by Ramona Finn
His brows knit between his brows. “You’re comfortable no matter what situation you’re in.”
“I don’t think so.” He only meant I was good at survival. So, I told him about what had happened in the cafeteria. “I have to admit I was shocked by their behavior,” I added. “You Elites have everything you could ever wish for, and somehow that makes you more afraid to share it.”
He was quiet for a while. “Now that we have each other, we won’t have to worry about the others.”
Something tightened in my chest. It was the same feeling I’d gotten so often in the Geos when I’d needed to get away but known there was nowhere to go. I felt trapped. Why should Ben make me feel this way? He was a nice boy, and sweet. And those dimples could melt my insides.
It was different with Skylar Two. When I was with him, I felt free, and felt like myself…or at least the version of myself that I wanted to be.
My heart leapt into my throat at the memory of being with Skylar Two. He was passionate, and he didn’t need me. But he’d chosen to be with me. That thought alone sent chills through my body.
Ben, on the other hand, needed me. He wanted me to be his world, his community. Our family would be his everything. Shouldn’t that be what I wanted, too?
Ben pulled something small out of his tunic pocket. It was a silver ring.
“Now that R.L. has given his permission,” he began, looking at me with wide, hopeful eyes. “I’d like to give you this. To me, it’s a symbol of my promise to take care of you. Will you wear it?”
I stared at the ring. It was very simple—nothing elaborate, just a circle of silver. My hand automatically moved to my throat. I wrapped my mother’s necklace in my palm. This pendant was a symbol of my parents’ relationship, their union. Ben’s silver ring was meant to be that, too. It would seal my promise to go through with the partnering. Once I wore it, Ben would count on my commitment to him. I took a deep breath. My life was here now. And once my parents arrived, everyone I truly cared about would be safe. Except, of course, for Skylar Two.
But by becoming a Farrow, I would betray everything the Rejs expected me to do. As a Farrow, I wouldn’t be able to bring them down. I’d be watched even more closely than if I remained a regular Elite. I’d be busy helping to find the Cure by creating offspring. So, what it came down to was that I had to make a decision. My life with the Rejs had been short, and meant to be temporary. My time with Skylar Two was over. He and his people wanted a fight. I’d since discovered that the way to save my people in the Geos was to become the Cure. Or at least produce kids who could provide the Cure. It was time to let go of Skylar and the Rejs.
Ben was waiting for my answer. I’d already said yes to R.L., but this was different. This was between Ben and me. It was personal, not official. He looked so hopeful, so sincere.
“Of course, I’ll wear it,” I finally said.
Ben exhaled and laughed. He slipped the ring onto the middle finger of my left hand. Then he kissed it. “We will be so happy,” he promised.
I returned his smile, desperately wanting to be as sure as he was. He leaned in and kissed me. It was a soft, sweet kiss—not quite like the crazy, organ-melting kisses of our make-out sessions before. This kiss was filled with a quiet joy. It was filled with a hope for a happy future.
He was counting on me to be his friend, and his partner for life.
Somehow, I could hardly catch my breath. There was so much expectation in his kiss, and I didn’t know if I could give him what he wanted. What if I wasn’t who he thought I was? What if I let him down?
We sat in silence for a long time—me staring at the ring on my finger, Ben staring at me. Something rustled the trees very gently and a drop of water splashed onto my head. I looked up. Tiny drops of silvery water were falling from the ceiling.
Rain.
Ben laughed and pulled me up by my hands. “Let’s get under the trees,” he said. “The rain won’t last long, and the trees will be our shelter.”
“No,” I said, standing in the middle of the clearing and gazing up at the rain. “I’ve never experienced rain before.” The only drips from the ceilings in the Geos were leaks from pipes, and we never stopped long enough to wonder where they came from. “I like this.”
Together, we stood in the rain as it dripped down over our faces and then soaked our tunics. I shivered at the coolness of the water touching my skin. Ben wrapped his arms around me, thinking I was cold. I didn’t object. We stayed there getting wet for a long while, just watching the rain.
