ExtraNormal (17 page)

Tears flooded my eyes. One escaped onto his finger. “It’s my dad,” I said in a husky voice. “He came home last night.”

Jesse checked over his shoulder then parked the car at the curb. A block away from the school. “Is he…did he…do something to you?”

“What?” I blinked several times, processing the question. “My dad? No! No, really. My dad’s harmless.”

“Yeah? You seem pretty scared of him.”

 “No. It’s not that. It’s just…you won’t…you can’t…”

He nodded, suddenly understanding. “So I shouldn’t expect a dinner invitation any time soon?”

“No,” I whispered. “He’ll be at the house pretty much all the time.”

“I see. So we just have our car rides.”

I nodded. I should give those up as well, but didn’t say so out loud. “School’s about to start,” I whispered.

“Maybe you should go ahead,” Jesse said. “So we’re not seen together.” It wasn’t said with bitterness, as I might have expected. But with sadness.

I nodded, sensing his disappointment. I forced myself out of the car—leaving behind his hundreds of unanswered questions. As I walked I realized that since my change I had two overwhelming directives. The first was to be near Jesse at all costs. The other was to act in his best interests. It was, however, impossible to do both. Any choice I made went against my own instincts.

Maybe Dad’s visit was the best thing that could have happened. I wasn’t capable of leaving Jesse of my own will. That was clear. But if Dad forced me to return with him, Jesse could finally be safe from the whims of the governing council. Assuming he could survive the separation. Either way, it seemed logical that the sooner I left, the better his odds of survival.

 CHAPTER NINETEEN

I groaned at the sight of Everett approaching our lunch table.

“Ladies…” He straddled the chair next to Lacey. “Are you all ready for homecoming?”

The other girls at the table giggled in unison. Causing girls to giggle seemed to be his one great talent.

“Hey Mira.” Everett picked up an orange slice from my tray. “Shame about your folks. Guess that’ll put a cramp in your style for a while.”

I stared, still chewing. A bread crumb fell from my mouth. I hadn’t told anyone but Jesse about Dad, not even Lacey. And there was no way Everett and Jesse had been chatting. I looked at Lacey, then back at Everett. He grinned while sucking on the orange. The Stones probably knew. But why would they tell something like that to Everett? Unless…

I opened a stream to Geery on my way to my locker to get my English notebook.

Geery streamed back.

I bumped into a boy and turned my head away.

Geery asked.

I arrived at my locker and spun the lock.

I looked up when I saw Lacey approaching and jumped. Everett was with her.

Geery continued.

I turned my back to Everett. I slammed my locker closed. I started down the walkway to my next class.

I paused to keep myself steady, tried not to think of Jesse. I swallowed, trying to lose the lump in my throat.

I looked back the way I’d come, at Everett and Lacey laughing near the lockers. Lacey’s gaze was glued on Everett. He looked above her head, directly at me. I whipped around and continued walking, then turned a corner towards my English class. I paused outside the door to the room.

The answer didn’t come right away.

I saw Jesse walking in my direction and put my hand on my stomach to stop the familiar butterflies.

Jesse paused for just a moment in front of me. Long enough for me to take a deep breath and get my head all muddled.

Jesse nodded politely, his eyes speaking volumes, and continued on his way. He knew better than to stop.

I looked at his back. The easy way he walked. His strong shoulders, slender hips and fine jet-black hair.

I continued to watch him move away from me, pretending we meant nothing to each other, and considered the ramifications of letting Geery in on my secret.

When English class started I pretended to listen to Mrs. Barnes—the only woman I’d ever seen with a mustache—but instead participated in a high-paced, rapid-fire debate with myself. Letting Geery in on my charade was a definite risk. But it should be reasonably small. If there was one person I could trust it was Geery. And it would be a relief to finally tell someone. Besides, it was the only way to learn the things I needed to know about repatterning. And Everett.

When Mrs. Barnes asked me a question I gave her a blank stare, trying to pull up a memory from seconds earlier. But I had no idea. “I…I need to go to the restroom,” I said.

 CHAPTER TWENTY

A girl came into the restroom where I was crouched in a corner listening to Geery’s tirade. It had taken several tries to find her, and right now I wasn’t sure I should have made the effort. I kept my face blank and watched the girl go into a stall.

Geery continued.

I didn’t respond.

not
a human: a normal born-on-Earth human. Please tell me that.>

I started rocking.

not
repatterned with Jesse. How can that even happen? I mean…I thought you’d tell me something…I don’t know. I don’t know what I thought was going on. But I didn’t think it was this. This is just…disgusting.>

I whispered.

Her voice was becoming shrill.

The girl came out of the stall and went to the sink. I kept my gaze on her. I streamed in a steady voice. I didn’t wait for an answer.

The girl glanced my way and I quickly looked down at my feet. I didn’t want to explain to Geery that single was the least of my worries.

Geery streamed.

I responded casually, more interested than I wanted to let on. I hadn’t considered the possibility of being forced into a Link Camp.

you’ve already linked
. What then?> she demanded.

I gave up the thought of asking Geery to learn more about the risk of separations after repatterning. If it was as dangerous as I suspected she’d go ballistic. I tried to keep my voice cheerful.

The girl left the room. I let out a sigh and straightened my legs.

We sat in silence for a moment. I figured she was working up to another lecture, so I decided to change the subject.

Geery cut me off. The connection closed then opened a few seconds later.

I asked, happy to be on a more pleasant topic.

I replied, trying to sound happy for her.

I rested my head on the cold tile wall, feeling a stab of sadness. My old life sounded pleasant—comfortable. The thought of returning to it seemed strange. And very empty.

I barely noticed Geery was asking a question. She was streaming.

I sighed.

I wanted to cry. But focused on keeping my voice steady.

Geery streamed, her annoyance obvious.

The restroom door opened again and I felt a chill. But it wasn’t from the outside air. That was rich, Geery lecturing me on taking things seriously.

I accepted the file and decided I ought to go back to class. No sense getting in trouble and raising red flags with Dad if I didn’t have to.

***

When I rushed into the living room several hours later, the screen from the television set blocked my path. The empty carcass of the back of the set was next to it. Smaller parts were spread from one side of the room to the other. “Dad?” I stepped around the mess into the kitchen, where he was hunched over the kitchen table and the remains of what had once been our stereo. I was eager to get to the backyard to review the file Geery had sent. But my curiosity got the better of me. “What are you doing?”

He looked up. “Oh Mirishka! You’re home.” His attention went immediately back to the contents of the table.

“It’s Mira,” I reminded him. I wondered if he realized the cardigan sweater he wore made him look like the dad on the old television show ‘My Three Sons’. Or if he knew the agency would have picked it out as a joke. “What are you doing?”

“Oh this is fascinating.” He picked up a round knob, set it down. His fingers traveled to a frayed cord. “Just fascinating.”

“Yeah?”

He nodded and turned over a square metal box, examining it. “This technology is so basic. Nreim was much more technologically advanced at this age.”

“Well, we are supposed to be smarter.”