Manipulate
Chapter Nine

Theo pushes himself off of his bunk. Before I know it, Theo has his hands around my stomach. He lifts me up and off of the bunk. My heart accelerates at Theo’s touch. I feel my face blushing.

“Thank you,” I manage to say without stuttering.

“You’re welcome,” Theo says.

I glance around the room. Everyone is either asleep or they’re talking in hushed, low voices.

Theo and I manage to sneak out of the dorm without anyone noticing us. “You’re sure that no one will notice that we’re gone?” I ask.

“Abhaya, are you always this cautious?” Theo asks.

“I can be in certain situations,” I say. I get a small chuckle out of him.

“Come on, I want to show you something. I found it last year,” Theo says. He motions for me to follow him. I follow Theo as he leads me around TID. Theo guides me by using my arm.

“How far away is it from here?” I ask.

Theo smiles. “We’re almost there. Promise,” he says.

Theo leads me to a door. He motions for me to open it. “Go ahead,” he says with a smile.

“As you insist,” I say. I open the door. A room filled with flowers and butterflies stand before me. “Wow,” I say. That is all I can say without losing my cool.

“Do you like it?” Theo asks.

“Like it? I love it. It’s amazing,” I gush, as I peek inside.

“Let’s go in then,” Theo says with a smile.

“So, you found this last year?” I ask, as I sit on a bench next to Theo.

“Yep. It was an accident though. I was bored and tired of everyone in the dorm being a bunch of idiots,” Theo explains as he stares at the fluttering butterflies.

“Does the whole dorm get in trouble a lot?” I ask as I stare down at the ground.

“Well, it depends on what they did. It happens frequently. I think that you’re one of Alia’s and Max’s favorites though,” Theo says, looking at me.

“What?” I ask, completely starstruck.

“Yep. Max and Alia have taken a liking to you. I can tell,” Theo says with a smile.

“Why do you say that?” I ask, returning a smile.

Theo runs a hand through his hair. He smiles and gives a slight chuckle. “Well, you do have good manners. You listen to them quite well. And you respect the adults here in TID, while everyone else doesn’t,” Theo says, while counting off the reasons on his fingers.

I feel my face start to blush. “Wow. No one has ever said those things about me,” I say, in complete awe.

Theo grabs my hand and squeezes it. “Why are you so skeptical of things people say?” Theo asks.

I suck in a breath. “It’s a personal thing. I have trust issues and I’m terrible at trusting people,” I explain.

“Okay. I respect that,” Theo says in surrender. I squeeze his hand, showing my gratitude.

Theo glances at the watch on his wrist. “It’s four o’clock. We have an hour and a half until dinner.”

“Okay. Thank you for letting me know,” I say. Theo smiles at me.

For the next half hour, Theo and I sit on the bench and talk. Theo’s hand is intertwined with mine. I can feel my heartbeat accelerate at his touch.

“Are you excited for the paintball game on Friday?” Theo asks, breaking the dead silence.

“Yeah. I’m really excited,” I respond. Theo smiles at me.

This is getting very awkward. And quickly.

At five Theo and I head back to the dorms. Theo’s hand is intertwined with mine as we walk back. Theo drops my hand at the dormitory door. “Thank you for showing me the garden,” I say, before we enter the dorm.

Theo stops. He looks at me. “You’re very welcome, Abhaya.”

I smile at Theo.

Theo opens the door. “After you,” he says, sweeping into a bow.

I chuckle as I sneak into the dorm. Theo follows, he shuts the door quietly.

I pull myself up onto my bunk and lay there until the bell rings for dinner. Later, the bell rings at five thirty for dinner.

“Hi, Abhaya!” Mia chirps.

“Hi, Mia,” I respond.

“Do you want to walk with me to dinner?” Mia questions.

“Sure,” I say with a smile.

Mia grabs my hand and leads me down the hallway, toward the cafeteria. We enter the cafeteria together. I catch a glimpse of Theo, before he gets sucked into a sea of people in the large crowd.

“Come on, Abhaya, let’s get in line,” Mia urges.

“Okay,” I agree.

Mia and I get in the long line, weaving around the tables and people. I grab Mia a tray off of the stack next to the line of food.

“Thank you, Abhaya. We need more people like you in this world.” Mia says.

I laugh softly at Mia’s comment. No one wants more of me. I cause trouble and pain wherever I go.