Twell and the Rebellion (15 page)

“
Why is being noticed your
new priority?” he asked sharply.

The officers appeared
quick and silent, from the southern end of the hall. Standing
slightly behind them, was Avin. His face was steeled for my wrath,
his arms crossed stubbornly over his chest. I glared at him in
outrage as five officers moved in a circle around Jonaz and myself,
blocking his traitorous face from my sight. Jonaz’s eyes widened in
alarm and he took another rapid step away from me, his palms
extended out to show he meant no trouble.

“
Do we need to physically
separate you two?” one of the officers asked. “Or perhaps one of
you would benefit from solitary isolation to understand the weight
of your disobedience?”

You could hear the intake of
breath from the cadets around us as the tension hitched in the
room.

“No,” Jonaz said quickly.
“There’s no need for that at all…I’m going.” He backed off further
until he’d retreated behind the officers, his eyes pleading with me
to drop it. My heart sank to a low and lonely place. I understood
he was trying to protect me, but the humiliation and isolation of
it was more painful than his good intentions. The officers’ heads
all swivelled to me at the same time, and their expressions were
identical with expectation, waiting for me to bend to our laws. I
glanced behind me where Shanna, Kina, and Talon had sunk silently
onto a table, as mute as the rest of the room. Shanna’s face was
passively blank, but she mouthed a word that I hoped was
‘
enough.’

“It was a coincidence,” I
said finally. “I didn’t know I’d see him.” It was the truth at
least. I hadn’t planned it. And I hoped it shed no blame on Jonaz.
I didn’t want him punished for my stupidity. Or bravery. Depending
on how you looked at it.

“
Go and sit down then,”
the officer commanded. "But the next time you are so careless as to
run into each other, will be your last time.”

There was a collective
gasp in the room, as an icy sensation trailed slowly down my spine.
On Como, we never talked about what would actually happen if you
tried to disobey the rules, because no one ever dared to break
them. But through my actions I’d revealed the truth to every cadet.
Our Governing Body, who championed themselves as peaceful leaders,
promised punishment as a consequence of our disobedience. And if
fear was their way of controlling our will, how could we continue
to believe in their goodness, or truly obey them in our
hearts?
Righteous anger coursed through me and I lifted my chin in
defiance.

“
Thank you.” My voice rang
loud and clear across the room, like a challenge. As I observed the
alarm in everyone’s expressions, I hoped they would realize I was
thanking the officers for clarifying the truth. The truth I
intended to fight against. I turned away from the officers, and
away from both Jonaz and Avin, unsure who I was madder at. The
scrutiny of hundreds of eyes following me was overwhelming as I
sunk shakily into the only seat conveniently left besides Shanna.
The officers dispersed, no doubt taking up station where they could
observe and control any fall out or retaliation. The table of
recruits beamed at me as I writhed with guilt and worry.

“Listen
!” Kaelin said. Her eyes
shone with excitement as I listened with increasing dread to the
murmurs of gossips rippling around our table. Just then, the gleam
in Kaelin’s eyes faded as a figure appeared behind me, reflected in
her irises.

“
Kaelin?” Dallein’s voice
was thick with confusion. “What are you doing?”

“
Having morning meal
obviously,” Kaelin replied, her tone a weave of both annoyance and
guilt.

“
Okay…” Dallein shifted
uncomfortably under the watchful gaze of everyone at the table.
“Can I join you?”

Kaelin flashed a hesitant glance
at Shanna, who stared back with steely eyes. She gave her head a
barely perceptible shake.

“
Er, I’d rather you
didn’t,” she muttered at the table.

“
What?” Dallein
spluttered. Abruptly his gaze swivelled over to Shanna, his eyes
narrowed. Then he looked back at Kaelin and his features darkened.
“Kaelin, what’s going on?” His voice cracked a little as he tried
to hold his composure. “Come and talk with me.”

“
No! I don’t want to.”
Kaelin lifted her chin to glare at him.

“
Why are you doing this?”
Dallein snapped, his eyes flashing with anger. “Are you trying to
humiliate me?”

“
I’m doing this for your
own good, for both of us!” she replied, her voice carrying across
the room. “Now go away!”

Dallein stood gaping at her for
several moments, his jaw clenched so tightly it shook. Then he
looked out at the mass of faces eagerly watching the new drama and
collected himself. “Fine have it your way. But don’t expect me to
defend you when you get arrested. I’ll tell them you refused to
comply and gave me no choice.”

“I’m trying to
give
you a
choice!” Kaelin’s eyes were wide with distress and rapidly filling
with tears.

“
Please don’t pretend you
care anything for my welfare,” Dallein shot back, pointing his
finger at her accusingly. “You haven’t considered anyone else’s
feelings but your own since the day we met.” With that, he spun
around and stalked off.

Every table in earshot
fell quiet, and the silence crept from one table to the next until
the officers in the middle noticed and stood up, their sharp eyes
searching for the source of trouble. Kaelin’s shoulders shook as
she tried to hold back her tears, while Talon patted her back
awkwardly, trying to comfort her. Unable to find anything to
pinpoint, the officers returned to their meals but stayed alert.
The northern end of the room was thick with tension and no one
spoke for a moment, not daring to draw any more
attention.

“
Well done, Kaelin, you
have no idea how much good you just did for our cause!” Shanna
whispered across the table when she couldn’t bear to stay silent
any longer.

“
I…I hurt him…” she
replied in a half sob. “I didn’t want that…”

“Well, it can’t be
helped,” Shanna replied without sympathy. “I
never promised that wouldn’t happen, but it’s a necessary
evil if we’re going to make a difference.”

Kaelin only nodded, her
expression miserable. I was about to ask Shanna when she was
planning to put herself out there and cop some pain, when Avin
appeared, sliding between Shanna and I so smoothly I was too
surprised to protest.

