“Does she know about Ari yet?”
They both looked at Ari, who shook her head.
“Sorry, dude. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of her.”
“That’s what makes me worried.”
“I think I can take care of myself,” Ari interrupted. “Don’t you remember who ended up on top of our last fight?”
“Oh, yes, I remember.” Garrett’s smile grew as Ari realized what she had said might not have come across right.
“Whatever,” she mumbled, trying to blow off his innuendo. She turned to Reed who didn’t look happy. “I’ll be fine, okay?”
He nodded slightly, unease obvious on his face. Ari leaned in and kissed him, ignoring Garrett’s offhanded comment. Reed responded to her kiss with enthusiasm.
Ari reluctantly pulled back. “I’ll be back soon.”
Reed kissed her lightly on the lips. “Get in there and work your magic.”
Her insides melted, and she didn’t want to leave reality. Knowing Reed was here for her meant the world. The fact that they were in a relationship made it even better.
Ari hadn’t had the chance to talk to Marco or her mother about her problems yet. Marco was off busy doing whatever it was he did—which Ari worried would give her an ulcer. They texted back and forth several times, but their school schedules didn’t offer a lot of free time, and messaging over the school’s service made Ari nervous. But her mom? Well, Ari didn’t want to have that conversation until she had a plan.
She hooked herself up. As the cold wire slipped into her port, the world around melted away.
She opened her eyes to a familiar ocean. It was the first VR that she took with Garrett. Although the moon was bright in the sky, unlike the last time she’d been here. She gritted her teeth, annoyed at him for picking this place.
Ari appeared in the same bikini and white sun dress as before. As she looked around, she noticed something new: a cabana and dance floor lit with tiki-torches. Other students were already ordering drinks and starting to fill the dance floor. She closed her eyes again and dressed herself in shorts and a shirt but kept her feet bare.
“I like the other outfit better,” Garrett spoke close behind her, too close. “Let’s go for a walk.” Garrett headed towards the island away from the loud dance floor.
“Why this way?” Ari asked.
“So, no one catches you. They’ll think we’re looking for privacy for other reasons.” He winked at Ari.
She gave him a dirty look. “I don’t want them to think we’re together.”
“Don’t worry. After that little exhibition kissing Reed, I’m sure they won’t know what to think.”
Ari kicked sand in his direction with her bare feet. “Very funny.”
The vegetation thickened as the darkness settled in around them. The temperature dropped drastically, the cold seeping through her light shirt. Even the sand under their feet morphed into something new. Heavy palm branches littered the ground, cutting into her feet.
“Isn’t this far enough? I can barely walk, let alone see where I’m going.” Ari stopped, placing a hand on a nearby tree.
“Then why don’t you do something about it?” he asked, his voice full of an arrogance that grated on Ari.
She had to remind herself he was doing her a favor. As she searched for code in the VR, the darkness covered anything she might see. “Why is this virtual so dark?”
“It was designed to keep you near the shore with the party. If we don’t head back, we’ll keep wandering and end up at the same spot.” That made sense to Ari. These were called comeback loops in class. Every program had to have its limits.
She focused her attention on searching for the characters and numbers that lay beneath the surface of the VR. There they were, dark characters running all around her. As she focused on the code, it became clearer. The numbers and letters created the cold breeze blowing by, the shadows falling on the sand, and she could even read the branches under her feet.
The next task proved more difficult, since she wasn’t sure how she’d done it before. A branch snapped nearby and broke her concentration. It was Garrett drawing near.
He lightly touched her arm. “Do you need help?”
Ari brushed his hand away. “Back off, Garrett.”
“I remember last time we were in a slightly heated position when it happened.”
Ari didn’t need his help. “I remember you trying to kill me.”
The warmth from his body radiated off him. His breath was a light breeze on her neck. “Only in a game, Ari. Not in real life. I think that’s what you forget. Things you do here—they aren’t real. They aren’t the same. It’s like a dream. There’s no trouble with things that happen in a dream.”
She closed her eyes, trying to ignore Garrett. The code still floated there in her mind, the sequence running faster than she ever thought possible to read. As her mind searched the code for the branches underfoot, it seemed to zoom in on what she needed. There it was. She mentally tore at the code, and it scattered. She found the code for the beach sand, and she copied and replaced it as if she had a computer screen in front of her.
Looking down, she wiggled her feet in the soft sand.
Garrett’s feet appeared in front of her. “Nice.”
“Stay put for a moment. I want to see what else I can do.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said in mock salute.
Ari closed her eyes again, Garrett’s presence still warm in front of her. The code for his warmth skittered across her vision, and then she remembered Garrett was plugged into a machine and really not that close to her. She started tearing down more code. It was as easy as deleting numbers on a screen. The hard part was putting something in its place. She brushed away some clouds, dismissed bush, and even took off Garrett’s shoes.
“Hey, if that’s how it’s going to be, it’s only fair if you undress yourself too,” he said.
Ari ignored Garrett and kept searching the code. She had to know it well enough in her brain to add it into the sequence. The most she could do was put grass under their feet. She had completed that task countless times in school, so it was easy enough to recall.
