Perfect (8 page)

I cautiously opened the door and walked in.
“Michael?” I asked slowly when I still saw no sign of him. I
noticed the pool still alive with ringlets of water flowing toward
the edges and I wondered if he had jumped back in. I cautiously
inched toward the water.

Suddenly, he jumped from behind the cart of
towels, grabbing me in a tight hug. I shrieked, feeling the water
from his clothes soak into my skin, startlingly frigid. I started
laughing and so did he.

“Now you’re wet, too,” he proclaimed
triumphantly, letting me go.

I stepped back, wiping water off of my arms.
“That was mean,” I said, but I couldn’t suppress my smile.

“Not as mean as shoving me into the pool,” he
pointed out.

“That was an accident!” I protested.

He shook his head, smiling. “I don’t know,”
he replied skeptically.

I laughed and we headed toward the door and I
wondered how, when so many things could go wrong, Michael could
still make me smile. Yvonne had the upper hand in everything, the
creators were out to get us, and the people of the world were at
various stages of being turned into machines. And still, Michael
could make me laugh.

Chapter Eleven

I was up all night
quietly watching TV while Michael and Jessica slept. But it wasn’t
the movie reruns or TV shows that interested me. I was glued to the
news channels. What I saw was more alarming than anything I had
seen yet. Reports of strange behavior from people in mass numbers
were everywhere. Although the reporters and broadcasters had no
idea what was really going on, more and more people were becoming
perfected. More and more people were being turned into
machines.

Blank, expressionless, mindless faces stared
back at me from the screen and I wondered, numbly, who they had
been before the creators had changed them. Had they been
successful, aspiring individuals, brimming with talent, or simply
just happy people, loving the lives they were living?

The television’s noise blurred and I lost
interest as a thought occurred to me. Who had I been? Who had I
been before they had changed me? Just a little girl, I concluded.
Just a little girl with her whole life ahead of her, ready to grow
up and become whoever she wanted to be and do whatever she wanted
to do. The thought made me sad, but also happy. I was angry and
sorrowful about what the creators had done to me, but at the same
time I was happy that, even if only for a few years of my life, I
had been normal. I had been a simple little girl, just like all the
other little girls out there.

I turned off the TV, got into bed beside
Jessica, and told myself to sleep.

* * * *

I woke up before the others and ordered room
service for us. By the time Jessica and Michael were up, our
breakfast had arrived.

“I was watching the news last night,” I told
them between bites of food. “And there are tons of people being
perfected.”

Jessica’s expression turned worried. “But
didn’t we slow down their operations?”

I shrugged. “Yvonne said we did, and that
they haven’t been able to perfect any more people. So the ones
we’ve been seeing must have been changed before our break in.”

“If they can perfect that many people in so
short a time, I’d hate to think what they could do when they get
their computers fixed,” Michael added.

I nodded. “I know.”

We ate the rest of our food in silence.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Jessica
declared when we had finished.

“Not before I do,” Michael replied quickly,
jumping up from his seat and racing toward the bathroom.

“Michael!” Jessica whined, chasing after him,
but he slammed the bathroom door in her face.

“Ugh,” she spat, turning back to me.

We heard the shower being turned on and
Jessica glared at the door. I lay back on the bed and stared at the
ceiling, thoroughly annoyed. Jessica plopped down beside me and
started brushing her fingers through her tangled, brown hair. She
turned on the TV and after flipping through a few channels,
announced, “This is boring. You wanna go for a walk?” She leaned
over, checking her hair in the mirror.

I sat up and looked out the window.
“Sure.”

Jessica smiled then banged on the bathroom
door. “Michael, we’re going on a walk. Be back later.”

“Okay,” we heard his muffled voice call.

Jessica grabbed her sweater and we left. Soon
we were out on the sidewalk in front of the hotel and we started
walking. The streets weren’t very crowded and we were easily able
to walk without getting in anyone’s way. I hadn’t spent much time
in this part of town and I noticed how pretty it was with the
decorated store fronts.

“You don’t think the creators will find us
out here, do you?” Jessica asked suddenly, stopping.

I shook my head, urging her to keep walking.
“Doubt it,” I replied, as we resumed our normal pace. “And besides,
we’ve been stuck in that hotel room too long. We need to take a
break.”

