SECRET (UNDER EDITING)

Chapter 3

HAZEL

My mind is occupied as I linger behind Ivy and Fern who pay at the checkout. After the events of last night, we had decided to spend the afternoon for what Ivy refers to as "retail therapy". Despite endless browsing and the gradual depletion of my savings, I couldn't quite shake off the feeling that we're being watched.

Oh my God Hazel you're just being paranoid. I shake my head and make my way to sit at an empty booth, playing with my hands as I do so. I can't help but look around every few seconds to make sure that no creepy faces were peering at me or my friends. At an attempt to distract myself, I try and solve a Sodoku puzzle on my phone.

"You're doing it wrong."

I jump at Fern's sudden voice. Ivy laughs as she sits opposite with a tray of food with Fern sliding in beside me. I shoot her an exasperated look and without commenting, hand her the phone. Within a few minutes she hands it back, the puzzle perfectly solved.

"Are you sure you're not a robot?" I remark, shaking my head as she begins to nibble at her fries.

"Positive."

I smile and just watch the contents of Ivy's food rapidly disappearing one by one. The girl always had an enormous appetite, and I constantly remain silently jealous of her slow metabolism. Before I can even try to enjoy myself, the burning sensation of eyes being drilled into the back of my skull makes my form turn rigid and the smile falls from my face.

"You okay?" Ivy asks, chewing through a burger. She looks concerned, and I know she's aware of my paranoia.

I chew my lip, looking around but seeing nothing. Fern pats a hand on my shoulder and forces me to turn back around.

"Hazel, there's nothing there. Just relax. Are you sure you don't want to get some food?"

I sigh and shake my head. "No, there's no way I could eat anyway. I just don't feel right."

Ivy pushes a portion of fries in my direction. The look on her face says that I'd better take some or there'd be an argument. I roll my eyes and allow a laugh to escape me before reaching over to take a few pieces.

"You're worrying way too much about it," Ivy states as I eat. "It was just a bunch of weirdos trying to mess around, we see plenty of that around."

I swallow my food, not tasting anything or even enjoying the fried goods as I shift uncomfortably. I could still feel their eyes being directed on me, like a bug on the receiving end of a magnifying glass.

"Exactly." Fern says, but I could tell by her slightly wary gaze that she wasn't completely convinced. Her concluding remarks about last night revealed that she believed the same people outside were the ones in suits at the university. We had encountered them today passing down the main hall, realising they replicated the same numbers as the group outside Fern's apartment.

"I don't know Ivy, you're telling me that last night was something normal?"

She leans back, an unsure look passing over her face. Her reaction actually disturbs me, I was half relying on her to shoot back with an argument declaring I was crazy, just so I could convince myself that nothing was wrong.

"See you don't even believe it yourself!"

"Shhh guys! Let's just not talk about it anymore. Just leave it, I don't even want to think about it anymore." Fern hisses, her body leaning forwards so that no one can overhear our conversation.

Ivy looks at her in slight surprise before looking at me. She shakes her head and scrunches up the food wrappings into a ball.

"Fine, but it's nothing to worry about. Just relax, we'll hit a few more shops and then return to our humble abodes after alright?"