Saven Deception (6 page)

“I’m Jenna.”

“Well, Jenna, I’m delighted you asked that
question. This is the part of the project that I think you’ll be most excited
about.” He pauses dramatically and you could hear a pin drop in the room. “You
get to decide what you’d like to do with your time.”

“Honestly?” Jenna squeals.

Vin laughs as he nods. Incredulous looks
are traded around the room. I glance at the girl with the green eyes, and she
looks slightly bewildered. Then I spot the gold bullion tattoo on her wrist and
it makes sense. Of course, an upper class girl would fail to comprehend the
enormity of Vin’s last statement. Having options is a normal way of life for
her. Not so much for me, or the majority of our unit, who is mostly stars.

Anger courses through my veins at her
blatant ignorance. Perhaps, that’s why my hand shoots up before I’ve
comprehended the action or had time to talk myself out of it. Vin tips his head
at me, and I moisten my lips.

“What kind of options are available to
us?” Inwardly I rejoice. I used my words, and spoke my mind, and no one is
laughing or ridiculing me.

“And
your
name is?” Vin tilts his
head to the side.

“Sadie.”

“Essentially the options are education or
work, Sadie. If you choose the education stream, you can pick modules based on
your education to date and your subject-matter interests. If you choose the
work module, you’ll be given access to the jobs portal, and you can apply for
any job you like. Some basic skills may be a requirement for certain jobs, but
in most cases, all positions allow open applications and on-the-job training
will be provided. This is something you need to decide on
before
you
reach Thalassic City, so you should spend the next few days assessing the
options and carefully thinking about what it is you’d like to do.”

Another girl asks for clarification on the
rules, and Vin confirms there is a relaxation on the normal rules for the
duration of the project.

No curfew. No segregation. And after we’ve
finished work or school each day, we are free to do as we please.

My incredulity mirrors that of all the
other stars in the room. This seems too good to be true, and I’m naturally
suspicious. Why is the government doing this? Are they seriously thinking of
changing things up this much? Are they considering reorganizing the entire
class structure? Is this experiment really about monitoring social integration
without the usual restraints more so than testing how well humans adapt to life
underwater?

Whatever the motivation, of one thing I’m
sure.

The future is most definitely looking
brighter.

***

I’m in bed, lying flat on my back, staring at the stark
white ceiling. Everything I’ve learned today swirls around my mind.  A part of
me feels like taking back all the bad things I’ve ever said about the
government because in this moment I freaking love the authorities.  For the
last few months, all I’ve imagined is the prospect of Thalassic City and that
something like this might happen. Now I’m here and it’s the incarnation of all
my dreams come true. Vin suggested exploring all options before making our
decision, but I already know what mine will be.

I want to go back to school.

Maybe Jenna is right: I am weird, but this
is all I’ve ever wanted, and there’s no way I’m passing up the opportunity to
indulge my heart’s desire.

A couple of frustrated hours later, I
swing my legs out the side of my bed and wrap my robe firmly around my body.

I’ve given up on the illusion of sleep.

My brain is too fired up and I can’t
switch off. I’ve heard somewhere that reading helps quiet the mind, so I tiptoe
to the windowed library room and inspect the collection of books on offer.

It’s surreal to be able to walk about at
night in the warmth and the light. Owing to concerns over the depletion of
natural resources, the authorities imposed a fuel restriction a few years ago.
In the Outer Circle, electricity cuts out nightly at ten p.m., and we are
without power for eight hours. I’ve grown accustomed to going to bed early and
reading by torchlight. So, this is a total novelty.

I’ve just made a startling revelation:
There is such a thing as too much choice. I stand in front of the shelving
unit, not knowing where to look. There are
so
many books that I don’t
know where to start. Picking up Lewis Carroll’s
Alice in Wonderland
, I
quickly read the blurb on the back and decide it’s the perfect read considering
I’m on my own little adventure.

Settling onto the window seat, I lean back
and flick the first page.

I’m engrossed in the book, and I’ve lost
all track of time, when a burning compulsion to lift my head overcomes me.
Staring out the window, I spot a lone form across the way. Examining the calm
span of water that separates us, I only now notice other windows across the
space.

All the units appear to be constructed
around this circular column of water.

