Part 3 (2/2)
Chapter Seven.
”Don't look now, but he's behind you again,” Avery whispered to Peyton the next day at school. ”Your stalker.” They were pus.h.i.+ng their way through the crowded halls.
Peyton glanced over her shoulder and saw Chris steadily approaching, fighting like a determined salmon against the stream of students going the other way. She waved, then turned back to Avery. ”He's okay, actually,” she said. ”I don't think he's going to do that anymore.”
Her friend rolled her genetically altered purple eyes. ”Whatever you say, girl. He looks s.h.i.+ftier to me.”
”How'd the vaccine go?” Peyton asked, changing the subject before Chris caught up. She didn't want to hurt his feelings. ”Did you get it?”
”h.e.l.ls yeah, I did. LTF, here I come. Second I got the shot, I logged in and signed up. It takes a few weeks for everything to process. You know the government. But I can't wait! Me and Todd are planning a trip up to the mountains when it's all official. We're going to rent some cabin in the woods that doesn't even have sim decks and never get out of bed.”
”Sounds stellar,” Peyton said absently, wondering what Drew thought of his twin brother's upcoming booty call. The pressure put on her was now going to increase tenfold, she just knew it.
”You know, you should really talk to your dad again about getting your shot,” Avery added, as if reading her friend's mind. ”I mean, Drew's not going to wait around forever. Almost everyone in the senior cla.s.s has their license.”
Peyton fought back her annoyance. ”Yeah, well, if he's not willing to wait then he's not worth having.” But even as she said the words, Peyton knew they were kind of ridiculous. Drew was only asking for something every other kid was doing. And he could have any girl in school. What made her think she was so special that he should wait on her?
Sure enough, Avery snorted, verbalizing her fears. ”You keep telling yourself that, sweetie. But let's face it. It's just as easy to fall for a girl with an LTF as a girl without one. And a lot more fun.”
Thankfully at that moment, Chris caught up, saving her from some lame reply. ”Hey, Peyton,” he said, sounding a little out of breath from his trek. ”How are you this morning?”
”Here you go!” Avery teased in a whisper. ”I bet Jacob would wait decades for you. Maybe even millennia.”
”Who's Jacob?” Chris asked, looking baffled.
Peyton punched her friend in the shoulder. ”Don't you have a cla.s.s to go to or something-like our English cla.s.s? Mrs. Adams's going to have your head if you're late again.”
”Yup,” Avery replied, laughing. ”Later, 'gator. See you on the inside.” She gave a wave and hurried off down the hall.
Peyton turned to Chris, who appeared to be studying something in his deck. ”What's up?”
”Have you seen Mrs. McCormick yet?” he asked, looking up. ”I went by her house yesterday and she wasn't home. I figured that maybe she'd be back by now.”
Peyton shook her head. ”I actually went by there myself this morning,” she admitted. ”No answer.”
”Well, I called Mt. Holyoke. All of the hospitals in the area, actually. None of them have even heard of her,” Chris said. He shuffled from foot to foot. ”I'm worried. I mean, what do you think happened to her? You said those men were from the government, but... I don't know.”
Peyton swallowed back the fears she herself had been fighting. She'd decided not to tell her father about the incident the other day as she didn't want to raise his hackles. She knew how he could be about the feds. But now she wondered if she'd made a mistake.
”I don't mean to sound harsh, but... maybe she just died,” she suggested hesitantly. After all, not everything was a conspiracy.
”Yeah.” Chris raked a hand through his longish hair. ”I thought that too at first, but I don't think it's that simple. When I got home, I did some more digging, going on some unauthorized web forums and...”
Peyton's pulse kicked up a notch. ”And?”
”She's not the only one who's been taken away in a brown van with that seal. I found almost a dozen similar reports from around the country. And then there are even a few international cases, too. It doesn't make much sense, but the descriptions all seem so similar, and...”
Peyton's mouth went dry. ”Are you serious?”
”Yeah. I think something's going on.”