“I forgot to tell you,” Ben said suddenly. “As an apology, I’ve arranged to have a brand new computer terminal set up in your apartment. You’ll have full access, just like me. SKY will guide you through how to manage the system. I want you to know that I trust you completely, and I don’t want to hide anything from you.”
I leaned my head into his chest. His heart beat steadily through his soaked tunic, but his body was warm and well-muscled. In his arms like this, I felt safe. I breathed in his scent and pressed myself closer into him. I thought of how my parents loved each other and wondered if they’d always felt that way. When they’d spoken of how they’d met and how they’d decided that marriage was what they wanted, I’d never asked if they loved each other right from the beginning. As I’d grown up, though, I’d seen that they had a truly strong bond.
Ben and I might not love each other yet—we hadn’t said the words, certainly—but, in time, I was sure our connection would grow just like that of my parents. I could be happy with our union. And we would have a greater purpose—to save our people from the Virus.
Yes. This would work.
I exhaled and let go of the fear, of the feeling of being trapped. I let go of the image of R.L. Farrow controlling our lives, of the meanness of the cafeteria Elites. I would become a member of the Farrow family because I had Ben. He would back me up and I would do the same for him. This would work. We would be happy.
I angled my face to look up into his face. He leaned in, and we kissed. This kiss was the perfect balance of sweetness and passion. It was the kiss that sealed our fate.
Chapter Seventeen
Ben insisted I come with him to the taping of The Cure the next morning. I wasn’t as enthusiastic about it as I’d been the first time, remembering how that day had ended.
The studio was humming with activity when we arrived. As we walked into the section where the lab was—what Ben called the ‘main set’—I recognized several of the scientists I’d watched on TV. Unlike Viv, though, I didn’t have everyone’s names memorized. About a dozen of them were dressed in their white lab coats and were standing together listening to Mara, the director, give them instructions for the shoot.
“Thanks for coming in on such short notice,” she was saying. “We’re doing a brief special today, airing it live as an extra episode. We’ll be interrupting the regular workday and keeping it unscripted, per R.L.’s request. He says he has a surprise.”
A low murmur spread through the group and a knot began to form in my stomach. Was it about me?
“This is my sister, Chen.” Ben led me to a young woman with dark eyes and shiny brown hair tied up neatly in a bun. I recognized her immediately. Who wouldn’t? She was the third most famous Farrow—after R.L. and Ben. He sounded excited for me to meet the oldest of the Farrow offspring. Chen was petite, but she commanded the space she stood in. I’d watched her a lot on The Cure, and she always came across as the smartest Farrow, although I noticed that she didn’t push her opinions on people. She just waited until they discovered she’d been right all along. After a while, people just asked her first so they’d save time. “Chen, this is Tylia. I thought it was time you two actually met in person.”
Chen raised one eyebrow at me. “I bet you anything that you’re the reason for all this fuss.”
I swallowed. She was the first Farrow I’d officially met besides their father and Ben, and this didn’t look like it was going well. What if they all disliked m
e? Would that be enough to change R.L.’s mind?
“Is my brother treating you well?” She narrowed her eyes at Ben.
“He’s…very…sweet,” I said, reaching for words that weren’t coming to mind.
Chen laughed. It was a throaty laugh, full of genuine mirth. I already liked her.
“Sweet,” she said, nudging Ben with her elbow. He went red. “That’s one word, I suppose.”
Mara shot us a look, reminding us that this was her stage and we weren’t paying her enough attention. Chen straightened her lab coat. Ben coughed an apology. I just wanted to bury myself in the curtains.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you at last,” Chen whispered, leaning into me. “I hope you can handle becoming a Farrow.” She was smiling when she pulled away, but that knot tightened in the pit of my stomach. She knew about the partnering. Who else did?
