by Carol Riggs
I throw on sweats. After an hour’s workout, I trudge back upstairs and step onto the bathroom scale. A smooth mechanical voice informs me, “One hundred ninety-eight pounds.”
Here I am, turning eighteen while imprisoned in someone else’s body. And whatever I do today, thanks to my crimping tracking chip, the Institute will know where I am.
“I’m earning lots of credits, I’m earning lots of credits,” I chant as I head to the shower, only pausing long enough to say, “Water on.”
By the time I comb the curly nest that masquerades as my hair, I’m ready to strangle something. The green airbot hums and floats over the window seat, keeping its distance. A wise choice.
An incoming phone text announces itself, and I find another one besides that waiting. The first one must’ve arrived while I was showering. The new message is from Krista:
Toot, toot! Happy birthday, Morg. You rock! Don’t spend your day exercising, geek-girl. Have some FUN. Love ya.
Before I can respond, another text arrives. I connect with Blair.
I’m glad you’re up! Happy 18, she says.
Thanks. Of course I’m up. I start exercising at the freaking crack of dawn. I’ll miss hanging out with you and Krista tonight.
I hate that you’re gone again. I mean, we already know what you look like and everything, so I don’t know why you can’t get together with us.
That is pretty annoying.
Leo, the director, said I have to stick close to the Zone where my client lives. You wouldn’t be allowed in her house because of privacy rules, either.
Then we’ll do a night out when you come back. Doing anything exciting today?
Not sure yet.
I refuse to complain about my dreary life.
How about you?
Brad and I are on the MT, going to the Shadow Realms. I can’t wait! I haven’t been there since that time I took you and Krista, 2 years ago. Too bad you can’t come with us.
The Shadow Realms. I love that place, with its real-life RPG quests spread over thirty acres in the White Zone.
Have a great time, I force myself to say.
If I could go anywhere with friends today, it would be an improvement.
The other message is from Mom and Dad, promising to celebrate properly with me when I return. I wonder if Granddad forgot, or if he just hasn’t gotten around to sending something yet.
In the kitchen, Nettie putters by the stove. “Good morning. I’m making omelets. Will you fetch the onions and mushrooms?”
Obediently, I head for the fridge. This is not what I want to be doing today. I want to do something different and exciting. Not exercising, not chores, not even researching or spying on the Institute.
I spend the morning sweating at the HoloSports Center, then cooling down on the karaoke machine. I’m in the kitchen with Nettie, eating the last of a tuna-and-tomato sandwich, when Mrs. K. enters the autodoor.
“There you are,” she says to me. “Happy birthday. Mr. Behr called to say you’re doing well with the weight loss, and mentioned it was your special day.”
“Wow. Thanks.” Leo must be stoked I’m staying on schedule.
Nettie whisks our empty plates away. “I wish I’d known it was your birthday, Morgan. I could’ve made a cake.” She darts a look at Mrs. K. “Or another more healthy dessert. Anyway, I’m glad to hear you’re on track. I’m proud of you.”
“Charles and I are, too.” Mrs. K.’s tone is honest, though not quite as warm.
I thank them again and hurry off to catch the MT for my rendezvous with Vonn at the South Park. Finally. Despite the fact that it involves more exercising, I’m closing in on my day’s bright spot. When I arrive, Vonn is already at our new bench. The thirty-one pounds he’s lost gives him a more energetic look, even from a distance.
“Happy birthday,” he calls. “The you inside that cute freckled body is officially an adult now.” He gives me a vigorous bear hug that makes my shoulder pop, and I laugh. We start down the path, swinging clasped hands.
“You’re awesome, Vonn Alexander,” I sing out in Jodine’s most triumphant voice. “I’m saying you’re my present today, so thank you very much for your gift of you.”
His face looks delighted and shy at the same time. “Nice! But what I’d really like to do for your Big Eighteen is take you somewhere to celebrate. Want to go dancing tonight?”
I snort. “Right.”
“I’m serious, Reducer-girl.”
