Her alarm sounded at midnight. She wrapped herself in a robe and tiptoed downstairs; Stepmother was sleeping across the hall, in what used to be Mom and Dad's room. Maya wanted to hide the chemistry book properly now that she had time. With the new supplies Stepmother brought, she could make a cup of pennyroyal tea while she was at it. She smelled mint even before she finished descending.

The kitchen light was on. No, a light. It wasn't bright enough to be the overhead. She crept up to the end of the divider wall. The light was moving, but only barely—a flashlight? She peeked around the corner.

He saw her.

Maya ducked back behind the wall. Her groggy mind was still putting the pieces together. Mr. Tilapia—Tapia was sitting at the kitchen counter, drinking a cup of tea and doing... something. The flashlight made it hard to see exactly. He was supposed to be sleeping on the couch. It wasn't that far away; she could even see it from where she stood at the end of the stairs. She should have known this could happen.

"It's ok. You're not in trouble."

How old did he think she was? She hadn't been "in trouble" since she was eleven. Every researcher she met treated her like a child, and she couldn't figure out if it was because she was short or because none of them knew how to talk to teenagers.

In any case, it was too late sneak back to her bedroom. She turned the corner.

"Hard time sleeping?" he asked.

"I came down for tea." Not a lie, but she let him think he was right.

Her eyes finally adjusted to the light. He was reading—she got closer—the chemistry book. She pretended not to notice and proceeded to find her favorite mug: a nice, fat one on which Mom had painted a coral reef. It was one of the only colorful things in this place.

If Tilapia didn't say anything to her about the book, he probably wouldn't mention it to Stepmother either. Maya started the boiler on the wall-mounted water dispenser. He probably hadn't read enough to know it would be a big deal. She wouldn't give him any hints.

"Interesting place to keep this kind of book." His tone wasn't sinister. Neither was his smile. Why did she feel so uncomfortable?

The boiler finished too quickly; the water had already been heated. She searched out the tea packets. Stepmother had already filed them in their ceramic holder. One was missing.

"You don't talk much, do you?" he observed. "I'm a friend of Flora's, you know. You can talk to me. You must get lonely."

She held down the water tap until her mug plumed with mint steam. "Not really," she stated. "I've got the fish."

Tilapia laughed so loud it was a wonder he didn't wake Stepmother. Maya didn't know what was so funny. He patted the other stool. "Come sit next to me. Tell me how you like this place."

It wasn't like she had a choice; there were only two seats in the whole kitchen. She sat. "It's alright I guess."

He pushed the book away and twisted towards her. "Do you feel safe?"

She shrugged. "Most of the time." She tried to gauge where he was in the book. He must have skipped the opening pages. Nobody read introductions in textbooks, right? At least, that's what Mom had thought. She hoped this man wasn't the exception.

"When are you scared?"

She sipped her tea. There had to be a reasonable way she could take the book with her. "I used to be afraid of the dark." His smile grew into a smirk. She clarified, "I'm not. Anymore."

"Don't any of the creatures scare you sometimes? I hear some pretty strange things live down here."

She shook her head. "Not them."

"It's ok if you don't tell me. You don't have to ever be scared, you know. It's part of my job to watch over you."

She paused. "How?" Stepmother had told Maya that now she was older, it was considered an invasion of privacy. The researchers were only supposed to look at the tapes if something happened.

He pointed up at a corner of the ceiling. "You might not remember, but there's cameras in every room. Eyes to keep watch for you."

"I thought they turned them off."

"They did, but since the tides have been getting a bit unpredictable, we wanted to keep a closer look."

Maybe Stepmother hadn't lied, but she hadn't told Maya they were watching again, and that was as good as lying. Maya downed the rest of her tea. "I need to get back to sleep." She leaned over the counter and grabbed the book. "I should put this back on the shelf."

"Do you need this?" He held out the flashlight.

"I know my way around."

He nodded. "See you in the morning."

I'm sure you will. She suspected he'd seen her more mornings than she knew.