'Hey, you cheat!' Howard shouted, almost tossing his joypad at me.

I smiled and stuck out my tongue, not for once taking my eyes off the screen.

We were sat at the video game console playing this rather funny game where people speeded down unpredictable dangerous paths on long machines that moved with the aid of two big circular devices that rotated on their axis.

Howard only just introduced me to the video games and after the first try I was already beating him hands down.

'I'm not cheating, I'm merely exhibiting my talents,' I said.

'How are you doing it? I mean, I've been playing it for months and I never scored higher than a C!'

I shrugged. 'Maybe I used to play it a lot . . .'

Howard didn't notice I'd broken off. 'But you never played video games. Even when Dad bought the new PS you were just like yah boo.'

I cleared my throat and frowned at the screen. 'PS is what?'

'Oh, PlayStation, our game console brand.' He pointed to the front.

Just as the screen brought up game over in bright red letters. I scored an A plus and Howard got a D minus. This elicited a frustrated groan from him.

He threw the joypad down beside him. 'I quit,' he said frowning at me.

I smiled triumphantly. 'Jelly much?'

'Hmph!'

I laughed. 'Thought as much.'

'Think what you like. Tomorrow's there, I'm going to beat you too.'

'What's wrong, is your brain solar powered?'

'What?'

'You waiting for the sun to come up to charge your brain?'

'Oh, you can insult me now. The boot will be on the other foot tomorrow, you'll see.'

'Whose boot?' I asked, confused.

Howard stared at me incredulously. 'Our boots,' he said in cryptic tone of voice, his eyes still on me.

'Whoa, did I say something wrong?'

He raised a dark eyebrow and the corners of her mouth quirked in derision. 'You don't say?'

I gave him my best glare, slightly chagrined. 'Stop poking fun of me.'

Howard's blue eyes widened in shock for a brief moment, he hadn't expected that. Then the shock was gone like it'd never been there to begin with.

I thought he was going to start up a fight but then he turned down the corners of his lips and looked away. Although he seemed to be busy disconnecting his joypad, I could detect a change in his mood that left the air electric. The way he avoided eye contact, the way he shifted slightly away from me when he thought something else had my attention, it was as if he was scared of me.

I took a shaky breath. What did I do wrong?

When the tension in the air got so thick I could cut it with a cutting utensil, I couldn't have it anymore. I stood up and excused myself.

'I'll just go up to my box,' I said, already looking out the gadget box.

He grunted in reply, not looking up at me.

I made my way slowly out of the box, deep in thought. Why did they all behave strange to me? Okay, my amnesia. But I had a feeling it's way beyond that. Had I done something before my amnesia that warranted their strange behaviours to me? Perhaps I'd taken someone's life?

I sighed. And maybe it was me seeing things where they were not. I need to get that damn memory back, so everything can go back to normal.

There were a lot of the things I wanted to do that I'd been disallowed from doing because of my amnesia. For example, I wanted to go to that place Howard came back from earlier today. School, that's the name. Marilla wasn't back yet. By and large I just wanted to go into the out, anywhere outside the Big Cover.

The second sigh escaped my lips as I climbed up the steps to the next big box.

'Is everything okay?'

I jerked my head up. 'No, . . . Dad. I'm — I'm just plain frustrated, why can't I remember anything, why can't I go out, why can't I be normal?' I asked all at once.

I don't know where all that anger I put into my question came from, more seeped out as I just got angrier, I felt energized and I so wanted to hit something, anything, to let out my pent up emotions that were overfilling.

'Whoa,' the older man said, taking a step back. 'Easy, Tiana, easy.'

'No! I'm tired of that. Can't I just go to school and be normal? Can't I go into the out?' I didn't know where that energy came from, I hit the wall next to me. A large crack formed on it. I got angry at the crack and continued to hit it till all I saw was red.

'Tiana!' That was the older woman's voice. I could feel her close behind me, I ignored her and continued hitting the wall, tears making salty tracks down my face.

Suddenly, a stinging pain pierced the flesh on my upper arm, I opened my mouth in a silent scream before everything dissolved in a rush of black.