Cindy goes to Maria's

You dismount from your car and check the address. This is the place, scilicet a residential condominium in a suburban area. You know the zone, it's not infamous but the average income here is quite low, thus you don't come through here very often. You cross the road and ring at the Gonzalez apartment.

-Yes?- Says the interphone.

-Hi, it's Cindy.-.

-Ok, second floor. I'm sorry, the elevator is not working.-.

The door opens with an electric bzz and you step in; then, checking no one is watching, you spit a mass of goo, in case you'll need it. After all, you have to get her away from her friends if you want to take her. That's the reason you're there, right? Possess her. Replace her. Get Kim to forgive you.

You finally go up the stairs, finding the door opening and Maria welcoming you with a friendly, beautiful smile.

-Hi! Sorry again, they never fix it! Come in, the others are already there.-.

-Yeah, no problem...- You follow her, only to stop when she stops too.

-Mama, you ok there?- She asks addressing what seems to be the living room, which is actually a bit less small than your bedroom. A Latino woman, with crispy brown hair, is sitting on the sofa, watching tv.

-Todo esta bien, mija.- She turns around, smiling her daughter's smile.

-This is Cindy, my classmate.-.

-Nice to meet you, Miss Gonzalez.- You politely introduce yourself. She gets up to stretch your hand. She actually middle raced, and looks younger than her voice. However, you immediately notice her slow and cumbersome movements and the nasal tube she's sporting.

-Uh, I didn't know, you don't have to...-.

-Don't worry chiquita, I still stand on my legs!- She laughs, her accent being stronger than her daughter's: -Maria, I'm going to my appointment now, be good with your friends. Nice to have met you too, Cindy.-.

-Bye mom! Don't make that face- She then giggles when her mother is gone: -she's not dying, and you didn't offend her.-.

-I, uh, sorry.-.

-Don't be. She would get up anyway, she's a stubborn woman.-.

She then brings you to her room, where the same two girls of this morning have already disposed of their notes.

-Hey girls, we're back!-.

They coldly greet you, making clear how they feel towards you. Her names, by the way, are Sonja (the Asian) and Megan (the blonde). They make space for you two, a difficult operation since the table is clearly designed for two people, neither there is much space between it and the bed.

-So, do we start? Oh, how rude I am, do you want a glass of water, Cindy?-.

-No, I'm good thanks.- You can now begin. It's soon clear that you're much more in difficulty than them, and both Sonja and Megan seem to be annoyed by that. For example:

-...So, GDP is consumption plus government spending plus imports...-.

-No, it's minus imports. "I" stands for "Investments".-.

-Right, right.-.

And again:

-Uh, girls, I get this result instead.-.

-Mh? 'Course you do. You're using the wrong denominator, you have to reverse the cost from the sum of them.-.

-Oh! Yeah, you're right.-.

And so on. On the contrary, Maria turns out to be very kind and stops every time to explain what you were missing; and, every time, you blush in shame and pretend to have understood, even when you don't. At a certain point, Megan goes to the toilet and Sonja claims she's thirsty, and asks Maria (not you) if she's too.

You're now alone. You should take advantage of these rare minutes to make your move, if this is still your intention.

-May I see your notes?-.

-Yes, sure.- You answer and tender your laptop, while contemporary moving your slime upstairs, prepared to strike. The experience when you were Kim in controlling more bodies makes it very easy. In the meantime, Maria puts herself next to you, inadvertently brushing your arm with hers. Your heart beats hard. You feel the warmth her body is emitting.

She doesn't notice any of this and looks carefully at the screen: -I see, you record everything he says. However it's difficult to rearrange the notes all by yourself, you should distribute the work with someone. And... see here? He tends to resume every ten minutes the most important things he explained, I'll suggest you stick to this if you lose some part of the speech, and catch up on what you've missed with the book. It works, trust me.-.

Your glare reveals all your surprise and admiration.

-Uh, sorry, I've been indiscreet again.- She chuckles in embarrassment.

-No, no. Thank you, really. But maybe...- Your goo is behind the apartment door, it could effortlessly slide in if just you wished for it, and you should wish for it: -Maybe I should go now.-.

-Go? Already?- She naively frowns, worried that something is wrong with you, whilst she should fear only for herself.

-I mean, I'm slowing you down, and your friends obviously don't like me pretty much.-.

Maria replies with a bewildered and frantic face.

-That's... that's not true, you're not slowing us down! Really, I'm glad to help you, and believe me- She lowers her voice in a whisper: -Sonja and Megan were exactly like you once. And... I'm honestly sorry for their behavior. They are not bad, they just tend to be overprotective over me. You see, I had difficulties with some girls during high school... but it's passed.-.

-And what if they're right?- You comment with her dismay: -Maybe I'm the kind of person you should stay away from.-.

-W-Why so? You seem a nice girl! Don't take it as an insult, but I don't think you're like, uhm, that girl, Kim.-.

Ah, here's the truth. She brought you there just because she felt pity for you. And you thought... nothing.

-Kim is my friend.- You proudly defend her.

-I'm sorry, I didn't want to be rude! I'm sure she's a good person, deep down. It's just you are, uh, less deep.-.

You avert your look. You should be angry, but you're not sure if you are. Why does she think this? She doesn't know who you are, she doesn't know why you actually came here! If she did, she would be horrified by you! So, why do you feel you can trust her?

You hear movement outside the room, the girls must have finished. You tensely look at the shily smiling girl in front of you, her glasses reflecting the window light. It's now or never: take her as Kim wants, or let her go.