Glitch

alone.”
    “But, Zoe,” he said, his expression losing some of its
    brightness. “I don’t need anybody else. It’s fi ne with just you
    and me. With just us, the secret stays smaller, easier to keep.
    We can watch out for each other without anyone noticing.
    The more people you involve, the easier it is for someone to
    make a mistake, for us to get caught.”
    “But Max, if there are kids like us, just imagine how
    scared they are. Being alone is the worst part of glitching.
    You know that. The fear was so bad that I thought about
    reporting myself and letting them fi x me. . . .” I paused after
    I said it. That seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had hap-
    pened. It was hard to imagine I could ever have wanted to
    destroy my ability to feel, to be myself , what ever the risk.
    I froze.
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    G L I TC H
    “What? What is it?” Max asked.
    “I think I remember something,” I whispered. Realiza-
    tion slowly dawned. “I think I was caught. They found out.”
    I stopped still and shut my eyes tight, trying to hold on to the
    wisp of memory. “There was someone there. A boy.” I bit
    my lip trying to concentrate, to make out the features of
    the shadowy image I could almost remember. I reached and
    reached with the fi ngertips of my mind.
    “Adrien!” I fi nally exploded, making out the features.
    “That new boy, Adrien. He was there!”
    Max looked instantly angry. “He must have turned you in.”
    “I think he was there when I was caught, or maybe he was
    working with the offi
    cials. Or something,” I fi nished lamely.
    I shut my eyes again, hoping to fi nd out more, to attach the
    face with some setting, but I couldn’t.
    “How can you be remembering anything if you had the
    disrupter plugged in your port?” Max asked.
    “I . . . I don’t know,” I said, looking up at him. “It shouldn’t
    be possible. Unless . . .” I paused.
    “Unless?”
    “Well,” I said slowly, working it out as I went. “What if
    memory isn’t only kept in one place? I mean, our powers
    can’t be the only unusual thing our minds can do. What if
    memory resonates in other parts of the brain?”
    “What ever it means, you need to stay away from that
    Adrien guy.” Max looked tense, even angry. “If he’s con-
    nected to all of this, then he’s dangerous. These people, the
    Uppers, are capable of doing some terrifying stuff . They
    could have been testing on you, removing your memories,
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    Heather Anastasiu
    even creating false memories. This Adrien kid is probably
    a Monitor, like you thought. But he could be something
    worse.”
    I nodded and pulled away from the embrace. “And let’s
    watch for other glitchers, too— to see if there are any others
    like us.”
    “Zoe—”
    “Fine, I’ll keep a watch,” I said, feeling frustrated at his
    reluctance, but then softened my tone. “I know you just
    want me to be safe. I’ll be careful. And you be careful, too.
    Promise me?”
    “I promise,” he said. We were quiet a moment. He tilted
    his head, his gaze intense. “You are so beautiful.”
    I paused and looked at him, his sandy blond hair tussled
    and bright brown eyes so earnest. “You are also very well
    formed.”
    He pulled me close again. “Maybe once we get your
    heart monitor fi xed,” he said when he came up for breath,
    “then you’ll really be able to relax and let yourself feel the
    way I do.”
    “Maybe,” I laughed as I stood up to go.
    A few days later I sat by Max at our customary cafeteria spot
    at the end of table 13. I had clicked on my projector to go
    over the day’s notes when I noticed Max’s face suddenly pale.
    His mouth dropped open.
    “What?” I said, for a split second not bothering to mask
    my concern. I quickly made my face blank, looking around
    slowly to see if anyone had seen me.
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    G L I TC H
    He eyes swiveled over to mine. “Zoe,” he whispered.
    “They just called for you over the Link. You are to report to
    the diagnostic center on Sublevel Two immediately.”
    I felt my eyes widen and my mouth go dry. I’d known in
    the back of my mind the Chancellor would call me in soon
    for another checkup, but I thought I’d have more time, or
    that I’d be connected to the Link when it happened.
    But I was glitching all the time now. There wasn’t much
    chance that I’d suddenly reconnect to the Link in the time
    it took to walk from here to the diagnostic center.
    This was it.
    This was the day they’d be able to see my anomalous self,
    lit