Free Mind Over Easy by Bryan Cohen

quickly and glared at her peer.
    "You know he didn't," Natalie said. "It was Nigel. The murderer who was working with your two friends, one of whom tried to kill Dhiraj with a rock."
    Travis looked around in either direction and led Natalie away to a quiet corner. Natalie was surprised to see such concern on his face.
    "Hey, you need to be quiet about that kind of stuff here, OK?" Travis looked convinced that someone would discover them at any moment. "I know about Jason and Phil. I realize Ted was only protecting you and your friends."
    It didn't seem to add up for Natalie.
    "Then why are you here?"
    Travis looked at his watch. "We have a few minutes. Why don't I show you around?"
    Natalie considered sticking with the crowd. After all, she didn't know what Travis was capable of. Then again, he didn't want to throw her out for speaking the truth about the Torellos. She figured that was a good sign.
    Natalie nodded and Travis opened a door to an unpopulated part of the building.
    He showed off the building's various renovations, including a state-of-the-art cafeteria, a conference room and several holding cells. The row of cells caught Natalie's attention. With the musty smell and the dim lighting, she wondered if the hall was one of the few parts of the building that had avoided renovation.
    "Why would you need these?" she asked.
    "If any of our members go out of bounds, we give them a little time to cool off." Travis tapped a metal door with his good hand. "The gentleman who threw the green paint balloons spent a couple of hours in this one."
    When they reached the door they'd first entered, Natalie stopped her tour guide by the arm.
    "I appreciate you showing me around, but you haven't told me why you're willing to lie about the Torellos."
    The mild smile on Travis' face went away. He let a shallow breath out of his nose.
    "Jason and Phil's parents needed something to latch onto." Travis paced away from Natalie and back. "I'd been over their house a hundred times. The movement gave them exactly what they wanted: someone to blame. It's a lot easier to blame Ted than something you can't see."
    Natalie watched Travis as he moved back and forth. She wasn't sure what made the sympathy rise up inside, but her once-brash tone had faded to sincere.
    "I'm sorry they had to deal with that, but why are you here if you know the truth? You know that Ted isn't an alien."
    Travis chuckled. When he did, Natalie could see his slightly crooked smile. She found herself kind of liking it.
    "I was in kindergarten with Ted. I know he's not an alien. GHA isn't nefarious or evil. It's about pride and safety for people who are afraid of change."
    They shared a moment of eye contact before a knock on the door startled the both of them. A scrawny classmate of theirs by the name of Nick poked his head around.
    "It's time to meet about Operation Home Front." Nick turned his rat-like face toward Natalie. "What's she doing here?"
    Travis walked up to Natalie with a knowing smirk. He took her hand. She felt a pang of nervousness in her stomach. Natalie knew Travis had hurt Dhiraj, but she didn't want him to go away. When he moved his face toward hers, she could have pushed, punched or kicked him so he never tried anything like that again. Instead, she let him. The chance to feel something like she'd felt with Ted was too good to pass up. His lips parted and they shared a deep kiss. Natalie closed her eyes and put her hand around the back of Travis' neck. The way his mouth moved made her feel alive. When he pulled away from her, Natalie kept her hand on his neck.
    "She's a special guest." Travis gave her other hand a squeeze. "I've got to meet with some of the higher-ups about an outreach thing. Find you after the meeting?"
    Natalie smiled and let a small sigh escape her lips. Travis seemed to enjoy her reaction a lot more than Nick did. The rat-lookalike gave Natalie one last wrinkle of his nose before the two GHA youth leaders exited. Natalie leaned