Project Integrate Series Boxed Set

by Campbell, Jamie

  I sent a quick text message to my security police, letting them know I was expecting a male visitor my age. As fun as it would have been to see Lochie tackled to the ground by them, it would be hard to explain later on.

  If we had finished the project the other day at school, I wouldn’t have had to be so nervous right now. If Lochie hadn’t been so argumentative and let me do the project alone, I probably would have it finished by now. The entire situation could have easily been avoided and it was his fault it wasn’t. I was sure he did it on purpose just to annoy me.

  A knocking on the door made me jump with fright. I checked myself in the mirror, making sure I didn’t look as frazzled as I felt. “I’ll get it,” I called out. My parents didn’t reply.

  I opened the door to Lochie, willing myself to be calm. He was like a rabid dog, I knew he would be able to smell my fear if I let it show.

  “Come in,” I said carefully. He wasn’t even through the door before my parents appeared at my side. They sized him up, from head to foot before remembering their manners.

  “And who’s this?” Dad asked.

  I didn’t get a chance to reply before Lochie stood forward, offering his hand to both of them in turn. “Lochlan Mercury. You were at our school the other day, it’s nice to actually meet you both.”

  “I’m Mr. Jones,” Dad replied. “Amery didn’t mention she was having a visitor.” He looked pointedly at me, silently accusing me of trying to hide something. If I did have something – or someone – to hide, it definitely wouldn’t be Lochie. He wasn’t worth getting into trouble for.

  “Lochie and I have an English project we need to finish,” I explained. “I might have forgotten to mention it this morning, sorry.”

  “What do you parents do?” Mom stared at Lochie, ignoring Dad and I. She had that intense look on her face, the one I knew meant she wasn’t going to let Lochie or myself off the hook until she knew all the details.

  “My mom is an administrations officer at the council,” Lochie explained, not missing a beat. “We are upstanding members of the community, I can assure you.”

  “Your mother isn’t Carol Mercury, is she?” Lochie nodded at Mom’s question. “I can’t believe I didn’t put two and two together before. Carol and I used to take you both to the park all the time when you were just toddlers. You’ve grown up a lot. How is she?”

  “She’s doing well, thank you.”

  “Where you do live now?” Mom continued.

  “938 Oaktree Lane.”

  “And you’re seventeen?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “What’s your grade point average?” She asked, unblinking. I wasn’t ready to step in just yet, better to let Lochie sweat a bit – it wouldn’t kill him.

  “Top of the class, straight A’s.”

  “Ever been in trouble with the principal? The police?”

  “Never.”

  “What are you plans for college?”

  “I’m trying to get a scholarship.” I had to give Lochie credit, he was staring right back at her while still maintaining his natural charm. I was waiting for the beads of sweat to form on his brow, the uncomfortable shuffling of his feet. But clearly it wasn’t going to happen, it was just getting boring.

  “Mom, I think you now know more about Lochie than I do.” I grabbed his arm and starting pulling him through the hallway. “We have a project to get finished. You can talk afterwards.”

  I pushed him toward the stairs, determined to get out of the interrogation spotlight.

  CHAPTER 6

  I didn’t let Lochie go until we were in my bedroom and I could close the doors to stop my parents hounding him anymore. They both took their jobs way too seriously sometimes. We were just studying together, it wasn’t like we were preparing to take over the world or anything.

  “This is your room?” Lochie asked as he walked around. I shouldn’t have let him go because he started touching everything. I don’t think there was one thing he didn’t pick up and examine.

  “And what’s wrong with my room?”

  “It’s just so… girly. I thought everything would be painted black with red slashes over the walls.”

  It was so typical of him to be able to insult me with just one sentence. “I am a girl, you know, hence the girliness. I didn’t realize you had put so much thought into imagining my bedroom.”

  He grinned mischievously, his eyes twinkling the way they did when he was being cheeky. “Have you ever imagined my bedroom?”

  I had enough. I grabbed the angel figurine out of his hands and placed it back on my shelf. “Sit down. We have a project to do, remember? This isn’t a social visit.”

  He obeyed and took one of the two seats I’d placed at my desk while I took the other. I wished my small desk was larger so we didn’t have to be so close to each other. Several times my leg brushed against him and I had to snatch it away quickly in embarrassment. If it was annoying him as much as it was me, then he didn’t let it show.

  We pored through our books, trying to agree on what to put into the project. I desperately wanted to get it finished so the torture would end. Any minute spent with Lochie was one too many. At any stage, I thought I might just erupt and throw him through the window or something.

  Finally, we agreed to do each section in turn. He would work on the odd numbers, I would work on the evens. We started going through them in turn.

  I could feel eyes watching me constantly. I would look up and Lochie would be staring at me. Each time, he quickly averted them back to his book and I did the same. It was so distracting it was hard to concentrate. I would have preferred to be shopping for clothes with Lola rather than sit there with him staring at me. And that was saying something.

  “What?” I finally demanded, catching him looking for the fifteenth time.

  “Nothing,” he replied innocently.

  “Well stop looking at me then.”

