Terra follows a few yards behind her father and friend all the way to the mansion, walking as cautiously as possible, so that he doesn’t notice her, and demand she leaves. Her mind is teeming with possible explanations of what he could want with Pandora. Could she be failing? No, she’s one of the brightest students at the school. Death in the family? No, if that were the case, that rich bastard, son of a bitch that Pandora calls father probably wouldn’t even inform her. He still hasn’t forgiven her for being a mutant. She knows she’s probably overreacting, but when Terra’s dad came to get her, something was wrong. Her father takes the girl inside the large building. Terra catches the door before it shuts, and slips inside. She creeps up the stairs, and watches as Synch takes Pandora into the main office, and pushes the door mostly shut.
She peeks through the crack, Ms. Ferguson and Ms. Cassidy are setting in chairs with solemn looks on their faces. Her father stands in front of the desk. Pandora sets down in a soft computer chair and asks, “So what’s this all about?”
Ms. Cassidy looks at her, and then at her own feet. Something is definitely wrong. Blink speaks first. “Pandora, we’re going to get right to the point,” she says, taking her student’s hands in hers.
“Okay, you guys are making me very nervous...”
“Pandora. You know how every month we take blood from all the students, to make sure you’re all okay?”
“No... oh, God, no,” she whispers to herself, the sudden realization showing in her face.
“Pandora, you have the Legacy virus,” Clarice says slowly, her eyes starting to water. Pandora sobs into her hand. She stands.
“This isn’t happening.”
“Pandora, the Legacy virus is curable now, I-” Mr. Thomas tries to console, but he is cut off as rage overtakes the girl:
“Fifty-two percent,” she mutters, her voice getting louder with each word. “There’s a fifty-two percent chance that I can be cured. And that leaves a FORTY-FUCKING-EIGHT PERCENT CHANCE THAT I WON’T LIVE THROUGH THIS! SO DON’T STAND THERE AND TELL ME THAT EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE! BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW!”
“Please, lass, please just settle down,” Siryn asks quietly.
“NO! YOU SETTLE DOWN! YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW BAD THIS IS FOR ME!” she screams back. “DADDY’S LITTLE GIRLS DON’T BECOME MUTANTS, AND THEN GO GET THE GODDAMN LEGACY VIRUS!”
Clarice stands up and walks to the young girl. “Pandora,” she says, “In the time you have been here, you have blossomed into a beautiful and smart young woman, we will fight this, do you understand?”
“I just want to be left alone,” she states between sobs, then she hugs her teacher, “I don’t get it. I didn’t ask to be a mutant, and that was bad enough, and now I have this? It’s not fair.”
“No. It’s not.”
“I don’t want to die, Ms. Ferguson.”
“We’re not going to let you die.”
“I think I want to be alone for awhile.”
“Okay. You don’t have to come to class for a day or two.”
“Okay.” Pandora turns and walks out the door with her arms wrapped around her chest. Terra sinks back into the shadows so she’s not seen, but she can’t believe what she’s just heard.
“We shouldn’t have just let her go. We have so many things to inform her of, and tell her about. We need to set up some sort of... plan,” Everett says.
“Nae. Let her go, we’ll talk to the poor lass later.”