When she was little, she’d been afraid of the dark, and these incidents reminded her of that, except the fear was stronger and lasted longer. Whenever she felt an attack coming on, she would look for somewhere to hide until it passed. As a result, she’d become familiar with the location of all the janitors’ closets, the least visited parts of the library, and a storage room in the basement. If anyone did see her and asked if she was having a problem, she said she had cramps. And that worked for a time, until the spells came more frequently and lasted longer. “Clen, nobody has cramps four times a month,” Maxine said. “You need to do something about it.” “I’m okay.” Maxine didn’t argue. She simply told Thomasina, who came to their room where Clen was shivering under the covers. Thomasina sat on the edge of the bed and laid a hand on Clen’s forehead. “You don’t seem to have a fever.” “No. I’m c-cold.” “How often does this happen, Clen?” “It’s n-nothing.