Before I figured out how to respond, Mara continued with her instructions. I was so busy second-guessing every one of Chen’s words that I heard nothing. As soon as Mara was done, the group of scientists dispersed, leaving me in between Chen and Ben.
She and Ben then walked me around the room to meet the rest of the scientists.
“Not everyone in the cast is worth knowing,” Chen remarked as we whisked past the first few scientists milling around. I noticed that their lab coats were longer—they practically reached their knees and looked too big for them. Chen waved at them and they parted to let us through. They stared at me, and I couldn’t tell if it was surprise or fear in their eyes.
“You called them a ‘cast’?” I felt really dumb asking. I’d never heard that word before. In the Geos, we’d always referred to them simply as scientists.
“Yeah,” Chen shrugged. “Sometimes we have to fill the scene with extras when some of us are away doing the real work. They’re not actual scientists. ‘Cast’ is just an easier way to refer to everyone.”
Now, ‘extras’ I understood. So, the ones with ill-fitting coats were just regular Elites with no actual job to do. That would’ve upset me more if she hadn’t said the thing about doing real work. It meant that even though The Cure was a scripted show, and fake scientists acted in the scenes, somewhere else, the real search for the Cure was actually happening.
“Where do you do the real work, then?” I asked as Chen walked toward another group of scientists. These had better fitting coats, so they were the real thing. Chen probably didn’t hear my question because she announced loudly, “Everyone, this is Tylia. She’s our new addition.”
Standing there in their midst, I could’ve fainted with embarrassment. Most of the scientists barely glanced my way, only nodding to acknowledge Chen’s introduction. From that, I guessed that they knew a lot less about me than Chen did.
“They’re what I call the ‘lesser’ Farrows,” Chen whispered to me as we walked by. We headed to Ben’s changing room. “Sure, we’re all an amalgamation of the brightest and best in the Labs, and all freaks of scientific experimentation, but we’re just as petty and mean as regular people.” She laughed, hand to her chest, feigning shock at her own words. “Father considers them his failed candidates, but he’s kept them around for the show.”
“Candidates for what?” I couldn’t decide if she was joking or not.
“Oh dear.” Chen’s grin told me not to take her too seriously. “I think I’ve said too much. You’ll find out when you find out. But now that we have you and Ben, we may all become completely obsolete.” She turned on her heel and hurried off to her make-up station, leaving me completely baffled.
There was a stir in the room as R.L. entered. Everyone stopped talking and gave him their full attention, kind of like how we’d been in classes in the Geos when the teacher walked in. He was wearing his usual white suit and shoes. His thick black hair was slicked back; not a strand was out of place.
He tugged on his shirt sleeves and looked to Mara. “Ready?” he asked.
She nodded and led him to a lit spot in the middle of the set, then waved at all of the cast to take their places. I moved in closer to watch, finding a good place right behind a large camera on wheels. The plate at its foot said “Camera 2.” Ben and Chen appeared from behind me. They joined the rest of the cast.
The set of the lab looked unusually crowded as the cameras began rolling. I counted at least fourteen cast people—fake and real scientists standing around a long counter in the middle of the set. They looked uncomfortable, not knowing what to do with their hands, without lines to recite. They kept their eyes on R.L.
Mara clapped her hands. Lights from somewhere in the ceiling came on, shining so brightly that it could’ve been the middle of the day.
“All right, remember we’re doing this live, people.”
The cast looked even more uncomfortable, and a loud murmur spread through them.
“What do you want us to do?” someone grumbled.
“Do we say anything?” another asked.
“Relax and try to be real for a change. React as you would in normal life,” Mara replied with a gleam in her eye.
Chen winked at Ben, who beamed. R.L. raised one hand without looking away from the camera, and they all settled into silence.
Mara continued, “Right, so, mingle with each other and look like you’re waiting for something. When Dr. Farrow is done speaking, you are to react naturally. What we’re looking for is authenticity, everyone. Got that?”
The cast nodded and took their places. The man behind Camera Two raised his hands and counted down on his fingers from five.
