“I’ll tell you how I feel. Annoyed," I snorted.
“She had no right to talk to you like that. She has an axe to grind with me and tried to use you to get at me. It was a cheap shot, and I can assure you she'll never do that again. I banned her from coming near you for two weeks so she can think about what she did, before ever embarrassing you, and insulting me, like that again. And before you ask, if she breaks the ban she will go in isolation for the remainder of the two weeks and, yes, I do have the power to impose that sanction."
Eliza picked up on my mood and asked what we were going to do this afternoon, to change the subject. I instantly started to feel more positive, focussing on the exercises I had planned for her this afternoon. She was going to have to do a lot of shielding and masking, so it would become more automatic and natural each time she did it. Then she could start focussing on interpreting other people's signals.
She worked incredibly hard and made good progress in the afternoon. I could see again she really thrived when working with Zaphire, she was an incredible motivator and made it fun at the same time. At one point they were having a bit too much fun, and I had to remind them to focus, which earned me two pairs of eyes throwing daggers at me.
“Let’s go and try the Dark Room." I decided.
Eliza looked puzzled, but Zaphire’s eyes lit up.
“We’ve been focussing on controlling your senses, but you also need to start trusting them. The Dark Room is perfect for that. I will set up a few tasks and you will have to rely on all your senses, but your eyesight to complete them." I explained.
“It’s really cool," Zaphire added.
“You’ll love it.”
I wasn’t sure if Eliza did love it, in fact I was sure she didn’t; she cursed a lot! But she grew in confidence under my watchful eye and Zaphy’s encouragement. Her performance confirmed my belief Eliza was going to be an exceptional Sensorian. She certainly did a hell of a lot better than my first attempts in there, to the frustration of Markus! I used to be scared of going in there, but then Markus was an unforgiving teacher, and I didn’t have someone like Zaphy to support me.
Whilst working in the Dark Room I received a rather troubling text from our leader. Apparently, Eliza's mum had informed him of Kasper's efforts to try and contact Eliza. She couldn't put him off any longer and needed some help. He would just not accept her excuses any longer and had insisted on talking to Eliza himself. Markus had tasked me to deal with it, one way or another as he would be out for the rest of the day. That scuppered my request for a meeting but I managed to arrange a time for tomorrow, which would just have to do.
I could either allow Eliza contact time or go and see Kasper myself and put him off once and for all. Eliza wouldn't like what I'd have to do and I had thought it a bit drastic anyway, better if it could be avoided. I would give Eliza one more chance to try and deal with him herself.
“Just what we need," I mumbled to myself and tried to work out the best time to tell Eliza.
I decided to finish off the exercises this afternoon and deal with it after dinner. Give her brain a little time to relax, before tackling Kas.
I wondered how she would react to this news. It would be interesting to see her deal with Kas. I asked her mum to tell him to expect Eliza to FaceTime at some point this evening, but I also reiterated that the less contact between us all, the safer it would be for Eliza. Phone calls could be tracked if someone was looking.
Later that evening, I confronted Eliza with the news I'd had earlier in the day. I had wanted to wait until Zaphire had gone but then thought better of it. It might help Eliza having Zaphy by her side when I told her. She looked concerned, but I also detected a little glimmer of excitement. She obviously missed Kas and was happy with the opportunity to see and talk to him, even though the message she had to give him, wasn't what he would want to hear. I felt a little sting of jealousy towards Kas, even though I knew the relationship was doomed. It was the affection Eliza clearly felt for him that bothered me, irrational as it was. I should be more jealous of my sister in that case. Eliza's feelings for her were clear to see and far more passionate than whatever she'd ever felt for Kas. Eliza had a little chat with Zaphire, explaining who Kas was and what the story was so far. I noticed Zaphire exuding a little sign of jealousy as well.
“Right Eliza, before you make the call we need to talk about how you are going to convince him not to contact you again." I started before she interrupted.
“I know what to say." she stated irritably.
I ignored her rudeness and carried on regardless, but noticed Zaphire lifting her eyebrows at me.
“I'm sure you do, but as well as what you're saying, it's important how you say it. Your body language needs to be confident and open. No crossing arms. Look him in the eyes, not too much blinking or averting your eyes. You can use your arms
