Like they had done in the past, both turned right when they hit the balcony, and right again to walk down the mostly secret hallway. It had become habit to check out the blackboards in Mr. Today’s office every now and then. As they passed the door that led to the Museum of Large, Alex glanced at it, longing to go in again and explore.
Samheed noticed the look. “What’s in there, anyway?” he asked. “Have you ever been in there? I tried the door once, but it’s locked.”
Alex just shrugged, not wanting to lie, and not knowing if he could tell Samheed the truth.
The glass wall was never in place anymore, but Alex was always cautious, sticking his foot out to make sure.
Samheed laughed softly. “I ran into that thing once too, you know. If you throw a scatterclip or an origami dragon down the hall, you can tell if it’s up without having to inch along like that.”
Alex sniffed. “I don’t like to waste my components.”
“Suit yourself. You look like a dork, though.”
They entered Mr. Today’s office and pulled chairs up to the blackboards, watching not much of anything in the dark. Alex knew that Mr. Today wouldn’t mind them sitting in here watching. Not now. Not anymore. It was much less scary not having to worry about Mr. Today discovering them, Alex had to admit.
“I liked what you said at the assembly,” Samheed said after a while. “I think you were right. What the heck happened to make Sean Ranger even ask that question? That didn’t seem like him.”
“I thought that was weird too, but he’s been acting strange lately. Did you see him take off out of the theater after the meeting? He went straight for the gate and into Quill,” Alex said as the blackboard focused on Aaron’s old room. A new boy was there now, but Alex couldn’t make out any features in the dark. “I think he and Meghan got gutted hard when they went to see their parents. Meg has seemed really preoccupied ever since they did that.”
“Huh,” Samheed said. “Meg told me once that when Sean was first Unwanted, her mother wandered around for a couple of years with a vacant look on her face, like she was having trouble getting over Sean. But she didn’t have that same look for Meghan when she and Sean went back home to see them.”
“Yeowch,” Alex said. “She told me they seemed glad to see Sean. But her . . . not so much.”
“That’s pretty brutal. And a little too familiar.”
Alex gave Samheed a sidelong look in the glow of the blackboards and the soft night lighting of the office. “Did your mother ever come back?”
“No. And I’m glad. I hope she . . . I hope she never does.”
“Would you talk to her?”
“No.” Samheed ripped his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know. Maybe. Would you talk to your parents?”
Alex thought for a long moment. “Yes. But my parents won’t come. They’ll be on Aaron’s side forever. He told me he never wanted to see them again, but that won’t matter to my parents. They are Necessaries who want to be Wanteds. They’ll starve to death before they come to our side. That’s just the way they are.”
They sat for a moment in silence.
“Hey, who’s the new guy in Aaron’s room?” Samheed asked.
“I dunno.”
“Maybe Mr. Today is focusing on a different Wanted now. Spooky.”
Alex sat up and leaned forward. “Do you think so?”
“No, not really. It’s the same angle as before, and yeah, look,” he said, pointing at the knots of wood in their familiar places. “It’s the same door. I think we both have that dumb door memorized.”
Alex laughed. “Yes. I bet Mr. Today still has my 3-D drawing. It would be funny to go in and scare the new kid.”
Samheed smiled evilly. But then he turned back to the blackboards. He wasn’t about to be the bad guy again. “I wonder where Aaron is. Do you know?”
“No.” Alex jiggled his foot. “And I don’t like not knowing. It makes me nervous.”
“I know. Me too.”
They watched a moment more, seeing only a few unidentifiable people walking along the road. Alex squinted, trying to see if one was Aaron, but he couldn’t be sure. A couple passed by, but all Alex could detect was an older woman with a young man of average height. It looked like Sean Ranger’s profile’and was that his mother? He peered closer, but soon they walked out of sight. Alex sighed.
Samheed drummed the arm of his chair with his fingers. He stood up. “There’s nothing happening. I’m going to get food.”
“Yeah.” Alex got to his feet too and followed Samheed out. The two wandered back to the balcony and down the stairs. Alex looked at the empty spot where Simber used to stand. It was strange not having Simber to guard the mansion door at night. Impulsively Alex said, “I’m going for a walk. See you in the morning.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Alex went outside and stood at the seashore for a few moments, feeling the salty spray and tasting it on his lips. He sucked in an enormous breath and let it out as he thought about Arija, and about Mr. Today up on the stage, and the strange but welcome surge of electricity that had pulsed through him. It was still there, that feeling. It was like he’d been sick for so long he forgot what feeling well was like. But today, he remembered. He felt like running and doing push-ups. Instead he turned and jogged past the mansion toward the gate.