The Geneva Project - Truth (2 page)

“
Come take a look,” he said moving aside so I could get a better look.

I grabbed the rim of the hole with my fingers and tried hoisting myself up while balancing on my tippy toes, but my eyes still barely cleared the opening.

“
Ha-ha, don’t you ever get tired of standing on your tip toes like that little Tippy?” he laughed.

Before I could come back with a cleaver remark he had scooped me up and slung me onto his back so we could both peer through the hole at the calm ocean.  I could have stayed like that forever, with Nova’s warmth radiating through my whole body as I clung to his shoulders and gazed at the sea while the salty air lapped at my long blonde hair.  He must have sensed my happiness too because he said,

“
See, I told you you’d feel better.”

“
Ok, so you were right,” I smiled.

“
So, what had you so upset there, Tippy?”

“
My name I guess.”

“
Did you forget your name again? I heard you like to daydream, but that’s bad,” he joked.

“
No, I didn’t forget my name, it’s Jane #65; only that’s not the name I’m talking about.  I mean my real name, like you and Remi.”

“
Oh.  Who’s Remi?” he asked.

So I told him all about my best friend, John #26, and about his real name being Remi. And how this whole thing had come about because I was telling Remi about how he had told me his name was Nova, and then about no one knowing my name, and then #31 picking on me.

“
Tippy, I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have said anything to you. I didn’t know you were going to take the name thing so seriously,” he said. “And your friend Remi is right, you can’t go around talking about names.  He sounds smart, so you listen to him, alright?”

“
But…”

“
And give 31 a break.  I know she can be tough, but it’s only because she’s so sad over… well you know.  We all lost a lot of people we loved in the Flood.”

“
I did too, that’s no reason for her to be so mean. We all lost our parents!”

“
Some of us lost more than that Tippy.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
Never mind,” Nova said sullenly.

Sadness seemed to fill his eyes and he shrugged me off his shoulders and started to walk back towards the courtyard.  I scurried after him.

“
I’m sorry.  I’m sorry.  Nova, what did I do?”

“
It’s ok Tippy, you didn’t do anything.  It’s just … you almost have it easier because you were so young when you came here that you don’t remember your family, your parents, brothers, sisters.  I still do and so does Jemma.  We both lost our little sisters in the Flood.”

“
Jemma?”

“
That’s 31’s name.  Now don’t go repeating that ok?  You’ll just give her another reason to go after you.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  31 had a name too?  Was I the only one who didn’t? I was lost in a thousand questions and had to jog to catch back up to Nova’s long strides.

“
I’m sorry you lost your sister Nova,” I added breathlessly when I caught him.

“
Thanks,” he said and gave a stressed smile for my benefit.

“
What was she like?”

He stopped walking and just looked at me for a moment.  I was about to apologize for being so nosy when he smiled and laughed. 

“
Huh, no one’s ever asked me that before.  She was a lot like you actually.  Always under foot, too short and too nosy for her own good!” he said, with a real smile this time as he poked at me.

And then he did something that no one had ever done to me before. He kissed me on the top of my head and trotted off to join the other fourteen-year olds as they headed out to the forest for Flood work. 

I stood there stunned for a moment.  No one had ever done that to me before and it made me feel funny inside.  My ears burned again and my cheeks felt hot.  I could hear my heart pounding in my ear drums.  Suddenly Remi nudged me to follow him and the rest of my group out to the fields to sort through rubble.  The rest of the day seemed to swim by.  All I could think about was Nova.  At first it was just in a curious way.  Like, how did he know so much about the other kids and everyone’s names, and the hole in the wall?  But soon he was all I thought about, all day, every day.  He slowly worked his way into my daydreams as well.  I began to live for these dreams that brought me to this perfect fantasy world where we would go on hikes together into the woods and we’d hunt for gems and treasures among the ruins from the Flood. And we could keep anything we found.  Or sometimes we would play on the beach and race into the waves.  I would imagine that we’d swim out to sea and find our parents waiting for us on another island.  They’d be so happy to see us and say that they never stopped searching for us. 

Smack!
  A crack with a rolled up stack of papers to the back of my head brought me swiftly back to reality.  I was sitting at one of the large wooden tables in Miss Neilia’s class.  She was our reading and writing teacher, and I normally found myself in trouble with her because I always got so caught up in the stories we were reading that I’d end up daydreaming, just like I had today. 

“
#65, would you please pick up where #31 left off?” Miss Neilia said impatiently.  Her round, brown eyes peered at me over the rims of her glasses. 

Oh no, I had no idea where that was.  Stupid Nova, getting me into trouble again.  Why can’t I stop thinking about him?
I thought frantically.

“
#65!  Don’t make me repeat myself again.”

“
Sorry ma’am, what page were we on again?”

“
Miss Neilia, can I please continue reading?” #31 interrupted sweetly.  “You know 65 will just stutter her way through the chapter anyway.”

“
Very well #31, you may continue,” sighed Miss Neilia. 

