Chapter 6

A few weeks have gone by since my conversation with Hecate. She seems to be adjusting to life here. I introduced her to my brother during recreational time. Yes, we leave our rooms for reasons other than for testing and experimentation. Some of the kids say that the organization does it to show it's funders that they aren't cruel so that they can continue to be funded. Others say it's so that we don't lose our sanity. I, for one, agree that it's all for funding purposes. Hecate and my brother seemed to get along just fine after she got over her shyness. Nowadays, Cahal, Hecate, and I hang out every chance we get. We usually play some sort of game when we're together. However, today we decided just to talk.

"It's not that hot outside today," Cahal commented, resting his head on the cold, wooden table.

I rolled my eyes and gave him a bright smile, "It's the middle of June, it's hot as hell."

"No, it ain't," Cahal said. This is what I love about my brother, he acts like things aren't the way they are, but in a comedic way, like he is right now with the heat.

"You're sweating," Hecate pointed out, giving Cahal an annoyed look.

"I am not!" Cahal defended as a drop of sweat fell from his chin, and his shirt drenched in sweat. He and Hecate continued to argue about the silly topic, while I looked around the courtyard.

"Excuse me," A feminine voice said softly behind me. I turned around and was greeted by a girl who looked to be around my age smiling politely at me. "Sorry," she said, "May I sit here? Everywhere else is full, and I'm boiling." I nodded and scooted over to make room for her. The other two gave her a polite smile as she made herself comfortable.

"So, what's your name?" Cahal asked.

"Zoey," the girl said, brushing a strand of her lengthy, black hair out of her face nervously, "Zoey Clarkson."

"Nice to meet you," Cahal said with a smile, "I'm Cahal, and this is Hecate, and my sister, Sophrona." Hecate and I shook Zoey's hand politely in response while giving her warm smiles.

"Where are you from?" I asked.

"Sacramento," Zoey replied, "But, I was born in New York."

"Wow," I said, "You moved from one end of the country to the other? Why?"

She shrugged nonchalantly and said, "My dad got a new job as an engineer, and my mom got a new teaching position there, and they dragged me along, I guess." The four of us continued to converse until it was time to go back to our rooms. It turns out that she's the same age as me. She's wanting to go to college to become a teacher and was taking advanced high school classes before she arrived here. She's also into sports, just like Cahal and I. After I said goodbye to my brother, Hecate and I were escorted to our room where we found everything rearranged and a third bed added. However, before I could say anything, the door was shut behind us, leaving my roommate and me in a pool of confusion and irritation.

"Why the hell do we have another bed!" I exclaimed, balling my fists in frustration, "Two's a party, but three's a crowd. And why am I always getting newbies!" I hear someone clear their throat from behind me, so I turn around, and Hecate greeted me by giving me a raised eyebrow. "Uh, I'm not complaining about you, it's just that I was pretty comfortable with it just being the two of us," I say reassuringly. Hecate smiles at me and sits down on her bed.

"They probably aren't that bad," she says quietly, "who knows, they might be nice."

"Or a stinky slob," I said with a humorous smile. The two of us started laughing so loud that we didn't even notice the door open.

"Well, that's not nice to say to an old friend." A voice said from behind us. The two of us turned around and my eyes went wide. "Jasmine?" I said as tears filled my eyes.

"The one and only," she replied giving me a bright grin and spreading her arms for me to hug her. I shot up from my bed and raced into her arms. It had been three years since I'd seen my best friend, and I was so happy to see her. When we finally separated, I wiped away my tears. "What are you doing here?" I asked her both surprised and confused, "Most kids join at thirteen."

"I got into some trouble with the law, and my choices were jail time or here, so I chose to come here," she said seriously. I grabbed her hand and led her to where Hecate was sitting and had her sit down on the bed next to Hecate's.

"What did you do?" I asked her. This wasn't the Jasmine I grew up with, and I wanted to find out what happened in hopes of helping her get back on the right track.

"About a year after you and Cahal were brought here, my dad lost his job because of the disease," she said sorrowfully, "He searched for a new one for months, even online ones, but it wasn't enough. Soon we found ourselves homeless and shortly after that my dad died from pneumonia. That's when I started stealing to provide for my mother, brother, and me and ended up here."

"I'm so sorry," I said with pitty written all over my face. Suddenly, I remembered that Hecate was in the room. "Oh," I said, "I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Hecate, she's from New Concord, Ohio." Jasmine looked toward Hecate with a warm smile, "Nice to meet you, I'm Jasmine," she said. Hecate gave her a polite smile but remained quiet.

"She isn't much of a talker is she," Jasmine said with a smile.

"Not to strangers, no," I replied.

"Well I hope we can be friends," she said smiling at Hecate. Hecate just smiled and nodded.

Jasmine and I stayed up that night catching up with each other. It had to have been around the early hours of the morning when we finally fell asleep. The next day during recreational time, Jasmine, Zoey, Hecate, and I were talking at one of the picnic tables. Well, Jasmine, Zoey, and I did most of the talking. Cahal was playing cards with some boys at another table. when the boys grew bored with card games, Cahal and a guy with short, dark brown hair, a muscular build, and brown eyes approached our table. "Everyone, this is Alec," Cahal said with a smile, "He's a new friend of mine and knows a lot about technology." Alec gave us a charming smile and shook our hands. We pretty much spent the rest of the time getting to know Alec. I couldn't help but notice how Jasmine was practically gawking at him the entire time, which gives me something to tease her about later on.

When we returned to our room, I grab my dinner and sit on my bed. I give Jasmine a mischievous grin. "You seemed very fascinated with Alec," I stated.

"Well, yeah he's really smart and knows a lot about technology, which I don't know if you've noticed but we're surrounded by it," She pointed out.

"Are you sure that's the only reason?" I asked her with a raised eyebrow. She scoffed at me and stormed into the bathroom. "That's what I thought!" I called her before letting out a chuckle.

"Shut up!" She yelled back, but I could tell she was smiling.

"I know you're smiling!" I said with a goofy grin.

"What's with all the yelling?" Hecate asked as she covered her ears.

"Jasmine likes Alec," I teased as I continued laughing and Hecate joined in. Our laughing session was short-lived, however, because then we heard the bathroom doorknob turning.

"Sophrona!" Jasmine yelled before coming out of the bathroom and darting towards me.

"Yeah, you're on your own," Hecate said before backing away from me.

"Seriously?!" I said before I was tackled by Jasmine. The two of us rolled around and playfully wrestled.

"Uh, no contact, remember?" Hecate nervously reminded us.

"Oh to hell with the rules," Jasmine said as she held me in a headlock, "All of us are injected with the same diseases anyway." I took advantage of her distracted state and pinned her to the ground. "I win," I said, grinning.

"Only because Hecate was distracting me," Jasmine argued with a playful smile.

"But I still won," I said. The three of us laugh and then get ready for bed.