by Jamie Davis
“Why not?”
“I’ll tell you in a minute.” Cass put the face chat call on hold and slid the phone into her pocket while she headed around the corner to her room. She closed the door and walked over to the far side by the window before she tapped the phone to open the call again. Shelby smiled when the connection restored. “So why all the cloak and dagger stuff?”
“My dad had your connection information banned from our internal systems and firewall. I wasn’t allowed to call you and couldn’t get through.”
“You’re talking to me now. How did you do that?”
“It was Elena. She has a friend whose father runs security here at the enclave. She’s been trading out passwords to other kids in exchange for favors at school and around the community.”
“That sounds awfully mercenary for a fourteen-year-old.”
“You have no idea. My sister’s just as bad. Apparently, she’s been trading favors with boys.”
“Ewww, what sort of favors?”
“Those sorts of favors.”
“I hope you had a talk with her.”
“I did. I’m not sure how much good it did, though. She seems like she’s enjoying being the top dog at school since I left. Dad’s pretty highly placed in the movement and that gives her a certain amount of prestige. I used to have it, too, though I never abused the position the way she is.”
“So, she’s taking over as the reigning queen of the enclave?”
Cass laughed. “I was not the queen of the enclave, Shel.”
“Oh, I bet you were. A gorgeous thing like you would be able to control all the boys even if they knew you were gay.”
Cass blushed. “Shelby, it wasn’t like that.”
“But you think it’s like that with your sister? Maybe she’s just following in your footsteps and it’s harmless.”
“Unfortunately, I think it’s way more than anything I did in that position. I just used it to get voted into student government. I think Elena’s actually on the way to getting herself into some trouble. Hopefully, over the next month or so, I can figure out what she’s into and how to get her to stop doing what she’s doing.”
“Be careful. If you let her in so she knows what you and I are up to, she could use it against you.”
Cass shook her head. “She wouldn’t do that. I think that’s a line even she wouldn’t cross. We’re sisters, after all.”
Shelby shrugged. She seemed doubtful, but didn’t say anything more about it.
Cass let it drop and changed the subject. “How’s your family?”
“Mom and Dad are doing well enough. I think it’s going to take some time for them to get over Eric’s death. I think it was good for me to be home with them, Cass. I know you didn’t want me to leave when I did, but it was the right thing to do. Having me there gave them somebody else to take care of. It helped them focus on something other than paying attention to what happened with Eric.”
“I wish I could be there with you. Anything is better than being stuck here with my parents. And it gets worse.”
“How?”
“My dad says I’m not allowed to come back to school in the spring.”
“Really? How can he do that?”
“Just like I told you before you left. He controls everything in our house. If he doesn’t pay for my tuition, I don’t know how I can come back to school.”
“That’s awful. We need to figure out something for you so that you can still go to school even if he doesn’t help you anymore. There are scholarships and stuff like that you can apply for. I’ll look into it for you.”
Cass smiled. Shelby always had a positive outlook on things when Cass was down in the dumps. “That would be great. Honestly, I don’t know what I’ll do if I’m stuck here when the spring semester starts. There’s no way I’m going to be able to hide everything from them that long.”
“You’ll be fine. Keep thinking positive thoughts. And don’t do anything hasty. If you think you need to do something, try and reach out to me. We can talk through things before you get yourself backed into a corner.”
Cass nodded. What Shelby said was on target. She was glad she had the chance to talk with her.
“Hey, Cass, I have to go and run some errands for my mom. I’ll try and check in with you later.”
“I’m not sure you’ll be able to call me through the firewall. I’ll tell you what. Leave a message for me on the school’s server and I’ll check that to know when you’re back and when you can talk.”
“That works. I’ll leave a message there later and let you know when I’m home for the evening.”
Cass smiled and leaned close to the camera’s pick-up on her phone. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Cass smiled as Shelby closed the connection from her side.
She sat down on the bed, realizing maybe things were looking up after all.
Chapter 9
After her call with Shelby, Cass lay in her room on the bed while she did some investigating into what access she had using the password Elena got from Cadence. She found the port password not only gave her access to a communications link she could use to contact Shelby, but it also offered her access to a direct news feed from outside the enclave.
Cass scanned some of the stories, seeing if anything else had come of the call for investigations into the Saturday Massacre. One article talked about a conspiracy theory related to the Sapiens Movement’s claims of a fake video. There were parts of the story that were shockingly close to the truth, including a link to the death of the man who had fallen from the roof near the rally at the time the recording was made.
Cass opened that story as she swallowed hard. She’d accidentally been involved with that man’s death. The guilt about it still brought tears to her eyes from time to time when she least expected it. The article said a top investigative reporter was looking into rumors of someone else being on the roof with the man when he died. Cass wondered if this meant the reporter was getting closer to her and Shelby. It wouldn’t take much work to discover one of them had recorded the video and release their identities.
