Whatever I picked up in the hospital, it was one of those 24 hour things, because I woke up the next morning feeling pretty much back to normal. Also hungry. All I could find in the kitchen was the leftovers of a pea and broccoli pasta bake that Abeni brought round, which I was going to eat yesterday but couldn't face it. It smelled alright so I decided to chance it. A couple of minutes in the microwave and a drizzle of honey and it was fine. Honey seems to make everything taste better.
I was wondering how early was too early to go looking for the others at the Gull when there was a knock on the door and I suddenly remembered Abeni shouting through the door when she dropped off the parcel that she was coming round this morning to check on me. She was wearing one of her weekend outfits, all bright colours and fancy headscarf. I let her in and she swept into the room with her arms full of more food parcels. Jollof rice, from the smell.
It was obvious she wasn't happy with the state of my flat, and she demanded the marigolds. There's no point arguing when she's like that so I just pointed out I'd been busy while we got on with cleaning up. Then we spent some time complaining about the latest episode of Star Cop and she did the usual bit where she was worried about me after that riot at the hospital and I did my usual promising to be careful.
As she was leaving I couldn't help thinking about the first time we met. She wasn't the first social worker they tried to assign to me. Some of them looked pitying. All of them looked scared. I guess that was because I kept screaming at them and breaking furniture. But then Abeni showed up and she swept into the room just like she did today, and she didn't look scared at all. For the first time since the change I felt like a girl instead of a monster.
I put my jacket on and went out to the Gull. I wasn't sure what I was going to say to Billy after storming off the other day, but just as I got to the door I felt something bounce off me. Billy.
We talked a bit about Star Cop. Honestly, with all the technology the Asterions have you'd think they'd at least be able to make a decent TV show. But then we got onto Ariadne, because of course Balae had told him all about that while I was ill, and apparently Faustus also wanted us to work for them. Fortunately he agreed with me that we'd do what Balae wanted. She's the sensible one. So it sounds like we're going to be working for two mysterious so-called helpers at once.
Then he actually kind of apologised for the way he behaved in the hospital, which I didn't see coming. So I tried to reassure him that I would always protect him and all he had to do was let me do that. And that seemed to be us friends again, because he told me some awful joke he heard at school and I shoved him and managed not to knock him over, and in we went.
Inside there was a weird looking girl I didn't recognise at first, but she told us she was Balae and she'd just finally got the hang of this shape in her sleep, and she asked us to ask her a question that only she'd know the answer to, but by then it was so obvious it was her we didn't have to. She's going to start going to school now, which she seemed really excited about, which I thought was weird because I was really happy when none of the schools wanted me and Abeni had to arrange for home learning instead. But if that's what makes her happy, then sure.
First though, we had a mission. Some guy called Roger Stodgely went missing and we had to go and check out the last place he was seen, some accountant's office or something. Billy figured out how to get us inside by pretending to be delivering something, since none of us looked anything like accountants. Then the postman showed up and Billy dived behind the bins, so me and Balae had to talk to him. Well, Balae talked, and pretty much just told him the truth, and it turned out that was what he needed to hear. And also he recognised Billy.
There was a guy on reception who seemed to think he was hot shit, which wound me up, so I told him what I thought of him which seemed to do the job, and Balae took the parcel and walked straight past him with so much confidence he didn't even bother to try to stop her. This new look is really suiting her.
We found Mr Stodgely's desk, but there was no sign of him, just a name plate and some inspirational quotes. There was an awful woman at the next desk with a signed photo of David Cameron on her desk, and she was so annoying that I ended up having to do that thing Abeni taught me to stop the badger rage from taking over and focusing on three things in the room. The signed photo. A picture of her with a horse. And a set of rather odd looking reports.
Then we went to visit the boss to see if we could get any more hints about where our guy was, and she was somehow even worse. Billy took the lead, and Balae handed over the parcel. Then on the way out she told us the parcel was full of money, and between that, the large number of empty desks, those reports, and Balae's impression of her, it was obvious she was selling her employees to the Asterions.
I wanted to go back into her office and smash up her stupid bioengineered coral desk, and then use the pieces to beat her with, but we'd promised Castor and Pollox that we wouldn't do anything like that, and I really didn't want to get Balae into trouble. And I told Billy I'd protect him, and right then that meant all of us walking away. Sometimes doing the right thing really sucks.
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