Glitch

haven’t. You’re so full of your own lies you can’t even
    keep your story straight.”
    “Max, stop it.” I pushed in between the two of them.
    This wasn’t how I’d hoped this would go at all. “We can only
    aff ord to meet once like this, so we have to make the most
    of it. He knows about another glitcher. That’s why we’re
    here.”
    “He’s a boy in your grade, Molla.” Adrien was visibly
    making an eff ort to stay calm. I could tell he was trying to
    salvage the situation, but was barely containing himself. He
    looked at Molla as he addressed her but she wouldn’t look up
    to meet his gaze. Her tiny frame was quivering ner vous ly.
    “What’s his power?” Max asked.
    “His name is Juan,” Adrien said, fi nally sounding annoyed
    at Max. “And his Gift is with music. I’ve seen visions of him
    playing the cello. He’s phenomenal, a genius, and he can af-
    fect people’s mood with it.”
    “So he can play some kind of a device called a cello. Why
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    Heather Anastasiu
    the hell would we risk our lives to rescue him? How does he
    help us at all?”
    “Music is extremely important,” Adrian said. “It’s part of
    being human. Our ability to express beauty is exactly what
    this generation is gonna need to sustain ourselves, to feel
    hope. Creativity, artistic expression, it’s the best of what hu-
    mans are capable of. Besides, if he can aff ect moods, he might
    be able to keep crowds calm, distract others—”
    Max didn’t look impressed. “It’s tactically useless.”
    “Max!” I said, not even knowing why I was surprised by
    his insensitive comments anymore. I’d been trying to stay
    calm, but the tension between the two boys was starting to
    rile me.
    “I’m just stating the obvious.”
    Adrien’s teeth seemed to grind together. “The Rez wants
    to provide a safe haven for any glitcher.”
    Max rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me you weren’t thinking
    it, too. If this Re sis tance of yours has any hope of surviving,
    someone better be thinking like this— of the bottom line. Of
    only taking calculated risks. Why should we risk ourselves for
    him?”
    “Because it’s the godlam’d right thing to do,” Adrien shot
    back.
    Max yawned exaggeratedly.
    I stood up. I couldn’t help it. I was furious at him. “So
    going to parties and learning curse words is worth the risk,
    but a boy’s life isn’t?”
    He stood up, too, facing me, his jaw working. “I do what
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    G L I TC H
    I have to do to survive. And what’s the point of having all
    these emotions and powers if I can’t do what I want with
    them? Why should I risk everything I’ve worked for to help
    a stranger? I don’t even know this drone.”
    “Because it’s a person we’re talking about. A person, like
    us.” Like my brother. I didn’t say it, but Max seemed to fi gure
    out what I meant.
    “Zoe, get it through your head,” he said heatedly. “You
    can’t save everyone.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because! It’s going to get you deactivated!” He took my
    shoulders roughly in his hands, making me look him in the
    eye. “You have to start playing by their rules.”
    “That’s enough,” Adrien said, knocking Max’s hands
    off me.
    Max looked furious. “Don’t you dare touch me, you bas-
    tard!” He pushed Adrien hard in the chest.
    Adrien stumbled backward and fell. His head was inches
    from bashing into the corner of a stack of metal containers
    when I shouted, “Stop!”
    “My hand reached out as if I could catch him. Without
    thinking, the high- pitched buzzing roared to life in my ears
    and Adrien’s body froze in midfall.
    “You’re doing it!” Adrien said, sounding excited, even
    though his body hung suspended in the air, the sharp corner
    still close to his skull.
    “Keep me up,” he said, “just like you practiced. Try to
    think about how you feel right now, what you’re doing.”
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    Heather Anastasiu
    I blinked, the buzzing dimming now that I was con-
    sciously trying to hold on to it. I squeezed my eyes shut in
    concentration. The more I tried to focus on it, the weaker
    my powers became. I faltered for a moment and Adrien
    dropped a millimeter.
    I let the panic overwhelm me again, losing control in or-
    der to gain control. It was a diffi
    cult balance, like going and
    stopping, pushing and pulling at the same time, but in that
    moment I felt myself connect to the perfect equilibrium.
    Even with my eyes closed, I could still see Adrien, but not
    like with normal