A recognizable figure stands at the window
directly across from mine, looking pensive.
Oh my God, it’s him! The hottie
from the cafeteria!
His muscular arms flatten against the glass pane as he
stares directly into my eyes.

My pulse throbs pleasantly. I want to turn
away,
need
to turn away—certain that how I’m looking at him contravenes
some government rule—but, like last time, I’m powerless under the magnitude of
his gaze.

His lips part gently and then he dazzles
me with a smile that’s jaw dropping, panty dropping, heart stopping, and
beautiful all at the same time. As he waggles his fingers at me, I feel the
tenuous control on my emotions shatter into a million pieces.

We stare at each other for an indeterminable amount of
time. I drink everything in: Penetrating blue eyes the color of the ocean of my
imagination, inky jet-black hair that begs to be touched, and pouty lips that
demand to be kissed. Every part of me swoons, and an unfamiliar hot jolt of
desire spreads the length and breadth of me.

Gosh, I need to get a grip, but I’m
hypnotized by the most magnetic boy I’ve ever met.

 No one has
ever
made me feel like
this.

It’s as if the world around us ceases to
exist, and we’re the only two people on the planet. Crazy as it seems, I’m
inexplicably drawn to him, like there’s an invisible line connecting us,
pulling taut between us.

It’s totally ridiculous. I don’t even know
his name, but I can’t stop looking at him. I know I’ll be so embarrassed about
this in the cold light of day.

The book drops out of my hand, and the low
thud snaps me out of my stupor. Bending over, I pick it up slowly, silently
begging the sudden heat in my face to dissipate. I glance at the clock, shocked
to discover that it’s past four a.m. I’ve lost more time than I realized. I
risk one last peek at him. His eyes drill into mine, and I lose the ability to breathe,
to think, to move. His face scrunches up, and his lips part as he laughs. I
really need to get out of here.

Pivoting around, with all the elegance of
an elephant, I stumble from the room as contradictory thoughts clutter my mind.
Don’t leave. Get the hell out of here. Please stay. You’ve embarrassed
yourself enough for one night.

***

I’m mulling over the entire strange episode the next
morning, and my muddled brain can make no sense of it. I’m clearly
unhinged—staring at a total stranger with unashamed abandon! I’m not that girl.
This isn’t me! What I need to do is get a grip, stick to my plan for Thalassic
City, and banish all thoughts of that boy.

Except it’s far easier said than done.

I’ve been in the training room for the
last two hours, and if anyone gave me a pop-quiz on the information I’ve just
read, I’d fail miserably. I’ve reread the same page on the screen at least six
times, and none of the words is sinking in. Dropping my head on the desk, I
emit a low moan.

“Sometimes it’s difficult being presented
with so much choice,” Vin says, startling me.

Raising my head, I stare at our Adaptation
Officer. He’s lounging against the side of my desk, looking perfectly at home.
“It’s Sadie, right?”

I nod.

“Do you have any idea what you’d like to
do once you get there?”

“Actually, I pretty much already know what
I want to do,” I admit frankly, surprising myself. “I’m going to enroll in the
education module.”

“Good for you.” His eyes flit to my
screen. “Have you decided on any subjects?”

“Not yet. I’m having trouble concentrating
today.” I clamp a hand over my errant mouth, both shocked and pleased that I’m
being openly honest with him.

Vin lands a firm hand on my upper back,
and I flinch at the unexpected contact. “That’s most likely a side effect of
the environment.”

I don’t correct him even though I know
full well that my tiredness is down to lack of sleep, a malfunctioning brain,
and an inability to empty my mind of a certain hot boy who probably thinks I’ve
a few lose wires somewhere.

“You should take a break, rest up, have a
nap,” he suggests.

“I think I’ll do that.” I log out of the
screen and exit the room.

I’ve just reached our dorm when someone
calls out my name. Swiveling around, I spot the girl with the green eyes
advancing toward me. “Hi Sadie,” she says, pulling up alongside me. “I wanted
to formally introduce myself. I’m Neve.” Thrusting out her hand, she beams at
me, as if I’m her favorite person in the universe. Her over-the-top enthusiasm
is somewhat freaky, but I’m hardly one to throw stones, so I accept her
proffered hand. 

