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It took allas I walked away This was yet another one of those times when it would have been nice if the universe would have set things right for me, but the fact that the universe had allowed itself a rareback at Ki I wished for Still, I wouldn’t have objected if the ceiling caved in on them I then heard a thud and so in that part of the hallith ceiling tiles lying broken on the ground Two men seemed dazed and had bits of tile in their hair This was starting to get freaky Aside froear, I couldn’t help but wonder about the things those men had said about alecting ure out as going on, and there was one person I was sure I could trust to tell ht for Rod’s office It was ironic that a guy who habitually wore a face that wasn’t his oas the person I felt I could trust, but enough had happened between Rod and h he en’s best friend, I felt like he could be a neutral party in this

Isabel was out when I got there, but Rod was at his desk "Can I talk to you?" I asked

"Sure," he said, gesturing ?"

"I have a splitting headache, but other than that I’m okay I just wanted to ask you, what did I do at your party? For real Don’t exaggerate, and don’t try to spare me I need the truth"

"Are you sure about that?"

The unease on his face ory details A big-picture overvieill do"

"Soon after ht, it was like you became another person You were very, us"

I groaned and sank back into the chair "So, it’s true Gefor theotcha’ But they didn’t"

"Your i the party, wasn’t it?" I nodded "It’s possible you were under a spell So a prank on you"

"You think that’s it?"

"I know it is You’re not mean You’d never act that way if you were in control of yourself" He gave me a warm smile and added, "Don’t worry, Owen knows that, too He’ll brood and sulk for a while, but he’ll get over it In fact, I bet he’s researching possibilities right now"

When he smiled that way, he really looked nice--even nicer now that he was doing so care of his skin I realized then that his real face and his illusion weren’t all that different His illusion just looked like someone had Photoshopped his real face to re look just a little bit better

With a deep sigh, I stood up "I have a killer headache, and I’o ho anyone who needs to know? About the headache, I oes without saying I want to ain"

"Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it"

I gave hi before I left "You’re a real pal, you know? You lad you approve, because I was going to ask her out anyway," he said with a pat on my back

Oas in his office when I went back to the lab forto him That could wait until I felt a bit better I left the building and trudged across the park by City Hall to get to the subway station,heavier with each step When a train arrived, I boarded andacross froliest shoes ever Although she ell dressed, her shoes were repulsive--and probably the expensive kind of repulsive In other words, they looked like someone had pulled thened to look that way There were even silvery bands across the at the shoes, I wondered what she’d think if she had the real thing instead of the designer version Real duct tape holding her shoes together wouldn’t be nearly as nice, especially if she’d spent hundreds of dollars to buy faux-trashed shoes