Paranormal Realities Box Set by Patricia Mason

to study last night. I suppose she spent the night.”
    I said nothing.
    “When you see her at school, have her
call me.”
    “Sure.” I closed the door softly behind
me.
    As I trudged down the sidewalk, my phone
pinged. Glancing at its face, I saw Petra had texted me: Senji Nsane re: lst nyt ?^?
    She wasn’t the only one with questions
about what had happened last night.
    L8r , I texted back, not knowing how to explain now or ever. If
I weren’t a coward, I wouldn’t go to school. I’d leave town and never come
back.
    Rom waited for me at the end of the
block. Great. Another person I didn’t feel ready to face. I would have passed
him without speaking but he moved to block my way. Determinedly, I examined the
buttons of his shirt.
    “Kizzy.” His long fingers traced my jaw
line ending at my chin and exerting slight pressure to force my gaze up to his.
“Discourse together is needed.”
    “Not now,” I shook my head. “I can’t
right now.”
    His eyes searched my face before leaning
forward. I knew he intended to kiss me. Although I longed for his lips on mine,
that pleasure would have been a betrayal. I didn’t deserve pleasure or
happiness or affection when Juliette and Franky were lost. Turning my head
away, I avoided his lips and he pulled back.
    “I can’t do that either now,” I said. “I
have to think.”
    “Accord. But I beg you do nothing
concerning the vortex without prior discourse with me. Vow it.”
    Having no desire to have anything to do
with the tunnel or the vortex again, a promise was easy.
    “All right.” I nodded and he released the
gentle hold on my chin.
    “May I at least convey you to school?” He
pointed to his car at the curb.
    Walking to the passenger door was my only
answer.

 
    * * * * *

 
    I didn’t have science that day but I
stopped into the classroom anyway to see if Mr. Hutson could talk to me. As I
hovered on the threshold, he was gathering papers and stuffing them into a file
folder. He glanced up and spotted me.
    “Kizzy.” He waved me in. “How can I help
you?”
    “I wondered if you could tell me…” How
could I put this? Any way I framed the questions I had was bound to sound
absolutely mental. “If somebody disappears and leaves this world where do they
go?” I finally asked.
    “Are you asking where we go when we die?”
Mr. Hutson’s brows furrowed. “Your pastor could probably answer that better
than I.” His face fell into a sympathetically wan smile. “I know you had a loss
recently.”
    “No.” I took a big step forward. “I don’t
mean death. I mean...” I couldn’t help staring down. I couldn’t meet his eyes
and continue. “Well. Let’s say the floor underneath you somehow opened up into
this big whirlpool and swallowed you down and you disappeared. Where would you
have gone?”
    “I’m not sure.” He sat there thinking as
if attempting to formulate an answer that wouldn’t totally crush the teen by
telling her he thought she was one of the stupidest human beings he’d ever come
across. I, nevertheless, waited for his answer.
    “Some physicists have theories about
multiple dimensions or universes," my teacher continued. "Depending
on who created the theory, they are called by many different terms. Parallel
dimensions, multiverses, etc. There are dozens of different names, each with a
different hypothesis on how these multiple dimensions exist and why and what
sorts of physical laws relate to their operation.”
      “I see.” Not really. “So what you’re saying is that if you
were swallowed up into the floor you might have actually traveled to another
dimension or universe.”
    "Yes." He nodded.
    “What if...What if something came out of
the floor in your place.”
    “Wow,” Mr. Hutson said. “You really are
in science fiction territory.” He placed a hand to his temple. “The only
scientific explanation I can think of is the quantum mechanics theory of
entanglements. The theory was developed from a phenomenon