extreme—would allow that kind of name to be given to their child. It’s very different. I’ve found that people don’t like different around here.”
That was startlingly accurate, especially the part about my parents.
“How did you know what my name meant without even looking it up? Do you just store random, irrelevant facts in your head?”
Jasper laughed. His laugh was the kind of laugh that was contagious; you just couldn’t help but feel happy, too.
“Don’t worry, my knowledge doesn’t extend to practical affairs, so I wouldn’t be able to help you with that calculus homework. I just read a lot of books.”
I wondered if he had a stash of illegal books in addition to the music.
“Well, I used to read anyway. The books here are way too boring for me.”
I let my curiosity get the best of me. “Do you have books from the Outside?”
Jasper paused, speaking slowly when he decided to trust me with more information. “Yeah, we do. We just brought the necessities.” He laughed quietly to himself, like I’d missed out on a private joke.
“Why are you telling me this?”
He was silent for a moment, like he was wondering the same thing. “I trust you.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. The entire phone conversation seemed like an odd dream. “So let me get this straight. You decided to call this girl on a whim who you had only spent time with once for a school project, and then spill your family’s secrets, even though it could land your entire family back behind Oportet’s walls.” It defied logic. “I don’t understand.”
Not to mention, Jasper had already admitted to knowing my family’s conservative Oportet values. He must have also heard about how much my family hated Outsiders…
“You’re right; I’m crazy.” That was a step in the right direction. “How about we change the number of times we’ve hung out outside of school? I could show you all of the terribly wrong things we brought from the evil Outside, if you wanted.” Now we were back to being insane. “Oh, and if we are pinning the tail on the crazy here, let us not forget a certain someone screaming all kinds of terrible things about her self-proclaimed Utopia.”
That was true, but the sting still made me want to hit him through the phone. I felt my cheeks growing hot as I thought about my embarrassing outburst.
“Please promise to forget about that. That’s not how I really feel…” I was struggling to find the right explanation for my behavior. Maybe it was how I really felt, but I hated myself for the confession. Who knew how Jasper would hold it over my head?
“The truth doesn’t change just because you want it to. Stop beating yourself up for admitting that you can see through the cracks in this flawed system.”
I was both irritated by and in awe of his words. How did someone so young learn how to speak like that? Or have the confidence to speak like that?
“By the way…you never answered me. Do you want to hang out sometime?”
“I was hoping you were just joking about that,” I said, laughing nervously. I didn’t think I could handle confronting Jasper face-to-face after this—after I had just bashed what I had stood for my entire life.
Instead of being offended, Jasper remained his usual amused self. “I was actually expecting a much worse response than that. What do I have to do to get you to meet me at my house tomorrow?” What? His house? “Some consider me quite charming. I’ve never had to work this hard before.”
I snickered. “Oh I’m sure.”
There was a knock on my door, making my heart skip several beats. What if someone heard Jasper and me talking? What if they heard what I said about Oportet?
“Hold on a second, Jasper,” I said in almost a whisper. I set the phone down on my desk in a hurry.
“Luna?” Mother said as she pushed open the door. “It’s getting late, I think you should get to bed soon.” I nodded. Things
That was startlingly accurate, especially the part about my parents.
“How did you know what my name meant without even looking it up? Do you just store random, irrelevant facts in your head?”
Jasper laughed. His laugh was the kind of laugh that was contagious; you just couldn’t help but feel happy, too.
“Don’t worry, my knowledge doesn’t extend to practical affairs, so I wouldn’t be able to help you with that calculus homework. I just read a lot of books.”
I wondered if he had a stash of illegal books in addition to the music.
“Well, I used to read anyway. The books here are way too boring for me.”
I let my curiosity get the best of me. “Do you have books from the Outside?”
Jasper paused, speaking slowly when he decided to trust me with more information. “Yeah, we do. We just brought the necessities.” He laughed quietly to himself, like I’d missed out on a private joke.
“Why are you telling me this?”
He was silent for a moment, like he was wondering the same thing. “I trust you.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. The entire phone conversation seemed like an odd dream. “So let me get this straight. You decided to call this girl on a whim who you had only spent time with once for a school project, and then spill your family’s secrets, even though it could land your entire family back behind Oportet’s walls.” It defied logic. “I don’t understand.”
Not to mention, Jasper had already admitted to knowing my family’s conservative Oportet values. He must have also heard about how much my family hated Outsiders…
“You’re right; I’m crazy.” That was a step in the right direction. “How about we change the number of times we’ve hung out outside of school? I could show you all of the terribly wrong things we brought from the evil Outside, if you wanted.” Now we were back to being insane. “Oh, and if we are pinning the tail on the crazy here, let us not forget a certain someone screaming all kinds of terrible things about her self-proclaimed Utopia.”
That was true, but the sting still made me want to hit him through the phone. I felt my cheeks growing hot as I thought about my embarrassing outburst.
“Please promise to forget about that. That’s not how I really feel…” I was struggling to find the right explanation for my behavior. Maybe it was how I really felt, but I hated myself for the confession. Who knew how Jasper would hold it over my head?
“The truth doesn’t change just because you want it to. Stop beating yourself up for admitting that you can see through the cracks in this flawed system.”
I was both irritated by and in awe of his words. How did someone so young learn how to speak like that? Or have the confidence to speak like that?
“By the way…you never answered me. Do you want to hang out sometime?”
“I was hoping you were just joking about that,” I said, laughing nervously. I didn’t think I could handle confronting Jasper face-to-face after this—after I had just bashed what I had stood for my entire life.
Instead of being offended, Jasper remained his usual amused self. “I was actually expecting a much worse response than that. What do I have to do to get you to meet me at my house tomorrow?” What? His house? “Some consider me quite charming. I’ve never had to work this hard before.”
I snickered. “Oh I’m sure.”
There was a knock on my door, making my heart skip several beats. What if someone heard Jasper and me talking? What if they heard what I said about Oportet?
“Hold on a second, Jasper,” I said in almost a whisper. I set the phone down on my desk in a hurry.
“Luna?” Mother said as she pushed open the door. “It’s getting late, I think you should get to bed soon.” I nodded. Things
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