"Wow, there, young lady." Tammuz skipped off the sofa to his legs. He was about half-as-tall as Diana.

"Do you intend on saying that this is one of those forged documents for which I have hypothetically signed, and now, I am-bound- to- it- for- life-kinda schist?"

"Actually, Mr. Jones-"Diana grabbed a thick, crimson dossier lying on the beige tablecloth and flipped through it, involuntarily.

"Did I tell you that you are still minors? And that, according to the latest amendment of the American Constitution, 'minors shall be subjected to the obstinate control of the parents. Any delinquency of the judgement of the parent shall hereby cause strict punishment to the minor.'"

Diana withdrew five envelopes from the folder, yellowing with age and smelling like antique parchment, and handed one of them to Tammuz. He ripped the seal clean and shuffled a sparkling-white sheet of paper out.

"Read it, Mr. Tammuz. You shall really need it."

Tammuz shot her a distasteful glance as he unfolded the paper with shivering palms. The violent change in his emotions perturbed everybody in vicinity; everybody except Diana.

He handed over the piece of paper back to Diana, for which she declined.

"Ah, no, Mr. Jones. But I'd rather please if you could read the letter out for your soon-to-be comrades here too."

Tammuz nodded. His dark hair was clumped to his scalp with the sweat. He fumbled with the words.

"I, Tristan Dominic Jones and my wife, Margaret Laura Jeanne Jones, parents of minor resident of the United States of America, Tam..Tammuz Dominic Jones hereby agree to the terms and principles of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and solemnly pledge to admit our ward to the institute the day he shall be chosen by the Cognizance Department of the Institute of Noetic Sciences. Shall we restrain from keeping our word-"

Tammuz stopped. He glanced at Diana for some help, which her indifferent demeanour easily declined. "Go on, Mr. Jones."
Tammuz averted his attention to the crowd of students around her, their bright eyes full of excitement. He had to avert his concentration to the paper again.

"Our hands and..and-"

Instantly, a frame of a hand covered in lactose flesh snatched the agreement from him.

"Our hands shall be chopped and our tongues shall be knotted up, for there shall be no use of the same."

Grimaces and winces flushed throughout the room as Alex aloofly handed over the piece of parchment back to Tammuz, who accepted it with trembling hands.

"Thank you, Alex." Diana shot her a peeved glare, which she ignored.

"So, I just presented the example of Mr. Jones right before you. I could elaborate on any one of you as easily as well." She fluttered the four other envelopes carelessly. "And shall you feel that the signatures are forged or forcibly taken-"She flipped her personal screen out of the pocket. "You are free to contact your parents any time."

Silence reigned over the room. She happens to be a friend of mine too. Time may give you noise, time may give you silence, time may give you joy, time may give you pain. What matters is how well you accept them and shunt complaining over them. Because, my dear friend, you are mortal, and time is far beyond your control. Why waste it pondering over what would have or should have when you can correct what will be at the moment? Please. Do not mess with your future tense by griping about the past. I have seen the worst happen to people only because of this abstraction of mine. And, when I say I have seen it, I mean that I have seen it. You cannot challenge its authenticity. I am as old as time, kid.

Diana sighed. "I know it's quite a massive decision to take at the moment, and I also know that being merely teenagers, it's going to be all the more challenging. But, ah, since the punishment for delinquency of the pact shall be affected on your parents, I don't believe you'd need a minute of it to mull over. Yet, I give you 24 hours. 24 hours and I want your final decision, do you get me? Your time starts now."

Diana wiped her coffee-stained lips and strode out of the room.

Tammuz retired to the couch.

"You okay, kid?" Danny asked him. He managed a weak nod.

"It is your entire fault!" Dustin flounced up at Alex, who recoiled in bewilderment. "You and your bloody blood-relative."

"Huh!" She advanced again. "My fault! Or is it just you looking for plausible reasons every time to mortify me because you can't do that in class? How chivalrous of you, Dustin Martinez!"

"Believe it or not, but it is your fault." Dustin pointed at her. "Now don't you feign not knowing the fact that you didn't know about your sister's heading at the Cognizance Department."

