12. Insanity

12. Insanity

Ira's eyes glazed over again. She couldn't stand reading; every time she tried, her eyes would slide over the words, and her mind would float away This meant that in a compulsory reading situation like this, she had to re-read and re-read until she could actually remember what she had read.

"God, you're taking forever. Have you finished yet?"

Ira's eyes shot up from the page. She jumped at the abrupt manner of Vignette's comment.

"No," Ira replied, tremulously, "I haven't."

You bloody mouse.

Vignette shuffled in her fold-up chair, bored out of her mind, and in need of some fresh meat.
"I just asked you to read one article. You're not reading the whole thing are you?"

There was a distinct sharpness and a tone of spite in her voice, and it paired lethally with her temerity. It was enough to intimidate most people, and Ira was easily intimidated anyway.

"Are you dyslexic or something?"

Ira looked up from the page briefly, then remembered the fear that Vignette's eyes triggered, so attempted to pick up from where she left off on the article.

Ooh... don't look at her, Ira. She might eat you...

"No, I'm not dyslexic. Dyslexia doesn't make you bad at reading...or-"

"Okay, whatever just get back to reading. I don't want a spoken essay from you."

Spoken essay? Who the hell does this girl think she is? Her material is SO clapped out. You could take her on if you had a spine.

"Shut up," Ira whispered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Ira blinked. She felt a mound of soggy done roll over in her throat and all the lights around her began to bleed. She blinked again and again, the push back the tears, and told herself to just focus on the article.

Just focus on the article.