by Dylan Steel
Sage shook her head. “No, not just that—”
Before she could say another word, a skinny boy not more than a few years older than them appeared in the doorway. Sage shot him a confused look—it seemed he’d just materialized in the room. She craned her neck to see where he might have been hiding.
The boy didn’t seem to appreciate her curiosity. He furrowed his brow and scrunched up his nose at the two girls. His unruly dark curls bounced along the top of his head as he swung the door closed without saying a word.
“That was strange,” Sage mused.
“Eh, not really,” Penelope said. “I mean, techs are always like that. Super private. Kinda awkward. And he must be a tech if he’s working on stuff outside of class.” She rolled her eyes. “No one else would.”
Sage looked up. “Techs?”
“Mmhmm,” Penelope nodded. “They’re total geniuses with technology, but they’re not usually much for conversation, if you know what I mean.”
She frowned. “Wouldn’t that be a problem? You know, when they graduate?”
“Them? No. Not a chance.” Penelope waved her hand dismissively. “They’re insanely valuable to Eprah. They get more Chances than most government people.” She hesitated. “If they’re assigned to the right job, of course.”
“Got it.” Sage wrinkled her nose and narrowed her eyes at the door. Surely her mind was playing tricks on her. She couldn’t have seen what she thought she’d seen.
Penelope shrugged and started walking away, clearly expecting her friend to follow. But Sage remained rooted in place, staring at the door intently as if she could still see inside the classroom.
“Trying to burn a hole through it?” Penelope stopped and cast a backward glance at her.
Sage peeled her eyes off the door. “What? Oh, no.” She shook her head back and forth sharply as if to clear away the questions she was asking herself. “Sorry.”
She turned away from the room and skipped forward, smacking Penelope on the back. “Well, let’s go. What’s taking you so long?” She winked as she shot past.
“Not even funny!” Penelope raced after her, quickly catching up.
They arrived at their new Common Lounge at the same time, out of breath, just moments after their other classmates. Other than the commotion they made racing to the door, their absence had gone largely unnoticed.
Panting, Sage plopped down in one of the lounge’s overstuffed chairs. Penelope followed suit, sprawling out on the couch beside her.
“Where were you guys?” Marnie raised an eyebrow as she approached them, sipping a turquoise beverage through a straw.
“Nowhere. Sage just thought she saw something—”
“—which apparently was just a tech room,” Sage finished, interrupting Penelope’s explanation. “We just peeked inside for a sec.”
Penelope’s eyes narrowed. She opened her mouth to say something, but Sage shot her a pleading look that made her snap it closed.
Marnie settled in beside Penelope on the couch. “I really don’t know why you’re still an ambassador.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Marnie didn’t try to hide her exasperation as she rolled her eyes. “I just meant… well, you don’t seem to like following the rules very much. I don’t get why you’d still want to be one.”
An impish smile spread over Penelope’s face. “It has its perks.”
“That’s true,” Marnie sighed. “But I wonder if you’ll actually be selected again. I mean, showing up late, not being where you’re supposed to be… people might think you’re not taking the position seriously.” An edge of warning was in her voice.
“Who says I’m not where I’m supposed to be?” Penelope was unruffled. “And I’d hardly call ten seconds late. Especially when I’m just explaining things about the Institution to another student. That completely falls within the job description,” she said pointedly.
Marnie shrugged nonchalantly. “I guess that’s for the instructors to decide.”
“Yes,” Penelope said coolly. “It is.”
Sage squirmed in her chair. She was relieved when a few more of their classmates wandered over, breaking the tension.
“I wouldn’t be too worried about ambassador assignments,” Nic said as he flopped into the chair opposite Sage. “I’m having more trouble figuring out which Interest Society sounds good this year. There’s probably at least a dozen I want to sit in on, and there’s not enough time for that.”
The two other boys who had come over with him, Everett and another Level Ten named Drue, nodded.
“You have to have a favorite,” Penelope said.
Nic shook his head furiously. “Seriously. I can’t decide.”
“I guess that’s why they give us a couple weeks to visit different ones.” Marnie sounded annoyed. Clearly, she’d rather have continued grilling Penelope about her merit in the position of student ambassador.
“It’s not that hard,” Sage said. “You just pick one that’s interesting. You can always pick something else next year.”
“Just like you did?” A grin played at the corners of Everett’s mouth.
Sage pursed her lips, irritated. “I just happened to find one I liked right away.”
Marnie rolled her eyes. “Just by chance, huh?” She glanced across the room at Carnabel.
Sage’s face reddened.
“It’s a good plan though,” Nic said, shooting a smile at Sage. “There’s always next year. I’m sure I’ll figure something out. I guess… I’m really leaning towards the Splahnkahn Interest Society. Lots of trips out of the gates.”
“The what?” Pippa’s forehead wrinkled as she joined the group.
“Splahnkahn. From what I’ve heard, they do lots of stuff outdoors, beyond the city even. Exploring caves, hiking, stuff like that. They won’t even let Level Eights or Nines do it—they’re not mature enough. It’s too risky for them.” With those words, he sat a little taller.
“That’s a weird name,” Pippa said.
Nic shrugged. “But it sounds fun.”
The Society piqued Sage’s interest for a moment as she realized the rare opportunity of leaving the city. But reality quickly set in: there was no way the zeptobes and bracelets weren’t set up to deal with escape attempts. If she tried to run, even while outside the city, she was sure to be caught or, at the very least, rendered unconscious. And with her track record, she’d definitely be shunned without a second thought.
No, the Historical Interest Society would be much safer again. She’d have Mr. Walsh looking out for her, and she’d be able to look into more of the relics that showed promise. She was especially curious about the gems, unconvinced that the information they potentially held was purely a made-up story to trap Lawless rebels.
Her thoughts drifted from talk of Interest Societies back to what she’d seen in the tech classroom. The tech boy obviously hadn’t wanted her to see what he was doing.
She shook her head. Maybe her eyes had been playing tricks on her, but she could’ve sworn she caught a glance of the cataloguing room from the Archives hovering in the air over the table before the image switched to something else entirely.
Even more disturbing, the view of the cataloguing room was centered squarely on the desk where Lita had hidden jewelry last year.
Granted, it was possible she’d imagined the whole thing. She was a bit on edge after everything that had happened at the end of the year—losing two friends, finding out about her parents, wondering whether or not she should join the Lawless cause…
She sucked in her breath. That last question still hung heavy over her head. She hadn’t given Mr. Walsh an answer yet, and she wasn’t ready to.
As much as she hated Eprah, she wasn’t sure she was ready to potentially forfeit her life to see it destroyed.
***
End of preview.
Continue reading The Estate: Sacrisvita Book IV.
READ MORE BY DYLAN STEEL
Sacrisvita
THE PRODIGY: A Sacrisvita Prequel
(FREE and only available HERE.)
THE INSTITUTION: Sacrisvita Book I
THE ARCHIVES: Sacrisvita Book II
THE RELIC: Sacrisvita Book III
THE ESTATE: Sacrisvita Book IV
THE VANISHED: Sacrisvita Book V
THE CAPTIVE: Sacrisvita Book VI
THE OUTCAST: Sacrisvita Book VII
THE TRIALS: Sacrisvita Book VIII
THE ROGUE: Sacrisvita Book IX
THE CITIZEN: Sacrisvita Book X
THE SURVIVOR: Sacrisvita Book XI
***
Third Earth
SLEEPER: A Third Earth Prequel
(FREE and only available HERE.)
ALONE: Third Earth Volume One
***
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