Then 31 grinned at me with an overly sweet smile and the rest of the class snickered in response as she began to stutter through the reading, imitating me. 

“
That’s enough 31, let’s all settle down and please continue,” Miss Neilia warned.

I couldn’t stop glaring at 31.  I hated her in a way I had never hated anyone or anything before.  I had never done anything to her, but she hated me nonetheless.  Anger was boiling up inside of me, blinding my thoughts.  As I was feeling my eyes start to well up, the bell chimed and we were dismissed.  I bolted into the hallway ahead of the others and was about to round the corner into the Jane’s room when Remi caught up to me. 

“
65, wait up. Are you okay?” he asked.

“
I don’t want her to see me cry!” I choked out.

“
Okay, c’mon. We’ll go back to our room.”

“
No, I just want to be alone right now, okay?”  I sobbed as I ran off.

I ran out to the courtyard, straight back to the hole in the wall where Nova had brought me.  I curled up behind the shelter of the large palms and cried myself dry.  Soon I heard everyone spilling out into the courtyard to get ready for work.  I was in a foul mood, but I crawled out from behind the palm and met up with my year.  I had managed to hide through lunch, but skipping Flood work was not an option unless you wanted to get sent straight to the locker.  I joined Remi and stood in line while the older kids got escorted out first.  Nova gave my pony tail a tug as he walked by.

“
Hey!” I yelled, but when I saw him wink and give that devilish smile, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“
So, that’s him, huh?” said Remi bitterly.

“
Yeah, why do you say it like that?” I asked.

“
No reason, forget it.”

“
Okay, fine, what do you want to talk about then?” I said.

“
How about work so we don’t get in trouble today, okay?” replied Remi.

“
Fine.  Are you excited that we get to go work out in the forest soon?  It’ll be time for the New Year Gala soon and we’ll be fourteen!  That’s old enough to go into the forest!”

“
Um, I guess.”

“
I’m excited,” chirped the small girl in front of me. 

I stopped for a moment to look at the tiny smiling girl.  He name was Jane #42 and she’s in our year.  She’s never really spoken to me before, but she seemed friendly enough with her shining green eyes and her bright smile taking up most of her delicate face. 

“
See, 42’s excited for the forest.  This job is getting dull. We’ve been picking through rocks since we were eight.  I’m ready for something new.”

“
I guess so,” said Remi. 

“
Well don’t forget we
will
get to go into the forest and see what all the fuss is about.” I said in our favorite teacher’s exaggerated voice. 

“
C’mon you know you’re excited to put all that boring reading from Plants and Poisons class into use.”

This got Remi to giggle a bit because that was our favorite class.  Our teacher Miss Banna was a little bit over animated.  She would get so excited describing a poisonous plant to us and what it could do to a person, that she would get winded and have to sit down on her desk and fan herself while wiping little beads of sweat from her forehead with the old cloth she kept tucked in her shirt.  We loved to mimic her frenzied voice when studying for her exams.  We spent the better part of our walk to the fields having a great time impersonating her.  Even little 42 chuckled quietly as Remi and I joked.

“
Well
I
have
never
seen such a
horrible… vile… suffering… infested… infection
as when someone mistakes a
cantamum
for a
crenia
!” I quipped. 

“
Having a good laugh 65?  You know I could tell the Grift on you right now and you’d go straight to the locker!” steamed #31. “You might not be so funny then, would you?”

She must have been walking behind us the whole way there.  Remi froze, knowing that 31 was cruel enough to do it.  I turned to face her.

“
Oh give me a break 31.  I wasn’t even talking to you, okay?”

“
What’s that supposed to mean?”

“
It doesn’t mean anything 31, she’s sorry, aren’t you 65?” said 42.

“
What’s this?  Did you make a new friend 65?  That makes sense since you can’t even talk for yourself. You have to make your little friends do it, don’t you?  Is it because you’re afraid you’ll st-st-stutter!?” squawked 31.

“
No, I don’t have a stutter and I don’t have a problem, unlike you, Jemma!”

Silence

Now I noticed that I was attracting a crowd, and for some reason this just infuriated me.  Why was I always the freak show?

“
What did you call me?” she hissed.

“
You heard me. I know your name and that you act all mean and tough because you’re really just sad inside like the rest of us—because you miss your little sister!”

Pain.  Blackness.

After that, everything is a bit spotty. 

At first there was a crunching sound.

Then more pain and more blackness. 

Then I heard shouting.

Then I saw the sky.  It was blinding.

Then Remi’s head was in the sky.

Then blackness again. 

Then it smelled like salty forest earth.

Then I saw Nova’s head in the sky, eclipsing the sun.  Did he have a halo?

“
Nova?” I whispered.

Blackness.

It was black for so long that I started to panic.
 