It’s a fabulous yet insane idea. “Only slender, athletic people dance in public.”
“Stop stereotyping. I’ve seen bigger-size girls and guys at clubs before.”
“I haven’t seen very many.”
“You probably weren’t paying attention.”
“I think I would’ve noticed.”
Vonn grins. “It doesn’t matter. The point is, you should give it a try. Come on, let’s take a break from sleuthing and heavy stuff. We need to do something wild and entertaining after all we’ve been through. It’ll be fun exercise. We can dance in a dark corner so we don’t weird out anyone.”
I giggle. If someone gets offended by our dancing, that’s their problem. “That sounds flippin’ fantastic. I’d love to get out and think about something besides faulty ERT procedures and evil men with goatees. But Leo might not let me.”
“You don’t know until you ask. Just don’t tell him you’re going with me. I’ll meet you there.”
That might be worth a shot. What the heck—Krista told me to have fun.
“Meet you at nineteen hundred?” Vonn asks.
“Sure,” I say, a trace of hopeful eagerness springing up inside me. “If it’s okay with Leo and my Loaner parents, I’ll text you on my personal phone, and we’ll figure out where to go.”
I smooth the sides of my black skirt as I approach the club. The pulsing bass coming from inside the building matches the rhythm of the flashing sign above the door. Night Flight, the sign announces. A crisp wind stirs the air, making goose bumps rise on my bare legs.
Still, even with my legs freezing and my skirt too tight, it feels wonderful to wear something besides sweats, T-shirts, and slacks. The thirty-seven pounds I’ve lost has expanded my wardrobe selection a little.
I clip my Institute phone to my belt and glance at the taxicab that’s easing into a parking slot a short distance away. While I’m glad Leo agreed—reluctantly—to let me come here tonight, he insisted on a two-hour limit as well as a taxi escort. It makes sense not to take Jodine’s body anywhere alone at night, but I feel like a two-year-old who needs hand-holding while crossing the street.
It’s better than nothing, though. Leo and the Kowalczyks were more accepting of the idea after I pointed out that dancing would be helpful for Jodine’s weight loss.
I turn on my exercise app, let the scanners register my ID at the door, and enter the club.
The thumping music surges. The melody rushes into my ears while the drumbeats shake me to my bones. Girls and guys pack the floor, a mass of rhythmic limbs, bouncing hips, and flipping hair. Holographic birds and dragons race overhead. Yes! I have so missed the feeling of being at a club.
Like anything is possible and I am free, free, free.
For tonight, I’ll pretend my heinous tracking chip doesn’t exist.
I spot Vonn standing off to my left. He looks sharp, wearing black pants and a violet shirt with thin white stripes. He gives a nod to show he sees me when I walk toward him. His gaze travels in slow-motion appreciation over my outfit, and I smile when a reckless grin spreads across his face.
Excellent. That grin just made it worth the tortured eighty minutes I spent pawing through Jodine’s closet.
Vonn slips his hand into mine, and he pulls me toward a section where the dancers are less crammed together.
“Here’s our reserved spot in the corner.” He angles closer to my ear so I can hear him. His warm breath brushes the side of my face. “Just like I promised. Let’s enjoy your birthday.” He releases m
y hand and begins an energetic dance, accompanied by an exhilarated expression that blows me away. He’s really good at this.
I push my hair behind my shoulders and join in. I have to admit, it is fun moving to the music in Jodine’s body. Her figure does different things. Wider moves, more emphatic turns.
A tinkley little alternate melody runs through my mind as I dance, underlying the club’s song. Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me.
This day is improving exponentially. Granddad even finally sent a text this afternoon:
Your mom nudged my memory about your birthday! Sorry I didn’t write sooner. Special wishes to you, my favorite brain-clone granddaughter. Many hugs and much love.
Even though the occasion slipped his mind, he still cares.
Vonn and I dance for about thirty minutes before we collapse at a table in a sunken café area. We pay for beverages separately, ordering from a tabletop screen. While we wait for the drinks, I grab a napkin and blot perspiration from my forehead. “Good workout,” I shout over the music. “I bet I’ve already burned a gazillion calories.”
