Talisman 01 - The Emerald Talisman

to portray him to the public eye and kept tight controls to make sure his students didn’t embarrass him.
    “No, nothing significant happened,” I said cautiously.
    “Do you know of anyone who would want to cause Phil harm?” Mr. Brewster asked with distrust in his voice.
    What a weird question. Everyone likes Phil.
    “The nurse said it might be an animal attack—“
    “Just answer the questions please.”
    I paused, waiting for my dad to stand up for me, but he remained silent. He was angry and I didn’t know why. I’m sure being dragged in here from an important business meeting, when his daughter didn’t tell him she was playing ambulance in the middle of the night, would be a lot to comprehend and forgive.
    “No,” I finally said.
    “So, you did not see anyone physically harm Phil?”
    “No, like I said, I found him in the—”
    “And you took him directly to the hospital? Alone?” Mr. Brewster fired back.
    “Yes, but—”
    “Did anyone see you put him in your car?”
    I gritted my teeth. This line of questioning was getting ridiculous.
    “No.”
    “Did he tell you who hurt him?”
    While he was unconscious? Or after he wanted to rip my head off.
    I forced myself to act civilly, reminding myself that they were only concerned for Phil’s welfare, as I was.
    “I don’t think anyone hurt him,” I said emphatically. “The nurse said—“
    Mr. Brewster leaned forward in his chair and glared at me. “We know what the nurse said. A yes or no would suffice.”
    “No,” I said with a sigh.
    Mr. Brewster continued his volley of questions. “Did he ever mention before if his life was in danger to you?”
    I suppressed a guffaw.
    “Uh, no?” I said with an intentional sarcastic tone.
    “And you didn’t meet secretly somewhere after you left the hospital?”
    I pursed my lips before answering.
    “We didn’t leave together and to answer your next question again, no, I don’t know where he is,” I said slowly enunciating each word.
    Mr. Brewster’s eyes grew into slits while he remained visibly calm. If it were only the two of us in this meeting, I’m sure other words would have been exchanged. Even still, I felt backed into a corner.
    “Well, then, if you were so concerned about Phil, why didn’t you tell anyone last night?”
    The question hit me like a blow to the stomach and I suddenly felt anything I said would be used against me and wanted a lawyer. What could I say? That my Dad was unavailable and I thought he wouldn’t really care. Or that I didn’t know who to tell at midnight when Phil probably just went home. I barely knew him anyway.
    “I don’t know,” I said and looked down at my shoes.
    Mr. Brewster let out a long sigh.
    “Okay, then. If there isn’t anything else you want to tell us, then you can go back to class,” he said without hiding his animosity.
    Anger burned inside me. Not only was I being accused wrongly of helping Phil run away, but no one thanked me for actually saving his life. I glanced at my dad. His overwhelming disappointment matched his “we-will-talk-more-about-this-later-young-lady” face and the D’Elias plain ignored me. I was the enemy in their eyes.
    “Oh and I’d like you to keep this conversation private please,” Mr. Brewster slid in right before I left the room.
    The words stung like lemon juice on a paper cut. I made a loud humph after I walked out. What happened between me and Phil was my business and I’d tell anyone I wanted.
    Candy wasn’t at her desk when I exited the office and I was glad. My brave outer exterior started to crumble and I would be mortified if Mr. Brewster knew he’d made me cry.
    Tears fell silently down my cheeks as I ran down the hall, careful to avoid eye contact with curious onlookers. I had no intention of returning to class, but I needed somewhere to hide. I spotted the library.
    Wiping away my tears, I ducked inside. The computers were located at the back wall in cubicles with desks. I slipped into the closest one, logged in and began typing into the Google search field. After a minute, I found the exact website I needed and clicked it. I scanned the page and then read through a list of symptoms.
    · irritability
    · excessive movements or agitation
    · confusion
    · hallucinations
    · aggressiveness
    · bizarre or abnormal thoughts
    · muscle spasms
    · abnormal postures
    · seizures (convulsions)
    · weakness or paralysis (when a person cannot move some part of the body)
    · extreme