No.” Karkos answered simply, then left.

  “Hey man, come back. Help me move him dammit.” Aeon called after him.

  Ultimately, it took the combined effort of Cecil, Sana and himself to drag the comatose Hereon back across the hall and into his bedroom.

  “This is what exercise feels like?” Aeon panted as he stood over the bed. The whole group was out of breath after the effort.

  “I hate it. Never doing this again.” Sana moaned, hand on hips as she sucked in big mouthfuls of air.

  “Eh, not so bad.” Aeon shrugged.

  “This room is… not good.” Cecil wheezed softly as he looked around.

  Dirty clothes and food packets littered the floor and there was a faintly unpleasant smell that Aeon could just make out.

  “Should we be doing more to help him?” Cecil asked solemnly.

  “I don’t know, maybe?” Aeon considered. “He hasn’t really been violent since that first night…”

  “Oh, no, he breaks stuff constantly. I mean, that’s not like “violent” exactly but he’s definitely still capable of going berserk when he feels like it.” Sana answered casually, kicking a dirty sock on the floor towards the bed.

  “He’s still doing that?” Cecil asked.

  “Yep. He ran out of sleeping pills last night and went absolutely ballistic for about an hour. Smashed up the entertainment console.”

  “Shit, that’s not good.” Aeon muttered. “What about you, did he do or say anything to you while he was doing all that?”

  “Nah, I was just chilling on my sofa.”

  Aeon and Cecil both turned to stare at Sana.

  “What? I have a kitchen knife under the cushion just in case, but he mostly just ignores me to be honest. We stay out of each other’s way.” She explained matter of factly.

  “You keep a knife on you?” Cecil asked in horror.

  “Sure. I don’t trust him that much.” Sana answered plainly.

  “Would you use it?”

  “Yeah. If he ever tries touching me, I’ll cut him. Told him so too. And if he goes really crazy I’ll kill him. Told him that as well.” She answered with detached calm.

  “Holy…” Aeon exclaimed. “You’re not serious.”

  “Sure am.” Sana laughed. “Aeon, I gotta look out for myself. They locked me in a box with a rabid dog. I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to make it out of that box alive and unharmed.”

  Aeon saw something cold in her eyes when she said that. Something that told him that Sana was deadly serious.

  “Yeah, maybe we should be doing more to help the guy.” Aeon decided after a moment of silence.

  “I’m back! Are you feeling better?” Aeon asked optimistically as he reentered the apartment.

  Lulu lay in her usual place on the sofa, looking fatigued and miserable.

  A miserable expression stared back at him and his question hung in the air unanswered.

  Damn.

  “Have you eaten? Do you need anything? Are you comfortable?”

  Lulu shook her head wearily.

  What do I do? Aeon wracked his brain, desperate for an answer. Was she upset at him for leaving her behind while he went out with the others? Should he have stayed with her like he had offered to?

  Lulu had insisted that he go after it had become clear that she was too sick to leave the house.

  Accepting that decision was one that he now regretted.

  A new round of coughing broke the tension. Lulu too weak to move her hands to her mouth as frothy spittle began to foam at the edges of her mouth.

  He hurried to her side and retrieved a tissue from the box for her to cough the fluid into.

  The fit lasted longer than usual and Aeon felt the pit in his stomach grow.

  Once the coughing abated, he wiped her mouth clean with the tissue, then disposed of it.

  They sat together in silence for a while.

  “How was your day out?” Lulu eventually asked.

  “It was nice! Petal and Forger joined us. You should have seen them both.” He laughed nervously.

  “They were both super anxious at the start, but I think they eventually calmed down enough to enjoy the day. To be honest, they really don’t seem like the social type though so I don’t think they’ll be joining us much in the future.”

  Lulu listened.

  “Oh, and I bought some more chicken. I’ve put it in the food storage. The others all gave me a bunch of chaff for it even though I told them I wouldn’t use any more hot sauce. Whatever. Oh, and we bought some more clothes and we found this “arcade” place where you can play really old school games, like with balls and stuff.”

  He was rambling.

  Why was the mood so awkward? He could sense something unspoken hanging in the air but had no idea what it could be. Something was bothering Lulu.

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  “And how was Isla?” Lulu eventually asked once Aeon trailed off.

  “Good? Well no, grumpy, but that’s kinda normal for her now I think. Her new look is cool though.” He answered simply, caught slightly off guard by the question.

  “She’s single now.” Lulu whispered, not meeting Aeon’s eyes.

  Aeon didn’t reply for a moment.

  “Yeah. Anyway, I can make some food if you-”

  “Are you going to ask her out again?” Lulu interrupted.

  “I- uh… I don’t…” Aeon floundered. He composed himself then laughed. “That’s a bit out of the blue, why are you asking that?”

  Lulu finally looked at him, her expression impenetrable.

  “Well, everyone knows you have a thing for her. You’ve asked her out, what, like four times over the years.”

  “Five times.” Aeon corrected miserably.

  “Right. So like, isn’t now the best time to try again?” She pressed.

