The Perfect World (The Perfect World Series Book 1) (12 page)

“My, what a terrible memory you have, my dear. It’s a fact that no one in this room has finished those worksheets.”

“I have, and you know it. You know I understand this,” Scott challenged, pounding a fist on his desk.

Cyrus sucked in his breath watching the scene with rapt attention. The rest of the class was watching the scene with the same amazement. None of them had ever in their life seen an outburst like this. Scott just continued to lock eyes with their teacher, anger smoldering deep within the black eyes. Ms. Neva stared back just as intensely, her blue eyes ice cold and completely unsympathetic.

After a few tense minutes of the standoff, Ms. Neva deliberately walked up to Scott’s desk. Scott looked up at her without fear or apology. Abruptly, she roughly ruffled Scott’s thick black hair.

“No, you don’t.” Each word was said with a simultaneous pat on the head. When she had said her piece, she let go of him and went back to the board to teach them the lesson again. Her posture and smug smile made it apparent that she thought she had won the argument.

Cyrus looked at Scott to see him giving their teacher a look of pure loathing. Not wanting him to do something else that would get him in trouble, he tapped Scott on the shoulder. Scott turned towards him; his feelings written all over his face.

Cyrus mouthed the words, ”I know you understand it. She’s wrong,” then waited for Scott’s reaction. He didn’t know if it would help, but it was all he could do. Scott nodded back, and his posture slackened as he slumped into his chair. Cyrus was shocked to see that there were tears in Scott’s eyes.

Scott sat in brooding silence for the rest of the school day. When it was finally time to go, he practically jumped out of his chair to get in line. Once Scott got back to his room, he slammed the door shut behind him, the sound ringing out in the silent corridor. Cyrus saw Ms. Linda’s eye gesture with a worried frown, and he had a bad feeling that Scott would not be joining them in class the next couple of days.

When the lock clicked open for him to go to the bathroom, he hastily left the room and ran to it, hoping that Scott would be there. He wasn’t disappointed as Scott was waiting for him by the sinks. He was slouched against one, making it seem as though it was an effort even to stand. His face looked wan, and he seemed very tired. The weight of the world could have been on his shoulders from the looks of it.

“Hey,” Cyrus greeted, feeling a bit worried about the current state of his friend.

“Hi,” Scott spoke with none of his usual energy.

“So, did Ms. Linda tell you that you’re sick?” He dreaded the answer, even though he was pretty sure he knew what it was. Scott nodded, and Cyrus’s heart sank. “Yeah, I thought as much.”

“So what if I am?” Scott lashed out suddenly, causing Cyrus to jump. “I don’t care! I would do it again if I had to. I know I understand that stuff, and I’m tired of having to learn the same thing over and over again! I get it; I do!”

“You don’t have to explain it to me,” Cyrus said quietly. “Believe me, I understand.”

Scott’s shoulders slumped again; the anger drained out of him with his outburst. He went back to just looking tired.

“It’s just, I want to learn more. Everyone says that’s wrong of me, but I don’t think it is.”

“Neither do I.”

“Yes, I know you feel the same way.” Scott sounded melancholic. “I wish it wasn’t just us.”

“I don’t think it is,” Cyrus tried to reassure him. “Remember when Melody spoke to Ms. Amelia on her own? She asked a question to Mr. Warden as well, even though the rules say she shouldn’t.”

The young man thought over his many conversations with Ms. Linda and added, “Also, I think Ms. Linda is on our side too.”

“How so?” Scott inquired curiously.

Cyrus hesitated for a moment, not wanting to get his caretaker in trouble. “Don’t tell this to anyone else, okay?”

“Like who?” Scott said as a joke. When it was clear Cyrus was not amused, he said, “Sorry. I won’t tell anyone else. What is it?”

“One day she caught me building things with some of my things. She told me to stop because it might cause me to get sick. When I told her I couldn’t, she said I should make sure she didn’t see it. Then she left. She didn’t tell anyone else. How many people that we know would have done that?”

“None that we’ve met so far,” Scott admitted. “I’ve noticed that she isn’t as likely to stop me when I speak my mind. She doesn’t encourage it, but she doesn’t get mad either. She doesn’t say much, but I do like her.”

“Yeah, I feel the same way,” Cyrus replied warmly. He was more fond of their caretaker than he wanted to admit. 

“Do you think she would help us?” Scott whispered quietly. “Do you think she would answer our questions?”

