Tophat Society

Curious and Curiouser

Miss Zyan, before we continue, can you confirm you are indeed telling the truth?
What's it to you?
You wouldn't like us very much if things got out of hand.
I don't like you much now.
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Hands grabbed at my waist and hauled me from the ground. I screamed but they mingled with the other screams, leaving mine unheard.

"Let me go!" I growled, trying to sound intimidating.

My shrieks and polka dot bow might have ruined the image, because whoever was holding me wasn't running in a fit of fear.

"You're not making my job any easier," a guy muttered.

"You don't understand! It wasn't me! It was that...that bunny!" I wailed, immersed in my hysterics.

"Shush, they might hear you."

Shock hammered away at my hysteria until I was basically paralyzed. I was being kidnapped. From my own school. And that stupid rabbit couldn't even save me.

(Please let it be noted that I did not actually like the bunny but after knowing said creature for at least 15 minutes, I expected some sort of loyalty.)

My feet touched the ground again and I exhaled from relief.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, trying to hold back my tears. My heart was threatening to leap out of my chest and my voice hitched when I saw the rivers of blood-from where the glass had hit-running down my arm.

"Look, calm down. I promise you I'm not the bad guy. Or at least the worst guy." I finally looked up. My kidnapper had blond floppy hair which some would consider cute (I'm one of those some, dammit!) and the kind of lean physique track stars have. Something told me that this guy spent a lot of time running. Away. What captured me were his eyes. Eyes that promised mischief and mystery with a dash of magic.

What they weren't promising me was a trip back home.

He surveyed me for a few minutes and I didn't know whether to feel offended or really offended.

"You seem human," was his final verdict.

"Yeah, ok," I mumbled. What does one say to that? 'Thanks, I get that a lot.'

Just when it began to seem as normal as a kidnapping could get, bullet shots rang through the air. My heart begged for it to be police, but something told me law enforcement wasn't going to start randomly shooting. Just a guess.

"I'm Jack, by the way." Before I could inform him it probably wasn't the time for introductions, he'd disappeared.

And I thought the bunny was bad.
I curled up and sunk to the ground.

What was I doing here? No one knew of my mother, so that couldn't be the reason. No one knew of my mother yet.

A soft kick to my stomach made me look up.

"Where is he?"

I started to sob. I'd give anything to see the grotesque presence of Mr. Dolte again. Instead, I was in the company of people who kicked crying girls.

"Bring her back. I'll scope out the place."

Someone carried me in their arms as I smothered snot and tears on their uniform. Hope they knew I wasn't going to pay for dry cleaning. In fact, in my mind this day had never happened.

I hadn't spent the better half of the day yelling at animals and sobbing in front of strangers. Nope, that didn't happen.

I'd ignored my surrounding for long enough but I couldn't be bothered to move from my position. My arms were too heavy, my legs were too heavy, but my mind....my mind was light, as if it was floating.

For once in my life, I didn't feel crazy.

I felt numb.
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