Inescapable (Talented Saga #7) (18 page)

“
Nah, she’s been nasty her
whole life,” Daphne replied. “I should know, we are related, after
all.” She made a face, as if the words had left a bitter aftertaste
in her mouth.

The admission surprised Cressa. The two
girls looked nothing alike, and their personalities seemed to be
polar opposites.

“
I know, I know,” Daphne
continued. “It’s hard to believe we came from the same parents.
Gracia is my mother’s daughter, where I’m more like daddy.” Daphne
shrugged, as if that said it all. “Anywho, I better be off. See you
in the morning, Cressa. ‘Night, Nydia.”

“
See you tomorrow,” Cressa
echoed, watching the small girl flit from her new room.

“
Don’t mind Daphne,” Nydia
said, once they were alone. “She’s much younger than the rest of
us, so she doesn’t really take the program seriously. Also, she
makes a game out of taunting Gracia, but I wouldn’t recommend doing
the same. Gracia puts up with it from her sister, but she isn’t at
all lenient with the rest of us.”

“
Trust me, I wasn’t
planning on it,” Cressa replied. “Gracia doesn’t seem like the type
of girl you cross,”

“
She’s not,” Nydia agreed.
She walked to the back of the room and slid a set of closet doors
apart soundlessly. “Your clothes are to the right. Mine are on the
left.”

She stepped back so that Cressa could see
the rows of identical khaki jumpers and navy oxford shirts already
hanging in place. A second, lower bar held several pairs of khaki
pants and a few white cardigans. Black leather flats with a single
strap across the top were arranged in a perfectly straight line at
the bottom of the closet, with five pairs on one side of an
invisible divider and five on the other.

On the day Cressa arrived,
the clothes she was wearing—black jeans and a funky tee with
Righteous Renegades
, her
favorite band—were taken away. They’d been replaced with a
never-ending supply of simple navy shifts—the uniform of the 1P
female.

As she faced her new uniforms, Cressa
stifled a sigh of disappointment. She didn’t quite feel like
herself in the Institute’s standard-issue clothing. A part of
Cressa had been excited when Leslie said her things were already in
her new room, wondering if they’d sent away for her own clothes.
Unfortunately, no dice.

Not for the first time, Cressa wondered if
she should write a eulogy for her old life. She hadn’t spoken to
her parents or Julie since leaving Boston, nor would she. At least,
not until she’d completed the program. Even then, Cressa doubted
she’d be permitted contact with Julie. Her best friend was a norm,
and she always would be. The two girls were now on very different
paths, ones that were not likely to cross in the future.

A traitorous thought
entered Cressa’s mind:
Is becoming
Privileged really worth it?

She’d
wanted
to come to the Institute.
Upon graduation, she’d be Privileged, and part of something greater
than herself—that was what Cressa’s parents had told her. They’d
filled Cressa’s head with images of a wonderful new world full of
hope and optimism, and free of the hatred that drove so many to
persecute those who were different.

What her parents hadn’t explained was how
much she’d be giving up to earn the Privileged label. Her friends,
her home, her identity—they were all casualties of a war that
hadn’t even happened yet.

“
Undershirts and underwear
are in the top drawer.” Nydia’s voice broke in as she gestured to a
set of three drawers inset on Cressa’s side of the
closet.

Compartmentalizing her doubts, Cressa
concentrated on Nydia. This was her life now, and the past was just
that—past. Julie and her parents were the past. The Institute was
her present. Being one of the Privileged was her future.

“
Socks and stockings are
in the middle one,” Nydia continued, eyeing Cressa skeptically from
beneath her long lashes.

“
Thanks,” Cressa said
quietly.

“
Everything changes so
fast here,” Nydia abruptly segued, correctly guessing the reason
for Cressa’s silence and gloomy mood. “I advanced four months ago,
and I still feel like it’s my first day as a 2P sometimes. Just try
to remember that you aren’t alone. We all feel a little overwhelmed
sometimes.”

