"It's okay, I'll … come back later," she said and moved towards the door.
"Fine. I'll go." Toby rolled his eyes. "Stay here. Are you still calling yourself Deidre?"
She gaped at him. He rolled his eyes again and trudged out of the room.
"If you're human, then I'm sorry," Hannah said with some effort. "If you're messing with us, then I'll do worse than slap you."
"I like your hair," one of the kids said, approaching.
"How did you become human?" another asked.
"Did you bring snacks?"
"Can we go to the underworld?"
Deidre stared down at the curious kids gathering around her. Normal kids didn't ask about the underworld or being human. She swallowed hard, not wanting to break down in front of them. One of the girls grabbed her hand to pull her to the blankets where they'd been sitting while another one tugged at a loose lock of her hair. Deidre went and sat when they pulled her towards the ground.
"You look like you're about to pass out," Hannah said.
"Rough week," Deidre whispered.
The kids were talking to her, but she had trouble focusing on anything outside of keeping the buzzing in her ears from pushing her beyond tunnel-vision into the darkness. Everyone knew her somehow or about the Immortals, and she was lost.
Hopefully, I'm dead in three months.
One of the kids handed her a handful of cotton balls while another put a doll in her lap. Uncertain what to do with either, she kept them. The kids seemed entranced by her pink hair. Someone brought her a colorful picture book.
"Read!" the little girl demanded.
Deidre struggled to focus.
"What Humans Eat," she read the title. "Really?"
The girl nodded.
"Okay. Why not." Deidre flipped to the first page. The little girl pushed the pages until satisfied, and Deidre didn't have the mental power to tell her it wasn't normal to start mid-book.
"Do humans eat plants?" she asked, eyes on the illustration.
"Yes!" a couple of voices chorused.
"Yes, humans eat many vegetables, like lettuce, broccoli and carrots," she read and turned the page. "Do humans eat rocks?"
"No!" the kids replied.
"No, humans do not eat rocks. You should never feed a human a rock, even by mistake. Good advice," she muttered and turned the page. "Do humans eat … uh … demons?" Unsettled by the image of a cheerful demon on a spit, she flipped to the next illustration.
"No!" more voices joined in.
"No, humans do not eat demons. But demons do eat humans," she read, grimacing at the image of a cheerful man on a platter surrounded by demons. "What kind of children's book is this?"