  “I can’t help it.” He said the words so sweetly, it almost made me forget what I was so annoyed about. But then he opened his mouth again and reminded me. “You look so funny, I’ve never seen anything so weird before.”

  “Charming,” I said sarcastically and made a point of holding my book up to cover my face. I kept it there until I was certain he was concentrating on his work again.

  We worked in silence for a good twenty minutes before we were interrupted by a knock on the door. At least my parents didn’t barge in like they normally did. Knocking was a good sign they actually trusted me.

  “Come in,” I called out. Mom opened the door, she balanced a tray in one hand as she walked toward us.

  “I thought you could use some snacks. It’s no fun studying on an empty stomach,” she said happily, placing the tray on the desk in front of us.

  “That’s so nice of you, thank you Mrs. Jones,” Lochie replied, beaming up at her with his flashy smile. I never managed to elicit such a smile from him.

  “You’re very welcome. Good luck with your project.” She left us to it, actually closing the door again behind her. Mom was in full… Mom mode, it was kind of scary how good she was being.

  “Your mom is so much nicer than you are,” Lochie commented when we were alone again. “Your dad must be really mean if you take after him.”

  I threw a pencil at him, wishing it would stab him in the hand. “It goes to show how much you know. My mom wasn’t being nice, she was spying on us. Bringing us snacks was her way of getting in here and seeing what we are doing.”

  “She thinks we might be up to no good?” He clutched his chest, like he was scandalized by the very notion. “Where would she get an idea like that? What have you been telling her about me?”

  I was ready to throw my entire pencil case now, but he wouldn’t be worth the mess it would make. I wanted to say something really witty to get back at him but nothing good came to mind. My traitorous brain could only think of all the things a guy and a girl could get up to behind closed doors.

  “Get back to work
,” I finally muttered.

  We worked for an hour longer, the snacks Mom brought up helping to ease the pain. I tried to hurry through my part of the project but I still needed a good grade so I forced myself to be thorough. Unfortunately, it was difficult doing both. I slowed down, trying to remember how important it was to get a good grade. At the very least, Lochie would never let me forget it if I was the reason we didn’t get top marks.

  “Your ankle monitor is distracting me,” Lochie said, breaking the silence. I quickly glanced downwards, an automatic response. I had no idea what he was talking about. My ankle monitor wasn’t beeping or anything so what on Earth was he going on about? Then it hit me, he was trying to trick me into admitting I had one.

  “I don’t have an ankle monitor,” I replied grumpily.

  With one sweeping movement, and before I could stop him, Lochie reached down and pulled my leg up to rest on his lap. I fell backwards in my chair, unable to move or wriggle free. He pulled up the bottom of my jeans to reveal the black box.

  “What’s this then?”

  It was pretty hard to deny it when his hands were on the ugly black box. Up close, he could see the red flashing light and all the electronics that went into it. There was no way I could convincingly say it was just an anklet.

  But the lack of being able to lie wasn’t what was keeping me speechless. Lochie wasn’t just holding my leg, he was… caressing it. His fingers moved back and forth, sending waves of warmth over me. I couldn’t move, I was stunned into a frozen state.

  Lochie stared at my ankle without saying anything. If he was thinking the same things I was, then I could understand why. He suddenly didn’t seem to need an explanation for the monitor. He was in a trance, the entire time his hand not leaving my leg.

  I couldn’t take it much longer, if he continued doing that then I was going to go crazy. I had to remind myself how annoying he was. I sat up, breaking both of our trances. “I think we have done all we can for one day. I think you should go.”

  He let me go quickly, standing as my leg slid from his lap. “I think I should go too.”

  I had never seen him move so fast before. In an instant, he picked up his books and had everything in his backpack, zipping it up like he was in fast forward. I stood, leaving my stuff on the desk.

  “I’ll see you at school,” he said before racing out the door. He didn’t wait for me to walk him downstairs, he was gone before I even got a chance to say or do anything.

  I heard his car start before it sped off down the street. I wasn’t even sure what had just happened. One minute we were doing our project, the next… I had no idea. But I did know one thing – my ankle monitor had to go.

  I hurried downstairs, hoping my parents didn’t notice Lochie’s sudden departure. I wouldn’t have an answer for them which would only lead to more questions. I didn’t want that to happen.

  My parents were in the kitchen, preparing dinner. My mom looked up at me expectantly. “Is your friend staying for dinner? I can put an extra plate on.”

  “No, he’s gone,” I said, trying to make my voice sound normal. I didn’t know why I was so shaken up, nothing happened. I tried to remind myself of that fact. “I need to get rid of my ankle monitor. It’s causing trouble. People keep noticing it even though I try to keep it covered.”

  “What do you say to them?” Dad asked, instantly concerned.

  “I say it’s just an anklet but it’s not working. People are getting suspicious.” I failed to say it was only Lochie that was suspicious, but even one person was enough cause for concern.

  “We’ll speak to the Department,” Dad replied. “They might be able to take the red tape off your implant monitoring. With all their resources you’d think they’d be able to do something a little more subtle.”

