Read Thrice Uncharmed (Wynne d’Arzon) for Free Online Page B

shrugged. "This morning at breakfast." She wasn't bragging, she was just—
    Okay. She was bragging. She wasn't as freakishly intelligent as Hector, but she could hold her own.
    He nodded and scribbled something on his tablet. He studied it a moment, then looked up at her, his eyes scanning as if he were able to read her face like a page. "Thanks."
    Wynne nodded once, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "I'm, um…?" Due to the spy cams, she didn't dare ask if his current exhaustion was her fault. "Any way I can help?"
    Hector blinked again. Either she was on a roll today, or he was slower than usual, in his fatigue.
    She stood and brushed herself off. "Sorry. I'll — just go."
    He smiled — sadly, she thought, so she paused.
    He shook his head. "Probably best."
    It took her a moment to follow that he meant it would be best for her to leave him be, though he still looked terrible, and it was probably her fault. Somehow. Thanks to all the hints he was dropping to help her figure out what was off about their colony.
    Cold washed through her again. "Okay. Um. Thanks."
    Wynne went to another niche of the soundfield to finish her science homework.
    ****
    Classes ended for the day, and Hector flinched before he picked up his tablet and started for the door. She stared after him, noticing a stiffness in how he moved. He wasn't about to have another seizure, was he?
    Josiah Cleanuman paused beside her. "He's your partner, then?"
    Wynne jumped and turned on him, startled. " What ?"
    Red tinged his cheeks, as if his words had come out differently than he intended. "I mean, for the debut…"
    Warmth flooded her. He was referring to the coming-of-Dyad party, not Partnering. "Um." She swallowed hard. Debut partners were usually arranged the year before, with fifteen-year-olds alerting whomever they were interested in on the Mid Year's before the Dyad debut. "No. I mean, I hadn't even thought about the debut yet."
    "Oh." The red remained, making Josiah look adorable in a way that he probably wouldn't find flattering. "Well. I 'd be interested." He raised his chin and met her gaze, though he was red from neck to hair. "Just so you know."
    Josiah Cleanuman was sweet on her, enough so to say something months early?
    Then again, he was from tier five families. He probably figured that being the first one to say something would give him a sporting chance with the tier three girl with a tier two paterline.
    It was actually pretty smart of him, when she thought about it. "Thanks for letting me know." Though she'd noticed his crush, she wouldn't have thought anything of it, if he'd held his tongue. "I'll keep that in mind."
    " Really ?" Cleanuman — Josiah ; he wouldn't necessarily be a Cleanuman forever — must’ve expected to be shot down.
    "Really." Wynne smiled at him. He was a nice guy, just not as smart as her or Hector.
    Sure, she was planning to leave the Arzon colony as soon as she could, but she could easily change her mind in the future. Why needlessly alienate him?
    ****
    Wynne was still smiling about Josiah's interest when she got home.
    Her mother was at the table, making broad strokes on her tablet that Wynne recognized as likely working on a blueprint. "Got your homework done?"
    She frowned at the odd question. "I just got home, Mom."
    "Oh?" Her mother looked her way, studied her a moment, then returned her attention to her tablet, tapping the screen that meant she was likely closing what she was working on and opening something else. "Navy or ultramarine?"
    "What?" Was that question supposed to make sense?
    Her mother showed her tablet screen, which displayed two possibilities for a dress design in those two shades of blue.
    Wynne blinked.
    "Your debut's not all that long away. Might as well get the plans in place now. Wouldn't want to be like some tier five, scrabbling to cobble a dress together at the last minute."
    "Um." Wynne smiled weakly, unnerved by how quickly news evidently spread. "Mom, I just told Josiah I'd think about