I’m a real Vestal now, and it’s all thanks to Ms. Lydia convincing Cal on my behalf.
Cal slides the privacy divider so Alan can’t hear our conversation, and then leans back into the plush upholstery of the limo. “Thanks for coming with me today. I didn’t want to leave you at home to fend for yourself with all the remodeling going on.”
He means the workmen crawling over the house, lining Cal’s room with lead. Ms. Lydia has taken off for the week on business. But she’ll be moving in when the work is complete. She also promised to be here in time for the next Vestal banquet.
“Ms. Lydia says your office is lovely,” I say.
“It is,” Cal says. “Sophia decorated it. Then I had it lined with lead a month ago, once I … started seeing Lydia.”
I’d cover my ears and start singing if I could forget hearing that last part. I don’t want to spend any time at all wondering what Cal and Ms. Lydia do behind closed doors. But I understand Ms. Lydia wanting to take every precaution to ensure her privacy and not be accidentally uploaded to the net.
“I only wish that Seth wasn’t being so difficult.” Cal peers down at his chip-watch. “He hasn’t messaged me in a couple of weeks.”
“Maybe he needs some time.”
“Maybe,” Cal says. “I wish that he could understand that I’m really happy. For the first time in a long time, I’m really happy. And I want him to be a part of it. But every time I try to talk to Seth, we start fighting about his apartment or college or Lydia.”
“I’m sorry
“Will you do me a favor?”
“Yes, Cal. Of—I mean yes.”
“This isn’t an order; it’s a request. Would you go to Seth’s apartment and give him a message for me? Alan could drive you.”
“A message?”
“Yes. Make Seth listen. Make him understand that I’m in a good place right now, but that I miss him.”
I look down at my engineering books. They’re weighing me down but are fascinating. I was hoping to read more of them today.
“What about my studies?” I ask. Clarifying questions are my friends. Cal told me to learn about science too.
“I don’t want to interfere with that,” Cal says. “You’ve got a real head for engineering. I had no idea you’d learn all of this so quickly.”
It’s true. I’ve been dreaming of solar circuits.
“In fact, I’ve been meaning to talk to you, Blanca. Have you ever thought about going to college?”
“What? How would I do that?”
“You could become an engineer for real, or anything else for that matter. You could make friends, you could—”
“Are you telling me to?”
“No,” answers Cal quietly. “I’m only asking you if you’ve thought about it.”
“There’s no way it would be possible. Not without having to go public.” Ms. Lydia leaves for a few hours and already Cal is going nuts.
“What about online classes? Correspondence courses?”
“Not unless you tell me to.” I pause. “Will you?”
“No,” Cal says. “I’m done with that. But I’m asking you, as a favor, to go to Seth’s apartment after lunch today and see if he will listen to reason. Could you? Please?”
“Of course,” I say. “I’ll do anything you want.”
Cal grimaces when I say that, and then he stares out the window.
Chapter Twelve
I always knew Seth was a pig. Seeing his apartment proves it. There are half-eaten pizzas, boxes of donuts, and empty liters of soda everywhere. It’s like junk food came here to die.
And don’t get me started on the connections. Seth clicks screens down right and left. Even in the bedroom, where his unmade bed is a tangle of sheets, there are video screens on every wall.
“If I had known you were coming, I would have cleaned up a bit,” Seth says.
If I didn’t know him better, I would think he was embarrassed. “Fair is fair, Virus. You’ve barged in on me before.”
“I thought we agreed you’d call me Seth.” He slides some dirty socks off the couch so I can sit down.
“Oh right. I forgot.” When I sit down on the couch, my hands go straight into a melted bowl of ice cream.
I pretty much freak out.
“I’ve been stained!” Rocky road drips down my arm, ruining my white shirt. I glare at Seth’s smirk.
“Um, let me show you to the bathroom,” Seth offers. There’s an awkward moment where he holds out his hand to help me get up, and I refuse to touch him. There’s been enough touching already.
Ten seconds in Seth’s bathroom and I