Cosmo Prison - Book 1: The Edge of Earth

Chapter 25

Chapter 25 

*Alisha Qian*

I storm out of Town Hall, so furious that I feel like I’m about to explode.

How dare he call me a little girl?

Just when I’m about to leave the city, I hear the patter of footsteps behind me. Turning around, I see Ramya approach me hesitantly.

“Hey, Alisha...” she mumbles.

“Yeah?” I say sharply.

“Um... Suchet wants you to go back,” Ramya stammers. “He says he’s sorry for being a jerk.”

“He should be,” I mutter. “Tell me why I should go back.”

“I don’t know,” Ramya admits, faltering as she searches for a reason. “Because... uh, we need your help?” Her voice ends in a questioning tone.

What a fool. “Fine. I’ll go back, but this is his last chance.”

Ramya smiles with relief. “Thank you.”

I shrug. “Don’t thank me just yet.”

I follow Ramya into Town Hall, putting on a mask of confidence and getting ready to show Suchet up, should he say or do anything offending.

I stop just inside the double doors and survey the teenagers sitting before me. “I’m here.”

Instead of the condescending, patronizing looks everyone gave me previously, I’m greeted by stares of awe and wonder. Everyone’s goggling at me as if I’ve grown a third foot.

I turn to Ramya. “I thought Suchet was the only one with mental issues. Are all of these people dumb, too?”

Before I can make another withering remark, though, Suchet clears his throat. “Hello, Alisha.”

I focus my attention on him. “Hello, Suchet,” I say, mimicking him sarcastically.

“Sorry about what I said before,” he says awkwardly. “I changed my mind.”

“Wise choice,” I say with a smirk. “Does the new one work any better? And where’d you put the diaper?”

Suchet’s ears turn red.

“Yeah, I was right. The wheel’s turning, but the hamster’s definitely dead,” I taunt. “Come on. You’re supposed to be the brain of this little gang. Act your age, not your IQ! Say something intelligent. Make us all faint of surprise!”

“That’s enough,” Suchet snaps, his face flushed with color. “We need to start planning.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” I say before he can go further. “Who’s ‘we?' Since when am I helping you?”

Suchet falters. “Well, I thought you were helping us, since you came back--”

I hold up a finger to silence him. “I agreed to come back. I didn’t agree to help you in any way, shape, or form.”

“Er, well...” Suchet trails off, and I give him a triumphant smile.

“But I don’t care. I’ll help you if you want me to. Got nothing else to do anyways,” I finish.

He nods, still looking a bit nettled. “Yeah. That works.”

I help myself into a chair and sit down, swinging my legs under the table. “So. What do you all have so far? Your plan, I mean.”

Suchet sits forward in his own seat, his eyes lighting up at the mention of his plan. “We have the key now, so we just have to charge head-on and force Christy into the prison. Then, all we need to do is lock it, and we’ll be golden.”