“Well,” Cynthia said, trying to make the best of it. “At least you know your dad loves you.”
“Yeah, well, it was really Jonah who started all of this. Dad freaked out because Jonah disappeared. His one and only son.” Alix made a face.
Cynthia gave her a hard look. “That’s a load, and you know it. If you’d been the missing one, you know he would have been a thousand times crazier about trying to protect you. His only daughter?” Cynthia laughed. “My dad would have gone nuts.”
“My dad never goes nuts,” Alix said.
But it actually had been kind of amazing to see how ferocious he’d been about protecting her. Alix had always loved her dad, but it took something like this to see how much he loved her and Jonah, too. It sounded cheesy, but she could tell. She just wished that the sudden infusion of parental love wasn’t manifesting as a Death Barbie always looking over her shoulder.
Cynthia said, “Well, this will at least keep your stalker away.”
At Cynthia’s comment, Alix was reminded once again of her night encounter with 2.0. The guy staring in through the glass, smiling. “I guess…” Alix trailed off. She didn’t want to lie to Cynthia, but she also didn’t want to tell her about her second encounter. Cynthia had hassled her enough the first time around. Alix didn’t need another dose of Tiger Mom, but something in her voice must have tipped Cynthia off, because her friend looked up sharply.
“What?” Cynthia asked. “What is it this time?”
Alix shrugged helplessly.
“Give it up, girl,” Cynthia pressed.
“Oh,” Alix made herself laugh. “It’s… nothing. Just,” she leaned forward and lowered her voice, “I talked to him again.”
“What?”
Cynthia’s voice was almost a squawk. Everyone around them startled and turned to stare. Alix made shushing motions as Death Barbie’s gaze whipped around.
“Will you quiet down?” Alix shushed.
Cynthia leaned close. “You’ve got a stalker, and you want me to quiet down?” Cynthia whispered fiercely. “Are you insane?” Comprehension dawned. She gave Alix an exasperated look. “You didn’t tell anyone, did you?”
“Well….”
“What is it about this guy?” Cynthia asked.
Alix shrugged. “I don’t know.” She stood up, frustrated, and gathered her plate. “Never mind. Forget I said anything.” She left Cynthia, who watched her go with puzzled worry.
As Alix took her plate to the conveyor that ferried dirty dishes into the guts of the caf, she wondered what was wrong with her. Maybe she had some kind of suicide impulse. Any sane person would report a stalker like this. 2.0 knew her name. He was after her family. He was after her. He could get past Williams & Crowe—
Alix was annoyed to find Lisa right behind her, dropping off her own plate. Her shadow, walking through the halls, and now Alix had to pee. She headed for the bathrooms with Lisa right behind her, pushing in behind.
You can’t be serious.
Alix turned as the bathroom door closed. “I don’t need you to follow me in here.”
“I’m sure you feel that way. But it’s my job to be sure you’re safe.” Lisa was walking down the line of stalls, checking inside each in turn. Then she went and started washing her hands, watching Alix in the mirror.
Alix crossed her arms. “I’m not peeing with you in here.”
“Do you want me to secure the bathroom for you, then?”
The door swung open. Deb and Selena came into the bathroom. “—he’s hot,” Deb was saying.
They both stopped short as they ran into Alix and Lisa’s standoff.
Lisa raised an eyebrow at Alix.
Fine.
Alix went into a stall. With the door locked, she could almost pretend that she had privacy. Except she didn’t. Alix sat in the stall imagining ways that she might escape, listening to the water run in the sink as Lisa pretended to wash her hands some more. Trying to pee with someone standing right outside, waiting for her to do her business. It made her feel like she was about six years old.
When Alix came out, she shoved past Lisa to wash her hands and was annoyed that Lisa didn’t seem offended. All Lisa said was, “This is a lot easier if you just pretend I don’t exist. It calls less attention.”
Deb and Selena came out of their stalls. “Is she bothering you, Alix?”
Lisa said, “No. I work for Alix.”
“Will you cut it out?” Alix said to Lisa. She turned to her friends. “She doesn’t work for me. She works for my dad. She’s kind of a bodyguard.”
“Oh.” They seemed at a loss for what else could be said and bailed as quickly as they could. Alix watched longingly as they headed out.
“I know it’s inconvenient, Alix,” Lisa said, “but we need to keep you safe until we know what these terrorists are up to.”
“They’re terrorists now?” Alix asked. “I thought they were kidnappers. Or animal rights activists. And before that they were vandals.”
Lisa gave her a look that said, don’t split hairs with me, young lady.
Alix felt a little embarrassed. The way Lisa looked at her made her feel like she was a child throwing a tantrum.
Lisa’s expression said that Death Barbie knew things Alix didn’t and that Alix was just a sheltered little girl. But still, Alix didn’t want to back down. She was already sick of the whole bodyguard thing, and she had the feeling that if she didn’t make a stand, she’d be shoved around forever.
“Who do you think these people are, really?” Alix asked. “Nobody’s telling me the truth. All I get is vandals and wackos and kidnappers and activists and now terrorists. What’s going on?”
Lisa sighed and leaned back against the sink. Her her jacket opened, giving a glimpse of a Taser clipped to her belt and a heavy telescoping baton beside it. Lisa had shown Jonah how it extended with a flick of the wrist. A metal club with enough weight behind it to break bones.
“We don’t know what they are,” Lisa said, finally. “All we know is that they’re organized and they’ve targeted you and your family. And since we don’t know, it means we have to be prepared for the worst. It’s the only way we can prevent it.
“If you’ll just help me, I can minimize the amount of disruption you experience. Or you can make it difficult. Either way, though, I’ll still be here, making sure you’re safe. It’s your call.”
“Are you going to follow me everywhere?” Alix asked. “What if I go to a party this weekend? Are you going to rat me out?”
“It’s not like that, Alix. My job isn’t to police you. It’s to keep you safe.”
“But I’m nobody important! It’s not like I’m the president’s daughter or something. There’s no reason for anybody to care about me. It’s got to be a mistake!”
“I know it’s frustrating, Alix. But you’re a target. I know you want to blame me, but I’m not the one who picked you out. 2.0 has explicitly targeted you. My job is to make sure that whatever they want to do doesn’t work.”
“Would you take a bullet for me?”
Lisa’s pale blue Barbie eyes didn’t blink. “Let’s hope it doesn’t go down that way.”
Jesus, Alix thought. She really is scary. Walking Death Barbie, for real.
“Whatever,” Alix said, finally. “I’m late for class.”
She pushed back out into the noise of the commons with Lisa on her heels.