  “Are we really gonna talk about this?” Aeon pleaded half-heartedly.

  “Why not…?”

  Aeon sighed. “Fine then. Shift your feet.”

  Lulu pulled her feet back slightly to make room for him on the sofa and Aeon sat down in the opened space.

  He sighed deeply, dredging up buried emotions in the process.

  “Well first off. No, I’m not going to ask her out. I decided I wasn’t going to ever again.”

  “Why not?”

  Aeon turned to Lulu. It was the most energetic he’d seen her all day as she watched him intensely.

  Well, everyone loves a bit of drama. He supposed.

  “Just part of growing up I guess. In the medias, they talk about “the one that got away” and the romantic protagonists who keep up the chase until they get the girl. I used to be way into that stuff. I thought that was what it meant to be cool, y’know. Never giving up.”

  “Well anyway, every year I would ask on the same day. Valentines day. I thought it would be a cool date to have as an anniversary or something. And I liked the idea of the persistence of it. Five years in a row, that had to count for something right?”

  “Well it didn’t. And I didn’t really understand that until the final time. She'd already been with Lanc for over a year by that point and had figured out my annual gimmick ages ago, so she was expecting me.”

  “I heard what she told Lanc as I approached. She said, “ugh, give me a minute, I have to deal with this.””

  “Lulu, the look she gave me as I came up to her… I finally understood it from her perspective. I was being an absolute pest.”

  “And don’t get me wrong, she was never mean to me about it. She always turned me down respectfully. But the year before, the fourth time, she’d asked me not to ask her again.”

  “I told her, “no promises.” But I’d been joking, like it was some dumb inside joke and everyone knows I can be stubborn right, I thought she was in on it. But that look she gave me as I walked over. She was just… disappointed…”

  “She asked me not to do it, and I did it again anyway… for the fifth time.”

  Aeon sighed with regret and looked at the ceiling melancholically.

  “Well, it finally sunk in after that. I apologised to her the following week and told her seriously that I wouldn’t ask again. I wished her and Lanc the best. And that was that.”

  Lulu nodded slowly

  “Your turn, why do you want to know? Just being nosy?” Aeon asked, turning the attention back onto his partner.

  He wasn’t entirely surprised that she’d known about it all. He assumed that everyone in 37 knew the story to some degree of accuracy.

  “Well, I don’t know. I thought it might be a good time to ask her out, I guess.” Lulu answered weakly.

  “Nah. Disagree. You’re the only girl on my mind now Lulu.” Aeon teased.

  “Wait, really?” She asked with a cough, eyes widening in surprise.

  “Ah, not like that. I mean as partners! Besides, I’m not thinking about dating or anything of that stuff right now. Life is way too crazy.”

  Lulu deflated slightly. Had he said something wrong? He decided to change the subject.

  “Anyway, I really think you should eat something. We want to make sure you’re feeling well enough for class tomorrow so you need to eat and drink tonight!”

  “Aeon…” Lulu began to protest.

  “Do you want pasta or stew?” Aeon ignored, deliberately oblivious. He rose and started to walk to the kitchen.

  “Aeon!” Lulu called after him softly, halting him.

  He turned reluctantly.

  “I don’t think I can go to class tomorrow.” She confessed sullenly, eyes downcast.

  Aeon hesitated.

  “Withdrawal?” He asked.

  “It’s not that. Aeon I can’t breathe! And it’s getting worse. Just getting into the chair makes me exhausted and light headed. I’m worried I won’t even be able to talk soon.” She croaked out, tears falling upon her cheeks.

  The pit in his stomach sunk even deeper.

  “But, Ms Amelie said-” He started.

  “Aeon…” Lulu pleaded.

  He hated this discussion and the possibility that Lulu wouldn’t get better. That would just be too unfair.

  “My lungs are broken. They got so used to breathing tank fluid that they don’t know how to use air anymore. They overproduce fluid to try to reacclimatise but you can’t breathe mucus… only drown in it. I’m not going to get-”

  “Lulu! Please just eat some food tonight Ok?” He interrupted desperately. “Eat some stew and drink some water, and if you don’t feel well enough to go to class tomorrow that’s Ok. Just, please don’t talk about giving up on getting better. Everyone really missed you today.”

  He was doing it again. He couldn’t help himself.

  Lulu conceded and went quiet in defeat.

  “Good Morning Class VC37.”

  “Good Morning Ms Amelie.”

  Monday morning arrived like the tide, as it always would.

  Yaeh looked around the classroom and noted which seats were now empty.

  Lulu's empty seat, of course, wasn’t a surprise. Yaeh had been the one who had helped her bathe earlier in the morning. It should have been Isla’s turn but Isla was also suffering very badly from withdrawal and had pleaded for Yaeh to take over the responsibility.

  Lulu had cried, gasping for breath as Yaeh washed her hair. Poor girl.

  Next to her, Cecil seemed half asleep. Nightmares had shunted him back into wakefulness in the middle of the night and he’d been unable to fall back asleep. They hadn’t been lucid again since that first time, but he still had them every night.

