“Of course not. Doesn’t mean I don’t like the illusion of choice.” She held her hand out for the paper, her gut twisting in response.
“This one even surprised the principal. I never thought I’d see such shock on that old plastic’s face.” He handed her the paper. “The plus side is you’ll be at the same campus as your endearing brother. I can harass you all year round.”
She unfolded the crisp white paper. Skimming the small print, she found her assignment:
Virtual Reality Programming.
Chapter Two
She shuddered and shoved the paper back at Marco. They would never place her in a VR program. “Nice joke. I knew the principal wouldn’t let you accept for me.”
Marco’s smile waned, as sadness spotted his eyes. The paper remained in a crumpled heap between them. “Sorry, sis. It’s true. The principal wants your personal confirmation by tomorrow.” He stood and walked off.
A cold numbness poured over Ari’s body as she realized her brother wasn’t joking. She grabbed at the paper again. How could this be right? She could barely stand being inside VRs, much less designing them. Marco would be great at this. Why not him? She knew computers and coding, but only from this side of reality. She’d much rather read a book and picture her own world than have one provided for her.
“Marco,” she called for her brother, but he was already gone. She needed to talk to someone. This had to be a mistake.
When she walked back into the cafeteria, a mass of people encompassed her. Classmates congratulated each other, making plans. Families hugged—a bittersweet reminder of the upcoming farewells. People congratulated her on her assignment, but most had a wary look in their eye. Ari’s fear was known through school—sort of like the girl who was deathly allergic to peanuts. Technology was a coveted position and often led to high-paying jobs with the government. It also wasn’t awarded often, especially to scholarship kids. Ari pushed her way through the mass of bodies and ended up in front of her mom and Marco.
“Mom, you made it.”
With her mom here, maybe they could straighten this out. Her mom pulled her into a tight hug. Ari squeezed her mom’s thin frame under the stiff blue uniform. Her long hair streaked with silver was wound up into a bun for work.
“You don’t have to go,” her mom whispered in her ear.
Ari pulled back. “They made a mistake. They must have.”
“No, sweetie. I talked to your principal, but you don’t have to go. You can stay here with me.”
Ari wasn’t surprised. Her mother could be self-sacrificing to a fault. This assignment could lead to a career and money that her family desperately needed. An opportunity she could never have working in the factories. Ari tried to paste a smile on her face. “It might not be that bad.” She attempted the lie, though her eyes swam with tears.
“Look at the bright side,” Marco interjected nearby. “You can hook me up with VRs for free.”
Ari turned to glare at her brother. “Really?”
“You’ll fit right in with all those geeked-out kissups.” Marco slugged her lightly in the arm.
Ari tried to return the hit, but he skirted out of the way.
“Marco,” Mom chided him, while holding tight onto Ari’s hand.
“Maybe you are smarter than we thought,” Marco shrugged. “They say some of the best programmers can never quite enjoy the VR themselves. They complain about how artificial it is. Not being able to see past the program.”
Maybe, but it didn’t change her predicament. Before she could reply, Taidem came barreling into their conversation. “Congratulations.” She gave a weak smile. “I guess. You okay?” She leaned in and hugged Ari.
“Yeah,” Ari said. “I’ll be fine. Congratulations on teaching. You’ll be great.”
“Thanks.” She flashed a smile in Marco’s direction. “Graduation. Crazy, huh?” She tucked a curl behind her ear, giving a nervous laugh. Taidem had been crushing on Marco for years, despite Ari’s warnings that her brother was a huge flirt.
“You’ll be a great teacher, Taidem.” He leaned in closer to Ari’s friend.
Taidem was one of few people that put up with Ari’s phobia and enjoyed hanging out in the real world, getting coffee and listening to music. With her blonde hair and tall curvy figure, boys were often attracted to Taidem. Ari had more of the stick figure look going for her with the dark hair and skin that was common in the Southwest.
Taidem gave another encouraging smile to Marco. “Going to celebrate?”
“Of course.” Marco never missed a good party. He was usually in the middle of most of them.
“Great,” she said with enthusiasm, then turned to Ari. “We’re all headed downtown.”
“I’m going home, but have fun.” Ari needed time to wrap her brain around her assignment and figure out what came next.
“No way.” Taidem’s eyes narrowed into her familiar stubborn gaze. “We only graduate once.”
“I just—”
“Go.” Her mother squeezed Ari’s hand. “Be with your friends tonight.”
Ari wanted to refuse, but her mother couldn’t hide the emotion in her eyes. There was no good answer for Ari’s future. Going to school, fitting in, these were things her mom wanted for Ari. Maybe ignoring responsibility for a night would help? She had the rest of her life to work.
Star, another classmate, appeared. “Ready to go?” On her arm was Marco’s best friend, Reed. He didn’t look quite as enthusiastic as Star with her bright red lips pulled up in a smile.
Taidem grabbed Ari’s hand. “We’re coming.”
And with little left to say, Ari was dragged into the throngs of celebration.
The club was a horde of bodies dancing, moving, drinking as if they were all one collective organism, thriving on the energy and sensual excitement in the air. Ari shied away from the sweaty bodies for the most part and drank soda at the bar.
Taidem and Marco were close by, too close really. Taidem bit a cherry out of his mouth, and Marco cheered with excitement. Ari turned her head. She couldn’t quite