Her mother’s voice startled Cass out of her focus on the news story. “Cass, I just got a call from Karen Glenn asking if you were coming over to the party there this evening? The weather’s warm enough to hold it outside, but it will still be a bit chilly, and she wanted you to remember to dress appropriately so you wouldn’t get cold standing around with your friends. They’re going to build a bonfire, too. It sounds like fun.”
Cass sighed. She knew what was behind the get together now and she didn’t want to be questioned by everyone just so someone could race home and tell their parents about Cass and her freak of a girlfriend.
She walked down the hall to the top of the stairs. Her mother stood at the bottom looking up at her.
“Cass, you really should go. Everyone wants to see you. They’re excited you’re back home again.”
“Mom, I don’t feel like it. I just got home and it’s been a long day.”
“Well, I already told Karen that you’d at least pop over for something to eat for a little while. You don’t have to stay long, but you really should show your face.”
“Why? I can see them another time.”
“You need to go because it’s important to your father’s standing in the community. There’ve been a lot of questions focused on him and his involvement with that situation in the city regarding that video. Then word got out about you and that girl.”
“That girl has a name, Mom. Why can’t you say it?”
Her mom ignored what Cass said. “It’s important that our family show a united front. You have to go and that’s it.”
Cass realized she didn’t have a choice. Her parents were going to hound her until she gave in and agreed to go. “Fine, I’ll go. I’m not staying long, though.”
“Just stay for an hour or so. I bet you’ll be surprised at how much you’ve missed everyone. I’ll let Karen know you
’ll be over soon. She and Chris are cooking burgers and hot dogs out on the grill for all you kids. Just relax and have fun.”
Her mom left the bottom of the stairs, heading towards the kitchen.
The whole plan for the ambush party trapped Cass with no room to get out of it. Even if she somehow found a way to not go, her mother and the other moms would find a way to schedule something else. It was best to go now and get it over with. If she didn’t give them any useful information, maybe they’d leave her alone.
Cass went back to her room and dug into the clothes in her dresser until she found an outfit she could wear that would be warm but also look good enough to avoid any catty chatter about her clothes. She was happy they could see her wearing current fashions. A lot of the parents didn’t let their kids shop in those stores. Cass smiled as she looked at her outfit in the mirror. The jeans and blouse were casual, but made a statement. The sweater was both stylish and warm enough to ward off the night’s chill. It was perfect.
Cass left her room and headed back downstairs. On her way past her sister’s room, Elena called out through the open door to her.
“Hey, you heading over to Nick’s?”
“Mom wants me to go. I really don’t want to, but she’s pushing me into it. She says it has something to do with helping Dad look good or something.”
“Just go. You’ll have fun and your friends probably just want to know what you’ve been up to.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of, you know that. The council of moms has spoken and have sent their kids to find out more about my life at school. I wouldn’t put it past any of them to do that.”
Elena shook her head. “You think all your friends would participate in something like that?”
“They would, if their mothers and fathers told them they were concerned about me and how Shelby had influenced me. Who knows what they’ve heard about me?”
Elena shrugged. “You have to go, so you might as well relax and have some fun. Maybe it won’t be as bad as you think it is.”
Cass nodded and continued downstairs. The advice wasn’t all bad. She might enjoy talking with some of her friends. When she arrived in the kitchen, her mother and father were both at the counter working on something by the stove.
Her father looked up as she came through. “You look nice. Your mother tells me you’re going over to the Glenn's for dinner and to hang out with your friends. I think that’s a great idea.”
“If you’re worried about me embarrassing you, Dad, you don’t have to. I’ll be good.”
Her father frowned. Cass realized she had sounded more than a little bit sarcastic and regretted it right away. She needed to get her father on her side if she was going to convince him to let her go back to school in the spring.
“Sorry, Dad, it’s been a long day. I’m just going to hang out with my friends for a little bit. I won’t be there too long. I’m tired and want to get some sleep.”
“You have fun with your friends,” her mom said. “I’m sure they’re excited to hear about everything you’ve been up to.”
Cass bit back a response. Her mother’s statement seemed to prove her suspicions about who was behind the impromptu gathering. Instead, Cass smiled and nodded, then headed out the kitchen door to the driveway. She could hear music playing at the Glenn’s house next door along with the murmur of many voices over her auditory implant.
The party had started without her. Maybe she was paranoid. Perhaps the Glenns were just having a cookout and invited Nick and Donny to have their friends over. Cass resigned herself to whatever she discovered next door and started across the broad swath of grass between the homes.
She didn’t bother going around to the front door since the party was clearly in the back. Walking through the yard to the rear of the home, she saw a group of about twenty kids, all her age, hanging out around the patio and barbecue grill. All were chatting away.
Chris and Karen Glenn were by the grill, cooking burgers and hot dogs as promised. Karen took a platter of the burgers and dogs and carried them over to the picnic table. She set it down amidst the rest of the food which included some sort of pasta salad, fruit cocktail, potato chips, and pretzels.
