"Me? I was..." Fine, he should say, but he can see in Hadlee's eyes how she's looking for something other than reassurance. Noah pulls away, but only so he can move his arm around Hadlee's back, and start guiding her down the hall and away from the auditorium.

It's a moment before he speaks again. "I was super annoyed, sure." Annoyance is easier to admit to than fear. "I thought maybe I'd been drugged. Kidnapped. My mother always told me that I have an overactive imagination. But then... everyone started explaining things, and..." Noah waves his free hand, as though dismissing the whole memory. "I mean, how can you really make any of this sound sane? But Kodi will return right to normal... unfortunately."