Inception - Ascension Paradox, Book 1
Copyright© 2023 by L.R. Thornton
Chapter 30
Hours later, although to Ray it seemed like days, the professor threw his hands up in the air. “Well, if at first you don’t succeed, eat something.”
“That’s not how the saying goes,” Amy said although lines of disappointment had marked her face as well.
“It does for me.” He patted his belly. “It’s getting harder to think on an empty stomach.”
Ray shook his head slightly. Hanging out with the Amy and the professor and the rest of the eggheads for the past three days had been somewhere between a relief and a curse. After all his reading, he thought he was conversant in all of this. Their knowledge had reached a level where only one of their own kind understood what they were saying.
But it helped to past the time. He wasn’t alone though he spent a lot of time by himself. The university had a gym and using the professor’s key, he worked out for several hours a day while Amy went to class or assisted the professor.
Dylan and Jessie hadn’t contacted him since the VEX convention. He had called numerous times and had left text messages with them. He knew they received his text messages from the read receipt that popped when they accessed the message. He’d called Matthias again and asked him to check the front door and things hadn’t changed since the last time.
Should he go back home now? Was it safe? Staying with Amy was only a temporary solution. After all, he agreed with Professor Lawton. Whoever had set him up had to be shady and he’d rather get shot again then have something awful happen to his little cousin.
“Well,” Amy stretched, “I have a date tonight, so I’m calling it a day.”
“With Castle?” He asked, frowning.
“Yes, with Adrian,” Amy’s right eye twitched. “And no, he’s not once asked me about C. A. D. I., the professor, or anything like that.”
“Amy,” he groaned.
“You’re going out with Adrian Castle?”
Mark Berry’s voice had risen an octave.
Amy chin lifted in defiance. “Yes. Is there a problem, Mr. Berry?”
Tension crackled in the room and Ray wondered what the man would say. He recalled the rage that had flared from the man’s eyes at VEX. He’d almost come to blows with Castle. There had to be some reason for it. Thinking of the information Dwayne had uncovered, Mark had to know what Castle had been accused of stealing.
The professor touched Mark’s arm. Ray saw the professor give Mark a slight shake of his head. Mark’s shoulders slumped as he said, “No, there’s no problem.”
Amy sniffed but a bit of her bluster went away. “Good.” She rubbed her hands together and then asked, “Jillian. C. A. D. I. You want to come back to my place and help me pick out a dress?”
Oh no! Jessie used to have her friends come over whenever there was some kind of occasion she had to get dressed for. They’d spend hours picking out a dress, arranging make-up or hair. Shoes were the worst. Jessie had so many he’d joke they could open up a shoe store for size 8 feet only. Forbidden to enter his bedroom, he and Dylan would go somewhere and hang out until it was time to see her off.
Amy, off and on, had been a part of ‘Jessie’s Getting Dressed’ confabs. He groaned.
“I’m not really good at that sort of thing,” Jillian answered. “Not sure how much help I could be.”
“I don’t understand why you would need me to help you dress.” C. A. D. I. said.
“Oh c’mon, you two! It’s what some girls do when they have dates! My cousin used to have me over and we’d have so much fun trying on different dresses and stuff.”
How could she call all that fun?
“Perhaps I should help the professor.” Jillian glanced over at the old man, a hopeful look in her eyes but it was a lost cause. He and Mark’s head were bent over something or other that demanded their full attention.
“Oh c’mon! We’re going. You too, C. A. D. I. Learn how we women bond.”
“Bond?” C. A. D. I. repeated.
“Yes.” Amy took Jillian’s wrist in one hand and C. A. D. I.’s in the other. “C’mon, Ray. You’re driving.”
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