Mrs. Glenn looked up from where she stood over the table as Cass approached.
“Cassie, you decided to come. I’m so glad.” She turned to her husband. “Chris, honey, look who’s here?”
“Hi Cassie, welcome back.”
“Thank you, Mr. Glenn. And thank you for having me over, both of you.”
“Think nothing of it, dear,” Mrs. Glenn said. “After all, you’ve had an open invitation to come over here and play since you were little. I know Nick and the others will be excited to see you.”
As if on cue, Nick and a few of her other old school friends came over to greet her. Along with Nick were Meris and Natalie. They were two of her best friends from high school. The two girls rushed over and hugged Cass.
“Hey, Cassie,” Natalie said. She was a short, dark-haired girl with a bubbly personality who always had a grin on her face. “It was so weird going away to school back in the Fall without you around. Still, you always were the one to be out in search of an adventure. I can’t wait to hear what school in the big city was like.”
“Yeah,” Meris said. “It must’ve been full of excitement, especially with everything that happened with that rally and all.” Meris was tall with orange-red hair and lots of freckles. She’d gotten her hair cut short in a bob and it looked good that way.
Cass smiled despite the reference to the rally. “It’s good to see you both. Meris, I love the new haircut. Did you get that done as soon as you left for school?”
“Yeah. Do you like it?” Meris primped at her hair with one hand while she turned around. “I figured it was time I started looking like a grown-up and get rid of that little girl ponytail I had forever.”
Cass smiled and nodded. “Like I said, it looks great. I’ll bet the boys all like it too?”
Natalie laughed. “She may have changed her hair, but the rest of her is still the same, Cass. She’s still always on the prowl.”
“Stop it,” Meris said, laughing along with the others. “Just because I appreciate a good-looking guy doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with that.”
Cass laughed. “Nothing wrong with that, Meris, nothing at all. How was school for you guys?”
Natalie brushed her hand across her forehead as if she was wiping sweat away. “It’s a lot harder than high school, that’s for sure. You know I never liked school that much anyway and it was tough getting used to the different expectations from a university program.”
Meris waved her hand dismissively. “You did fine. We were all there to help you out when you needed it. Don’t let her fool you, Cass. Nat here found out she has quite the mind for advanced mathematics.”
“Really?” Cass couldn’t hide her surprise. Natalie had always struggled in school.
“Yeah, apparently I wasn’t challenged enough in high school. Once one of the professors got ahold of me and put me through some testing, they figured out that I have an affinity for digging into computer algorithms. They fast tracked me into a security protocol major.”
Cass pursed her lips and whistled. “Wow, Nat, I never would’ve pegged you to be a computer nerd.”
“I know, right? The thing is, once I started working on it, I found out I really liked it. It’s like I discovered a language at school I finally understand. We never studied computer code in high school so it was something completely new to me.”
Nick stood by, letting the three girls catch up for a few minutes without saying anything. Then he cleared his throat to interrupt the chatter and pointed across the party. “There’s someone else here to see you, Cass.”
Cass followed his pointing finger and froze. Susan, her ex from high school, stood on the opposite side of the covered and winterized swimming pool staring right back at her. When Susan realized Cass had seen her, she smiled and waved.
/> Nick tapped Cass on the shoulder. “You should go see her. I know she’s been worried about you.”
Cass shot Nick a glance. “Why would she be worried about me, Nick? That’s a weird thing to say.”
Nick shrugged and offered only an awkward smile at being called out like that. Both he and the two girls moved off towards another clump of Cass’s friends nearby, leaving her standing alone between the pool and the grill.
Cass didn’t have to worry about going over to Susan after all. Susan had already started around the pool in her direction. She smiled at Cass as she approached.
Susan came right over and pulled her ex-girlfriend into a warm embrace, saying, “Cassie, it’s so good to see you again.”
Cass hugged her back, then released the embrace as the two of them stepped away from each other. “It’s good to see you too, Sue. How’ve you been?”
“I’ve been good. School has been fun and I got over being lonely after the first few weeks, once I started making other friends.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Cass said. “I always wanted you to be happy after we broke up.”
“You were right. We probably would’ve had a hard time keeping things going with you at a different school and all. I’m sorry if I left things awkward when we split up. It’s been bothering me all semester that you might be angry with me.”
“I’m not angry with you, Sue, not at all. I was the one who broke up with you, remember?”
Sue laughed. “Oh yeah, I remember. Really, though, I mean it. Don’t worry about it. Seriously, I’m in a good place. How’ve you been while away at school? You’re the one who didn’t have any friends around you, after all.”
Cass shrugged. “It wasn’t that bad. It’s pretty interesting seeing things from a different perspective than what we grew up with here in the enclave.”
“Really?” Sue asked. “We all just went to another enclave with the same restrictions we’ve had here. You’re the one who went out into the big bad world to learn new things. What’s it like?”