Girl on Fire

Chapter 16

"You said when we were back at the other building that you had known me for just half a year. How is that when you were the one who found me on the doorstep?" I said accusingly.

Tasha shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"That's the thing," she said, "I wasn't actually there when you were left in the doorstep. I only actually came to your orphanage about half a year before you got your powers. We..." she frowned, looking uncomfortable with what she was about to say, "the mind reading spirituses brainwashed everyone associated with you and made it seem like I had been there all my life. I went away in the summer for a couple of months, making it look like I was going on holiday, so that I could do this last year."

"You..." I said, furious, "you changed out memories? You lied to us!"

"It was for your own good!" Alix assured. "We did it so that we could keep an eye on you when you were about to get your powers."

"But..." I said.

"I know, it still seems wrong, and I, for one, am not happy with brainwashing fellow spirituses, partly because it is extremely difficult, and partly because it is like tricking one of our own kind."

"But..." I continued.

"I get that you're angry, but can we just make a fresh start and forget the past?"

I suddenly remembered something.

"You were horrible to Ali when she started to get her powers. She already thought she was bad, but then you yelled at he and called her a freak. She told me in tears. Why would you do that to her? I can't forgive you for that, she is the most important thing in my life."

Tasha sighed and looked down.

"I had to do that, Ash. I had to get her out of that house so that none of the kids went blabbing to the careers. Luckily, she only did it in front of the kids that were too young to be taken seriously, but I walked in on her and if someone else had walked in... I had to get her out of-"

"But couldn't you have done it in a nicer way?" I blurted.

"No, because upsetting her and making her feel unwanted was the only way really that she would get straight out. If she thought that people liked it, she would want to stay. So I had to make her want to go away, because she felt more unwanted and like she didn't fit in." Tasha looked ashamed when she said this.

"I am so sorry, Ali." she said, looking down into Ali's eyes. "If there had been any other way, I would have done it, but I'm sorry that it had to be that way."

"What did?" Ali said, looking confused.

I let out a small laugh, "There you go, she doesn't even remember now. She was more upset than me and yet I remember it and she doesn't!"

"Yep!" Tasha said, chuckling slightly.

"I'm sorry for being so quick to judge." I said quietly.

"It wasn't your fault, I can see that it looked quite bad from your perspective. I just apologise for anything bad that has happened in the past to you because if me. I really want us to start afresh in this new world."

I nodded, "Just one question," I said, staring her right in the eye. "You told me about the night I was left. Was any of that true?"

"All of the details from that night that I told you are true, apart from the me part. The mind readers got that from one of the girls who was actually there." I could tell that she was hoping I wouldn't ask the next question that was going through my head - about my parents. So I didn't. I figured that I would find out soon enough.

"You can go now." Alix said, resuming the air of authority that they had had in the tent before.

"Okay..." I said, not really wanting to go. But I knew that Tasha, and maybe Alix as well, could kick my butt.

As we walked outside, we could see that the tent was being slowly re-constructed by multiple different senior spirituses, none older than 18. I had noticed while I was here that there was no adults. Everything was controlled by the "seniors" that had already done this test, and so had excessive luxuries that the rest of us didn't have.

"The celebrations are still going on!" Jules yelled across the clearing, running towards us. "We've been looking for you! Where were you?"

"Just chatting to a couple of the seniors, y'know, the usual!" I said, grinning.

"Really?" Jules said, "How'd you manage that?"

"Trade secret." I said with a tap to the side of my nose.

"It was Tasha, wasn't it." Jules said, rolling her eyes. "Come on, we need to start up the duels."

-----

The day was amazing. There was duels going all day, and at the end of the day, there was a firework performance that I created that was a sudden idea off the top of my head. If I do say so myself, it was pretty amazing. The fire burst into the air like fireworks and lit up the jungle for ages around. Yes, I had to sit down for a while afterwards, but it was worth it. Oh so worth it.

I was with Ali all day and I did not look at her for one moment and not see her smiling.