She loops her arm through mine, as if we
do it all the time, and grins. “Shall we get a coffee?” She’s propelling me
forward before I’ve actually responded, but I decide to go with the flow.

We’re seated at the far end of the
kitchen, nursing cups of coffee—cappuccino for me and regular coffee for Neve.
“So, Sadie,” she says, in between blowing on the billowing steam arising from
her mug, “Tell me all about yourself. What Sector are you from? How many are in
your family? Do you go to school or work? What age are you?”

I  almost choke on my drink. It’s as if
I’m at a job interview. Briefly, I wonder if this is the usual upper class way.
She hands me a paper towel, and I mop up the coffee dribbling over my chin.

“That’s a lot of questions.” I gingerly
sip on my cappuccino.

“Oh.” She scrunches up her face. “Is it
too much?”

“No, not at all,” I rush to reassure her.
“You caught me off guard. Um, I’m seventeen, and I’m from New York. I live with
my mom, dad, my sister, and my two brothers. I work on the assembly line in
Medi-Tech. That’s it. Not much more to me than that.”

She appears to consider this. “Do you like
your job?”

“Not especially,” I answer truthfully.
“What about you? Where are you from, and what do you do?”

“I’m Neve Dennings from Maine. I live
there with my extended family, and I’m attending the University of New England.
I’m studying to be a marine biologist. I’m so excited to be a part of ‘The
Experimento,’ and I’m sure it’s going to be a fabulous experience.” She spits
the words out lightning-fast, as if it’s a prepared speech or her standard way
of introducing herself.

Before I can respond, a shadow falls over
the table. Jenna’s glossy eyes meet mine. “Hey, Sadie. I was looking for you.”

“I was in the training room for a couple
of hours.”

My eyes flit from Sadie to the abnormally
tall boy standing next to her. Jenna is extremely tall for a girl, but this guy
towers over her. His dark hair is curly at the front and shorn tight at the
back and sides. A defined line zigzags through his hair on one side and I
recognize the style. A few of the boys in Medi-Tech have been wearing their
hair like that the last few months.

It’s the same boy who asked a question at
the session yesterday. Clearly noticing me giving him the once over, he grins.
“I’m Odie. Nice to meet you.”

I blush to the tips of my toes. “Sadie.
Same here.”

“I’m Neve.” Neve shoves her hand in his
and dazzles him with a megawatt smile.

Odie’s mouth hangs open in obvious
admiration. Jenna visibly stiffens.

“Odie and I are off to get better
acquainted.” Jenna takes his hand possessively, glowering at Neve. “But I’ll
definitely catch you for dinner.”

They wander off together, but not before
Odie has glanced back at Neve. Okeydokey. Not awkward or anything.

“I don’t think your friend likes me,” Neve
says, in a nonplussed manner.

“She’s a little preoccupied right now.” I
fight the smirk threatening my lips.

Neve’s brow puckers slightly. “Ah. I
understand. She likes him, but he likes me. That annoys her.” Neve slurps from
her drink, a brooding look on her face.

She may well be right, but how the hell
would I know? And how does she? All because of a few sly looks her way? My lack
of experience with boys is obvious in the extreme.
Maybe I should rectify
that in Thalassic City. Have some fun with the hottie like Jenna suggested.
I
shock myself with the thought. I take another sip of my delicious coffee.

“Although he likes me more, do you think
he’s still going to have sex with her?” Neve asks.

I spit my coffee all over the table,
making a huge spectacle of myself. Not that Neve cares. She’s staring into
space as she idly hands me another paper towel.

“Neve!” I shriek, when I’ve regained my
composure.

She looks at me with a puzzled frown.
“What? I’m just wondering if it’s worth my while pursuing him.”

Perhaps if we traded half my reticence for
half Neve’s bluntness, then we’d both end up more rounded. I disguise my laugh
as a cough.

Leaning forward on her elbows, Neve stares
into my eyes. “Do you want to be my friend?”

It’s as if we’ve regressed in time and I’m
five years old again. Except, back then, no one wanted to be friends with the
geeky girl with the silvery hair and unnerving pale gray eyes. A surge of
pent-up emotion threatens to unravel me, and I work hard to force the bitter
memory from my mind.

