Month 2, Day 4: Curiouser and Curiouser
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Selena hadn't intended to go exploring so soon, not when she had so much to do with moving in, but on another snowy day she found herself navigating the treacherously icy steps down to the tunnels. Kita and Candice had become closer friends of hers in school, and it had been Kita who again mentioned them in passing, shuddering about the rats. Of course, it hadn't been the rats that caught her interest, but still, here she was.
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Perhaps she shouldn't have been so surprised that the gates seemed to be locked, but she peered through them, trying to discern something, anything, from the darkness beyond. The dripping of water and a slight scurrying noise was the only thing she could hear, and she felt a surprising amount of disappointment. She'd not exactly been looking forward to ruining her boots, but at the same time, it would have been thrilling to have an adventure to share with her new friends. Perhaps she might have even found something interesting to show Cyrus. She leaned forward, wondering if she could stick her arm through the bars and jiggle the lock somewhat.
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Someone called out from behind, and she stepped back, guiltily, before looking up. A young man with long hair was raising an eyebrow at her.
"Kid, what are you doing? You'll get bit doing that."
"Oh, Kita warned me about the rats," she said, swiftly. "I was going to be careful."
"Yeah, right." He didn't seem too phased, but motioned for her to step away. "It's private property down there. I know you local kids like to play about in there, but it's not safe. If you get hurt, it's not going to be you who gets in trouble. What's your name?"
She hurried up the steps, feeling her face burning with guilt and shame. She'd gotten caught, and immediately to boot. Candice and Kita were going to make fun of her, she was sure of it.
"Um, I'm Selena."
"Oh, so you're Selena?" His face lit up with good humour. "Well, you better take care of yourself, or who else is Cyrus going to talk to?"
She hesitated, but the guy held up his hands.
"Hey, no judgement, I promise. I'm Lou, I'm kinda like...Cyrus' cousin, I guess? Well, not by blood, but you know how it goes." He gave her a grin. "The kid mentioned you a bit."
"Really?" Selena asked, trying to sound casual. "What did he say?"
"You'd have to ask him. I'm not that much of a gossip." Lou laughed, and then his smile faded a bit. "Stay away from those tunnels, though. They're bad news."
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With that, he lifted his hand and began walking away towards the bar that she'd gone to, whistling as he did so. Selena didn't know whether she wanted to chase after him with more questions, or whether to unpack what he'd just said, but she settled for turning around and walking towards her new home, mulling over what he'd said about Cyrus, and wondering what he could have said about her.
