Earnest Ben cont.

Ben told her that he was trying to figure out her secrets and Lucy looked shocked. Her face never appeared angry or upset, just surprised. That made Ben feel better about telling her. To be safe, he asked Lucy if he could keep trying to figure it out. She agreed that it could be an interesting exercise.

Late at nights, when the pills all finally wore off, Ben lay on his bed and thought. The pieces of his mind the pills had scattered collected themselves and went to work on their new task. It took only a little effort to focus now, no nearly as much as it would take a few hours from now.

Ben allowed his mind to toy with the pieces of the puzzle he had collected so far. Lucy was young, pretty, unmarried as far as he could tell. She was smart and caring. She didn't think anyone even knew she had a secret, let alone could guess what it was. It had to be thoroughly buried, then, perhaps as deeply as Ben's own secrets.

As sleep stole over him Ben could feel the first flashes of insight sparking.

After breakfast, as the pills ate into his brain and changed its functions, Ben sat in his room and waited for Lucy. He thought he already knew part of the answer and that he was close to the whole solution. He was excited.