As I look at Neve’s sweet pleading face,
my heart melts and I nod.

Although I think I need to have words with
Jenna. I’m far from the “quirkiest” person here.

***

Odie and Jenna spend most of dinnertime sharing googly eyes.
Neve watches them curiously, but I don’t detect any malice or jealousy. When
Jenna leans in and molds her lips to Odie’s, a spark of envy streaks through
me. A picture of the hottie springs to mind, and suddenly I’m imagining our
faces in place of Odie’s and Jenna’s faces, and I’m growing all hot and
bothered in my seat.

“Hey,” I say, twisting to face Neve, “do
you want to get out of here?” All of a sudden, I’ve an urgent need to remove
myself from the rampant hormones tempering the air.

Odie and Jenna are still lip-locked and it
doesn’t look like they’ll be coming up for air anytime soon.

Neve follows me out to the library room,
and we settle down to read. The next few hours pass in companionable silence.

A loud yawn escapes me as my lack of sleep
catches up to me. Words blur in front of my eyes, and I know that’s my cue to
call it a night. “I can’t keep my eyes open. I need my bed.”

“You do look wrecked. I think I’ll stay
and read some more. Goodnight, Sadie. I hope you sleep well.” Hopping up, she
pulls me into a hug and I stiffen, unaccustomed to the casual gesture.

When I walk into the dorm, Jenna is lying
in her bed with a dreamy look on her face. She barely registers my arrival.
Fanning my hand in front of her face, I snap my fingers twice. “Earth to Jenna.
You in there?”

She sighs contentedly. “Damn you, Sadie. I
was having the best daydream.” Propping up on one elbow, she faces me.

“Let me guess,” I tease. “Did Odie feature
in this daydream of yours?”

“In all his gorgeous nakedness.”

“Jesus!” I shriek in her ear. “TMI, Jenna.”

“What?” She sits upright. “I was only
imagining
,
Sadie. It’s not like I’ve already seen him naked or anything. I’m not a slut.”
Her lips thin narrowly. Unwittingly, I’ve offended her.

“I didn’t mean that, Jen. But you did say
the other day that you were all about the fun and I didn’t miss the way you two
were going at it earlier.”

“You little minx,” she teases. “I think
someone’s jealous.”

“Damn right,” I admit. “I’ve never been
kissed like that before.”

“I bet the hottie would kiss like that and
some.” She winks at me.

I suspect she’s right. If he can transform
my brain and body to mush just by looking at me—through thirty feet of water, I
might add—I can only imagine what his touch would do.

Ah, crap. I’ve tried hard to ditch him
from my mind today, and now he is all I can think about. I suppose I should
tell Jenna what transpired between us last night, but I don’t want to admit to
anything because in all honesty it was pretty pathetic and more than a little
weird. So, I do the usual. I say nothing and keep a firm lid on my thoughts and
emotions.

I fall asleep the second my head hits the
pillow.

I’m fast asleep when I suddenly bolt
upright in the bed, my brain jolted awake. I glance at my watch through a
blurry haze. It’s four a.m. I force my eyes shut and pray for sleep, but it’s
futile.

On autopilot, I get up and head to the
library.

The second my foot hits the floor, my eyes
dart to the figure through the glass.
He’s here again
, my befuddled
brain acknowledges. Walking quietly toward the window, I sink onto the cushion,
my nose pressed firmly against the glass. Across the water, he mirrors my
position.

This time I don’t even have the illusion
of reading to mask my ogling. I am here purely to stare at the boy who has
captured my mind and all sense of reason along with it. An inner war wages an
ugly battle inside me as I attempt to snap out of it. But it’s no good. As much
as I accept that this is peculiar beyond all explanation, I can’t drag myself
away. We continue to stare at one another as I plead with myself to summon some
self-respect from somewhere.

Then he ups the stakes.

I stare at the large, white piece of paper
pressed up against the glass. “I’M LOGAN. WHAT’S YOUR NAME?”

Logan. I test his name out in my head and
I like it. A lot.

I jump up and walk to the large cabinet at
the back of the room. Helping myself to some paper and pens, I start scribbling
furiously. “I’M SADIE.” I hold the page tight to the window.