Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 138217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
But I like you just how you are, Theo! You’re the smartest at equations and you always teach me!
Theo wanted to smile at the thought of what Pax had said to her. She knew he liked her. She could feel it inside her in a way she could feel no one else; Pax would never punish her or treat her bad just because she wasn’t an 8 or a 9. And she knew he didn’t go out and play by himself when she got punished and had to stay inside; he just did the exercises on the lawn outside, then came back inside.
So that we’re both punished when you’re punished, he’d said to her. It’s fair.
Finally, she was out on the big deck with cold stone tiles and could see Pax sitting and waiting for her at the bottom of the wide steps that ended at the bright sunshiny green of the lawn.
Pax! She called out with her mind because she knew better than to call out using her voice. If anyone heard her, she’d be in trouble for not adhering to the “principles of Silence.”
He turned around, waved, but didn’t smile. They already knew not to smile except for when they were alone. Getting up, he dusted off his shorts. They were the same light brown as hers, and they also wore identical white T-shirts. “You chose the same clothes!”
She heard his laughter in her mind. Again!
She laughed inside, too, because they were always choosing the same clothes. Or if they didn’t have the same things, they chose things that were almost the same. Shall we pretend to do the exercises now?
That was what they did every single time—just spend enough time on the lawn that people thought they were behaving. She couldn’t always tell if someone was watching from the windows, but Pax could. His mind was so strong and he already understood lots about how to use it.
Yes. Grandfather is watching.
Her heart got quiet and her skin became cold. She didn’t speak as they walked down the stairs and out onto the lawn to begin their stretches. She knew Grandfather was disappointed in her. He’d told her so.
“What a waste of excellent genetic material and intelligence if your Gradient rating tests come back as low as we believe they will,” he’d said while going over her most recent educational report. “A true disappointment to the family.”
He’s gone.
She gave a long huff of breath at Pax’s telepathic words. “I thought he’d never go!” But now that he had, she knew they were free. Grandfather only ever watched for a short time and he never came back. He had too much important business to do.
“Me, too!” Pax also huffed out a breath, because even though Grandfather wasn’t disappointed in him, Pax thought he was too strict, too. He could feel how Theo’s heart got all small when Grandfather called them both into his office and told Theo everything that was wrong with her.
Pax always tried to tell Grandfather that she was trying her best, but Theo was going to ask him to stop. Grandfather didn’t like it, and she didn’t want Pax in trouble. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s run to the trees before anyone else comes.” If they weren’t on the lawn, no one usually looked for them and if they did, Pax gave her enough warning that they could pretend they were just taking a nature walk. That was allowed, since it was a school activity.
The two of them began to run, Pax reaching back as if he’d take her hand.
No, Pax, she reminded him. Not yet. They weren’t allowed to touch. It wasn’t permitted under Silence.
Oh, I forgot. He dropped his hand, but he ran a little slower, so she could keep up.
Because he was turning back to check on her, she saw the bird before he did. Look! She stopped running.
He did, too, and they both went over to where a blackbird lay on the ground, its wings fluttering. “It’s hurt,” he said, going down on his knees on one side.
She sat down beside him on her knees, too. Tears burned in her eyes, even though she tried to make them go away. Grandfather would punish her a lot if he thought she’d cried. “I don’t want it to die.”
Her brother touched the top of the bird’s head with a soft finger. “I think it hurt its head, Theo.” He couldn’t say her name properly still, so it sounded like “Tio.” Grandfather didn’t like that he had a “speech impediment,” and Pax had to go to special lessons with a special teacher to practice talking, but Theo didn’t see why it mattered.
She reached out to carefully pet the bird. “I think it’s scared,” she said just before her finger touched the silky black feather.
Her mind . . . opened. It was so clear.