He returned the look I gave him earlier.
“Whatever,” I rolled my eyes. “I just don’t want to be blamed if we do poorly.”
“Are you worried about doing poorly?”
“Of course.”
“You shouldn’t. You’re paired withme.”
God, he really was infuriating. “That does not reassure me.”
“Liar,” he teased.
I scoffed. “Are we in agreement then? Or do you have another PowerPoint presentation you need to get through?”
“I told you I’m interested!”
“Fine!”
“Good!”
“So, it’s agreed then?”
“Yes!”
“Good!”
A long silence drifted between us as we glared at one another. Nathaniel’s ears were red, and my jaw was clenched so hard that when I finally opened it to take a sip of water, it ached.
“Do you have a hypothesis?” Nathaniel finally broke the silence.
“Yes,” I breathed out, “cults facilitate an environment of religious fanaticism that breeds psychosis.”
Nathaniel nodded as he opened up a new page in his notebook. “Okay, then, we need a minimum of ten scholarly articles. You’ve already found some, right?”
“I have four,” I shrugged.
“Alright. I’ll find the other six,” he replied.
“We also need a case study.”
Nathaniel nodded and we spent the next few hours working in silence, only exchanging a few words to answer questions or resolve any concerns.
I had almost forgotten Nathaniel was there until a quiet 'holy shit' escaped his throat. I lifted my head and watched as he leaned closer to his laptop screen, lips parted and eyes wide.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Come take a look at this.”
I moved around to stand behind him, leaning down to read the news article lighting up his screen.
“There was this Doctor in the United States who wanted to see if he could withstand the psychological manipulation of some cult leader,” Nathaniel summarised, “and he joined with the intention of studying the members and providing tips on how to avoid being manipulated. It was originally only meant to be a one-month trial, but according to his family, he went missing for over a year.”
“Holy shit,” I repeated Nathaniel’s words. “So what, he joined the cult, then?”
“Yeah, they found him after a year, thinking maybe the cult leader found out and had forced him there against his will,” Nathaniel said, scrolling down to show a photograph from a police conference. “But he insists he decided to stay because he believed it was the right place for him. He didn’t evenwanttoreturn to his family. He had three children. Who leaves their children for a cult?”
I thought of my mother leaving Auden and I in North Lane, and muttered, “You’d be surprised.”