“At least.” Vonn’s eyes twinkle with their usual glint. “Hey, we should come back here and celebrate Jodine’s birthday for her, too.”
“Sure, if her parents and Leo let me—I mean, her.” I laugh, not sure which is right.
We sip drinks and rest until the pulse of the music snags us again. Dodging the dancers, we resume our place near the corner.
Soon a song with a slower tempo winds through the room. Vonn leans in toward me, one hand settling like a large butterfly on my shoulder. “I hate it that we lost our own bodies, but I’m really glad we’ll be able to remember each other now. Well, at least up until your new backup.”
“I like that, too.” His breath by my neck sends a zingy shiver skidding down my spine. We hold hands, and I close my eyes. I love his touch. He’s wrapping his fingers around mine as if I’m special, the center of his universe.
Vonn’s voice fills my ear. “Are you thinking of me? I hope so, with that dreamy look on your face.”
“Maybe, maybe not.” Smiling, I open my eyes and look into his.
He moves even closer. All I notice then is his mouth, which is insanely lively and intelligent. “You know,” he says, “I seem to remember saying something a while back about snogging at dance clubs…”
My smile widens and a soft laugh bubbles up. Vonn kisses me on top of my smile. His mouth is warm and intriguing, and we both press our lips more firmly against each other’s at the same time. The room spins and disintegrates into a hazy background. Our kiss needs to continue on and on forever, it’s so fantastic. It’s as if all the words and walks and memories of our past eight weeks have come together in the merging of our mouths.
It’s a connection I’m positive has nothing to do with how we look, but the people we are underneath. It stretches back to the waiting room when we first saw each other. It exists in the present, alive and intense. It springs way forward to a future I can’t even see.
This is something I haven’t felt before. It’s a mind-altering drug.
“Oh, gag me and make me vomit!” a voice says, slicing through the music. “JO-dine is getting cuddly with Blubber Boy.”
We jolt apart. I whirl to find Noni a few feet away, standing with hands on her hips. Decked out in dark leather, she looks brashly wicked. The color-change dye in her hair swirls from blue to red. Tibs, her minion, looks over from where she dances with a beefy-looking guy.
An instant storm churns inside me. This girl has no idea how special of a moment she just interrupted. “Shove off, Noni. Go howl someplace else.”
“What did you say?” Noni’s eyes widen behind her retro glasses. “You can’t talk to me like that, Kowalczyk.”
Vonn cuts in. “We’re done talking.” He pulls me away toward the sunken café. We squeeze through the crowd, the music thumping with my rapid pulse.
Noni follows us, her voice shrill. “Stop pretending nothing just happened, fat boy. Step outside and I’ll kick your—”
“Let’s get out of here,” Vonn says to me. “Leo won’t be happy if you get caught in the middle of a disturbance.”
I shake my head. How can Noni do this to me, to Jodine? “We can’t leave now. She just challenged you to a fight outside.” We start to step down the four steps into the sunken café area, when a forceful shove against my back sends me tumbling forward. Vonn loses his grip on my hand, tries to catch it, and misses. I bounce into a dreadlocked guy and roll, landing on the floor with my skirt bunching around my thighs.
Titters run through the crowd. My hip hurts where I landed. I manage to get my legs under me and pull myself into a more respectable position while Noni cackles. Tibs saunters up.
“You ought to watch where you’re going, J.,” Noni says as I yank my skirt straight. “It’s not good to be fat and clumsy.”
I stand and glare at her sneer, at her shiny leather and flashy hair. The club fades from my sight. An image of a younger Noni appears in my mind, prancing around Jodine’s bedroom, flinging Doritos onto the bed, the floor, the window seat. The echoes of her laughter stab me. Noni holds the chip bag up high, a dirty secret no one should see. Give me your new gamebot, or I’m gonna tell, I’m gonna tell.
