The Test Again

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CHAPTER 39: THE TEST AGAIN

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Charlotte found me at the gate on Wednesday.

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She didn't look tired. She didn't look soft. She looked like the person she had been when I first met her. The one with the unreadable expression and the unreadable eyes.

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"Walk with me," she said.

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It wasn't a question.

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I walked with her.

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We went to the park. The one with the rusted swings and the cracked slide and the bench with the knife-carved words. We sat on the bench.

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She didn't say anything. She just sat there and looked at the empty playground.

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"You've been different lately," she said.

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"Have I?"

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"You're letting people in."

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I didn't say anything.

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"You didn't used to. You used to stay at the edge. You used to watch. But now you're walking people home. You're sitting with them at lunch. You're showing up."

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"Is that bad?"

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She looked at me.

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"It's dangerous."

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"For who?"

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"For you."

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I didn't say anything.

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"You're the kind of person who cares," she said. "You pretend you don't. You pretend you're pragmatic. You pretend you don't want anything. But you do. You care about all of them. You care about Hana and Yuki and Ren and Mei."

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"And you?"

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She was quiet for a moment.

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"That's the test," she said.

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"What test?"

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"You have to figure out if you care about me too."

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"Why?"

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"Because if you don't, this doesn't work."

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"What doesn't work?"

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She looked at me.

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"Whatever this is."

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She stood up.

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"Let me ask you something," she said.

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"Okay."

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"If I left tomorrow. If I disappeared. If I stopped showing up at the gate and sitting at the convenience store and watching you from across the room. Would you care?"

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I looked at her.

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"Yes."

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She stared at me. For a long moment. Longer than I had ever seen her stare at anything.

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Then she turned and walked away.

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I sat on the bench and watched her go.

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I didn't know what I had passed. I didn't know what I had failed.

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But I noticed.

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She had asked the question the way someone asks a question they don't want the answer to. 6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbQGAI58J4

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