“
I must be in the locker.  Of course I was in the locker.  What was I thinking?  How could I have said her name?  I know better. It’s just… Oh, she gets me so mad.  What is her problem with me anyway?  Ugh… I really shouldn’t have said that. She’s never going to leave me alone now.  Oh no!  What happened to Remi?  And 42?  I didn’t mean to get them in trouble.  Why did I have to say anything?  Poor Remi, he’s going to kill me, that is, if he ever speaks to me again after getting sent to the locker.  Then I’ll have zero friends.  Nova!  He’s my friend right?  Why did he have to tell me his stupid name anyway?  That’s what started this whole thing.  I’m gonna… Nova!  Nova!”

“
There you are.  We were starting to worry about you little Jane.”

Light!

I opened my eyes to see our nurse, Miss Breia’s large face staring down at mine. 

“
You were out for a long time little miss. And talking up a storm just a minute ago.  What’s Nova?”

“
Oh crud! What did I say?”

“
What happened to me, Miss Breia?” I asked.

“
Well, you fell off the rubble pile dear and that’s how you got that black eye.  You don’t remember?  Must have been some fall.”

“
What?!”

I popped up to try to look at my face, but it must have been too fast because the room started swimming and I felt all hot and clammy.

“
You’d better stay lying down, dear.  I think you have a concussion.”

Suddenly it came back to me.  I remembered perfectly that Jemma had punched me square in the face for saying her name and saying she missed her sister.  I did NOT fall off the rubble pile.  I’ve never fallen off.  Who would make up such a story?  I was gonna go with it though because maybe if no one knew the truth, I wouldn’t end up in the locker. 

“
How’d I get here?”  I asked.

“
John 18,” she whispered.

“
Why did women always whisper when they said his name?”
I thought to myself while I tried to absorb what she was saying.

“
Oh, he brought me here?”

“
Why yes, and he’s been by to check on you quite often, always wondering if you’re awake yet.  Shall I go get him and tell him you’re alright?”

“
I… um… maybe…?” I stammered.

“
Yes, he’ll want to see you.  I’ll be right back. Now stay put, okay?”

And she hustled out the door. 

I was happy to stay where I was. I laid in bewilderment.  I had so many questions.  Like, how was I not in the locker by now?  Where was Remi and 42?  Where was Jemma?  Surely she had to be ratting me out by now.  There was no way she was going to let this go.  She would bug me for days just for stuttering over a name or shedding a tear.  But this, this was much worse.  I suddenly realized I was shivering.  I was shaking at the thought of what I was in store for as soon as I stepped out of the nurse’s station.  Maybe Jemma hadn’t told on me yet because what she had in store for me was worse than a trip to the locker?  Just as I was working through all the possible forms of harassment Jemma might be planning for me, he walked in. 

“
Hey Tippy, you’re awake! And about time, too,” he jested.  “So, how are you feeling?” 

“
I….well….you…”  It was all I could get out, I was happy to see him, but then I remembered I was mad at him for the whole name situation in the first place. But then I felt hazy and couldn’t quite connect the thoughts in my head with the words coming out of my mouth.  Nova twirled the bedside chair around and straddled it backwards.  His face was inches from mine.  I instinctively felt myself stop breathing, as he placed his hand on my forehead. 

“
Miss Breia, I think 65 may have a fever.  Would you be able to get her a frenlic palm that we can soak to draw the heat out?” 

“
Oh, of course 18, that’s exactly what we need to do. You’re so clever.  I’ll go get it this instant.  You stay here with her, okay?” Miss Breia sprung into action as soon as Nova had addressed her.  I’d never seen her move so fast.  She bustled around the office seeming to not know how to find the door before she finally gave a nervous laugh and scurried through it.

Now we were alone.  Despite this, he still leaned in closer and whispered to me.

“
I have to do this fast so listen to every word I say, okay?”

All I could do was nod.

“
Good.  Now, I’ve made up this story and we’re all sticking to it, so memorize it or we’re all going to the locker.  You were climbing the rubble pile and you lost your footing and fell.  You fell into 31 on your way off the pile and that’s why she has a black eye, too.  I saw it happen and ran over to make sure everyone was alright.  You were unconscious, so I brought you to the nurse’s station directly.”

I nodded again, not sure if there was more to his story or if I was supposed to speak. 

“
Do you understand that?”

Nod. Nod.

“
Okay, what’s wrong with you?  Did you forget how to speak?  I can never shut you up and I just told you a tremendous lie and you’re just staring at me?”

“
I….I don’t really remember what happened.  It’s….foggy.”

Nova stared at me for a moment and then started smoothing my flaxen-blond hair back and out of my face. He tucked an unruly strand behind my ear and I really thought I might have a fever as my cheeks reddened. 

“
What do you remember?” he whispered.

“
I got into a fight with Jemma. She was going to try to get us in trouble, so I yelled at her, I said her name, and I might have let it slip that I knew she lost her sister.”

“
Tippy!”

“
It’s your fault!  You told me all that stuff and then she was just being so awful to me and it just slipped out.  That’s when she hit me.”