Blink 2
May 6th 2508
ETA 87 days.
Notification: You have been marked for emotional distress. Would you like to inform your mother?
Notification is canceled.
Classes were boring, home schooling was harder. Mother's AI systems literally monitored every part of her being for every second of every moment. Even going out of their way to monitor her fatigue, starting from birth and evolving their numbers every month with new standards of fatigue for Kate to grow from.
Kate could only wonder at the pain and torture Griff was going through because she was struggling to take it. Also, technically Kate's part of Mother's 'Mission' was complete.
There was only so much time left before the family would move again. And knowing Mother, they would move again.
Notification: Lunch Break. Food Schedule uploaded.
You are a part of the Fairmont Middle School plan.
Mother's appropriate Food Schedule available.
Kate looked up from her screen and found a cross-armed Ella standing over her. That was bad, it meant a lack of attention to Kate's surroundings. At the same time, she didn't care nor did she want to. The whole time she heard the roar of the hurricane like broken echo.
It just kept going. A thought struck her. What if Griff could hear the same? Kate's eyes started to well up. It wasn't helped by Ella standing over her like a predatory stick insect, an overly-white one. It was almost fascinating how little pink there was to her.
"Okay, let's go." Ella said with purpose.
Kate rubbed her eyes and took a breath. It garnered no sympathy from Ella, which was unique.
And interesting.
Kate lifted her chin and collected her backpack. Paper textbooks were unique and remarkably heavy.
"Where are we going? Lunch?"
"Yes, afterwards. I have to show people how crazy you are."
Kate's brow rose and she smirked. It appeared that the Ella in question was not completely alone as she'd guessed.
They left the classroom and crossed to the cafeteria which was so far away it felt like it needed a golf cart. The room was enormous, packed with near a dozen different ques, a woman in a hairnet at the end of each. Behind them were massive rectangles of glass rising to the ceiling. Each glass rectangle had hundreds of gallons of a liquid that bubbled thick only for it to ooze down onto a tray where a slice of deer, beef or chicken awaited. The most unique que being the sterile white section with pillars of pill capsules that plopped chemical goodies into paper cups.
The pair turned before they could reach for the trays. They were headed to the outside eating area.
There, in the corner, away from what appeared to be the life of the school were four particularly large screens. Behind them, like the planet's worst mall security, were two boys. And goodness were they boys. One was tiny, his head squashed, but it matched his overall littleness, there was also a distracting blackness around his top lip like a mustache. But Kate would rather face Mother's training than admit he had enough man juice flowing in him to have one.
Then there was a tall boy, he wasn't just young, he looked like he was aging backwards. Raven hair that flowed to his ribs, it wasn't very… full. It bunched into bangs and those 'so called bangs' were a collection of spider legs. They looked like a mistake, one he was doubling down on. It was as though he were trying to match to some cartoon he'd only seen once. All of which was secondary to the metal cast on his left arm which was connected to metal on the left side of his neck, reaching some of his cheek up to his ear.
"Oh. You're one of those girls that hangs out with guys?" Kate whispered.
Squashed face leaned back and grinned wide.
"She's not. She hangs out with no one. I'm no. He's one."
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