"So did you expect me to go on telling and re-telling and re-retelling that My sister's job is to find out hidden wackos who happen to make flowers bloom?"

"You should have at least told me!" Ash shrieked at her. Everybody fell silent. All the six other pairs of eyes in the room placed themselves on the duo.

"All these years, Alexandra Rehannus Derevonshire, and you refrain from telling your best friend that she was destined to do something she didn't even know existed!"

"I didn't know anything about this!" Alex confessed. "Okay, I knew about the Institute, but that is it! I didn't even know that Diana was coming here to recruit people!"

"So you did know that she was in the Department that recognises neural potential?" Ash questioned. Alex nodded.

"And never, did you once tell me that your sister was employed in a Magical Institution?"

"And never, do you think that I would like to keep certain things confidential? That I would like to maintain my privacy!"

"Um, sorry for the intervention guys." Danny called out from one corner. He was seated on the table, and was clutching the parchment from one of the envelopes. "I am least interested to interrupt this highly interesting debate. But a few seconds of respite won't hurt."

He advanced towards Alex, who flinched. Danny Martinez had a way of imposing superiority over the other's, even if he flipped his hair, rubbed his eyes or let's say it, dug his nose. Staring at Alex was something too dangerous.

"Can you tell me, Alex, that who happens to be Allison?" Instinctively, she shot him a malevolent stare, which he returned.

"She..she.. was just a..person. Why are you so concern-" As she tried to snatch the envelope, Danny deftly hid it in his inner flaps.

"Just a person whose name is mentioned as your parents' 'ward' in the agreement that was supposed to be for you?" He retrieved the piece of paper and held it before Alex and the rest of the crowd to see. Surely, below the names of Allen Derevonshire and Cassandra Derevonshire was written Allison Derevonshire, a name, Alex feared, would never be brought to question.

"And look at the year of the signature," Danny pointed. "How old were you in 2065, Alex? -7 years?"

"I prefer to keep certain things confidential." Alex repeated. Her knuckles were white and her face was as blank as a piece of new parchment.

"Well, if we are going to be colleagues, after today, then we ought to know certain things about each other, don't we?"

"You don't!"

And with this, she slammed the door in their faces.

"Were we harsh?" Ash asked.

"Harsh?" Dustin asked, incredulously. "We asked her a simple question, and she refused to answer it. I honestly wonder, what is there in her past that she fears so damn much."

.......................................................................***.............................................................

Alex unbolted her dormitory as she marched in. She threw herself on the couch adjacent to the window, and peeped outside the window at the starry sky illumined like a gazillion lanterns flying high.

Her past. She had forced it into oblivion before she came to Lincoln High. And now, 10 years later, it faced her like an old enemy. Fragments of her bygone days began re-etching themselves in her memory.

Allison is dead...There, kiddo, follow me.....Hunt for Alex, she couldn't go anywhere......This is going to be your new home.....I am your, um, sister, okay?....You have to forget who you are and start anew....You have to be strong...

She bumped her head on the window-sill. She couldn't let those thoughts set in. Not again. She wiped her moistened eyes. She had to be strong.

Thousands of pieces of an unfinished jigsaw puzzle began rearranging themselves. No matter how hard she tried to parry it away, they reformed themselves.

Alex stood up and strode out. I need some air.

............................................***...........................................

Alex traipsed down the winding, cobblestoned paths which sparkled in the weak starlight. As she kicked a fragment of rubble ahead, she sighed as she found her ultimate destination.

A tiny pool, not larger than your bedroom, but way deeper than it gleamed in the shadow of the stars. Around it, for some miles, there was no New York. No hustle-bustle of the car-pods hovering over your heads, no sky-high towers piercing the clouds and no city-lights penetrating the pupils of your eyes. Instead, there were minor elevations with even surfaces covered with grass and stunted trees lining the horizon.

