Page 34 of Degradation
Mav and Shade dig in as well and soon we’re all finished.
Mav lolls on the bed with me. He and Shade chat about sports and other subjects that I don’t know much about, so I only half listen as I think about how I can change the formula to get the desired result.
First, I need to figure out what they want this secret drug toactually do. Then, I’ll have to go through all the historical data at the lab and see what they’ve already tried so I don’t go down routes that have failed before and waste time. I’ll also have to look into similar drugs to understand what the problem with this one might be. It’s a lot to take on, especially with the double major and the partners project we’re starting in Professor McKinsey’s class. I’m not looking forward to that. I’ve been paired with Bennet, the lowlife hipster jerk from my first lecture in my new major, who, along with his friend, Casey, made me leave the class because I didn’t have a laptop.
They’ve left me alone since Blake gave me his spare, but I hear them whispering with the others sometimes in their little groups, probably spreading more rumors about me, so I try to keep my head down and just get my work done.
‘Daisy?’
I blink and look over at Mav. ‘You’re looking kind of tired. Want one of us to help you back to your room?’
I gaze out of the open door into the hallway and consider. Do I? No, I don’t think I do.
I shake my head. ‘Can I just stay in here for a while? It’s nice to hear you talking. Sort of relaxing.’
‘Sure.’
Mav reaches out across the bed and takes my hand, interlacing our fingers, and I look at them and then at him curiously.
‘I just wanted to touch you.’
‘Okay.’
He grins and shakes his head a bit. ‘Why don’t you close your eyes? Rest a little. We’ll stay here with you awhile, okay?’
I nod, giving him a small smile. I do feel safe with them like this. I trust them enough to sleep next to them, something I never did in The Heath, but not enough to tell them everything.
Social relationships are so weird. I wonder if I’ll ever understand their nuances the way thatregularpeople do, or will I always have to work harder?
I close my eyes and listen to them chat some more, not really paying attention until I hear Shade’s voice come out as a whisper.
Internally, I perk up, but I don’t move, and I don’t open my eyes.
‘Is she asleep?’
‘I think so,’ Mav answers just as quietly. ‘Daisy?’
I don’t answer, and I stay still, keeping my breathing even as I start listening very closely.
‘What happened at the lab?’ Shade asks in a low voice.
‘Not good news. Every test group was a failure.’
‘Shit.’ I hear Shade get up and start pacing.
He does that when he’s stressed. He used to when we were kids, too.
‘God dammit. I’ve got Sark breathing down my neck, because Sauvage is breathing down his. We promised them a viable product by November at the latest, and we’re no closer than we were eleven months ago.’
Mav sighs. ‘We need more time. I don’t know how much though. We’ve gotten farther in the past couple weeks than we have since August.’
‘Helps having an assistant who isn’t incompetent, I guess,’ Shade mutters.
‘Yeah,’ Mav agrees. ‘But it’s not just that Marcus is out, it’s that Daisy is in. She’s...a natural. I don’t have another way of saying it. Now that she knows the ropes, she’s hit the ground running. We wouldn’t have gotten as close as we have without her.’
‘She still doesn’t know about Envy?’
‘No, she has no idea the formula she’s working with is separate. I made sure she never saw the original after the first week. She thinks she's working on the non-opioid still.’