Jessica nodded and seemed to relax. “So, do
we have any long term plans? For our...situation?” Her tone was sad
and slightly frustrated.

I sighed. “I don’t know. For now we’ve, or at
least
I
have to do what Yvonne wants me to do.” We passed a
small boutique and Jessica stopped for a fraction of a second to
survey the clothes on display in the window.

“It seems as if we’re really stuck,” she
answered, returning her gaze to me.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

There was a pause while we walked along.

“I couldn’t help but notice, you and Michael
seem pretty cozy,” Jessica said, winking and watching me
expectantly.

I laughed and could feel myself blushing.

“What happened with him and Yvonne?” she
asked slowly, sending me a sidelong glance.

I suddenly realized that I hadn’t even
explained the whole story to her. I smacked my forehead. Of course
Jessica was confused. The last thing she had heard about our
relationship, was that Michael had gone off and kissed Yvonne. And
now she was seeing us together. I laughed again. “I can’t believe I
forgot to tell you!”

Jessica looked at me expectantly with an
expression of mock horror. “I can’t believe it either!” She
laughed.

“Well, Michael chased me down at school
demanding to know what was wrong, since I had been avoiding him,” I
started. “So, I told him I had heard about what he did and that I
was angry.” We stopped walking briefly, waiting to cross the road
and then resumed as the cars stopped for us. “He said that he
hadn’t even liked Yvonne. That she was the one who had kissed him
and that he told her to leave.”

“Really?” Jessica asked, her eyes wide. “That
must be why Yvonne’s snapped at him a few times.”

I nodded.

“Well gee, I’m sorry, Drew,” she added. “I
must’ve just mistaken the whole thing. I should have confronted him
first, before just going by what I’d seen at least two blocks
away.” She laughed guiltily.

“It’s fine. Everything’s all good now.” I
smiled.

Jessica giggled, shaking her head. “I
wondered why, all of a sudden, you guys seemed so close.”

Just then I looked up and saw someone walking
toward us from a short distance away. I nudged Jessica. “Hey, isn’t
that Hailey?” I asked, recognizing the girl we used to hang out
with at school.

Jessica looked excited. “It is! Oh, my gosh,
I haven’t seen Hailey in forever.” Jessica waved her hand.
“Hailey!”

Hailey was only about five feet away now and
coming closer, but didn’t show any signs of recognizing us or even
acknowledging us. Suddenly, I realized why and I tensed.
“Jessica...” I started, trying to warn her, but she had already
reached out and grabbed Hailey by the arm.

“Hailey?” she said. “It’s me, Jessica. And
Drew.”

Hailey stared at her blankly.

Jessica gave her an incredulous look.
“Hailey, we’ve been best friends throughout high school. Don’t look
at me like you have no idea who I am.” Her voice was shrill.

“Jessica,” I said quietly and she turned to
look at me. “She’s been perfected,” I barely whispered.

Jessica stared back at me, her expression
changing to disbelief, her dark brows furrowing. She started to
slowly shake her head. “No,” she whispered in disappointment. “She
couldn’t have been perfected.” She said it louder this time. She
turned back to Hailey. “Hailey, listen to me. It’s me. It’s me,
Jessica. You remember me. I know you do.”

Hailey just stared at her, completely
expressionless.

“Hailey!” Jessica nearly shrieked.

“Jessica, I’m sorry,” I said, reaching out to
her, but Jessica was shaking her head, gripping on to Hailey.

“Let go of me,” Hailey said slowly, watching
both of us.

Jessica looked up. “You know who I am,” she
said firmly.

Hailey yanked her arm from Jessica’s grip and
started walking away. Jessica started to run after her, but I
gently grabbed her arm and she stopped.

“How could they have...” But she didn’t get
to finish her sentence before she had broken down in tears.

Chapter Twelve

When Jessica and I
got back to the hotel room, we were surprised to see Yvonne was
there. Jessica quickly wiped the tears away from her face when
Yvonne looked her way.

“There you are,” Yvonne said. Michael stood
by the TV, having been watching it until just now. He looked up and
met my eyes.

“Hi, Yvonne,” I said uneasily. What did she
want now?

Yvonne made herself comfortable, sitting on
one of the beds.

