Inverse by Mikey Luke Mitchell (top 100 novels of all time TXT) 📕

can see my soul.
“Thirty-three, you’ve like proper sculpted it into your pad, whats with that?” I looked back to my pad and felt overwhelming sense that can only be described as ‘What the hell’ Across the page was colored black, but in the middle of my page, there was still white space, untouched patch of clean white paper that was in the shape of ’33.’
“I don’t know, boredom.” Was all the only thing that I could reply back to her. But why ’33’? I don’t live at thirty-three, I know it wasn’t in my cell phone number.

The bell rang for lunch and I stood waiting for everyone to leave and I met Miss Franklin at her desk. She was a fairly young for a teacher, perhaps mid twenties, slim with frizzy blondish hair, she started this year so I’m guessing she’s fresh out of university. Every guy thought she was hot, when she was teaching something I cared about, I felt my hormones kick-in to hyper drive suddenly every slight bend, brush of the hair and the V-neck sweater didn’t go unnoticed. If I met her anywhere else, probably wouldn’t have the same affect. School-boy fantasy type thing.
“Will, If you have a question make it quick, I’m starving, the bakery across the road closes soon and I need to get my sausage roll fix.” I’ve got a sausage roll you can have. There goes the hormones. I grimaced but I don’t think she noticed her accidental innuendo.
“Could you take a look at this for me?” I handed her my notepad at the page with the ’33’ on it. She took it from my hand and her fingers brushed mine, pulse heightened, electric surging through my body… uh oh, picturing Miss Franklin covered in sausage rolls wearing them like a dress. Stop it!
“Well what is it?”
“I was doodling and without realizing it came out like that?”
She took wind at what I was getting at and started to scrutinize the page, her glossy lips opened slightly revealing some of her mouth. Picture number two comes, she’s ripping off a sausage roll from her dress at the hip, and with slow anticipation, she takes a - Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.

“Could be a lot of things Will, implicit memory, repressed memories, your subconscious. You play Inverse don’t you?”
“Yep.”
“Well some studies show, that those that because of the sleep-like state your subconscious takes in a lot more than it usually does, so when you do things like blind doodling, your subconscious is a little bit more active, so to speak. I mean this is quite clear so that’s my quick analyzation but it looks like the number is seriously playing on your mind, or at least your subconscious.”
I grimaced, the number doesn’t mean anything to me.
“Why do you think that?”
“Well, it’s extremely clearly drawn out in this blind sketching, and you felt the need to ask me about it, without realizing it Will, your mind can do some crazy things. I suggest not to get caught up with the meaning, but don’t be surprised if this number props up somewhere. If you really want to, look at Deitman and Kleitman’s study on middle memory and Inverse.”
She gave me back the notepad. I was glad that my hormones are now replaced with this itching urge to investigate.
“Like I said Will, don’t get to caught up with it, people have gone crazy looking for answers to strange subconscious messages and nine times out of ten there is no meaning to them, but the study might give you a clue as to where it could have come from. If you don’t mind, I got to get my greasy delight.” I grimaced again at my dirty mind.

I gave myself a quick glance down as I walked through the hall to check that my hormones didn’t take that extra step further as I got into the lunch room.
“Hey guys, fancy coming round tonight after our battle, for a little celebration type thing plus, it’s my birthday tomorrow.” I said to Rachel, Randeep and Coleen.
“We know it’s your birthday, were not bad friends Will.” Coleen reassured me.
“Why aren’t you doing your birthday bash on your actual birthday?” Rachel said in an almost persuasive tone.
“Well my mum and dad are back the day after so I thought, I clean up any mess tomorrow rather than get up extra early.” Knowing Ray, there will definitely be mess.
“We will be there.” Randeep said gesturing to himself and Coleen.
“I did have plans, but it don’t matter I’ll be there.” Rachel said, obviously hinting. I let that comment settle and before I got the chance to change the date, Coleen spoke first.
“What plans?”
“You know, just, plans.” It was weird of Rachel to talk in code, she was normally very open and especially to Coleen.
“If you want, I can change the date it’s fine.”
“No, no it’s fine, they weren’t important or anything.”
“Don’t feel like you have to come, I wouldn’t think any less of you.” I think I was trying to convince myself, but then again, it would take more than that to get me to think less of Rachel.
“I feel bad for myself for not going, I’ll be there.”