The prime reason behind Alex's agreement in joining Lincoln High was this particular spot. For ten years, whenever she felt confined, or upset, or felt a blast of neural potential she couldn't control, she would run to here, and suddenly, everything would be just fine. She would forget everything that had ever happened to her, and move on. But, could the place work its magic today?

Alex dug her palms further into the pockets of her jacket as chill swept past her. As she stared into the blueness of the pond mirroring the network of stars over her, a viscous voice interrupted her.

"Funny things, stars."

Alex wasn't prepared for this. She whirled about in shock, only to cringe in annoyance. Dustin had his hands in the pockets of his black sweatshirt. The weak wind ruffled his hair and vapours escaped his withered lips.

Just as Alex was about to cross paths with him and leave, he flung his hand and grabbed her wrist. Her face paled as she tried to break herself free, but failed. Dustin was too strong for her.

"Okay, stop now." He did not let go. "Jeez, Alex! I am here for my reasons, you're here for yours. I mean, I can stand standing close to you. You don't smell, you know. And, let's face it, neither do I."

Alex finally managed to set her wrist free and rubbed it as it throbbed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"Dustin began.

"There are certain things which we don't mean to do, but we do." Alex stared into the water, once again. "Intentionally or unintentionally."

Dustin sighed, he stared at the sky. "So, I was talking about the stars."

"Yeah, you called them funny." Alex gazed downwards; she could still see the stars in the pool. "Why so?"

"Because, they are such-such tiny glow-worm thingies, and yet, they shine for billions and billions of years."

Alex shook her head disdainfully. She would have sassed him with science, but his expression suggested that he didn't want any of it. She kept quiet.

"I am here for a reason, Alex." Dustin didn't look at her. "None of us, neither me, nor Danny, and I'm sure neither you, have lived a great past. I am here to narrate my story; I want you to narrate yours."

Alex still kept quiet.

"When Danny and I were five, our father, a fighter-pilot by profession, was killed in Israelite explosions. After that, our mother lost interest in the world. She would just act like those weirdos, who would just stare out of the window and not eat anything, et cetera, et cetera. It didn't take her long to leave us as well. After that, all my relatives seized all our will, and left us to die. Except my aunt. She had undergone a miscarriage, and divorced our uncle. So, she took us to her house and kept us just as if we were her own. Later on, she was compelled to send us here. I meet her in the vacations. So, my life's practically sweeter now. "

"I see." Alex replied.

"I want to know yours, too." He replied bluntly.

"Look, Dustin." Alex finally faced him. "I know that you live a great life now, and it's really sweet that you are so concerned about my life. But, the thing is, that all I have ever wanted is to forget it. And recalling the entire story, in a way, will never help me do so."

"If this is it, then I won't pressurize you." Dustin pressed his lips together. "But, just try it once, Alex! If you don't feel better, fine then. You go your way, and I'll go my way. But, at least try! We all need to make our decisions, and unless we learn about Allison, we won't know the right thing to do!"

Alex nodded slightly. What if it actually felt better? Dustin was right. She could give it a try.

"A long time ago-"Her voice quavered. "There was this girl, who called herself Allison Derevonshire. And, she was this quintessence of immaculacy. There was nothing which she could not do perfectly, and her parents were proud of her than anyone else. They enlisted her for the IONS, and she was supposedly the youngest member to join the institute at the age of 14 only. Later on, her trait was discovered. Divinity, the property of foreboding, one of the rarest gifts a noetic could ever possess. However, just as all good things do, she ended. There was this violent detonation of a portal they were trying to construct, and with the detonation, she-just-disappeared. "

Silence likes these people.

"Allison's death caused havoc in the family. The family declined to send their second daughter to the IONS, fearing the same fate as Allison's. However, the IONS needed a member of the bloodline for some..task. So, Diana Helaine, the Head of the Cognizance Department went to their house, and kidnapped the second daughter in the broad hours of daylight. She brought her to New York, declared herself to be her sister and asked her to forget her past."

Silence sure has a thing for them.

"So, this was a gist of my past, minus the intricate details."

Dustin nodded, "Better?"

Alex almost smiled, "You think you're gonna let me say that?"