“Did you need something?” I asked her,
closing the hotel room door behind me.

She smiled the smile I knew too well. “Yes.”
She nodded. “Just an idea I’ve got that I need your help with.” She
crossed her legs and watched me.

I groaned inwardly, walking over and sitting
beside her. “What is it?” Michael and Jessica both had their
attention glued on us.

“Well, since I’ve been such a good android,”
she said with a wink, “I’ve been gaining more trust with the
creators, but still, that isn’t enough for me.”

I rolled my eyes. Of course not. “Go on.”

“I want them to trust me more and give me
even more power. And I think I’ve found a way to do that. Or at
least get them closer to it.” She stared at me, her intense gaze
boring into mine.

I narrowed my eyes. “Just tell me what it is
you want me to do,” I told her, but not entirely sure whether I
wanted to hear it.

“I want to turn you in.” She said it frankly,
with no hint of sarcasm or pity.

Before I could even comprehend what Yvonne
had just said, Michael was on his feet, glaring at her. “No,” he
said firmly, meeting Yvonne’s gaze.

“You didn’t let me finish.” She spat at him
with so much venom in her voice, I was amazed that Michael didn’t
step away. He only met her eyes coolly, standing his ground.

My blood froze in my veins. Yvonne wanted to
turn me in. I couldn’t say I was surprised. I had known this was
coming, but I was still angry and scared.

“Drew, it’s not what you think,” Yvonne said,
turning back to me.

I looked up.

“I want to turn you in, but only to gain
advantage with the creators. Their computers still aren’t working
and all perfections and alterations have been completely put on
hold. Once you’ve been there a few days, I’ll get you out again,”
she said this as if she were explaining to me the rules of a board
game. Her voice was startlingly calm, as if it wasn’t my life at
stake, but just the chances of losing a game.

I stared at her incredulously. “Yvonne!” I
said, shocked. “How could you ask me to do this?”

Her expression hardened. “I’m not exactly
asking.”

I swallowed.

“No!” Jessica cut in. “You can’t do this to
Drew!”

Yvonne glared daggers at her.

“I won’t let you take her,” Michael said,
stepping forward to stand by my side.

Yvonne narrowed her eyes at him. “Oh?” she
asked, her voice dangerously low.

Michael narrowed his eyes back at her.

“Whether any of you like it or not, tomorrow
I’m taking Drew to the Institution. And there’s nothing you can do
to stop me,” she snapped as she looked back at me. “I’m hoping I
won’t need to physically force you there, but that you’ll go
because you know that otherwise, I could always just give away your
tracking device.”

I gritted my teeth and nodded.

Yvonne gave me a cold smile. “Good.” She
stood from the bed. “I’ll be here tomorrow.” She turned to
leave.

“What?” Michael stared after her
incredulously. “No!” But Yvonne was already out the door. He turned
to me. “We can’t let her do this to you.”

I shook my head. “Don’t worry,” I said,
trying to be calm. “Everything will be fine.” But even I wasn’t
sure if I believed that.

“No, it won’t,” Michael replied firmly. “I’m
not
going to let her do this.” His fists were clenched at
his sides.

I stood to meet his gaze. “No,” I said just
as firmly. “You need to. Otherwise, you and Jessica will get hurt,
and I can’t let that happen.”

Michael threw his hands in the air. “But I
can’t let you get hurt!”

“Michael, I’ll be fine,” I said.

“We could run away from the hotel,” he kept
pressing.

“No!” I exclaimed, exasperated also now.
“Yvonne has my tracking device.”

Michael ran his fingers through his hair,
looking stressed. He sat on the bed and put his head in his hands.
Jessica looked over at me. “Drew, what if something happens?” she
asked quietly.

I lowered my gaze. “Everything will be fine.
I’ll be okay.”

The room was silent.

That night I prayed to God that He would help
me the next day. I prayed that He would help Yvonne to keep her
word, even though I knew the odds were against me. I prayed that I
would be strong enough to deal with whatever came my way if Yvonne
didn’t stay true to her word. I prayed that Jessica and Michael
would stay put and not put their lives in jeopardy for my sake. I
prayed that the creators would never find Jessica and Michael if I
had to stay at the Institution. I prayed that my prayers would be
answered.