Cressa smiled gratefully at her new
roommate. “You’re the first person to admit that. Back home, I went
to the same school from the time I was four. So I was never the new
kid, you know? Here, I feel like I’m always the new kid.”

Tensing, Nydia glanced around the small room
nervously.

“
I do, too, Cressa,” she
said in a low voice. “Just be careful about mentioning your life
before. The Institute is your home now. For all intents and
purposes, the Dame is your only parent. If Gracia or Leslie catches
you talking about life before the Institute,” Nydia shook her head,
“it won’t be good for you. Cadets who are too hung up on the past
are frequently diagnosed with adjustment disorders.”

Thoughts of Kev Leon flickered through her
head again. It was hard enough for Cressa not to think about her
parents and friends, and the glamorous life of premiere events and
society balls she’d once led. But Kev had been a celebrity,
accustomed to people catering to his every whim. That had to be
extremely difficult to give up. It was no wonder the poor boy was
having so much trouble acclimating.

Clearing her throat loudly, Nydia reverted
back to her tour of the closet. Cressa took the hint; the
feeling-sharing portion of the evening was over.

“
Sleep clothes are at the
bottom. Your toiletries are already in the bathroom, which we share
with the Towers twins. You have your own cubby in there, I’ll show
you after we’ve changed for bed.” Nydia glanced at the dinner tray
sitting untouched on Cressa’s desk. “Unless you want to eat
first?”

“
I’m not hungry,” Cressa
replied. Then, she made a snap decision. Nydia seemed genuine and
trustworthy, but Cressa had no way of knowing if it was all an act.
So, she decided to put her new roommate’s loyalty to the test. “If
I pitch the food, will you tell?”

Nydia gave a small smile. “That’s against
the rules.”

“
I know,” Cressa said,
studying Nydia closely. “But I won’t tell, if you
don’t.”

“
I’ll show you where to
toss it so that you won’t get caught.” Nydia’s body language
indicated that she was uneasy about committing even this relatively
minor transgression. Nonetheless, Cressa felt confident that the
other girl would keep her mouth shut.

“
Thanks,” Cressa
replied.

She crossed over to the closet and pulled
out a set of glaringly white pajamas. The sight reminded Cressa
uncomfortably of her white flower in the ceiling garden, which of
course made her think of all the black and withered ones. Her
stomach twisted painfully into knots worthy of any expert sailor.
Truthfully, all the misgivings she was experiencing scared
Cressa.

It’s too late to turn
back,
she thought sadly.

Pushing aside the realization, Cressa
quickly changed into the sleep attire.

“
You can deposit that in
your laundry chute on the way to the bathroom,” Nydia told her,
nodding towards the floor where Cressa’s navy dress lay in a heap.
Nydia’s own dirty clothes were folded neatly in her
arms.

“
Oh, right.” Cressa bent
and collected the discarded dress. “Lead the way,” she told
Nydia.

Silently, the two girls made their way to
the communal bathroom at the end of the hallway, stopping at the
laundry chutes just long enough to throw their worn clothes inside.
The Towers twins were already inside the bathroom when Cressa and
Nydia arrived.

“
Of all the colors she
could have picked, she went with purple. It’s madness,” one of the
twins was saying.

“
You know why she did it,
don’t you?” the other twin replied.

The sound of Nydia’s slippers on the tile
floor caused both twins to turn, identical brown eyes heavy with a
mixture of guilt and nerves.

“
Oh, thank heavens, it’s
just you,” one twin said. “For a second there, I thought we’d been
caught gossiping by the she-devil.” The girl turned to Cressa. “You
won’t tell her you heard us, will you? She’ll make our lives
hell.”

“
Of course not,” Cressa
said quickly.

The twins were standing in front of a large
mirror that was mounted above four sinks. Behind them, on the
opposite wall, were four large cubbies with towels, shower caps,
and baskets of toiletries. The cubby on the top right had Cressa’s
name on it. Quietly, she retrieved her toothbrush, toothpaste, and
face wash.

