Override (Glitch)

exclaimed. The skirt was patchwork, made from odd-shaped squares of old Community uniforms, some ex-Reg coverall blue, browns from the service worker uniforms, even the surgeon’s reds. “Isn’t it pretty?”
    Xona touched the cloth skeptically. “Looks like it’d be hard to run in.”
    This time it was Ginni who rolled her eyes. “It’s not for running. It’s for looking pretty.” She grabbed the skirt back from Xona.
    “Who you trying to look pretty for anyway?” Xona asked.
    Ginni turned to us, mouth open like she planned on mentioning something or someone. But then she paused and frowned. “I can’t remember.”

Chapter 13
    “GOOD AFTERNOON LADIES,” Jilia said, settling herself down in front of us.
    I sat down on the cushion while she put a box on the ground beside her. Xona leaned over and opened it. A cluster of little clear balls lay inside.
    “What are those?” I asked.
    “Marbles,” Xona said. “I used to play with them when I was a kid.”
    “I wanted to try something a little more tactile for Zoe to focus on while we meditate. But the same practices apply to non-glitchers, so it will be useful for you as well, Xona.”
    “Okay,” I said, but I wasn’t convinced. Nothing had worked so far.
    “First, Zoe, I want you to think about some memory that brings up strong emotions.”
    I looked over at Xona, then down at the ground again. “Um, that might not be … safe.”
    “It will be fine,” Jilia said, her voice calm and soothing. “You won’t hurt us. You can always Link yourself if you feel like you’re going to lose control. That’s been part of the problem, I think. You’re so afraid of losing control that you never allow yourself enough leeway to access and explore your power. Being locked up in the research lab for all those months only exacerbated the problem right when your power was expanding and you needed to be experimenting most. We’ve got to break those habits. So try to abandon your fears. This is a safe place. Just remember you can Link yourself the moment you feel your power getting out of control. Think of that like a safety switch.”
    I nodded, uncertain. What she said made sense, but I’d been afraid of my power for so long …
    “Close your eyes and think of a powerful emotional memory. As soon as you feel the power start to build, let me know.”
    I closed my eyes and sifted through my memories. Well, getting mad at Adrien’s mom usually worked to get me upset. I thought about our latest session yesterday and how she’d said that I would always fail the people I loved most. A slight buzzing did begin to build in my ears at the thought. But then I shook the memory off. No. I didn’t want to draw on negative emotions if I could avoid it.
    Instead, I switched to another memory. Of Adrien and me alone in my room back in the Community, when he’d tried to explain what love was. He’d called it a miracle that, in a world so broken and painful, love could still exist.
    I still remembered the tenor of his voice and the intensity of his gaze as he’d spoken. Love shouldn’t exist but it does. It’s the biggest anomaly, some might say the biggest defect, of the whole human race. But it’s the most beautiful anomaly. I understand that now. And I would give up anything for you … Because I love you.
    And then I’d said it back to him and we’d kissed until I felt like I was soaring right up and out of my body. So much had happened since then, but my love for him was the one thing that had remained constant. I felt warm just thinking about it, and a soft buzz rose in my ears.
    But then, without meaning to, the scene switched to our kiss in the bathroom, right before I’d lost control and shattered the mirror. There had been passion in that kiss too. More than that—desperation. Tied up in the memory was fear about how upset Adrien had been and worry about what he saw in the future that had him so scared. I thought of the haunted look in his eyes. The buzzing in my ears suddenly became a loud drone and my hand started to tremble.
    I gritted my teeth as the tremors worsened. My first instinct was to choke off the emotions or Link myself. Instead I let myself linger in the memory of our kiss. It wasn’t the purely happy memory I’d wanted, but maybe the strongest emotions were always a complex mix of good and bad. I replayed the feel of Adrien’s hands on my body, pulling me into him and kissing me like he was a starving man and I was a full