Kim wasn't sure what she hoped to accomplish. Mostly, she wanted to see Sek—the closest thing to a parent she ever had. Outside of that, she just wanted to be away from her mother.

  ?"I'm sorry about them not telling you," Jill said. She seemed sincere. But Kim was seventeen and having none of it. She just nodded and looked out the window.

  ?"I want to walk," she told Jill.

  ?Jill started saying something, but Kim didn't care. As soon as she was in sight of the town, she took off her seatbelt and jumped out of the moving car. She landed perfectly on the sidewalk, rolling with a grace she didn't know she possessed, then took off at a run. When she was sure she had lost Jill, she slowed to a walk. The people around her were staring.

  ?Alden was technically a city, but a very small one. Most people knew each other. To Kim's credit, most people were used to seeing Kim run. Kim loved to run.

  ?She found herself at the McDonald's near her high school. Inside were groups of teenagers she knew. All of her closest friends were at college now.

  ?It was Sam who rushed out to see her. Sam was on the periphery of her friend group. She was the Grade 10 version of Kim: pretty, popular, and athletic. As if a clone, Sam was also from a wealthy family.

  ?Kim should have been happy to see the girl. Her other friends were gone, and her life was in shambles. Sam should've been the person she was happiest to see. But looking at her now, she looked plastic and smelled of chemicals, with a trace of something Kim associated with death.

  ?"Kim!" she screamed. "I heard such terrible things!"

  ?Kim just pushed past her, avoiding the hug.

  ?"Don't touch me," she heard herself say.

  ?If she had paused, she would've seen the look on Sam's face. If she cared, she would've paid attention to the boys laughing and snickering at Sam's rejection.

  ?Kim couldn't bring herself to care. She had always been a social climber, anxious about people's thoughts and feelings. But she couldn't even imagine why she would care about this person's feelings now. She certainly couldn't understand why she would risk getting that stink on her. Sam started prattling on to her friends, but Kim simply tuned it out. To her surprise, Kim didn't have an ounce of anxiety.

  ?Sam returned to her group like a hyena returning to its pack. Kim saw among them familiar faces but wanted nothing to do with them. They all seemed to be made of plastic. The girls were slathered in makeup, the boys in hair products, all pretending to be friends to cover teenage lust and anxiety. All pretense and hypocrisy. Whatever she saw in people like that before, she was disgusted by now.

  ?In the back of the restaurant, she saw one person she was happy to see. One person who looked real among a sea of plastic. That person was Macy.

  ?Kim had tutored Macy in math last year. She was a sweet kid. Wore a lot of sweaters, probably to cover up her down play her insecurities about her well endowed upper body. Macy was smirking in Kim's general direction. Kim took that as an invitation.

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  ?Kim went to her table where Macy was sitting with a boy Kim couldn't quite place. "Hi," she said.

  ?Macy looked up, smiling brightly. "Oh, Girl, you're joining us!" Macy insisted in her characteristically bold tone. Macy was always unapologetically herself. Something Kim always appreciated, but more now than ever.

  ?"Kim!" she shouted and opened her arms wide. Macy and her hadn't been on the “hug level” of friendship. But Macy hated Sam. So she hugged Kim.

  ?"How are you?" she asked as Kim sat down.

  ?"I needed to get out of my house."

  ?Macy shrugged at the strange response. "Welcome to our abode. I'm Macy, I'll be your host," she said with a comedic flourish. "This is Adam. He will be joining us. Can I interest you in any of this gourmet junk food?" She motioned to the menu board. "100 times better tasting than hospital food. Though there is a slight chance it could put you back there."

  ?Kim laughed at Macy's humor. She even recognized Adam from school. He was in the D&D club. Kim knew that because her friends used to tease them relentlessly. The people at the table with Sam probably still did.

  ?Kim had never bullied other kids. But she never stopped her friends from doing it, or protested at all. Sitting here, she could see her old self like a stranger down a distant hallway. Adam wasn't plastic either. But he was far more reserved than Macy. Almost like he was her shadow. More a pray animal, she caught herself thinking. But brushed away the thought.

  ?They made an odd couple. Adam had long black hair that was a bit greasy. He was reserved, more likely to ignore abuse than lash out. No one went after Macy. She was pretty—a little chubby, but ample breasts made up for it. But it was her rapier wit that kept the bullies at bay.

  ?"Hi," Adam reluctantly acknowledged as she sat down.

  ?"Hi," Kim returned. "Am I interrupting?"

  ?"Kind of, but you pissed off the Bitch Squad with that entrance, so the entertainment more than makes up for the intrusion," Macy answered reassuringly.

  ?"You look real good for someone who was just eaten," Adam said bluntly.

  ?"Adam!" Macy snapped.

  ?"Don't," Kim interrupted her defence. She deserved at least a bit of shit from Adam for interrupting. "Macy, it's been like a month of people tiptoeing around my feelings. I don't want anyone else to start."

  ?"I don't know what happened, if I'm honest. I remember being attacked by something. I couldn't tell you what. Then I was awake. In a hospital bed. Physio and surgeries and here I am," she lifted her arms in a shrug to present herself. "And well, it's been weird since."

  ?"Weird?" Macy cocked an eyebrow.

  ?"I don't know how else to explain it. I have some brain injuries. I'm on meds."

  ?Macy nodded and put a comforting hand on Kim's shoulder while eating french fries with the other.

  ?"We're Gen X kim. We're all on meds," she said supportively. "It would be weird if you weren't."

  ?The restaurant was a wash of chemical smells and else. Something that felt more like an enmity. Her smells, her sounds—some part of Kim stayed focused on her.

  ?Macy had decided that the conversation needed to take a different direction. Dutifully, she started talking about school and town gossip while Adam sipped Coke, both going back and forth to their phones occasionally.

  ?Adam surprised Kim. "You ok?" he asked.

  ?Kim looked at her reflection in the window. A look of disgust was firmly planted on her face.

  ?"I'm sorry. Since the attack, I just have a hard time with perfumes and other things. It's fine, I'll be fine," she reassured.

  “Park?” Macy ordered as much as she asked.

  “Mace it's cold out their.” Adam complained.

  “I know but that's where the swings live! And plus I'm going to be there with Kim.”

  Adam sighed. Kim practically jumped out of the chair. “Yes please.”

  As they left Kim's eyes wandered over to Sam again; who was staring daggers at her. All the kids smelled of chemicals. But it was Sam alone who smelled of chemicals and death.

  From the exit she could hear Sam had started talking on her cellphone.