The Color of Knowledge

Chapter Ten (pt. 1)

"Who is it?" Zari asked from the other side of the blue door.

Ivy breathed a sigh of relief. She had risen early to make sure she would get to Zari's house before she left for work. Matter of fact, Ivy had not slept at all. She had gotten back from the school around four in the morning and had stayed up, trying to piece the puzzle together.

"It's Ivy."

After a moments hesitation, the door was unlocked and opened just wide enough for Zari to stick her head out.

"What are you doing here?"

"Look, I know we've had our differences, but we need to talk. It's important." Ignoring her gut feeling that something was wrong, she stepped forward expecting Zari to open the door wider.

Zari did not budge. "How long will this take?"

"Five minutes."

Zari snuck a glance at her watch and then back at Ivy. "Okay," she said, moving to let Ivy enter.

Zari led Ivy to the living room, which looked nothing like what Ivy was used to. It lay in the same area of the house as Ivy's was, but one staggering difference was how dirty the room was. Trash and dust was accumulated on the floor and furniture. The air smelled musty and felt thick on her skin. She tried not to let the mess distract her, however. She got straight to the point.

"What do you know about Nadia?"

"Not much," said Zari. "She's pretty mysterious and all. I've never really talked to her, to be honest. Why?"

"When was the first time you saw her?"

"At our placement ceremony, but that's not totally unusual. I mean, if you're worth noticing, I'll notice you, and she definitely isn't." Zari took to glancing around. It was the same nervous twitch Ivy remembered Alex having whenever she had visited him.

A young girl with short, fiery red hair and freckles sprinted out of the kitchen with a terrified look on her face. The girl ignored Ivy completely and pulled at Zari's shirt to whisper something in her ear. After bending down to hear what the girl had to say, the expression on Zari's face grew equally as horrified.

"Go start another batch. Throw the first away. Hurry." As the young girl ran back to where she had come, Zari looked towards the ceiling in anticipation.

"Was that your sister?" asked Ivy after a moment.

"Yes. Peyton. Seven." Zari was still looking towards the ceiling.

"Why were her eyes red?"

A loud crash echoed upstairs making Ivy jump out of her skin.

"Who burned the fucking eggs?" a man bellowed from the second floor.

"You have to go," said Zari. She began to push Ivy towards the door.

"But I'm not done. I don't think Nadia is from here."

They were almost to the door.

"Who is that?" the man yelled from upstairs.

"You must leave, Ivy." Zari opened the door just in time to push Ivy out, for a glass ashtray had flown through the air and hit Zari in the back of the head.

"What have I told you about answering the first time I ask a goddamned question?" the man roared.

Ivy was taken aback by how massive he looked at the top of the stairs staring down at her and Zari. A burly red beard encased his face, but it was hard to distinguish it from skin because his face was equally as red.

"Get up," he yelled to Zari who was slumped on the floor, her hands covering her head.

When she didn't move, Ivy rushed to her side to help her up.

"Peyton's making another batch," Zari whispered as she rose from the floor.

"There are to be no visitors. You know what will happen if those people from last week come back." The sheer power of his voice was enough to shake the house.

"Ivy was just leaving."

Without a glance towards the man, Ivy whispered something into Zari's ear and left. It all made sense now. She made her way to the hospital to visit Alex, stopping in her tracks on several occasions, unsure if it was something she really wanted to do. He was the last person she would inform that she was being exiled.