dealt to my face in
under a minute. The result was very natural, and looking in the
mirror, I could barely tell I had any makeup on. Maybe the makeup
station wasn’t so bad after all, I decided.
Minutes later there was a knock on my door.
“Come in!” I hollered whilst I was attempting to tame my unruly
mane with a comb because I was still too scared to go near the hair
station.
Felix walked in.“Nice crib.”
I stopped still. He had changed into a pale
green shirt and black dress pants, with a matching suit jacket. He
looked fantastic.
“Thanks,” I managed to choke out. Felix
strolled in and plopped himself onto a pink furry armchair, and I
managed to regain some composure, “Is your room the same?”
“Identical, except it is blue themed not
pink.”
I nodded, “Do you think I need to change into
more formal clothes too?” I asked, tugging unconfidently on the hem
of my playsuit.
Felix shook his head “You look fine.”
Fine. That
was all. Just fine. I sighed and gave up on my hair, tossing the
comb onto the floor.
“Let’s go.”
We reached
the dining room last out of the Newbies. No surprise, since the
Primes probably used their newfound speed to get there. There were
no two seats together so Felix sat next to the nasty blonde girl
who had laughed at me earlier, and I sat next to Theo.
“Avery,” he nodded curtly, before turning to
face in the opposite direction. I was hurt by his cruel treatment,
and I had no idea what I had ever done to hurt him. I had been
unnerved at lunchtime, but I wasn’t going to let anyone treat me
that way, no matter how handsome or charming.
“Okay, what is your deal?” I asked him. His
attitude was starting to get on my nerves.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” He
looked me straight in the eye and my breath caught, his dark eyes
scorching my own.
“You’re acting as though you don’t know me,”
my voice was a loud whisper, but I needn’t have bothered
considering everyone else in the room bar Felix had super-hearing.
“Don’t you remember –“
“I remember just fine,” he interrupted.
“Well then why are you being so cold? I
thought we were friends?”
He laughed cruelly and shook his head. “Oh
sure. Friends who get other friends’ parents fired from their jobs.
Marked as Incompetent. Condemned to a life of slavery. Yeah, Avery
Rose, some friend you were.”
I gasped. I hadn’t realised that my mother
had not only fired Theo’s father, but also had the man marked as an
Incompetent Norm. One who was immediately dropped to the bottom of
the Norm rankings, forced into the worst jobs, and worked without
rest. No wonder I had never seen Theo or his father again, if
Mother had him and his father blacklisted to keep them away from
me. Tears welled in my eyes and I slouched in my seat. No wonder he
hated me. His father was a slave, and it was entirely my fault.
Everyone else at the table continued to chat,
whilst Theo and I sat in awkward silence. I resolved to explain to
Theo later, since I would rather not make a scene in front of a
crowd. Instead I turned to the girl next to me. It was the
goody-good brunette with the pencil skirt.
“Hiya, I am Avery,” I held out my hand.
“I know,” she said prissily. I cringed
internally. Of course she knew who I was. This was going to take a
lot of adjusting. Back on Olympia no one gave me a second glance
because they saw me everyday. But to these former Norms, I was the
cover girl for Olympia, the face of everything that oppressed and
dictated them at every move. Something out of the ordinary.
Something to gawk at. Something to silently despise and envy in
equal measure.
“Must be weird,” she said, noticing my
reddened face.
“It is. I hate it.”
She cocked her head to one side and raised an
eyebrow. “You hate the fame?” she asked disbelievingly.
I nodded. “Try having your entire life
broadcast to a bunch of strangers against your will. Not so much
fun.”
She shook
under a minute. The result was very natural, and looking in the
mirror, I could barely tell I had any makeup on. Maybe the makeup
station wasn’t so bad after all, I decided.
Minutes later there was a knock on my door.
“Come in!” I hollered whilst I was attempting to tame my unruly
mane with a comb because I was still too scared to go near the hair
station.
Felix walked in.“Nice crib.”
I stopped still. He had changed into a pale
green shirt and black dress pants, with a matching suit jacket. He
looked fantastic.
“Thanks,” I managed to choke out. Felix
strolled in and plopped himself onto a pink furry armchair, and I
managed to regain some composure, “Is your room the same?”
“Identical, except it is blue themed not
pink.”
I nodded, “Do you think I need to change into
more formal clothes too?” I asked, tugging unconfidently on the hem
of my playsuit.
Felix shook his head “You look fine.”
Fine. That
was all. Just fine. I sighed and gave up on my hair, tossing the
comb onto the floor.
“Let’s go.”
We reached
the dining room last out of the Newbies. No surprise, since the
Primes probably used their newfound speed to get there. There were
no two seats together so Felix sat next to the nasty blonde girl
who had laughed at me earlier, and I sat next to Theo.
“Avery,” he nodded curtly, before turning to
face in the opposite direction. I was hurt by his cruel treatment,
and I had no idea what I had ever done to hurt him. I had been
unnerved at lunchtime, but I wasn’t going to let anyone treat me
that way, no matter how handsome or charming.
“Okay, what is your deal?” I asked him. His
attitude was starting to get on my nerves.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” He
looked me straight in the eye and my breath caught, his dark eyes
scorching my own.
“You’re acting as though you don’t know me,”
my voice was a loud whisper, but I needn’t have bothered
considering everyone else in the room bar Felix had super-hearing.
“Don’t you remember –“
“I remember just fine,” he interrupted.
“Well then why are you being so cold? I
thought we were friends?”
He laughed cruelly and shook his head. “Oh
sure. Friends who get other friends’ parents fired from their jobs.
Marked as Incompetent. Condemned to a life of slavery. Yeah, Avery
Rose, some friend you were.”
I gasped. I hadn’t realised that my mother
had not only fired Theo’s father, but also had the man marked as an
Incompetent Norm. One who was immediately dropped to the bottom of
the Norm rankings, forced into the worst jobs, and worked without
rest. No wonder I had never seen Theo or his father again, if
Mother had him and his father blacklisted to keep them away from
me. Tears welled in my eyes and I slouched in my seat. No wonder he
hated me. His father was a slave, and it was entirely my fault.
Everyone else at the table continued to chat,
whilst Theo and I sat in awkward silence. I resolved to explain to
Theo later, since I would rather not make a scene in front of a
crowd. Instead I turned to the girl next to me. It was the
goody-good brunette with the pencil skirt.
“Hiya, I am Avery,” I held out my hand.
“I know,” she said prissily. I cringed
internally. Of course she knew who I was. This was going to take a
lot of adjusting. Back on Olympia no one gave me a second glance
because they saw me everyday. But to these former Norms, I was the
cover girl for Olympia, the face of everything that oppressed and
dictated them at every move. Something out of the ordinary.
Something to gawk at. Something to silently despise and envy in
equal measure.
“Must be weird,” she said, noticing my
reddened face.
“It is. I hate it.”
She cocked her head to one side and raised an
eyebrow. “You hate the fame?” she asked disbelievingly.
I nodded. “Try having your entire life
broadcast to a bunch of strangers against your will. Not so much
fun.”
She shook
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