Peyton fought with herself for a moment. At last she said, ”I should ask my dad. He's up on all of this kind of thing. You know, conspiracy theories, government stuff. If anyone would know, it'd be him. I should have mentioned it the other day but... I'll ask him after school.”
”Good idea. I'll come with you.”
Peyton raised her eyebrow at the self-invitation, feeling a moment of suspicion. Then she shook it off. What was she thinking? That he'd made all this up in some elaborate scheme to get invited over to her house? That was just ridiculous. He was concerned about Mrs. McCormick. That was all.
”Fine,” she relented, resigning herself to the plan. Then a new fear crossed her mind. ”Um,” she said. ”Though, about my dad. I warn you, he's a little... intense.”
Chris laughed. ”That's okay. So am I.”
The bell rang and Chris darted off. Peyton hurried down the hall, too, only to find the door to her cla.s.s swinging shut in her face. Great. She'd made a joke to Avery but their teacher, Mrs. Adams, didn't tolerate any latecomers, and this was her own third tardy in three months. She considered pus.h.i.+ng the door open and braving the teacher's wrath, but then thought better of it. Instead she would head to the school nurse's office, feign sick, and get a pa.s.s.
On the way, she decided to stop by the cafeteria to grab a snack. She could only swing by without penalty because, unlike the old days, everything was automated. Lunch ladies had been phased out. Insert ID, press b.u.t.ton, remove food. Fast and easy. She wondered if the old food, prepared by real people, tasted any better.
As she entered the caf, her eyes fell upon two figures at the far side of the vending area. The pair were curled up into an intense-looking embrace. Peyton quickly looked away, not wanting to spy. Then, curious, she took another peek at the two lovebirds, wondering who would dare an illegal public display of affection on school grounds.
Her stomach dropped like it was on a rollercoaster sim, and her world spun off its axis. Could it really be? A second glance confirmed her worst fears. Drew. Her boyfriend. Tangled up in the arms of the student cla.s.s president, Brenda Booker. Brenda had gotten her LTF back when she was twelve years old and was legendary in the district for her trashy exploits.
A mixture of disgust and self-righteous rage filled Peyton. Avery had been right; Drew had decided she wasn't worth waiting for. All that stuff he'd said about love and loyalty-it was all bull. He was just like every other h.o.r.n.y guy in her high school, looking for one thing and one thing alone.
She tried to take a step back, to flee the scene, but her legs felt like they were stuck in mud to the knees. She tripped over a chair and crashed to the ground.
Swift, Peyton. Real swift.
They hadn't noticed her before, but they did now. Drew and Brenda looked over, startled. Peyton scrambled to her feet, her face burning. She would never say it to her dad, but now would be a great time for the end of the world to commence.
”I... I thought you had English cla.s.s this period,” Drew stammered.
Anger won over her embarra.s.sment. ”Is that all you can say?” she demanded. ”I catch you making out with the school slag in the middle of the cafeteria, and all you can say is that I should be in cla.s.s? Since when did you become hall monitor?”
Drew didn't even have the good grace to look sheepish. He whispered something to Brenda, who nodded, giggled, gave Peyton a dirty look, and took off. Peyton glared at her retreating back, wis.h.i.+ng she could shoot daggers out of her eyes. Then she turned to her cheating boyfriend.
”How could you?” she cried, feeling tears well up in her eyes. ”I thought... I thought you loved me.” G.o.d, it sounded so lame and stupid when she said it out loud.
”I do love you,” Drew said, walking over to her. He took her hand in his. She yanked it away. ”I love you more than anything.”
”I see,” Peyton said through clenched teeth. ”You have a weird way of showing it.” She squeezed her hands into fists and forced herself to stay calm. ”You love me, but, let me guess-you want to be with someone who has their CC.”
”We've talked about this,” Drew said in an exasperated tone. ”A million times, in fact. You're one of the last hold-outs in your entire cla.s.s. I'm even willing to do it illegally for you, Peyton. That's how much I love you. But if you won't even agree to that, well, what are we supposed to do?”
So there it was. Avery was right. It all came down to s.e.x. ”I'm not going to break the law,” she protested weakly.
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