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gross bug.  I’m going to run some water down that drain.  Maybe I’ll
drown it.”
    “Good
luck, miss,” he says as he pulls the door open.  “Shouldn’t you be in class?”
    “My
caretaker excused me, had a fever this morning.”  I smile a little, trying to
look innocent.
    He
nods and leaves the room.  I run the shower for a moment and shout into the
drain, “I hope you die.”  I suppress a laugh and shut off the shower.
    When
I get back to my room, Dylan is gone and I assume he made it downstairs and to
his room without trouble.  I won’t know until I see him at the assembly later. 
    The
hall begins to fill up again, even more than it had on lunch break.  I head
toward Alyssa’s room.  On the way, I notice about half the girls are already
dressed up for tonight, and of those, not a single one is dressed like me.  No
one’s collar bones are exposed, nor their shoulders.  I can feel innocent eyes
fixed on me, and I pretend I’m perfectly comfortable in this absurd dress. 
    Alyssa
finds me near her door, clearly amused by the sight of me. 
    “Have
you seen Ginny?  What are you wearing tonight?” I ask.
    “I’m
wearing this,” she says, looking down at a longer, dark gray dress with long
sleeves and a well-covered chest.  I can’t help but notice (thanks to Ginny)
that her chest is also bigger than mine, and wonder if she wears a wire bra, too. 
I shake the thoughts away and follow Alyssa into her room.
    I
plop onto her bed as she looks herself over in the mirror behind her door.  I
don’t have one, but if I looked like her I’d consider it. 
    “Why’d
you get the pretty dress?  I would think he would have noticed me, too,” she
exclaims, envying this stupid rag. 
    “He,
who?  What are you talking about?” I ask.
    “Nathan,”
she grumbles.  “He chose that dress for you.  I helped Ginny sort the pile they
dropped off.”
    I
rise and stand face-to-face with her.  “What do you mean?”
    “I
mean Nathan handed that dress to Ginny and said it was specifically for you. 
Something about a ‘big day.’”
    I
catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I’m quite surprised to find the
dress is a perfect fit, but I hate the way it hugs my chest and hips.  I hate
that in just a small way, Nathan’s made a decision for me. 
    I
stare at myself a moment longer and can’t help but think how much nicer this
dress would look on Alyssa.  I think she would be more than happy to put her
curves on display.  Her arms and legs are actually feminine, too, instead of
skinny and toned like mine.  I look like a thirteen-year-old boy.  I’m taller,
though, and I’m happy for that.
    I
sit beside her on the bed and try to relax like she’s doing.  Normally, I’m
more careful about spending time with her, but this could very well be our last
chance to hang out.  Soon I’ll be in the Guard Division, and next year she’ll
be in the Population Division.  I honestly think she’ll be happy there.  She was
chosen for reproduction based on her superior genetic makeup, that and her lack
of other specific proficiency.  She took it as a compliment. 
    She’ll
be a mother some day, though that doesn’t quite mean what it used to.  I only
know different because I wasn’t born here, so I had a real one.  Here the
mothers only breed.  To prevent strong maternal attachments, caretakers like
Ginny do the raising. 
    Of
course, in order for Alyssa to reproduce, someone’s going to have to touch
her.  The thought makes me cringe, and I’m thankful for a brief moment I was
chosen for Guard.  If I don’t find a way to escape, at least I can play the
part.

Chapter
Three
     
    When
Alyssa and I get to the lawn where the colony is gathered, the air is nice and
crisp, and I enjoy the wind on my cheeks.  Cornelius’s body lies in a metal
casket atop a platform.  On the same platform, there’s a podium, which I assume
Nathan will take to at any minute. 
    Alyssa
scans the crowd, and I