Urban stared at the squashed mooncakes hanging from her motorcycle handlebars. She shouldn’t have taken that turn so tight. She blamed it on her nerves. That, and her rental motorcycle still felt foreign to her.

Those mooncakes cost me seven meals. They better be worth it. With each purchase, she got closer to having to ask her parents for more crypto points. Then she’d have to explain about the purple zone. She was already on thin ice. That conversation might just tip the scales, convincing her parents to make her come home.

Her calculations showed if she ate cheap meals, she could buy three more days’ worth of food. Then she’d have to tell either her parents or ask Lillian for more points.

Everest was leaning against a wall, waiting. His eyebrows went up at her approach. “New motorcycle?”

Urban was about to tell him it was a rental but then realized that would probably require a long explanation resulting in a confession. “Uh, yes.”

“Nice.”

Fortunately, Everest didn’t press her on it. Instead, he winked. “Ready to trip up SCA?”

“I was ready the moment my parents installed it.”

Everest extended his hand. “Give me your retina displays.”

Urban blanched. “What?”

“That’s how your parents won’t know where we’re going. The GPS tracking device is connected to your retina display. Take it off and send it home via a drone delivery. No one will be the wiser.”

“But—but—I need them to see.”

“You can see just fine,” Everest assured her. “Besides, I think you can survive one evening without them.”

Urban hesitated, then popped out her contacts and handed them reluctantly over.

Everest stuck them in a delivery drone’s small mesh bag. “I’ve programed this drone to only take main routes and fly at the speed of traffic so it won’t alert SCA to suspicious activity. Give me your thumb.”

Everest pressed her thumb against the sealed mesh enclosure. “Now, the only way to open it is with biometric authentication. And that’s it. It will be waiting for you when you get to the dorms.”

“But I still have to get all the way home without it?” Urban was aghast.

Everest brushed her concern away. “You’ll be fine.”

Urban felt naked without her retina display there to answer questions or point out the path as she followed Everest to the underground Bolt Line.

She hadn’t used the Bolt for transportation in ages. She’d only ever used it once before switching to her motorcycle. The scent of sickly sweet smoke, mold, and trash seeped through her mask. Naturals jostled her on all sides. Everyone seemed eager to get back to family and celebrate the holiday. Many of them carried colorful boxes containing mooncakes.

They passed through a security detector, then crammed into a massive line. Soon they were stepping into a tiny, two-seater pod.

Everest selected the address. His tatt vibrated, confirming the payment, and an air-filtration unit clicked on. Then their pod accelerated away from the station.

Urban removed her mask. “Think your parents will like these mooncakes?”

“Like I said, anything you bring them will make them happy. They’re not picky.”

“Sounds like someone else I know,” Urban remarked with a slight smile.

“You say it like it’s a bad thing.” Everest’s eyes twinkled. “Not bad. Just . . . difficult sometimes.” Her smile grew.

The conversation dwindled, and Urban’s nerves intensified as they got closer to the destination.

Everest intertwined his fingers with hers. “They’re going to love you.”

Urban nodded and tried to steady her breathing.

They got off at Chaoyangmen with a flood of other Naturals. They fastened their masks back on, then left the station, the stench of sewage hitting them instantly. Despite a cool autumn breeze, the bodies pressed up against them on all sides caused Urban’s XR suit to work overtime to keep her cool. She checked to see if Trig was following her but then remembered she didn’t have her retina display.

She wished she could switch on her shaded retina filter. Stacked apartment buildings glowed in the fading sunlight, blinding her. The patterns, colors, and architecture looked like a mismatched stack of toy blocks.

This doesn’t look structurally sound at all. Father would have a heart attack if he could see the blueprints for this. Despite the queasy feeling in her stomach from their apparent instability, Urban felt safer here than she did in the Metropolis. Hiding the fact she was from the Metropolis while in the Outskirts was definitely easier than hiding she was a Natural in the Metropolis. With Everest at her side, surviving in the Outskirts was like playing on easy mode. Too bad she hated it here.

A hard shove from a passerby pulled Urban’s attention back to the streets. A quickness accompanied the residents’ steps as did the excitement in their voices. Everest led her down a narrow alleyway with wires and power cords tangled and drooping. She guessed it to be an orange zone, though without her retina display she wasn’t sure. Even the darkened street didn’t seem dangerous for a change.

Urban had never sensed the Outskirts so full of hope before. Why can’t it always be this way? Would it be different if Naturals had access to enhancements?

Everest stopped in front of a tiny entryway. The gate was so small she would have missed it on her own. It had a dusty pin code set in a skyrise of blue, brown, and silver apartments. Everest waited as the additional facial-recognition software scanned him, and the door opened.

“Wow, still has a pin?”

Everest gave a rueful nod. “Should give you an idea of how old these apartments are.”

Not comforting, Urban thought, but she didn’t voice her concerns for fear of coming off as pretentious or as a wimpy Metropolis dweller. If Everest lives here, it must somehow be safe.

