CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

“What are you doing?”

“Thinking.”

Charlie stands behind me, looking down. I’m sprawled in a big, comfy chair in a far corner of the library, waiting for the start of Morning Meditation and hiding from Hannah’s questions about what happened last night.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Looking for you.”

“Success! You found me.” I smile even though he’s dragged me out of my thoughts. I’d let him drag me just about anywhere.

He takes a seat next to my feet where they’re propped up on the windowsill “What’s on your mind?”

“Well, for starters, there’s a woman occupying my DSR time.”

Charlie’s eyebrows dart up. “A woman? That’s hot.”

I give his leg a nudge with my foot. “Funny.”

“So who is she?”

“I have no idea. I mean, she wears a staff uniform, but beyond that? No clue. She shows up and lectures me about complying, and tells me about the steps of moving on.”

“That’s weird,” he says.

“Tell me about it. And what’s weirder? Yesterday, Kay acted like she didn’t know what they did to me when … ”

“When you were with RPS?”

I nod, embarrassed.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. You were there a couple of hours, right?” He leans back against the window. “You happen to be hanging out with Mr. Two Month Placement.”

“Really?”

“When you go out enough windows, it’s a pretty big red flag that you need ‘additional psychiatric services.’ So you know I’m speaking from experience when I say this: keep after them. If there’s one thing I’ve learned here, it’s that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.”

“They performed some procedure on me. I’m assuming this mystery woman has something to do with it, and I want to know exactly what they did. They better tell me, because I can be pretty persistent.”

“I can tell.” Charlie runs his fingers along the windowsill. “You made it sound like there was something else on your mind, too.”

“There is. That.” I point toward the window and the beautiful view. “Have you ever been?”

“You mean to Atman City?”

“What other city is there?”

“Good point.”

“So, have you?”

He scratches his chin as he ponders my question. “Actually, no.”

“Why not?”

He shrugs. “I guess it never occurred to me. After my first week of hiding in bed, I was too busy flinging myself off of tall buildings and choking on orange segments. Franklin, Kay, and Crosby have all made it clear that I broke enough rules during that little stint, so the whole ‘strictly forbidden’ thing is a pretty good deterrent.”

“Doesn’t ‘forbidden’ seem a bit arbitrary?”

“I’m sure they have their reasons.”

“Aren’t you the least bit curious?”

“I don’t know, maybe.”

“It’s just … ” I look out the window. “I mean, look at it. It’s beautiful.”

“That it is.”

“Don’t you want to know what’s there and why we’re not supposed to see it?”

“They say the adults have apartments there, and I would imagine the staff all live in the city, too. I’m sure it’s a bunch of housing and maybe some places to eat. A cafeteria is a cafeteria, though.”

“Why would they want us to stay away from that? There’s got to be more. What about the danger they keep warning us about? What danger can there be when we’re all dead?”

Charlie tilts his head back, looking weary. “We have enough to worry about here on ninety-five. Why waste your time trying to figure out a place we can’t even go?”

“They’re hiding something from us. Maybe it’s important. Maybe it explains all the weird rules around here.”

“Your level of interest is exhausting. I don’t know how you can keep up the energy required to run your brain at warp speed like that.”

“So, no interest at all in going to Atman City?” I squint, giving him a thorough appraisal.

“Why? You planning a field trip?” He squints back, mocking me. But it’s cute, so I let it slide.

“Something like that. You want to join me?”

“I’m not so sure I’m willing to risk the long-term placement with RPS that getting caught would guarantee me.” He hops down from the window. “Besides, I don’t think I can fit it in my busy schedule of meetings with Kay and foosball training.”

My feet drop to the floor. “Don’t forget the time you spend eating Frisbee-sized doughnuts.”

“Can’t forget that. If you’d like to try out any non-forbidden activities, let me know. I’m sure I can pencil you in.”

“Your people will call my people, huh?’

“Exactly.”

His disinterest in visiting the city is disappointing, but, given his situation, certainly understandable. After just a few hours with RPS, Eliza, and, worst of all, Gideon, the thought of a prolonged placement in their care is not something I’m sure I’d be willing to risk, either.

Charlie glances down at his bracelet and scrolls through its information. “We’d better get going. Don’t want to be late for Morning Meditation.”