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Molly sat in her chair in the lecture hall, focused on making sure she tapped her pen against her notebook every three seconds. She stared up at the clock— waiting for the class to end.
"Molly?" Someone said. She looked up to see the entire class staring at her. Her heart sunk in her stomach. "Did you hear me?" The professor spoke.
She swallowed. "No, could you repeat that?" She says, sitting upright in her seat.
"What were your thoughts on the reading?" He asks.
"Oh." Molly says, thinking for a second. "Stockholm syndrome is the condition where a victim of abuse or— kidnapping, develops positives feelings or for their captor. But this was written in a way where it didn't feel like a condition— or disease— it felt natural? Almost? Like it was meant to happen?"
A girl two rows in front of her turns around and begins to speak. "But what if that was the authors intention? To make it feel like it was natural— but Astrid's concept of right and wrong was just so muddled that the captivity became comforting?" She says to Molly.
Molly bit the inside of her cheek. "But is that such a bad thing? Astrid's life before the kidnapping was much worse than the situation Quentin put her in—"
"It is if he was her abuser." The girl responds.
"But he wasn't." Molly says. "He stopped terrorizing her as soon as his feelings developed."
The girl shrugged and turned back around. Molly leaned back in her seat and looked up at the professor who looked pleased. "Well done, girls." He glanced up at the clock. "We'll continue this discussion next week."
—
"Given the choice, would you rather invent a potion that would guarantee you: glory, wisdom, love or power." Molly reads off her screen to Kai as he laid on his side on her bed. She sat at her desk with her feet up on the chair.
Tyler, who Molly had yet to hear from since the merge, wasn't at the house so there was no point in sneaking around if they were just in her room.
"Power." Kai responds after thinking.
Molly clicks the answer on her screen and scoffs.
"What?" Kai laughs.
"Nothing." Molly smiles.
"Which of the following do you find most difficult to deal with?" Molly asks. "Hunger, cold, loneliness, boredom, or being ignored?"
"Hunger." Kai says, with no hesitation.
"Which would you rather be?" Molly asks. "Trusted, liked, imitated, praised, envied, or feared?" Molly turns in her swivel chair to face him.