The scene dissipates, but the hurt and anger don’t. I’ve had enough of Noni. She’s a horrible ex-friend, first stealing things from our house and then pulling cruel pranks on me at school. I shouldn’t have to put up with her meanness. I’m sick of her stomping all over me, and I’m finally going to do something about it.
I march over to where Noni stands. As if on its own power, my fist shoots out and smacks her in the face. Her glasses fly off, skidding across a table. She staggers back and sits down hard, which causes the crowd to break out in a fresh wave of laughter and raucous calls.
“That’s how you fight.” I bite off the words one at a time. “Not sneaking up behind people and shoving them down stairs. I’m losing weight, but even if I wasn’t, it’s none of your business what I look like. Stop making a big deal out of it. If you do any more mean things to me or Helena or Gavin from now on, I’ll deck you again.”
Now I’m ready to leave. As I turn to rejoin Vonn, a muscular man strides up and blocks my path. A uniformed figure. A male Enforcer posted as bouncer for this club, judging from the badge on his shirt.
Oh, freaking haze.
“Your ID, miss, and your version of the altercation,” the Enforcer says in a no-nonsense tone. People melt away, going back to their drinks and dancing with renewed zeal. The Enforcer holds out a device to scan my hand and record my statement.
I catch Vonn’s eye over the Enforcer’s shoulder and shake my head to warn him to stay out of it. “That girl, Noni, insulted me. I walked away and started to go down these steps, when she pushed me. I fell into the café area. I’m lucky I didn’t twist my ankle. Then she called me fat and clumsy, so I punched her.”
“That’s right,” a guy with a crew cut yells with glee. “She punched that chick good!”
Noni lets loose a stream of caustic swear words. She staggers to her feet, aided by Tibs.
The Enforcer taps his device with a decisive finger. “You’re on official file, Miss Kowalczyk, and your report will be evaluated alongside security camera footage.” He gestures toward a second Enforcer arriving. “Upon confirmation, your ban from this club will last six months. You will now be removed from the building.”
Chapter 27
I lie in the darkness of Jodine’s room with the autoblinds open, watching the shadowy shape of the green airbot as it whirs near the closet. The night sky is inky and cold beyond the window frames. No stars tonight. I’ve stayed motionless on the bed for an hour after arriving from the club. If I remain still, I have no sensation of my body.
It makes me feel more like myself. The physical part of the old Morgan Dey, which no longer exists.
Happy birthday to me.
I thoroughly messed up my night out. Wh
en they discover my Reducer status, it’ll be Morgan Dey the Enforcers penalize, not Jodine. I’ve never been in trouble like this before. So much for trying hard to be a law-abiding person, a good citizen who helps people. So much for enjoying a night where I can forget unpleasant things like my body’s death, conspiracy theories, and my tracking chip.
Vonn looked really upset when I was escorted from the club.
What does he think of me now?
My mind replays our earth-shattering kiss. Yet the memory is distorted by the image of Noni’s sneer superimposed over it. I can’t bring myself to call him, to walk all the way across the room and get my personal phone from the closet. To bring up his number. To talk to him about the whole depressing part of the evening after we kissed.
The trill of my Institute phone breaks the silence around me.
“Lights on.” As the room brightens, I roll over to the phone on the bedside table.
Hello?
This is Leo Behr.
That’s all he says. The blank space below the words stretches out.
With an ugly sinking feeling, I push into a sitting position.
What’s up?
I received a message from the Enforcer security system saying you were involved in a brawl at the dance club.
I snort.
A brawl?
Yes, and I’m quite displeased about the news. You endangered Jodine’s body with your actions tonight. We’ve discussed this type of thing before.
That reminder grates on my nerves.
Endangered? How could I—
I huff and start over.
That girl at the club has picked on Jodine before, which Jodine didn’t bother to mention to you in her prep report. I can’t predict where these bullies will pop up.
I thought you could behave yourself in a public place. I misjudged you.
Seriously, behave myself? He’s still treating me like a two-year-old.
It was out of my control. Everything was going fine until that Noni chick decided to barge in.
