Chapter Twenty-One

Silvery material weaved back and forth across the stall door, its ever-elongating body piling up chaotically within the room, shrinking the space in which Zi’ang could move. He simply dropped to the floor and began crawling through the gap between the partition and the ground. It was undignified, but it allowed him to avoid every attack.

Just as the room was nearly filled, all the silvery matter emitted a white light at once, swallowing up the world around Zi’ang again.

This time, the scene did not change much.

The newly formed room was a women’s restroom under renovation. One wall looked peculiar—a panel was misaligned, creating a gap just wide enough for a person to pass through.

“Careful, don’t step on that hammer,” came a man’s voice from behind the wall panel. “And be careful when you come through here. Don’t scratch yourself or tear your clothes.”

“I’m an adult, Donald,” replied a woman.

Zi’ang looked toward the voice and spotted a hammer discarded on the floor. He realized he was still lying down and quickly got up, coughing awkwardly.

Donald and Kelly squeezed through the gap and entered the restroom. Donald wore a maintenance uniform and looked visibly excited, his eyes fixed on Kelly as if awaiting her reaction.

“You didn’t have to do all this,” Kelly said softly.

Donald shook his head. “I actually enjoy it,” he replied. “It reminds me of when we were kids. Remember that little path that ran behind your house? Who would’ve thought, twenty-some years later, you’d have your very own secret passage.”

“I really don’t know what’s going on in your head,” Kelly said. “I’m fine, really. It’s only a few steps. As long as I watch my footing, I’ll get through.”

“No,” Donald insisted. “The book says, the more you try to suppress it, the more anxious you get. If you’re scared of fainting in public, you keep telling yourself not to faint, which only makes the pressure worse—and then you faint for real. This is better. There’s only the parking lot outside. No one’s going to come into a restroom under renovation. The hallway lights are out, too. It’ll be hard for anyone to spot you when you leave. Once the tiles are replaced, I’ll apply to the school to repaint the ceiling, which will buy us more time. Also, I still worry about you driving on your own, but if you say you’re fine, I won’t stop you. Still, I can’t let you go fill up the car alone again like last time. Gas stations are crowded and public. I know you’d be uncomfortable. I’ve hidden a can of gasoline in the break room.