  “Dinner’s ready, Amery. Take a seat,” Mom directed, bringing plates over to the table. We all sat down to eat the casserole. At least it was a distraction, I could stop reliving what happened upstairs over and over again in my mind. If I thought about it, I could still feel the warmth of Lochie’s hand on my ankle. Ugh, I needed to forget about it so badly.

  “So tell us more about that boy, Lochie,” Mom urged casually. I didn’t know why I thought they wouldn’t interrogate me further about it. It was wishful thinking, I guess.

  “We’ve been assigned as project partners for English. We’re trying to get the assignment done before it’s due,” I answered, hoping she would drop it altogether. It was just a school project, nothing more.

  “He seems nice,” Dad commented. “He stood up to your mother’s questioning, that takes a lot of character.” I continued to eat my casserole, refusing to be drawn into the conversation. I wasn’t going to sit there gushing about Lochie.

  “Remember you’re not allowed to date anyone,” Mom quickly added. “You can’t have a boyfriend until you are eighteen and the Department approves it. Everything is critical in the timing.”

  “I remember.” Of course I remembered, it was drilled into me at every opportunity. When all the other girls at school were being taken to the dance by their beloved, I had to go alone. It broke my heart whenever a boy asked me anywhere and I had to say no. They would never know how much I wanted to have said yes.

  “Perhaps it’s better not to have any temptation,” Mom continued. “Maybe you should ask for a new partner?”

  “I don’t like him that way, Mom. In fact, I don’t like him at all. I just want to get our project over and done with so I don’t have to talk to him ever again.”

  “Is he the boy you aren’t getting along with?” Dad asked quickly, putting two and two together. “You know you can’t have anyone not like you. It’s imperative people only think good things about you.”

  In my memory flashed Lochie, holding my ankle, caressing it so gently. Ugh, I so badly wanted to forget about that. “He doesn’t hate me, we just don’t get along very well. He annoys me and I think I do the same to him. It won’t affect anything when the time comes, I’m sure about it.”

  “Do try to get along better with him then.”

  I wasn’t going to make any promises I knew I couldn’t keep. If Lochie continued to be annoying, then I was going to continue to be annoyed by him. I was sure the feeling was mutual despite the moment we had shared earlier.

  I desperately wanted to stop talking about Lochie. I needed to change the subject so I could get him out of my head. “I went shopping with Lola this morning. She noticed the security police.”

  “I hope you denied it all,” Mom said, a little sharper than she usually spoke. I hoped I hadn’t inadvertently landed myself in her bad books again.

  “Of course I did,” I replied. I poked at my casserole, wondering if I had the nerve to say what I wanted to. There was only one way to find out. “I want to tell Lola everything. I hate lying to her and she deserves to know the truth. I know she won’t tell anyone.”

  My parents exchanged a worried glance. It was quick and subtle but I still saw it. I guessed they knew they couldn’t really control me but always hoped the rules of the project would. It was my dad who spoke first. “You know everything like that has to be approved by the Department first and they would not permit you to tell someone without due cause. They won’t approve declassification because you feel bad about lying.”

  “I know, but maybe the Department doesn’t have to know. Lola won’t tell so how would they ever find out?”

  “Amery!” Mom practically yelled across the table. “You know the rules and you know the consequences of breaking them. If you were to tell Lola then we would all be punished. Do you want to be thrown out of the project when you’ve invested seventeen years in it already?”

  “No, of course I don’t.” They knew I didn’t, I just wished they didn’t have to make such a big deal out of everything. Telling one person I trusted wouldn’t change anything. It might even make it easier to get through the project and see it out to the end. But, of course, I would never be able to convince my par
ents of that. They only ever saw the rules, they rarely cared about what I was actually going through. It was just so typical of them.

  “There’s only eight more years left,” Dad continued. “After that, everything will be out in the open and you won’t have to keep any secrets anymore. Eight years is not a long time, especially considering we signed up for a twenty-five year project.”

  Eight years sounded like forever but I wasn’t going to argue. If I wanted to tell Lola, then maybe I should just do it. The rules said I couldn’t, my parents said I couldn’t, but were they really the boss of me? Perhaps I was old enough to make some decisions of my own. I let it rest, let them believe I agreed with them for now.

  We ate the remainder of our dinner largely in silence. When the dishes were done, I went to my room. I didn’t feel like having to be nice and polite, I just wanted to go to bed and read a book – anything to clear my mind and improve my mood.

  I didn’t want to be difficult for my parents. But on the other hand I needed to have a life of my own too. The project had overshadowed every decision I ever made in my life. It would have been so nice to be able to be normal for once and do something just because I wanted to. The older I got, the more constraining it seemed to be.

  When I was little I rarely thought about the project. My parents would tell me what I could and couldn’t do and then it would be that way. But now I was starting to think for myself, it felt like I was constantly wearing a straight jacket. It sucked, to be frank.

  I turned off the light and put my book away, I needed some serious sleep. I just hoped I would be able to get some with all the thoughts running through my head. And no matter how much I ignored it, I could still feel Lochie’s hands on my ankle. Ugh, I wanted to be rid of him so badly.

  I must have drifted off sometime in the night because I was startled awake and forcibly removed from my dream by someone shaking me. It was my mother, but she wasn’t in her dressing gown, she was fully clothed.