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Standing Apart
Isabelle and Celia stood facing each other under the awning at a pathway inside of their mostly-empty campus. It was a Saturday afternoon and most of the students had already left campus that morning for their flights home. Celia had been screaming, but there was no one other than Isabelle who was around to hear it.
“I was hearing voices in my head while I was eating a steak, and suddenly I was knifing my friend. I don’t know what happened, Isabelle,” Celia screamed.
Angry tears streamed down Celia’s face. She wiped them away roughly using the back of her hands. Isabelle stood quietly, measuring her words, holding back the ones that would send Celia over the edge.
“You said something about a Master. Do you remember that?” Isabelle asked.
“ . . . I don’t remember,” Celia said. Her green eyes were angry slits staring in Isabelle’s direction. She wasn’t angry at Isabelle, but she was
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