Cyrus thought it over. “She answers mine sometimes, but she also tells me I should stop asking. I think she
wants
to, but …”

“Maybe she thinks someone will find out. She doesn’t want to get sick.”

Cyrus nodded. “That’s why I try not to ask her too much. I don’t want to get her in trouble, but I really want some answers.”

Scott stood up straight, seeming to come to a decision. “Okay, I have an idea. Keep asking her questions like you always have. I’m going to ask her if she can help us.”

Cyrus looked at him in surprise, and he grinned.

“She might answer me since I never ask her anything. If I tell her how I feel and she’s like us, then I think she’ll help.”

“True,” Cyrus agreed, though he still felt troubled. “Just, let’s try not to make her sick, okay? I know I’d feel terrible if we did.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful,” Scott said as he started exiting the bathroom. He stopped near the entryway and turned around to face Cyrus again. Another grin was on his face. “Have fun in class.”

“Have fun sleeping,” Cyrus quipped back.

“Have fun getting answers you mean,” Scott said as he exited the bathroom and walked back to his room. Cyrus stared after him for a moment, a small hope in his chest that maybe they could get one more person on their side.

Without Scott around, the next couple of school days were quite dull for Cyrus. His classes moved by so slowly that it was all he could do to keep from falling asleep on his desk. His only relief came from Melody, who looked as if she was as aggravated and bored by the whole process as he was. Occasionally, he could catch her eye from across the room, and they would exchange facial expressions, most of which involved sticking their tongues out while their teachers’ backs were turned.

The only remotely interesting material they got came from social studies class. They were going over the current dynastic family of America, the Bertrand family. The current leader was Aeron Bertrand, and he had been preceded by his mother, Lilith Bertrand. The first dynastic leader was Jack Bertrand, and he was Aeron’s grandfather. He was also the first leader of America under the new Enlightened Society.

Cyrus stared down at the images of the Bertrand family. His green eyes scanned the pictures, and he saw a few similarities between them. The entire family was extremely pale and had slender frames. Both Aeron and his grandfather Jack had black hair, while Lilith had blonde. All three of them shared a set of sharp blue eyes. Each of them had thin, bony looking hands clasped tightly in front of them as they sat in their fancy chairs.

The last thing they had in common, at least in Cyrus’s view, was that they all looked remarkably unpleasant. Each of them had a kindly smile on their faces, trying to portray strength with their postures, but all that Cyrus took from it was that it seemed very fake. The young boy didn’t know why, but he felt that he wouldn’t like any of these people if they ever met.

The pictures stayed in his head even after they had headed back to their rooms. When the lock clicked open, Cyrus headed to the bathroom and hoped Scott would be there this time. He had been wondering if Scott had made any progress with Ms. Linda, and he had been too timid to ask his caretaker himself, in case he ruined their plan.

He wasn’t disappointed. Scott was standing in his usual position by the sink as he entered. The look on Scott’s face made him stop dead in his tracks. His facial expression was screaming of exuberance and his straight-back posture made him seem like he’d won some great victory. The shorter boy was bouncing on his feet, and it seemed to Cyrus that he was trying very hard not to start jumping up and down.

“What’s with you?” Cyrus asked, wondering if he should be worried or excited.

“Our plan worked!” Scott exclaimed doing a little bounce.

“What did …?” Cyrus tried to clarify; then it came to him. “Ms. Linda? Ms. Linda helped you?”

“Yes! Well, sort of. More than she normally does. Come here, look at this!”

Scott pulled a small black book from behind his back. It was thick for its size with yellowing pages. Cyrus stared at the small book, wondering what the big deal was supposed to be. He glanced down at the title and paused at the unfamiliar word on the cover.

“Dictionary? What’s that mean?”

Scott grinned. “I asked Ms. Linda that exact thing when she gave it to me. She says it’s a book from Uncivilized Times that defines all the words of our language.”

“Like a vocabulary book?” Cyrus asked, trying to make a comparison.

“Yeah, like that. Ms. Linda said that when the Enlightened Society began, they changed all the words’ meanings and limited the number that people could learn on their own.”

Cyrus didn’t like the sound of that. “But why would they do that? Wouldn’t it be easier to just use the same words everyone had been using before?”

“Ms. Linda said that in order for the Enlightened Society to work, they needed every person to be taught the same ideas and nothing more,” Scott said, getting more animated with every word. “Think about it! In all our classes, we’re told we can’t ask any questions. We have no choice but to believe them, and we can’t argue. If we all knew the things that people did from uncivilized times, we wouldn’t want to live the way we do now. I’m sure of it!”

