Glitch

quickly shifted to Max. “I thought I iden-
    tifi ed more than two voices.”
    My neck stiff ened, but Max didn’t fl inch.
    “You were incorrect,” Max said coolly.
    Markan’s gaze fl icked around the room, but then he ex-
    ited, sliding the door behind him.
    After the door was securely shut I immediately looked up.
    The tile was only half closed. Markan hadn’t seen the tile
    slightly askew, or else we would all have been reported.
    Adrien didn’t say anything, but Max and I watched in si-
    lence while he shifted the tile quietly into place above us.
    I looked back at the door Markan had just shut. If he’d
    walked in just one moment earlier, or if he’d glanced up and
    seen the tile . . . a terrifi ed chill clutched my chest.
    I was about to say something, but Max put a fi nger on my
    lips and shook his head. His glance went toward the door
    and I knew what he was thinking. Markan might still be
    listening. We were all trained to investigate and report anom-
    alies, after all.
    210

    G L I TC H
    Adrien had just talked about living free in the Rez, apart
    from the Community, but I suddenly wondered if that wasn’t
    just a dream made of smoke. I felt with a sinking sureness
    that the day was coming when I wouldn’t be so lucky— when
    the Uppers would fi nd me out for what I was. But what I
    hadn’t fully understood until now was the horrifying realiza-
    tion that it all could end so easily at the hands of the brother
    I was trying so hard to save.
    211

Chapter 15
    i fir st saw molla in the crowded cafeteria, and tried to
    memorize her face. At fi rst glance, she looked ordinary, like
    the rest of us. One problem with all the monotone suits and
    functional haircuts was that they made it hard to tell us
    apart. She looked like most of the girls around her, but I did
    notice a sprinkling of freckles over her nose.
    The more I watched her, the more I saw other ways she
    stood out. Little things, like the way she tapped her toe or
    fi dgeted with her tablet strap. People around her walked in
    calm, mea sured movements, but she seemed to radiate ner-
    vous energy. I could see why Adrien was worried. At least she
    had managed to resist reporting herself. That was something.
    Still, I felt anxious just watching her. My eyes fl icked over
    to the Regs- in- training, trying to see if any of them were
    giving any attention to the restless girl. Their faces were im-
    passive. It was impossible to tell what they were thinking.
    Besides, it was more the job of Monitors to look for more
    subtle anomalies, and Monitors could be anywhere.
    I glanced around the room, trying to be unobtrusive as I
    did. The last thing I needed while worrying about Molla
    was to look anomalous myself. But the thought that any of
    212

    G L I TC H
    the students I went to the Academy class with every day
    could be a Monitor, secretly working for the offi
    cials . . . it
    sent a shiver of fear through me.
    After a few more minutes, in spite of my fear, I stood up
    and made my way toward Molla. Just like Adrien had said,
    this girl didn’t have long before she was found out. We had
    to get to her fi rst. The fl ood of students exiting blocked my
    way, though, and by the time I got to the column she’d
    been standing in front of, she was gone.
    The rest of the day was just as disappointing. She wasn’t
    in any of my classes, since she was a year behind me. I caught
    sight of her once in the hallways but it wasn’t as if I could
    push my way through the stream of students to get to her
    without attracting notice. I went to each class more frus-
    trated than the last. But then I fi nally found my moment.
    Right before my last session of the day, I saw her slip into
    the bathroom. This was the best opening I was going to get.
    I hurried as quickly as I dared across the hallway and into
    the bathroom after her. I peeked under the stalls. Only one
    set of feet. I went into the stall beside her and quickly popped
    the cap off the marker I’d brought from home. I grabbed a
    wad of toilet paper and scribbled a quick message on it: You’re
    not alone. We will contact you again soon. Until then, stay calm and
    stop fi dgeting all the time! Flush after reading. I shoved the paper
    under the stall and hissed, “Molla!”
    I saw her feet hesitate. Then slowly her hand came into
    view and she took the paper. After another minute, the toi-
    let fl ushed again and I breathed out. Good. I unlatched the
    door and walked to the sink. I glanced at her.