Glitch

luxury.
    There was no more time for crying.
    A few days later, Max and I rode the subway to his housing
    unit. I hadn’t wanted to come. I just wanted to stay con-
    nected to the Link. To remain numb and in control as I
    curled into a ball each night, making myself as small as pos-
    sible. I felt like I could disappear if I just tried hard enough.
    But I knew stopping my study sessions with Max might
    look anomalous. At school, I went through the motions, tried
    to immerse myself in life as a Link drone— an unthinking,
    unfeeling machine.
    Max slid the door to his room shut behind us. He smiled,
    then pulled back and reached for his bag.
    “Listen. I know you’ve been sad, so I got you something.”
    He turned to me with his hands hidden behind his back. He
    grinned, dimples showing.
    I was staring blankly at the wall, barely listening under
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    the weight of the sadness that had come crashing back as
    soon as I disconnected from the Link. But I knew I should say
    something. “What is it?”
    “Something special, just for you.”
    I fi nally looked up at him and he stepped closer. “Close
    your eyes.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
    “Max,” I said, managing half a ner vous smile for the fi rst
    time in a week. “What is it?”
    “Close your eyes,” he said insistently.
    “Fine.” I closed my eyes obediently and heard a click.
    “Now, keep them shut,” he whispered, his breath close to
    my face. I could hear the smile in his voice. “And smell. ”
    Still confused, I inhaled deeply and my eyes popped open
    in spite of myself. It was the most incredible thing I’d ever
    smelled. I swore I could almost taste it, just from the aroma
    alone. I looked into the small box Max held toward me and
    saw a thick slice of something brown and moist- looking nes-
    tled in the box.
    “What is it?” I asked incredulously, leaning in closer and
    taking another deep whiff .
    “It’s called chocolate cake.” He was grinning, obviously
    enjoying my reaction. “Wait until you taste it.” He pulled
    his other hand from behind his back, producing two forks.
    I hesitated. “Really?”
    He laughed. “Just take a bite already.”
    I didn’t deserve anything so kind, and I almost said no.
    But Max looked so delighted, I took a small bite. It was so
    sweet, sweeter than anything I’d ever tasted before. And it
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    seemed to melt in my mouth, smooth and creamy. I couldn’t
    help the small moan that escaped my throat. I eagerly took
    another bite, a much bigger one this time.
    Max laughed, his whole face lighting up as he watched me.
    I gestured at the other fork. I knew I shouldn’t be enjoy-
    ing myself, but it was the fi rst time I’d felt anything pleasant
    since I’d found out about Daavd. Daavd. His name still caught
    in my throat. I shook the thought away, smiling as hard as I
    possibly could for Max.
    “I can’t even think of a word for how good that tastes!” I
    said. “No words in my entire vocabulary are good enough
    to encapsulate the deliciousness of that— What was it called
    again?”
    “Cake. Chocolate cake.”
    “Cake,” I whispered reverently, then licked my fork again.
    “Where did you get it?”
    He put the forks in the empty box and set it on the ground.
    “I had some of this when I was pretending to be an offi
    cial
    the other day. They had this event, where a bunch of the
    Uppers get together to talk and eat.”
    “What did they talk about?” I looked at him in confusion.
    “Nothing!” Max laughed. “And everything! I mean, they
    were just talking about each other mostly, or other Uppers
    who weren’t at the party.” He laughed again, shrugging his
    shoulders.
    “I’d gone hoping to fi gure out, you know, more of what’s
    going on in the world. But none of them were talking about
    global corporations or anything like that. They were just
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    talking about things like what clothes people were wearing,
    and they all laughed a lot, though mostly I didn’t know what
    was supposed to be funny.”
    He shook his head, smiling in wonder. “Zoe, it was like
    nothing you’ve ever seen. And the food.” He rolled his eyes.
    “You think this cake is good? They had meat, and I mean
    actual meat. And then this stuff called wine, which tasted
    really bitter at fi rst, but then started making my head spin
    and I got really happy.” He laughed as if the memory was so
    vivid he was experiencing it again. “I’ll have to steal a