Inside, a tight, dimly lit hallway led to two sets of elevators. A rat scurried away. There was a distinct smell of rotting trash as they climbed into the cramped elevator for the 105th floor.

Before she had a chance to second guess the whole trip, they were ducking under a low doorway and into an apartment. The cheerily bright interior smelled of steamed rice and stir-fry. The space was narrow and yet somehow, fuller than her mansion back in the Metropolis.

“Hello, dear!” a lady who looked like she could be in her late thirties greeted Urban. A man with black hair, graying at his temples, smiled and stepped forward.

Everest removed his mask. “Urban, meet my mom and dad, Mr. Chong and Mrs. Guo.”

“Shushu hao.” Urban addressed the older man in the traditional greeting and then turned to his wife. “Ayi hao.”

“Have you eaten?” Everest’s mother asked.

“Not yet. I brought you a little something. It isn’t much.” Urban extended her gift of mooncakes to them, desperately hoping they wouldn’t notice the smashed ones.

“You shouldn’t have!” His mother took them and handed them to a maidbot. “We are grateful for your kindness. Now, come, come.”

She ushered them both into a living/dining room where the maidbot set the mooncakes down. In the tiny room sat a loveseat, coffee table, two small cushions, several decorative braided knots, and a paneled XVR setup on the opposite side.

Delicious-smelling dishes covered the coffee table. A porcelain bowl full of tofu and bok choy soup sat still steaming. Platters of thinly sliced fried potatoes, steamed beef balls, egg custard buns, and more stir-fry dishes than Urban could count, made her stomach rumble. The smell of it was heavenly. It seemed like it had been ages since she’d had a real meal and not just rice.

“Did you make all this yourself?” Urban stared in wonder.

“Of course. With a little help from Everest.” His mother took a seat and motioned Urban and Everest toward the loveseat. “Can you handle spice?”

Urban smiled. “Oh, yes.”

“Good! Then you can also try this dish.” She gestured at some bell peppers and beef swimming in red oil. “It’s a little spicy.”

“It all looks delicious,” Urban said, watching as Mrs. Guo heaped food into her bowl.

Mr. Chong began eating, and the rest followed.

“You must also try this honey-glazed pork,” Mrs. Guo insisted.

“Don’t worry about me, Auntie,” Urban protested. “I can serve myself.”

Mrs. Guo clucked her tongue. “Nonsense. You’re our guest.”

“It’s a rare occasion when our son brings home such a beautiful girl,” Mr. Chong said, gesturing at her with his chopsticks. “You’re the first one.”

“Dad!” Everest exclaimed. His father ignored him.

“So, Urban, tell us about yourself,” Mr. Chong said.

“Yes!” Mrs. Guo piped up. “What do your parents do? How many siblings do you have? What part of town do you live in?”

They were all innocent, normal questions. Ones she was used to. But Urban wasn’t sure how to answer this time. When the Enhanced ask her, she’d have to prove her worth by listing off all the most impressive connections and accolades about her family line.

Now, she didn’t want to impress. In fact, she didn’t want to make Everest’s family lose face. Even for them to know she came from the Metropolis . . . they would be mortified.

“Urban has a ton of hobbies,” Everest said coming to her rescue. “Don’t you?”

Urban picked up on his cue and began talking about her love for painting, exploring, photography, and architecture.

“She’s quite the adventurer,” Everest said proudly.

“Sounds like you two are a good match. My Everest has had an insatiable appetite for adventure ever since he was a little boy,” Mrs. Guo said as she refilled Urban’s bowl with stir-fried corn and pine nuts. “He used to love all buttons and gadgets. When he was five, he became obsessed with our maidbot, Flower. He’d follow her around the house and repeat whatever she said. That’s when we realized if we switched her to other languages, he’d pick it up pretty quick.

She set Urban’s bowl down. “One day, he decided he wanted to feed Flower. But of course, Flower isn’t programmed to take orders from a child, so she wouldn’t obey his commands to ‘open her mouth’ or ‘eat this rice.’ He became so frustrated, he tried to force feed her. Nearly broke the thing.”

“Poor Flower was missing an eye and had a stutter for a year after that,” Mr. Chong added, laughing.

Everest shook his head. “Might I add, I also fixed her several years later?”

“Only after your Federation English had become a stuttering mess of ‘help—help—help’ and ‘I’ve lost my eye! I’ve lost my eye!’ And—”

“Dad!” Everest interrupted.

But they all laughed, and the conversation drifted until Mr. Chong turned to Everest.

“Did you hear about the latest enhancement scandal?”

Everest frowned. “No. What now?”

“They found someone with four primary gene-pool enhancements.”

“What? But that’s impossible—”

“There will be no talk of enhancements today,” Mrs. Guo interrupted firmly. “Not on a celebratory day.” Her face changed. “Confounded enhancements, always ruining everything.”

For the first time in her life, Urban found herself relieved to not be Enhanced. What an odd feeling it was—not having to hide anything.

“Don’t be so quick to judge,” Mr. Chong chided. “Not all Enhanced people are bad.”

