A Girl Called Fearless (13 page)

I put Mom's letters back in their box. I still wasn't sure how I felt or Yates felt, and I wasn't even sure it mattered, because in the end, I was leaving and Yates wasn't going with me.

But I needed to know Yates was safe, and I needed to say good-bye.

29

I shoved the little lobster tank of mikes in Roik's hand before I got in the car for school on Friday. “Lose these?”

He didn't even try to deny it. “Can you blame me? What with everything?”

“Yeah, I can. But I'm guessing Ho made you.”

And bad little liar that Roik was, he gulped.

The photographers who'd camped out at the Flintridge community gates were gone when we went through. Ho got to them, I thought. For once, I appreciated how Ho vaporized people.

Roik and I didn't talk the rest of the trip which was fine, because all I could think about was Yates and whether he was okay.

The second we hit Masterson, I flew out of the car.

Sparrow was squeezed into the blind spot in the hall where the monitors didn't reach, tapping away on her phone. I hadn't seen her for a few days, since her dad took her to New York to prep for her debutante auction.

“Hey,” I said.

Sparrow looked up. Her eyes were bloodshot, and I swore she hadn't even brushed her hair. “What you do want?” she snapped.

I almost walked away, but then I saw her hands were trembling. “Are you okay?”

“No, I'm not okay. Sotheby's sold me to a speculator last night. Eighteen million. Impressed?”

I was horrified. The guy bought her so he could turn right around and sell her to someone else for more. “I'm so sorry, I didn't know. I thought you were just going for an interview.”

“Yeah, well, surprise. Dad couldn't wait to auction me off.” Her eyes kept flitting to her phone. “So, you obviously want something.”

If it wasn't about Yates, I'd have left her alone. “Yates is missing. He was at the protest in Sacramento yesterday, but he's not answering his phone.”

She stared at me and I felt her deciding if she should help me. “Yeah, the cops took him in. I saw it last night on a video.”

A lump formed in my chest. “How can I find out if Yates is okay? A cop beat him over the head with a baton.”

“The police won't tell us if he's hurt, but we can check his release date.”

“You know how to do that?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Sparrow tapped away at her screen. “Here's the inmate locator.”

I watched her type in “Yates Sandell.” He was in Sacramento County Jail charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. No bail. No release date.

“That's not good,” Sparrow said. “He's stuck in there until a judge feels like letting him go.”

“No, you're kidding!”

“Afraid not.” The bell rang for class. Sparrow checked her messages once more, and swore a streak before shoving her phone into her pocket.

We walked into class with the last bell, and Sparrow slammed into her seat. Ms. A studied her for a moment. “All rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.”

We stood up, all of us except Sparrow who stared at the floor, shaking her head.

“I pledge allegiance—”

“No, I'm not doing it,” Sparrow said.

The rest of us looked at each other. “To the flag—”

“Sparrow, get up,” I whispered. The monitors could see her.

“Of the United States of America—”

Ms. A frowned at the monitor and then at Sparrow.

“And to the Republic for which it stands—”

“Sparrow!” I said.

“One nation, indivisible, under God with liberty and justice for all.”

Sparrow raised her head and sat with her chin held high, meeting Ms. A's gaze.

Ms. A took a last glance at the monitor, then she marched up the aisle, and wrenched Sparrow to her feet.

My heart thudded as I saw Sparrow's eyes narrow. “It's a joke,” she said. “Liberty and justice for who?”

Ms. A slapped Sparrow so hard, her head snapped back, and she would have fallen if Ms. A hadn't grabbed her arm. “How
dare you
defile the Pledge of Allegiance!”

Sparrow touched her cheek, the slap a brilliant pink.

“You will proceed directly to the track,” Ms A told her, “where you will run until I tell you to stop.” Then she shoved Sparrow out the door.

Ms. A folded her arms as if she was trying to hold herself together. “The rest of you will take your seats and write an essay about the meaning and significance of the Pledge of Allegiance.”

