Chapter 29 #2
“My turn, my turn,” McKenna said, practically leaping onto the dais.
Dani returned to her seat at the end of the couch to watch her friend fall under the store’s spell, but only a fraction of her mind was present in the room.
There was a soreness somewhere near her solar plexus—because when she’d been up there on the dais, feeling like royalty in that dress, she could only think about one thing: the look on Kass’s face if he could see her in it.
The rest of the weekend slipped away quietly, like a sugar cube dissolving in a cup of Earl Grey, and the calendar flipped its invisible page to December at last. Dani spent the time she wasn’t working in the library, occasionally joined by Oliver, but McKenna disappeared with Gingerbread into the forest for the duration of the weekend, with the vague explanation that she needed to prepare for the gala.
A cold front moved in on Sunday night, and Monday morning found the six of them back in the dream lab, teeth practically chattering from the chill and from anxiety—this was their final meeting, the gala only four days away.
The event was being hosted at the university’s art museum, and Professor Silva expected it to be both well attended and highly publicized.
With the plan already in place, Silva used their time together to comb through it, getting granular with each person’s role and possible backup scenarios.
Oliver, having had decent success with the concoctions they’d been making from the graft, insisted they were up to going into OneiroLabs with Wyatt.
When it came to Dani, she was pleased to learn her task was blessedly simple: keep the rest of the team apprised of every move Dr. Rodriguez and her father made at the gala.
“If they happen to speak to you, that’s fine,” Silva said. “Maintain your story of writing an article for the paper. But you don’t need to go out of your way to talk to them.”
This was the first time since she’d joined the project that Dani’s mission didn’t involve using her power in some way, which was cause for relief.
It was true she’d gotten more comfortable with actively using her ability—even curious about it—but calling on it in high-pressure situations was still nerve-wracking.
She was happy to play the role of observer and communicator, with the heavier burdens shouldered by the others.
Especially now that she knew about Kass and his family.
“I’ll be at the gala as well,” Silva said. “We can be seen speaking to each other, but we shouldn’t acknowledge each other beyond our relationship as professor and student. You’ve had me in your introductory course, that’s it, should anyone ask.”
She turned to McKenna next. “Miss Amari, we have never met, though Miss Lionet can introduce us if the need arises. As for your diversion, I understand you’ll need a bit of time to ensure everything is in place at the gala.
You shouldn’t be the subject of much scrutiny there, so you can excuse yourself when you need to. ”
“Is there an exit from the side garden?” McKenna asked. “I’ll need to be able to leave the premises.”
Silva nodded. “Yes, there’s a gate that acts as a fire exit. I’ve already checked that it isn’t alarmed.”
“What exactly are you planning on doing?” Katya asked McKenna.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” McKenna said mysteriously.
“Suffice it to say that it will be ideally disruptive,” Silva added. Katya let out an irritated huff, but she didn’t press the point.
The professor continued through the rest of the night beat by beat, minute by minute, until they all had it memorized. Then, when there was really nothing more to be said other than to repeat herself, Silva found her favorite spot on the edge of the desk and surveyed them.
“I just want to say that I know it’s been a challenging month together,” she said, “and there have been bumps in the road. But overall, you five have impressed me with not only your skills but your persistence. When I selected you for this project, I did so because I saw something special in you, and each one of you has repaid my trust handsomely.” Wyatt shifted on his cot, perhaps waiting for her to make an exception for him, but the professor kept going.
“Friday night will pose our greatest test yet—but I have every confidence in the team we’ve built and the plan we’ve created.
If we stick together, overcommunicate, and remain on the same page”—here her eyes did flick, briefly, to Wyatt—“I believe we’ll be able to pull this off. Any last questions?”
Dani glanced around the room at her teammates.
She had complicated feelings about this set of people—McKenna and Oliver, obviously, were her friends, and Katya was coming closer to something amicable.
Wyatt, though … she definitely didn’t like him, but she couldn’t find it in herself to hate him, either, not even after what had happened with Kass.
It wasn’t how she’d wanted things to go down, but she couldn’t dump all the responsibility in Wyatt’s lap.
It was her fault for not coming clean to Kass or breaking up with him sooner.
No, she didn’t unequivocally love or even like all of them, but she realized as her eyes glided from face to face that she did kind of trust them, including Silva.
She didn’t think Wyatt would go rogue again, and knowing the professor would actually be there on the ground with them this time was a form of reassurance.
It wasn’t to say Dani wouldn’t be eaten alive by anxiety in these days leading up to the gala since there were still plenty of things that could go wrong—but she felt like these people had her back, and that wasn’t nothing.
“Very well,” Silva said when no one volunteered a question. “We won’t be meeting again before the gala, but you can of course always reach me through Miss Novak’s app.
“And because I don’t say it enough,” she added as everyone rose to leave, “thank you. And please—be safe. Until Friday.”