  Her partner didn’t look good. He probably wasn’t going to be able to attend classes for much longer.

  The rest of 37 didn’t seem to be faring much better. Yaeh could see several heads propped up on weary hands and most eyes were banded by dark circles.

  Only week two. Yaeh thought to herself. The epicenter of their suffering still laid ahead.

  “Thank you all for attending.” Ms Amelie began. “I know that symptoms are getting pretty bad.”

  “Before I reveal the point tally for the first week of the project, please be aware of the following changes to point awarding going forwards. During the withdrawal period over the next few weeks, class attendance points will be significantly increased.”

  “To be specific, in addition to the standard points for attendance, there will be an additional large pool of attendance points each day that will be distributed evenly between all eligible students.”

  Meaning the fewer students make it to class each day, the more points are earned by those who do attend. Yaeh intuited.

  “I’ve also been made aware of a “mid-point” deadline this Friday for your partner assignments. An average of 50% completion must be achieved across all five partnerships on each floor. Deadline for submission will be midnight on Friday.” The teacher declared solemnly.

  Several outcries of indignant frustration came in response to the sudden deadline, while Yaeh worked on the numbers of the problem on a new page of her notes.

  I can get our project close to 100% by Friday, which should help carry the floor somewhat. Isla’s made good progress with hers, she should be able to reach at least 50-60% by the deadline. Sana and Aeon are falling behind slightly, but if I do some of the work for them it shouldn’t be an issue. I wonder how much work Petal and Forger have done?

  She wrote out the simple calculations on the page and was satisfied that the unexpected deadline shouldn’t prove too steep an obstacle.

  That didn’t seem to be the consensus of the other floors who were vocally contesting the abrupt decision.

  “Miss, that’s not fair!” A second floor girl argued.

  “Yeah, we’re nowhere near 50% yet, some people on my floor haven’t even started their projects!” Another second floor student shouted angrily.

  “Miss, what will happen if that deadline isn’t met?” Isla called out over the noise.

  Good question Isla. Yaeh approved silently.

  “Everyone, settle down. Firstly, this is a completely reasonable target, you should have all started work on the assignment already as this right now will be the easiest time for all of you to work efficiently, as your symptoms will only get worse over the next weeks. To those who haven’t started or aren’t on track for at least 50% completion, now is the time to knuckle down!”

  “As for the penalty. Floors who fail to submit on time will be docked points, with each duo being docked separately based on individual performance.” Ms Amelie explained calmly.

  So even on a failing floor, reaching 100% completion would mitigate the punishment for individual partnerships. Yaeh noted.

  To her side, Cecil watched her taking notes again.

  She often caught him watching as she scribbled her shorthand onto her tablet and wondered if he was trying to decipher it, or if he was just curious.

  His eyes fluttered closed. Probably not trying to decipher it. She decided fondly.

  The notes weren’t even that important. She was just practicing an old habit.

  The technique had been taught to her by one of her first mentors, back before she joined 37. When she was “special.”

  It was a mnemonic technique to aid with memory retention. The shorthand was designed to consolidate information and the act of writing it reinforced the memorisation.

  Yaeh was extremely rusty. She hadn’t done this since she was what… nine?

  But she figured that now was as good a time as any to brush off the old skill.

  The original plan had been to use them after graduating anyway.

  VC37 had been a wonderful reprieve from her intensive training. An oasis of normalcy that she had cherished every year of. But Yaeh had always been ambitious and the opportunities presented by her current situation were more than valuable enough to warrant going all out.

  “Well all of that aside. I’ll now announce the new point tally and class rankings.” Ms Amelie announced decisively in an effort to quell the still ongoing discourse in the class.

  She instructed the smartwall to display the new rankings.

  Yaeh had been waiting for this. More data. Vital data.

  The list of thirty names were projected by the wall.

  Yaeh scanned it.

  From her floor, the only people she really cared about, Petal and Forger had fallen significantly and were now in the bottom fifteen.

  Karkos and Hereon were both in the bottom five. No surprises there.

  Sana was ranked at 16 and Isla at 14. Nowhere near safe enough.

  Lulu, Cecil and Aeon had all ranked in the top 10, at 9, 5 and 4 respectively.

  Yaeh found her own name. She’d placed 3rd in the class. Higher than expected. She had assumed her muteness would have been penalised more severely. Interesting.

  In the top two spots, Lanc Misha and his partner Ea Karina.

  Isla wouldn’t be happy. Yaeh guessed that they must have been awarded milestones and she imagined that others would come to the same conclusion.

  The question would be of course, which milestones.

  She made quick notes of all of the rankings and point totals, then began to analyze her own point distribution which had just been received by her tablet.

  She found the patterns.

  So that’s the game. She realised, finishing a far more complicated set of calculations.

  Yaeh didn’t want to let the others in on what she was deducing about the project and its inner workings. For now she’d use whatever she could discover to steer and aid her allies to achieve their goals.

  She had already decided that she was going to help every member of the third floor who wanted to pass the year to pass.

  That would do for now.