I didn’t ever remember watching an episode that had been aired outside of the usual time slot. The Cure always came on between shifts four and five. By my calculations, if this was being aired now, it was the end of shift one. The Unions would have to give shift two workers special time off to watch this. Of course, if R.L. requested it himself, no Union leader would refuse. I wondered if the people in the Geos would be happy for this short reprieve from work.
Then, for some reason, my heart began to pump wildly fast. It knew what was coming before my brain did. But, of course, I must have known.
A red light blinked on above our heads and everyone came to life. They behaved differently now than they had a few seconds ago, as if they knew they were being watched. They moved about with an air of authority, especially the scientists with the well-fitted coats—the real ones. These were the people we watched and knew as the scientists who held our future in their hands. I was impressed, and disappointed.
R.L. Farrow walked up to Camera Two. A hush fell on the set, and all eyes focused on the head of the family.
“Good afternoon, my fellow citizens of Farrow Corp,” R.L. began. He clutched the lapels of his jacket with both hands. “Today, I have something special to share with all of you. Good news that will bring us so much closer to our ultimate goal—finding the Cure.”
The cast looked at each other with great interest and curiosity. Some even moved a little closer to R.L., but from behind the camera, Mara raised both hands toward them and they stopped in their tracks. I shifted from one foot to another. I did know what was coming.
All I could think of was that my parents weren’t there with me. They should’ve been there. R.L. had promised that they would be. For a second, I imagined that R.L. was going to reunite us live on TV. Was that what was happening? My face felt hot.
R.L. turned to look for Ben, and then gestured for him to move into the spotlight. He put an arm around his son. Ben smiled sheepishly. “As you have known for some time, my son Ben has come the closest to having the right genetic make-up for defeating the Virus. But there was a missing element.” He looked at Ben, and then peered past the camera to me. A cold streak ran through me. “Well, I’m happy to announce that the missing element has been found.”
R.L. paused long enough for his words to have the expected effect. And he wasn’t disappointed. Some of the cast members clapped as others gasped. He, and all of us, knew that similar reactions would be happening down i
n the Geos as viewers stood in Union Hall watching. I hoped my parents were watching from their small set in our home. I hoped more than anything that Mother was healthy enough to be awake for this. I wondered if she’d be sad that she wasn’t with me in person for this moment. I hoped my father wasn’t too skeptical about this announcement. He used to complain so much about this show, and now, here I was in the middle of it.
“We have discovered that there is someone here who is a genetic match for Ben, and that, together, they will produce offspring who will be completely immune to the Virus, and therefore will give us the Cure, at last.” He grinned and puffed up his chest, as if he had invented the Cure himself at this very moment. The reaction on set and even behind the cameras was electrifying. No one spoke. They were all holding their breaths, waiting to hear who this person was.
Then R.L. pointed to me. All eyes followed his hand. R.L. turned his hand palm up and beckoned me to join him and Ben. I didn’t dare disobey. My legs trembled as I walked past Camera Two. I lost my balance a little and brushed past the cameraman. I heard him chuckle. As I walked toward R.L., into the spotlight, everyone else around me faded into darkness. I took my place on the other side of R.L. Farrow as Ben gave me a sheepish smile. R.L. put his arm around me. It felt unusually heavy. We stood together, staring into the black eye of the camera. This spot, and this moment, felt like a small world where only R.L., Ben, and I existed.
“This is Tylia Coder.” R.L. spoke suddenly, making me jump. “The winner of the Acceptance. Our algorithms for choosing a candidate finally paid off, and we found a person who was truly immune and totally compatible with our Benjamin. So, I am here to announce their engagement. They will soon be entering into a formal partnership. We will air the ceremony live in exactly four days.”
The shrieks and gasps of the cast were as real as could be. Clearly, this was not what they were expecting to hear.
“Why a partnership?” someone on the dark set whispered, loud enough for all of us to hear. “We can do all of that in the lab with just their genes.”