Genesis Girl (Blank Slate #1) - Jennifer Bardsley Page 0,66
It’s nonexistent.
If you take off my platinum cuff, then there’s nothing left of me. In that long-ago conversation with Seth, I couldn’t tell him what I liked to do for fun.
The truth is, I have no idea.
So I revert back to the old ways. An hour of Kenpō. An hour of yoga. Running around my little cell like I’m a trapped animal. Only there isn’t any room to run, so I jog in place instead.
But the harder I run, the more I know. Even with the old routines, I’m still different. And maybe the part of me that’s always been is still here—the part of me that fights to survive.
Lock me in a box, and I’ll fight to get out.
Because that’s who I am at my very core. That’s my character. I’ve finally figured it out.
I’m a survivor.
No matter what shitty hand life deals me, I keep going.
I’ve got good instincts, like Cal told me. And my instincts are telling me loud and clear that I can do this.
I can think for myself.
There’s another thing about me that’s important. It’s really important to know this. I’m smart. I’m a fast learner. Even Cal said so. He said he’d never seen anybody with such a scientific mind.
It’s been six days in this cloister, and I’m keeping track. I don’t have anything to write with, but I’m marking the time with my hairbrush. I know it sounds funny, but each day I bend down one more wire bristle. I am loyal. I am discrete. That’s how I keep track of the days.
Barbelo said I’d only be here one week. But you can never trust a Vestal. You can’t.
He shouldn’t trust me either. Because today I had an epiphany. I was lying on my bed looking up into the skylight. The sunshine made me feel safe and warm and happy, like the great hall at McNeal Manor. And I remembered Cal saying, “It’s a great day for making solar power.” It’s a great day.
I’ve got a scientific mind. Cal said so. Solar circuits are like little cloisters. Close off the doors and the electrons won’t run free. Close me off in my cloister, and I’ll fight to get out.
So I take out Cal’s chip-watch, and I turn it over and look at the sun. Lydia thinks it busted when it fell in the water. She’s right, but she’s also wrong. Just the power is wrong. Just the battery.
It’s a great day to make solar power. It’s a great day to rip little bristles out of hairbrushes. It’s a great day to take things apart and see how they work. See if I can fix them. It’s a great day to bring broken things to life. It’s a great day.
It’s a great day.
It’s a great day.
Sophia McNeal speaks to me. I see her now about two inches tall hovering above the chip-watch. I can’t connect to the outside world, but I can access the watch’s memory. It’s Cal’s own private archive of secrets, and I’m conducting the ultimate Invasion.
“I won’t be with you much longer,” Sophia says. She’s sitting down in her hospital bed, a scarf around her head. “But, sweetheart, remember. Remember always that I love you. You are loved.”
That’s what Cal said to me too. Almost. That’s probably what Seth would have said as well, if I had given him the chance. Maybe even Ethan, if Lydia had allowed it.
It’s day eight of my captivity. I was hopeful yesterday that Barbelo would let me out. He didn’t.
But I’m a survivor, I’ve got good instincts, and I can think for myself.
And I’m okay. Because now I can go into the little bathroom and lock the door behind me. McNeal Solar makes all things possible. I can bring Cal’s watch to life and see all his favorite messages, played right here before me. I can see evidence of love and joy in every saved thought.
Seth as a teenager, calling home to say he’ll be late. Sophia calling Cal at work to ask how his day is going. Seth calling Cal a few months ago, asking him to put their argument aside and work together on a special project. I wonder what that was about?
When I’m done listening to the messages, I turn the watch over and look at the sun etched into the back. Seth has one exactly like it tattooed on his arm. I smile because I’ve finally figured out a family secret. I bet that’s a tattoo the whole McNeal family shares.