When she opened her eyes, she found Garrett reclining shirtless.
“I didn’t take off your shirt,” Ari said.
He shrugged his shoulders and gave her a guilty smile.
“Whatever. We can leave. I think I have my answers.”
Garrett stood up, shirt in hand, and they headed towards the party. “So how does it feel to be a super freak?”
“I don’t know ... scary.” Ari decided she needed to talk to her mother and figure out what was next. Maybe even Tessa would have some ideas. Ari had barely gotten used to school, and now this. The only silver lining would be the cash, and it sounded like a big lining.
As they reached the group, Ari noticed Tessa dancing with a guy. When the song ended, Tessa headed over.
Her eyes fell on Ari then Garrett, his shirt in his hands.
“Have fun?” Tessa’s sarcasm spooned on extra heavy.
“Nothing happened. I promise,” Ari snapped.
Garrett nudged her with his shoulder. “You can’t say it was nothing.”
“Shut up,” Ari replied.
“Whatever. You’re not the only fish in the sea.” He started to leave but made it only two steps before he dissolved right before their eyes—something Ari had never seen before.
Ari turned to Tessa, whose eyes widened in surprise.
“Run, get out!” Tessa shouted as she closed her eyes and disappeared.
Ari opened her eyes to the darkness of the lab. People were unhooking and rushing out of the room. Before she could reach her cable, swift hands unplugged her.
“Hurry.” Reed pulled her out of the chair. By the time she stood, bright lights filled the room.
A stern voice carried throughout the room. “Please stop or you will be restrained.”
Ari froze, her grip tightening on Reed’s hand, while s
everal armed security guards filled the lab. Tessa stood next to the door with a guard at her side. Several other students were scattered throughout the room. Ari felt like she was falling, though her feet remained glued to the floor, and all she could think was: What did they see?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ari stood in front of the large wooden door that she remembered from her first day. Even then, she knew she never wanted to come here again. She stared at the brass knocker in the middle, knowing he was watching her. All the students captured had to speak to their advisors to receive their punishment, even if it was two in the morning.
“Come in,” Advisor Williams’s voice boomed from a speaker in the door.
Ari entered and eased into the old leather chair farthest from him, the same chair as last time. Even though it was the middle of the night, Advisor Williams was wide awake and impeccably dressed. He continued to work on his computer for a minute while Ari waited in silence, studying his painting. Golden wheat swayed in the wind as an old house made of wood stood in the corner. Back when they made houses of wood. The falling sun cast shadows of golds and purples on the landscape. When the advisor finally spoke, it made her jump.
“Do you know why I have an antique door?” His lips pressed in a grim line.
The question startled Ari, who held back what she really thought that he was vain and old. Given her silence, he continued.
“It’s to remember, Ms. Mendez. To remember. Before this age of automation, wireless living, and virtual reality, we had to open doors, usually with keys. They didn’t slide open with a scan of your finger.
“This age has made many lazy. Why open doors when they fly open? Why read a book when you can watch one? Why work hard when you can go into a VR to reap all the benefits you never have earned? Why work hard at school when you don’t have to pay for it?” He leaned forward, palms pressed together. “But you will have to pay for it, Ms. Mendez. Trust me, you will pay for it.”
Pushing back the anger at his insults, the fear of her skills, and tired emotions, she responded. “I do work hard, very hard.”
“Really?”
He turned back to his computer. With a click of a button, video filled one wall. Screens bigger than Ari flashed up with a video of the VR lab. There she was with Reed, kissing him goodbye before plugging in. Garrett seethed in the corner, watching them. Ari’s stomach tightened, angry at Williams for watching this, watching them. If there was a camera in the lab without the students’ knowledge, where else had cameras been placed? She couldn’t help but wonder if he’d seen everything that had happened in the virtual.
“Sneaking out at one in the morning for this,” he motioned to the screen, where Reed gave her one last kiss, “Isn’t what I’d call working hard, Ms. Mendez. I will put a demerit in your file, and I will increase security in your dorm as well to prevent future occurrences. Remember, more than one demerit and I can submit your name to the review board for expulsion. You are dismissed.”
Ari stood to leave, part of her grateful he didn’t see her inside the VR and part of her angry at how he had treated her. Yes, she deserved to be punished. She’d snuck out, and broken the rules. She understood that she had to pay for that decision, but he didn’t have to treat her like a third-rate citizen, watching her and Reed like a peeping Tom. Her fatigue loosened her tongue as she turned back.
“By the way, I work hard, harder than you know.” She left his office not waiting for a response and hoped she didn’t regret that later.
By the time Tessa and Ari were released the sun was on the rise. Ari couldn’t remember the last time she watched a sun rise and wasn’t too excited to see that one. Before reaching the dorm, Tessa motioned with her head and turned onto the path towards the lake. Ari let out a sigh. Her body was not in the mood for a walk at that time of the morning, but the guilt from the previous night hung over her. She shouldn’t have invited Tessa, especially with what was at stake.
