L'affaire Bob

11. Never Too Old For Tales

It took me a few moments to get this memory out of my head.

But when I did, I noticed that I was back in the training room.

Lucas, Zoe, Francesco, James, and Emma were all staring at me, with irked expressions on their faces.

Emma, I realized, was dangerously tapping her foot against the ground.

-"Ah. The Great Paul has finally arrived, everyone."

-"Would you like some tea? Coffee, perhaps?" added Francesco. "And please, make yourself comfortable. Take your time in time-travels; it's not like we have an overcharged schedule or anything."

Emma raised an eyebrow, surprised by this sudden intervention. But she seemed to get over her shock and conceded that he was right.

-"We don't have any schedule. But I do, yes, which is why I have to agree with Francesco, dear. You have to be faster and catch up with the rest of the class. And try to listen to what I'm saying in the future. It can have some advantages, like saving your life on a mission, for example. But of course, if what I'm saying isn't captivating enough, you can always get distracted during lessons and die later on. No pressure."

-"Yeah, Paul, you've already made us waste precious time. I should inform you that I don't tolerate time-wasters. So beware."

-"Excuse me, grumpy boy, but who do you think you are? Nivens McTwisp, perhaps? I know that you have to meet up with the Mad Hatter and that British girl of yours, but not everyone is always in a hurry like you."

-"An 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' reference? Seriously? Are you sure you're 25?"

-"Well, umm... My mum used to read it to me when I was younger, and I may or may not have grown quite attached to it?" I said hesitantly, in a way that sounded more like a question than an affirmation.

-"Aww, how cute!"

-"Oh, shut up."

-"Why? Are you..."

-"Quiet! Both of you!" Emma interrupted us.

That was all it took to make the whole room fall in total and absolute silence. A rather hard-to-believe fact, I know.

Surprisingly enough, however, whatever magic trick she used to put a stop to our little arguing worked, because both I and Francesco ended up staying quiet against our will for the remainder of the lesson.

                                                                        ***

After 40 minutes or so, the training finally came to an end. We made three other travels, which made each one of us travel four times today. As for me, it was two to the past, and two to the future.

The little incident with Francesco had more or less helped me set aside the memory of the night I tried so hard to forget, but only during the lesson.

Now, it was getting back, stronger than ever.

"No," I warned myself.

I shouldn't be thinking about this now. It won't do me any good.

"Just try to ignore it, like you've been trying for the past few years. It worked perfectly," my inner voice advised me.

It was true. Avoiding my feelings was my go-to solution in almost everything in my life. Well, in my outside-the-agency life, anyway. Avoiding problems at work was always a bad idea, as my boss would so kindly remind us.

So I tried to focus my attention on other things, and unfortunately, the first thing that popped up in my mind was my little quarrel with Francesco.

This guy proved to be amazingly stubborn, and even if we remained silent during the second part of the training, he still managed to squeeze in disapproving glances in my direction.

I had to admit: I didn't connect with Francesco as much as I did with the other two, Lucas and James.

Whereas the last two were very outgoing and easy to talk to, he, on the other hand, didn't show any sign of respect or admiration towards me.

It was, much to my displeasure, a new yet odd feeling I had never experienced.

In addition to all of his glares in the second half of the training, he also had to throw some sarcastic remarks at me in the end, just as I was leaving the room.

Apparently, he didn't want to miss any chance to mock me or talk to me, which was quite annoying. I knew that deep down, he was doing all this just to spend more time with me, but if it continued like this, I would have to tell him to stop following me and start spending his time more efficiently.

With these thoughts in mind, I wandered through the never-ending hallways, entering all kinds of rooms, from labs to ancient chambers that looked as if no one had stepped in since the 1800s.

This little exploration trip was very entertaining and enjoyable, but I, sadly, had to stop it and go to Amanda now.

I tried to call her through our telepathic communication, but she seemed unavailable for the moment.

What can I say, Amanda was a busy woman.

I looked around, my eyes searching for her in the vast atrium my feet had dragged me to.

People were everywhere. Some were holding piles of paper and running from one end of the room to the other, while others were just talking and enjoying the sight this place offered.

There was one fountain in each of the corners. The sound of running water seemed to give life to this stunningly enormous hall.

And, in the middle, stood a single oak tree.

No other plants were around.

It was only one tree, yet its leaves covered more than half of the ceiling.

I hadn't noticed it at first; it wasn't something that catches your attention immediately. But now, I couldn't see anything else.

It was huge. Gigantic.

Beautiful.

-"Pretty, isn't it?" Someone whispered next to me.

I whirled around. Amanda was only inches away from me. She had somehow managed to come that close to me while I was staring at the tree.

-"Yes," I murmured, taking a step backward. "It's... impressive."

-"So, what did you want from me? You called me, right?" she asked.

-"Oh, yes! I wanted to know whether I finished my training for today or not so that I can go home, rest, and try to find some clues about Bob's death."

She laughed. Once again. I didn't get it. What was so funny about me? Was it the way I talked? The words I use, perhaps?

Ugh, whatever. Girls were like this. Complicated. Hard to understand.

-"Sweetie, I already told you, you will need our help to solve Bob's case. So forget about it for now. You're not ready yet. You can't, and won't start investigating before you finish all of your lessons."

I opened my mouth to protest, to no avail. She continued:

-"Oh, and you won't be going home tonight. You'll stay here, and continue your lesson tomorrow. I should take you to your room right now, so follow me."

We left the atrium and passed another hallway before climbing up some stairs that supposedly led to the dormitories.

-" Room 101 will be yours from now on," she said and handed me the keys. "Well, not completely yours, but yeah."

She smirked.

I looked at her, confused.

-"What do you mean?"

-"Oh, you'll have a roommate, darling. I assume you already know him, and if you don't, then don't worry. He's a nice man. I'm sure you guys will be good friends."

-" Interesting. Who's that mysterious fellow?"

-" His name is Francesco. Francesco Mancini, to be exact. He's half Italian."