“
Of course I know why,”
the second twin said, picking up the conversation again. “But
looking like
her
isn’t going to make Gracia more powerful. She’s absolutely
nuts if Gracia thinks she’ll ever have that sort of power. She
hasn’t even started manipulation training. I bet she washes out
within the first week of it. They don’t call it the gauntlet for
nothing, you know?”

Curious, Cressa opened her mouth to speak.
In the mirror, she caught Nydia’s subtle headshake, warning her
against taking part in the conversation. Instead of asking the
questions running through her mind, Cressa went about brushing her
teeth and washing her face while simply listening to her new
classmates.

“
I don’t think she did it
to become more powerful. I think she did it for
him.
You know,
her
boyfriend. I hear Gracia sleeps
with his picture under her pillow,” the first twin
responded.

“
She’s even crazier than I
thought,” her sister said flatly. Her eyes darted around the
bathroom, ensuring the four cadets were truly alone, before
continuing in a much quieter tone. “Did you hear the Dame tried to
free him from UNITED? She sent an agent to one of his peace rallies
to stage an escape. Unfortunately, the attempt was unsuccessful.
They say he was hurt, though not seriously, in a blast meant to
kill his bodyguards. The agent who performed the attack bungled it
so badly she ended up dying herself. But, she was able to get so
close that she actually touched him. Can you imagine? She must have
died with a smile on her lips. I know I would have.”

“
Me too,” the twin agreed,
nodding readily. “Do you think it’s true? That Gracia really has
been chosen as a clone? And that’s why she got the purple
eyes?”

The other twin shrugged.
“Daphne did say that Gracia applied for facial reorg, but she chose
the eye color long before the clone rumors started swirling. I bet
that’s why the Dame wants to see her tomorrow morning, to let her
know whether she’s been chosen. It will be so weird, seeing
her
all the time. I
mean, it’s already weird enough now. Gracia looks just enough like
her that it’s creepy, don’t you think? The hair, now the eyes?
Daphne says Gracia has even been studying video footage, to
practice her mannerisms. You know, just in case.”

Unable to hold her tongue any longer, Cressa
finally asked the question burning a hole in her mind. “What are
you two talking about?”

Lyla and Shyla exchanged conspiratorial
glances, a barrage of silent messages passing between them. One
nodded, seemingly confirming that the new girl could be
trusted.

“
Cressa, is it? I’m Lyla,
that’s Shyla,” the twin closest to Cressa said, gesturing. “And
we’re talking about Gracia’s new eyes. 7Ps are allowed to undergo
dye injections to change the color, and Gracia decided to go with
purple, in homage to
her.
As if darkening and perming her hair wasn’t bad
enough. But, if what Daphne says is true, the eyes and hair are
just the start.” Lyla sighed dramatically. “Gracia will be
unbearable if she is chosen to be a clone, especially
her
clone. I mean, that
has to be the highest honor possible.”

Clones were not a topic covered during Phase
One, but Cressa was piecing together all the snippets of
information she’d heard about them. From what she could tell,
Cressa figured that clones were cadets who the Dame hand-selected
to not only receive a particularly powerful source’s material, but
also to be physically altered to look like the source.

But was the point of it for the Privileged
individual to take the place of his or her source? What else might
they use a doppelgänger for? Cressa couldn’t begin to imagine.

To her, it seemed that being chosen as a
clone was more of a punishment than an honor. Relinquishing her
identity to become someone else completely was one sacrifice too
many. Suddenly, with dread filling every ounce of her being, Cressa
recalled Dr. Masterson’s comment about her skull being a match for
her source’s. But who was it?

For Cressa, the source’s identity was really
a moot point; there was no one she wanted to be more than
herself.

“
Who is ‘her’?” Cressa
finally asked.

There was a long, uncomfortable pause, where
Nydia, Shyla, and Lyla all stared at Cressa as though she were
supremely ignorant.

“
Natalia Lyons,” Nydia
finally whispered. “She is Gracia’s new benefactor. And, if the
rumors are true…Gracia is to be Natalia’s clone.”