Tessa’s dark wrinkled clothes looked out of place in the morning light as she sat down in the grass near the lake. Tessa crossed her legs in front of her, putting one large multi-colored boot on top of the other. The freezing morning wind pushed at Ari and she zipped up her jacket. Sitting next to her friend, Ari pulled at a stray bit of fake grass, playing with the plastic perfection.
“We need to talk in private.” Tessa glanced around as if checking for others. “Who knows where they put recording devices.”
Ari shivered, thinking back to the video she watched in Advisor Williams’s office, and the key logger on her computer. She knew her roommate was right to be paranoid.
“What happened last night?” Tessa shoved an angry hand through her purple hair. “I thought something was wrong when you walked off with Garrett while Reed stayed out of the program. But I never thought it was bad enough to get us all caught.”
Tessa had a right to be mad. Ari shouldn’t have invited her. “I’m sorry you’re in trouble. I didn’t know that would happen.”
“I don’t care about the demerit. What happened with you?”
Ari swallowed realizing she needed to tell Tessa the truth. “I’m a warper.”
Tessa froze for a moment and then narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking about?”
Ari struggled to find the words to explain. “I see code. Everywhere in the VR, running behind the optical illusions they present. Even the smell, though those are harder to nail down as they float everywhere.”
“You see code?” Tessa spoke slowly.
“Yes. I first noticed it at the Grid. I met Garrett in the game and stripped his powers from him. That’s probably why your dad was mad at you. Sorry.” Ari glimpsed at Tessa’s expression of disbelief, and then turned back to the lake. “I went in last night to confirm what I thought. Not only do I see code, but I can manipulate it as well. I’m able to change it at will, though I’m still working on that.”
“You can change code from inside the program? It’s true? Warpers are real?”
“I guess so. I’m not sure what I am.” Ari threw the fake piece of grass into the lake. “I had someone approach me after our game on the strip. Someone must have seen what happened in the game.”
Tessa gave a hearty laugh from deep within her belly. “No wonder my dad was so pissed. Random people have been questioning my stepmom. That’s a good one.”
“Glad to help you out. Problem is, now what do I do? The school is watching my every key stroke. Do I wait until they find out? What happens next?”
Tessa’s face fell, all laughter gone. “I’m not sure. I’d lie low. I think there is a reason we don’t know about warpers.”
“I agree.” Ari planned on talking to her mom over Christmas break since she didn’t trust her computer. She prayed the recruiter was wrong, and she could lie low for long enough.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ari welcomed Monday’s classes along with the homework that kept her busy all week. It gave her mind a break from worrying about the future. Unfortunately, after tests were completed on Friday, the thoughts that had been lurking in the back of her mind returned with full force.
She couldn’t get out of school, and she was required to work for the government after her three years of schooling in whatever position she was assigned. It could be at the North Pole. And there was no declining a government position. If she quit her schooling, her wages would be garnished at any other position she took. If she defaulted on payment, her mother’s wages would be garnished, which her mother couldn’t afford.
On the other hand, if she informed Advisor Williams of her gift or used her abilities in class, then she would be immediately transferred, leaving her friends and family. There was a reason no one really knew any warpers. Her other choice was to ignore her abilities in the VR. Not just for her schooling, but possibly for the rest of her life. And while it might not be the smartest choice, denial was the easiest choice.
If she didn’t change, nothing else did either. She could stay at school with Reed a
nd ignore the recruiter.
By Friday she was exhausted. The teachers gave them extra assignments to prepare for their end of term final before winter break. She was laying on her bed, reading her tablet, and trying to keep her eyes open, when she heard someone at the door. With headphones on and absorbed in her game, Tessa didn’t hear their AI announce the visitor.
Ari answered, surprised to find Reed holding a flower. They had texted a lot throughout the week but hadn’t talked since the night they got busted. Before he could speak, Ari wrapped her arms around him, breathing him in. She thought he had to study tonight, but she welcomed the surprise.
“I’ll take that to mean you’re happy to see me,” Reed said.
“Definitely.” She pulled him inside. Next to him, the stress and uneasiness of the past week melted away. All that mattered right now was the present.
Reed laid the flower on Ari’s desk and then turned to her roommate. “Hi, Tessa.”
Tessa pulled her headphones off one ear. “Hey, Reed. What are you up to?”
“Nothing, sick of studying. We all don’t get to play games for class.”
“I wish,” Ari said. Marco and Reed often teased her for getting a placement that allowed her to be in VRs most of the time. Ari had never realized that playing was so much work.
Tessa stood up and stretched her legs, covered in silver jeans today. “I’m going to grab more caffeine. Want me to get you anything?”
“No thanks,” Ari said shaking her head. Tessa was being polite, giving her space with Reed, and she appreciated it.
As soon as the door closed, Reed playfully tackled Ari right onto her bed. After a few minutes of doing her new favorite thing in the world—kissing Reed—he pulled back to lie next to her. Reed’s lips pressed together as if he had something to say.
“What is it?” She placed a hand on his face, loving the touch of his skin.
He leaned in and nuzzled her neck. “Have you decided what you’re going to do?” he whispered, knowing that there was probably an audio bug on Ari’s computer as well.
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