“Maybe not, but the rich always are. If it weren’t for them, our dear Everest would have made it into uni and not be stuck working here.”

Urban nearly choked on her tea. What if Mrs. Guo found out she was rich?

Everest bristled. “Ma, it’s not the fault of the rich either. Now let’s forget about all that and enjoy the holiday like you said.”

“Of course.” Mrs. Guo was about to heap more food on Urban’s bowl. “You need to eat more. You’re too skinny!”

“May I use your restroom?” Urban asked quickly.

“Of course, dear.” Mrs. Guo showed her the way and flipped on the light, illuminating a tiny toilet with a shower overhead.

Urban closed the door and leaned up against the wall. She shut her eyes and listened to the steady hum of the bathroom’s air vent. I’ll never fit in anywhere. Not in the Metropolis. Not in the Outskirts. Not even with my boyfriend’s family.

She rinsed her face as she tried to drown out Mrs. Guo’s additional comments about the rich. I’m always hiding who I really am.

As she returned to the room, Everest watched her with concern.

“Shall we go to the roof to view the moon?” Mr. Chong suggested.

Mrs. Gou began to bustle about. “Yes, let’s find a spot before everyone has the same idea.”

They rode the elevator to the top of the building, where a dark staircase led to the roof.

Several families already sat in plastic chairs, sampling mooncakes.

“Sorry, I don’t have any chairs,” Mrs. Guo apologized. She spread out several layers of old paper on the ground next to the wall, and they sat down on them.

Urban’s hand found Everest’s. “This is great.” She looked up at the bright, perfectly round moon.

Everest tightened his fingers around hers.

As they opened up the mooncake box and began eating, Urban finally relaxed. They joked about embarrassing stories from Everest’s past, talked about their favorite mooncake flavors, and Everest and Urban tried to one-up each other’s terrible job stories from their different AI training positions.

All too soon, she found herself bidding them good-bye.

“So nice meeting you, dear.” Mrs. Guo’s eyes were tender as she cupped Urban’s hands in hers. “Please come back.”

“I will, Auntie.”

On the way home, the Bolt was almost entirely empty. Their pod arrived immediately but smelled foul. One of the seats had a suspicious liquid on it.

Urban was still evaluating the seat when Everest finished selecting their address. “Here.” He sat down on the one dry seat and motioned for her to sit on his lap. “The safer bet.”

Urban sat, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, caressing her neck with his finger. “You’re amazing. You know that, right?” he whispered in her ear.

Urban wriggled around to face him. She tried to wipe the silly grin from her face but couldn’t. “You know these things are monitored right?”

“And? I’m sure they’ve seen worse.”

She leaned her forehead against his, gazing into his raven-black eyes.

“Do you think your parents liked me?”

“They loved you.”

Urban sobered. “But they don’t know my family history.”

“Neither do you.”

She paused at this. He was right, but she refused to think about it now and snuggled against him.

How am I so lucky? But then she remembered the conversation at dinner. What would happen if his parents knew I came from the Metropolis? Would they tell him we had to break up? Or maybe they would insist I join him in the Outskirts.

She wasn’t sure which was worse, losing Everest or working endless hours at one of the dead-end AI training facilities.

As they rode in silence, she thought back to her race again. She knew she should tell him but didn’t want to ruin such a perfect night. I’ll tell him next time.

Her thoughts slowed as the pod stopped.

“So soon?” Everest said softly.

“We could just ride the Bolt all night.” Urban was only half kidding.

“Didn’t you say you have a big homework assignment due?”

“Yes, but I’m sure I can finish it later.”

Everest shook his head at her. “Right. Come on, let’s get you to the dorms.”

When she didn’t budge, he sighed. “All right, we’ll do this the hard way.” He swooped her up in his strong arms and carried her all the way up to the street before setting her down laughing.

They walked the rest of the way through the deserted streets with his arm around her waist and her head leaned against his shoulder, staring at the moon above them.

She wanted to freeze this moment of happiness, to stay by his side forever. But she wanted to be with him in the Metropolis—not here.

Climbing onto the motorcycle, Urban hesitated. Her eyes flickered up to Everest. The intensity of his gaze made butterflies beat against her insides wildly. He stepped nearer, closing the gap between them.

His charcoal eyes went deep into her very soul. With Everest, she was seen, heard, and understood. There was nowhere else she was safer. Every fiber of her being was focused on him and the warm tingling sensation running up her spine where his hand rest on the small of her back.

His soft lips pressed up against hers, and the world faded away.

All that existed was the two of them.

Suddenly, Everest jerked away. “Sorry.”

Urban gasped for breath. “Wh—wh—what is it?” Her cheeks flushed bright red.

“Emergency ping,” he said. “I have to go.”

“Oh.”

“So sorry,” Everest said again, then gave a charming grin. “See you soon?”

Urban batted her eyelashes at him. “If you’re lucky.”

Everest blew her another kiss, then left.

As she made her way back to the Metropolis, Urban felt her world split in two. And with it, a deep chasm formed in her chest.

How long can I straddle two worlds?