I knew Ms. A was doing this, slapping Sparrow and disciplining us, for the camera in the back of the room, but for some reason, today I couldn't go along. I remained on my feet as each of my classmates sat down and started to write.

“Avie?” Ms. A said.

“I can't,” I answered. “Sparrow's right. Liberty and justice for who?”

I felt everyone's eyes on me.

“Aveline, in the hall. Now!” Ms. A pointed to the door.

Holy—why did I do that?
I thought as Ms. A marched me down the hall to the spot the monitors missed.

“What has gotten into you, speaking out like that?” she demanded. “You know that could get us
both
in trouble.”

I covered my face with both hands. “I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have, but—”

“Avie, look at me. This is about Jessop Hawkins, isn't it?” she said, glancing between my face and the sparkly bracelet on my wrist.

“He's horrible. He's taking over my life, and he locked this bracelet on me before I could say no.”

“So you don't want to go through with your Signing?”

I shook my head no.

“Do you know someone who can help you?”

“Yes, I think so.”

We both turned as we heard footsteps down the hall. “Promise me you will ask if you need help,” she said.

“I promise.”

“Now go change into your running clothes, and when you get to the track let Sparrow know I'll be down soon.”

Out on the track, Sparrow was running in ballet flats. Her uniform skirt was flapping around her thighs and her shirt was so wet with sweat, you could see her bra right through it.

I trotted to the fence and stretched out my quads. No way was I going to involve Ms. A if I made a run for Canada. My classmates needed her. Father Gabriel was the one who had to get me out.

30

No release date. No matter how many times I checked on Friday and then on Saturday morning, Yates' status didn't change. He was locked up like a criminal and all I could do was wait.

By lunchtime I was banging off the walls, so I threw on my running gear. Roik was parked in front of the Sportswall. “I'm going for a run,” I said.

Roik paused the TV. “That's what the treadmill's for.”

“I need some fresh air. Come on. You can follow me in the car. We'll be back in half an hour.”

He rolled onto his feet. “Twenty minutes and you wear a hat, shades, and long sleeves. I don't want you flashing that bracelet around. Oh, and no earphones.”

“Sure.” Anything to get outside and get out of my head.

I followed the street as it climbed the hill, and ran through the lacy shade. The neighborhood was so quiet, you could almost believe it was the same as it was when I was little.

The hill got steeper, and the road twistier. Roik slowed Big Black to a crawl about a hundred feet behind me. I smiled, thinking that if I jumped into one of these yards. I could take off down the canyon, and Roik couldn't guess which way I was headed.

My feet soared. I imagined leaping like a deer over fences and Roik trying to chase me in Big Black. He'd never catch me on foot.

I'd gone about a mile when Roik pulled alongside and shoved his phone through the window. “It's for you.”

The screen said, “Restricted Number,” so it had to be Hawkins calling from Singapore, checking up on me like one of his investments. “No, thanks.”

Roik sighed. “Take the damned phone.”

I slapped it to my ear. “Hello?”

“Avie!!!!” Dayla's squeal sent me running to a neighbor's driveway.

“Day! Are you home?”

“No, still here in Fetal Fed. But I'm getting out in a few days.”

The video was blocked so I couldn't see her face. Maybe the Feds didn't want anybody to see what a Fetal Protection unit looked like.

“You are? That's amazing.” Then I remembered what Dad said. “Does that mean you're— Someone's taken possession?”

“No, not exactly.”

Dayla sounded like she was playing for the camera. “I mean Dad's considering offers. One guy's even throwing in a condo in Jackson Hole. My brothers are pumped. You know how they love to ski.”

“Riley especially.”

“He called me this morning. ‘Black diamond, Dayla. This guy's the best.'”

I was dying to ask about Seth, but I held off. “I can't wait to see you.”

“I've missed you so much.”

“Oh, Day, it's been awful without you. So much has happened. I have so much to tell you.”

“I can't believe you're getting Signed!!”

“You heard about that?”

“Jessop Hawkins! Did you meet him? Is he cute?”

Day was totally playing for the camera. She knew I didn't want to get Signed.

