skin, shimming in the sunlight over the smooth muscles of her arms and legs. She smiles brightly, reminding me of the cheerful ways of my little sister.
But this girl’s smile is even more radiant, lighting up her mesmerizing green eyes. When she looks my way, they burn a hole right through me. A rush of excitement and nerves slams into the pit of my stomach. The sensation is unlike anything I’ve ever known.
She is stunning.
Bree introduces her to us as “Olive.” Kai immediately begins drilling her with questions. I am just as curious, but afraid to speak up as I fear my voice will sound different with all these new emotions raging through me.
Olive fidgets nervously with the tray in her hands after each question is asked. She does hold her chin high, however, with something I think to be pride. She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met. Her answers are raw and honest, and she seems confused by everything Bree and Kai tell her.
I am struck with a pang of familiarity when she tells us her parents are both gone and that she was placed in the orphanage. Sadness creeps into her eyes when she speaks of the place. All too well, I remember my first night there. Was she afraid like I had been?
Her parents were foolish to think they could keep her hidden forever and keep her DOD a secret. If they hadn’t been so naïve in thinking they could continue living in the Free Lands, maybe she could have grown up in a decent home and not had to have set foot in an orphanage.
Strange feelings for the girl continue racing through me. I remind myself I shouldn’t care about her. She’s just another Shymer. There isn’t even a point in trying to make her my friend. It won’t be long until my DOD, and for all I know, hers is right around the corner.
Olive is foolish to think she can keep living in denial. Society won’t let her live carefree anymore. She’s just like the rest of us now.
I shake off the strange sensation that she continues to give me. She’s just a girl.
Olive
5 – I Thought You Would Know
Once Harrison is gone from sight and my panicked thoughts subside somewhat, I ask, “Did I do something wrong?”
“Don’t mind him,” Bree tells me kindly, the bright smile appearing back on her face. She nibbles at the food on her tray, but I only look down at mine. My appetite is gone.
“Harrison is more of the dark, brooding type,” Kai adds. She gives a sharp, gravely laugh that soon morphs into a coughing fit. Bree turns to her with a worried expression on her face. Kai’s own face turns a deeper shade of red. The awful sound makes me wonder if one of her lungs is going to actually shoot from her body.
“Are you sick?” I ask.
Once she is finished coughing, she pounds on her chest and her eyes water over. “Not really. I just smoke a pack a day.”
“What is a pack?” I ask.
“Cigarettes,” Kai answers. When I look back at her blankly, she sighs and explains, “It’s a plant you roll into paper, light and inhale. It causes you to get a buzz. The government banned it because anyone who inhales the fumes can die from repeated use. Just having it in your possession is considered a crime punishable by a lifetime of suspension.” Kai grins, her eyes sparkling. I can’t imagine why she seems so excited about doing something so perilous, especially when it appears to be making her ill.
Bree’s eyes dart across the yard nervously. “Keep your voice down!” she snaps. “Someone wil l hea r you!”
The Shymers sitting a few yards away don’t seem the slightest bit interested in our conversation. They speak to each other with their heads held low.
Kai’s grin straightens out. “What does it matter, Bree? Everyone in this school already treats us like we’re all some kind of diseased freaks anyway. Besides, if they gave me the death penalty because I smok e it would just hurry things up by a couple of months.”
Kai’s words ring through my head : by a couple of month s .
But this girl’s smile is even more radiant, lighting up her mesmerizing green eyes. When she looks my way, they burn a hole right through me. A rush of excitement and nerves slams into the pit of my stomach. The sensation is unlike anything I’ve ever known.
She is stunning.
Bree introduces her to us as “Olive.” Kai immediately begins drilling her with questions. I am just as curious, but afraid to speak up as I fear my voice will sound different with all these new emotions raging through me.
Olive fidgets nervously with the tray in her hands after each question is asked. She does hold her chin high, however, with something I think to be pride. She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met. Her answers are raw and honest, and she seems confused by everything Bree and Kai tell her.
I am struck with a pang of familiarity when she tells us her parents are both gone and that she was placed in the orphanage. Sadness creeps into her eyes when she speaks of the place. All too well, I remember my first night there. Was she afraid like I had been?
Her parents were foolish to think they could keep her hidden forever and keep her DOD a secret. If they hadn’t been so naïve in thinking they could continue living in the Free Lands, maybe she could have grown up in a decent home and not had to have set foot in an orphanage.
Strange feelings for the girl continue racing through me. I remind myself I shouldn’t care about her. She’s just another Shymer. There isn’t even a point in trying to make her my friend. It won’t be long until my DOD, and for all I know, hers is right around the corner.
Olive is foolish to think she can keep living in denial. Society won’t let her live carefree anymore. She’s just like the rest of us now.
I shake off the strange sensation that she continues to give me. She’s just a girl.
Olive
5 – I Thought You Would Know
Once Harrison is gone from sight and my panicked thoughts subside somewhat, I ask, “Did I do something wrong?”
“Don’t mind him,” Bree tells me kindly, the bright smile appearing back on her face. She nibbles at the food on her tray, but I only look down at mine. My appetite is gone.
“Harrison is more of the dark, brooding type,” Kai adds. She gives a sharp, gravely laugh that soon morphs into a coughing fit. Bree turns to her with a worried expression on her face. Kai’s own face turns a deeper shade of red. The awful sound makes me wonder if one of her lungs is going to actually shoot from her body.
“Are you sick?” I ask.
Once she is finished coughing, she pounds on her chest and her eyes water over. “Not really. I just smoke a pack a day.”
“What is a pack?” I ask.
“Cigarettes,” Kai answers. When I look back at her blankly, she sighs and explains, “It’s a plant you roll into paper, light and inhale. It causes you to get a buzz. The government banned it because anyone who inhales the fumes can die from repeated use. Just having it in your possession is considered a crime punishable by a lifetime of suspension.” Kai grins, her eyes sparkling. I can’t imagine why she seems so excited about doing something so perilous, especially when it appears to be making her ill.
Bree’s eyes dart across the yard nervously. “Keep your voice down!” she snaps. “Someone wil l hea r you!”
The Shymers sitting a few yards away don’t seem the slightest bit interested in our conversation. They speak to each other with their heads held low.
Kai’s grin straightens out. “What does it matter, Bree? Everyone in this school already treats us like we’re all some kind of diseased freaks anyway. Besides, if they gave me the death penalty because I smok e it would just hurry things up by a couple of months.”
Kai’s words ring through my head : by a couple of month s .
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