Self

Chapter 43

Yara was in the library, breezing through two past papers until she hit a wall on the last question of each

paper.

She racked her brain, but the answer just would not come. She flashed back to a similar problem in a book, so she got up and headed to the stacks to dig up that material.

After a few minutes, she found what she was looking for. She was about to return when a book- Recombination and Fusion of Gene Sequences–grabbed her attention.

Wade’s words echoed in her mind, and she could not resist pulling the book off the shelf.

Flipping through the pages, she was struck by how closely the ideas matched hers. She kept reading. getting increasingly excited and lost in the book.

Then, her phone buzzed in her pocket.

A message popped up from Rainie.

[Rainie: Guess where I am?]

Yara figured she was playing some guessing game and was about to type back when it hit her.

[Yara: You’re at school, aren’t you?!]

[Rainie: Bingo!]

Yara left the library and hurried downstairs. She saw Rainie standing under a tree.

“What brought you here all of a sudden?”

“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop off some goodies for you.” Rainie lifted a bag, and the delicious smell wafted out.

“Mission accomplished, I’ve got to run.”

Yara asked, “You’re not going to stay and eat?”

Rainie shook her head. “It’s all yours. I’ve got a ton of work. I just wrapped up a three–day project binge with only eight hours of sleep. Then, bam, my dad calls me in for a meeting. Can you believe that?”

Rainie, the designer, only took on a few big gigs a year, but they were always intense. When she was in the zone, she had no time for breaks.

not a

She was thrust into the fray at the last minute for that project. They would not have sent her if it was n total emergency.

“You know, this whole mess is kind of tied up with the Johnsons.” She glanced mischievously, a playful smirk dancing on her lips. “Are you interested at all?”

“Nope.” Yara cut her off, shoving her own umbrella into her hands. “I thought you were in a rush? Don’t forget the sunscreen.

Rainie watched Yara’s retreating back, eyebrows arched in surprise. She had not even gotten to the good part.

She looked down at the project bid in her hands. For once, she was not spinning tales; the Sheltons really were up against the Johnsons in the bid.

Meanwhile, Yale had just seen Xandra off and cleared the room, and that included Michael and Zachary

Chapter 43

Chapter 43

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Yara was in the library, breezing through two past papers until she hit a wall on the last question of each

paper.

She racked her brain, but the answer just would not come. She flashed back to a similar problem in a book, so she got up and headed to the stacks to dig up that material.

After a few minutes, she found what she was looking for. She was about to return when a book- Recombination and Fusion of Gene Sequences–grabbed her attention.

Wade’s words echoed in her mind, and she could not resist pulling the book off the shelf.

Flipping through the pages, she was struck by how closely the ideas matched hers. She kept reading. getting increasingly excited and lost in the book.

Then, her phone buzzed in her pocket.

A message popped up from Rainie.

[Rainie: Guess where I am?]

Yara figured she was playing some guessing game and was about to type back when it hit her.

[Yara: You’re at school, aren’t you?!]

[Rainie: Bingo!]

Yara left the library and hurried downstairs. She saw Rainie standing under a tree.

“What brought you here all of a sudden?”

“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop off some goodies for you.” Rainie lifted a bag, and the delicious smell wafted out.

“Mission accomplished, I’ve got to run.”

Yara asked, “You’re not going to stay and eat?”

Rainle shook her head. “It’s all yours. I’ve got a ton of work. I just wrapped up a three–day project binge with only eight hours of sleep. Then, bam, my dad calls me in for a meeting. Can you believe that?”

Rainie, the designer, only took on a few big gigs a year, but they were always intense. When she was in the zone, she had no time for breaks.

She was thrust into the fray at the last minute for that project. They would not have sent her if it was not a total emergency.

“You know, this whole mess is kind of tied up with the Johnsons.” She glanced mischievously, a playful smirk dancing on her lips. “Are you interested at all?”

“Nope. Vara cut her off, shoving her own umbrella into her hands. “I thought you were in a rush? Don’t forget the sunscreen:

Rainie watched Yara’s retreating back, eyebrows arched in surprise. She had not even gotten to the good part.

She looked down at the project bid in her hands. For once, she was not spinning tales; the Sheltons really were up against the Johnsons in the bid.

Meanwhile, Yale had just seen Xandra off and cleared the room, and that included Michael and Zachary

The ward fell silent. He massaged his temples, glanced at the IV needle in his hand, and yanked it out without a second thought.

Blood welled up from the tiny hole. He scowled, dabbed at it with a tissue, grabbed his jacket, and exited

the room.

“Mr. Johnson! You can’t leave the hospital yet!” A nurse, who came in to change the IV bag, tried to block his path.

Yale’s frown deepened. “Out of my way!”

She faltered, intimidated by the storm brewing in his gaze and the chill in his demeanor, and could only watch helplessly as he strode out, immediately alerting the hospital staff.

Yale could not stand the sterile stench of the hospital or the powerless feeling it gave him. All he wanted was to be home.

Right on cue, Jean’s calls started blowing up his phone,

Yale kept his eyes on the road, ignoring the persistent ringing.

However, the caller was tenacious, the phone buzzing insistently with call after call.

Yale was exasperated beyond measure, but he still managed to hit the answer button with a single hand. Jean’s frantic voice burst through. “The hospital just called me. They said you checked yourself out. Do you even realize how sick you are?! Get back there this instant-”

Yale barely lasted a few seconds before he could not take it anymore. He hung up and turned on airplane mode.

Peace at last.