After lunch was an hours of independent study for finals, for most this meant an hours free from school, but I spent of it in the library, fair enough not doing much study, but I had a six page assignment for geography on how we could use less paper to save the trees, one of those topics was how we could submit our essays over the internet like at college, I felt a strong sense of irony as I was printing it. With thirty minutes spare I went back onto the computer to search for Deitman and Kleitman’s study, after a few clicks at other websites and online bookstores I managed to find the study in it’s entirety, I quickly skimmed to the conclusion section but it was just a elongated version of what Miss Franklin had already told me.

I took a brief look around to find that no one was behind me or watching what I was doing. The coast was clear, and I already felt embarrassed doing, my mind replayed the words from Miss Franklin like a broken record don’t get caught up with it. I shook them off and felt slight turn in my stomach while I typed ’33’ into google. I knew full well that I wasn’t going to find anything specific to me, but the sicky stomach feeling was reminding me of the dangers of getting caught up, obsessed almost. My cursor lingered on the search button I finally plucked up the courage to click search, maybe I was clicking my sanity away?

My stomach quickly relieved as nothing really took popped out to me. I knew that anyway but hopefully this will be the end of it. I looked back at my notepad and stared at it for a while, the number slowly started to creep me out. I started writing some calculations with my name and date of birth.

W= 23 - No point I carrying on with that.

04 + 17 + 2049 = 2070… Maybe if I could…

My stomach suddenly hit me with another churning like sensation. I then gave up on trying to think of ways to reduce it to thirty-three knowing full well it was useless, extremely obsessive and crazy. I went back to the computer and just hit the link to wikipedia. I skimmed down to reading bits and pieces that caught my eye. In religion Jesus was thirty-three when he died. Jesus also performed thirty-three miracles. Something else to do with the star of david. In the ‘Other Fields’ section there was only two that caught my eye, klu-klux-klan, KKK equals thirty-three, there a lot of klu klux klan movements in Britain due to it’s now high racism apart from it wasn’t hate for color of the skin but for religion. It maybe a possibility where I got ’33’ from. Wikipedia had a lot more, including thirty-three segments in united nations, it is quite an important number which left my mind at ease because that meant I could of got it from anywhere, but still didn’t explain why my mind was so bothered by it.


Chapter 5: Assassinated


“I’ll definitely be there!” Ray shouted over the distortion of his car subwoofer. He carried onto say something but it was all muffled so I did my usual ‘nod and agree.’ He continued to laugh loudly as he turned down the music, my ears took a while to get accustomed to the sudden silence and started to ring harshly for a while until it died down into the background.
“You can turn the music down you know, I’m not going to bite your head off.”
“Rubbish, last time I did that you went crazy!” I pictured it in my mind, I had a headache and turned it down, Ray gave me his fake bulging eye look.
“I’m a lot more considerate now, anyway I asked if I could bring Jamie along tonight, you know introduce him to the guild and that.”
“Yeah, of course.” How could I forget about Jamie all this time. Jamie was in our year at our school but like Ray, kept himself to himself a lot, but a hell of a lot more withdrawn and shy like, like a disturbed child it was sometimes a little too freaky, and there were a lot of rumors about him along the lines of he was sectioned and he is schizophrenic. He was in the drama club so you would of thought he would be the total opposite like the other kids. Loud, over the top and expressive, as well as sexually active, they share partners like pack of sticky M&Ms.

“How did you get talking to him anyway?” I asked wondering if he did speak to Ray, at the after parties Ray invites us to, Jamie was always in the corner or not there.
“I don’t know, no one ever spoke to him, call me a big softy but I felt sorry for him.”
“Awww.” I said ridiculing him, breaking out into a crackled laughter, it wasn’t very often Ray showed a heart. He retaliated my teasing with a side-eye of death as we call it, creased forehead, pin like eyes and scrunched up mouth like he was trying to fight back and intense anger featuring screaming insults and threats. Instead of opening his mouth he turned the music back up so loud that I swear I could feel my brain move around in my skull to the beat.

I was logged into Inverse at my game-home with Randeep and Coleen waiting for Ray, it was about an hours real-time before the battle with the minors. Rachel was going to meet us a bit later before the battle and I assumed Brett the same but he was taking one of his funny turns, not answering any phone calls or IM’s I gave up trying and willed it not to play on my mind further, plus I was too excited to get this over and done with so I could start the party tonight. I sent an extra email out to some other friends in my year inviting them along.

I dug myself into the sofa with my laptop that was prompt on my knee. I looked back at my emails to see if Amy had