Scott brandished the small book in front of him as if it were a weapon. “But with this, we have a chance to learn for ourselves. I just spent my “sick” time comparing the definitions the computer gives us with the ones in this book. Every single one of them is different!” The shorter boy practically shoved the book into Cyrus’s hands. “Here. I want you to take it and look for yourself. Give it back to me by next week, okay? I want to use it when we get our new words during the computer lessons.”

“Then, you’ll give it back to me?” Cyrus asked, just making sure.

“Of course.”

“Did Ms. Linda tell you anything else?”

“Just to keep the book between me and her,” Scott admitted a little guiltily. “I don’t think she’d mind if you knew though.”

“I don’t think so either. I like Ms. Linda, and I don’t want her to get sick.”

“Me neither.” Scott’s eyes wandered towards the exit. “I should probably go, but we’ll talk again soon. I want to know what you think.” Scott glanced at the dictionary once more before he went on his way.

Cyrus hurried through his business and eagerly went back to his room, book in hand. As he shut the door behind him, he flipped open the first pages of the book and saw the date on the inside. His green eyes widened at the sight.

2050? This book is that old?

The young boy made his way over to his desk and pulled out his notebook. He opened it to the first page of vocabulary words and compared every word with the dictionary. Just as Scott had told him, all the definitions had been changed.

After comparing a few of the words, Cyrus got his pen and began writing the older definitions next to the ones the computer had given him in his notebook. He was so engrossed in his work that he jumped when he heard the lock to his door click open. The young boy realized too late that he hadn’t even heard his dinner arrive when his caretaker walked in.

Cyrus stared at her for a moment, wondering if he should try to hide the dictionary. All those thoughts fled from him as his caretaker’s sharp eyes spotted the book in question. Cyrus tried his best to look sheepish while Ms. Linda gave him a look of pure irritation.

“I suppose that’s the best I could have expected from two seven-year-old boys.”

“I’m almost eight,” Cyrus thought about it a moment, “I think.”

Ms. Linda simply ignored him. She went over to his food slot, pulled out his dinner of a sandwich and planted it on the desk in front of him.

“You have thirty seconds to eat that sandwich young man,” Ms. Linda informed him as she revealed a small wristwatch underneath her clothes.

Cyrus decided it was best not to test her and unwrapped the sandwich. He nearly gagged as he chewed a big mouthful of peanut butter and apricot jelly. His disgust must have showed up on his face because Ms. Linda smiled for a few seconds before her stern expression returned.

As he tried to manage a few more big bites of the sandwich, Ms. Linda started talking again.

“I’m not going to ask how you got that dictionary, Cyrus. It’s best if I don’t know. However, I can ask you to be very careful. If you get caught, you’re going to have to answer some questions that could lead to all three of us being declared sick. The kind of sickness that leads to going there.” Ms. Linda pointed out towards the glowing Quarantine Dome. “Do you understand?”

Cyrus nodded vigorously, his mouth full of sticky peanut butter. He swallowed noisily, made a face and pulled his cup from his desk. He went over to the sink, filled it with water and gulped it down to wash the taste from his mouth.

“Ms. Linda?” Cyrus asked as she threw away his sandwich garbage. “Will this,” he pointed towards the dictionary, “help me answer some of my questions?”

“It should.”

“Like the questions no one at school will answer, and I’m not allowed to ask?”

“Some of them,” Ms. Linda hedged before she gently set down her bag. She went over to Cyrus and knelt down so that she could look him in the eye. “I know it’s difficult for you to not be able to ask why. I also know this won’t answer all the questions you have. All I ask is that you be patient.”

“Patient?”

“Yes, patient. Just wait a while.” Ms. Linda’s eyes moved quickly towards the computer and then back to him. “Someday, maybe, you’ll get to see more of the answers you’re looking for.”

“See them?” Cyrus repeated.

“Yes, see them, though that may not happen for a while. If at all.” She stood up and collected her garbage bag. “As I said before, Cyrus, some of the information in that book will help you. Just be sure you’re careful with it.”

“I will,” he promised her as she exited the room. Then he went back to his dictionary and notebook. Maybe it wouldn’t answer all of his questions, but he didn’t think he could properly express how happy he was to even be able to answer a single question on his own. That kind of experience, so new to him, was one thing he could never waste.