“No, he's not cute exactly, he's—” Evil, villainous, perverted. “I don't know, you have to meet him.”

“Well, I love him already for getting me out of here.”

Icy fingers raced up my back. “Hawkins helped you?”

“Yeah, his assistant, Mr. Ho, arranged everything. They wanted to surprise you.”

“This is the best surprise ever.” I tried to think like Ho. His strategy: bring Avie's best friend back to spy on her.

Sadness swept through me. Dayla wasn't stupid. She had to know what she was doing. “So when do you come home?” I said.

“Not sure. Next week sometime. Ooops, my three minutes are up.”

“Call me as soon as you get out.”

“I will! Love you, Avie!”

“Love you, Day.”

I crushed the phone in my hand. Dayla could be back as soon as Monday. So who told Hawkins about her?

I bet the answer was sitting behind Big Black's steering wheel. Roik would be out of a job once I belonged to Jes Hawkins. Unless Roik proved he was invaluable. Loyal.

To Jes.

That did it. Tomorrow I was telling Father Gabe that I was joining Exodus.

31

After mass on Sunday, Father Gabe and I tucked into a corner of the rectory away from the windows. He didn't look directly at me and anyone would think he was watching the church grannies teach us girls to dance the Macarena.

“Have you decided?” he asked.

My mouth went dry. Tell him. This is what you want. “Yes, I want to join the Exodus.”

“You have no doubts? You are sure?”

“Yes.” I wasn't, but how could anyone be absolutely sure?

Father G bit into his doughnut and a comet trail of powdered sugar hit his black shirt. “We will plan for you to leave Thursday afternoon. Your friend suggested a location.”

Sweet Fantasies. I nodded, wishing Thursday wasn't so far away. Dayla could be back any minute.

“Your bodyguard will wait outside?”

“Yes, that's the last place he'd want to be.”

“Bueno,”
Father Gabe murmured.

My heart pounded in my ears. I did it. This was real. I was going.

Even though I was scared, I felt a surge of power. Screw Hawkins and Roik. I was taking charge of my life.

“I will contact your father, and tell him you must receive premarital counseling on Wednesday. Then we can discuss the final plan.”

“Okay, but what if my dad says no?”

“Your father was married in this church. I will remind him that God does not believe in Signings. Marriage is holy, a sacrament, and Signings defile His gift.”

As Father Gabriel watched the grannies and girls dance, I had to ask why he was risking so much to help girls get to Canada. The Catholic Church didn't exactly have a rep for championing women's rights.

“Father, I don't understand why you help girls like me, why not the poor or the homeless?”

He brushed the sugar off his shirt and didn't answer right away. “The chess players do not care about the pawns. They sacrifice the least powerful so they can hold on to their power. Your leaders play chess with your lives, but what the world does not yet know is that someone else whispers the moves as they play.”

I started to pick apart his words, trying to understand what he meant.

“If you will excuse me,” he said, and walked away.

Whispers the moves as they play?
I glanced over at Sparrow, remembering what she said after Rowley's lawyer was blown to pieces. This isn't about Paternalists keeping girls safe. Something else is going on.

Sparrow was hugging each girl in her needlework group, and I realized she was saying good-bye. Earlier, I overheard her tell Mrs. Kessler that her dad was shipping her off to her buyer in New York in a couple days.

I walked over and said hi to Sparrow. “Yates hasn't contacted you, has he?”

“Sorry, I wish.”

“I saw you saying good-bye to people. So, I guess this is it.”

“No, I'll be at school tomorrow.” She nodded at Father Gabriel. “Is he helping you?”

There was no point in lying. “Yeah.”

“Good for you.” She tucked a loose curl behind her ear. “You've got a backup plan, right? In case things don't work out.”

“No, I—”

“Any money? A few hundred dollars?”

I didn't have any cash, just the plastic cards that alerted Dad or Roik every time I made a purchase. “No, why would I need that?”

“Because you don't want to be stuck somewhere with no food or gas money or, worse, get held up at the border because you can't pay a bribe.”