Shanna found her voice before
me. “Are you lost?” she sneered. “The brainwashed table is right
over there.”

Ignoring her, he turned his back
to block her out and stared defiantly at me. “I warned you I’d
fight for us.” His eyes pierced mine in challenge and I trembled
with anger at the same time my heart beat inexplicably faster.

“
You told me you didn’t
want to see me hurt!”

“I told them nothing about
last night, as I assured you I wouldn't, Twell. I only reported
what I saw right in front of me today, and I have every right to
put a stop to that.”

Fuming, I opened my mouth to
retaliate, but something in his gaze stopped me. The intensity I
found there threw me and I swallowed, suddenly tongue-tied.

“You know, in the old
world they had a saying, ‘
all’s fair in love and war,’”
Avin murmured. “So please try to remember that when you’re
plotting your revenge.”

Shanna gave him a look so
dirty it made me want to go and wash. “How old are you? Like, 3.000
moons?”

Ignoring Shanna, he got up
and walked away. I gaped after him, completely at a loss for a
retort and trying desperately to hold onto my
anger for him. At a light tap on my shoulder, I turned to
see Sazika hovering behind me, her eyes wide with
caution.

“
I have a message for
you,” she murmured warily as the others regarded her with open
curiosity.

“Okay, can we catch up
later?” I cast her a frantic ‘
not now’
stare. Frowning, Sazika
backed away from the table.

“Sazika, wait!” Jumping up
I moved over to her before she could disappear.

“
What’s going on?” Sazika
whispered. “I saw the way Avin just looked at you, and people are
talking…”

“
I can’t explain right
now, but I promise I will.” I tried to sound reassuring, hating the
troubled look on my friends face.

“
I really hope you can.”
Sazika’s small face was white with concern in contrast to her
brilliant red hair.

She turned to walk away, but I
caught her arm. “Wait, tell me now what Jonaz said.” Sazika
hesitated for a second before she stood on tiptoe to whisper into
my ear.

“Okay, thanks!” I replied.
It was only a couple of days away and based on my current mood
towards him I’d probably survive without seeing him again for that
long. Relieved, I gave Sazika a tentative smile. “Really, thank
you…is he okay, you know…after what I just did?”

“He’s just worried about
you,” Sazika answered softly. A huge wave of guilt washed over me
and my stomach tightened back into worried knots. As she walked
off, I stared sadly after her, too depressed to move until everyone
rising to leave the hall roused me from my self-pity.

“
How’s lover boy then?”
Shanna appeared at my side as I followed the crowds out towards the
pale sunshine. It figured she would guess what Sazika had wanted.
Stupid she wasn’t.

“
None of your business,” I
snapped, whirling on her. “And if you play me again without my
input or agreement, I’m out.”

“
Ha! Too late for that!”
Shanna cried, unaffected by my death glare. “Just look at the
effect you’ve had already. You’ve really started something!” Shanna
was right. The feeling of being watched increased until I couldn’t
stand it. I’d had enough guilt and angst for one morning. Breaking
away, I bolted for the doors, pushing through everybody to reach
the exit and drink in huge gulps of fresh air. Then I kept walking
at a pace no one could keep up with until I reached the training
arena. I hoped my ticked off body language might keep people away,
but no sooner had I put a foot through the door of the arena than I
was swamped by cadets all wanting the gossip straight from the
source. I noted with small relief that Kina and Lavi were not yet
among the dozens of faces staring eagerly at me.

“
Are you seeing that Jonaz
guy?” A pretty brown haired girl grabbed my arm with excitement.
“You’re so lucky—he’s so handsome and mysterious!”

“
Mysterious?” I started to
laugh, but Shanna’s loud opinion as she joined the discussion
drowned me out.

“Of course she is. They
are totally together,” Shanna said, looking at me proudly like I
was her protégé. “Of course, it’s supposed to be a
secret.”
As soon as the word ‘
secret’
popped out of Shanna’s
big mouth I knew things had already spun out of my control. The use
of that word guaranteed that within a day possibly the entire
population of the training centre would hear that I was having an
illegal affair with someone else’s partner. I went cold with
dread.

“
That is soooo romantic!”
the girl gushed, then she gasped. “What’s your partner going to
do?”

“
Jonaz will deal with him
if there’s trouble,” Shanna assured her.

“No he will
not
!” I
actually tried to hurt her with my eyeballs as I glared.

“Why, is your match
dangerous? Are you worried Jonaz will get hurt?” the girl breathed
hopefully.

Her friends pressed closer,
their eyes hungry for drama and their hands clasped to their chests
as if the scandal was almost too much for them.

“
Ha!” Shanna boasted.
“Jonaz could wipe the floor with him.”

“
Stop it,” I growled. “No
one’s fighting anyone! I’m not anyone’s property!” I stopped,
surprised I’d managed to make a valid point amongst the
chaos.

“
But what will you do
about the partnering?” murmured another girl who looked afraid to
even be asking.

“
Why, make a case to the
G.B. of course,” Shanna replied, as if the answer was
obvious.

“
Are you serious?” another
guy said, eyeing me with respect. “At first I thought you were just
a troublemaker, but if you are actually serious...”

“Twell’s
totally
serious when it comes to freedom of choice, aren’t you
Twell?” Shanna said looking pointedly at me. She had me. Even
though I
totally
wanted to strangle her, I couldn’t deny the
truth.

“
Yes,” I said quietly. “I
don’t think anyone should be forced to be matched against their
will.”

“
What about necessity
then?” A large girl with spiky blonde hair pushed her way to the
front of the crowd. “Would you have our planet decline in
population and risk being overcome by the Abwarzians, just so you
can have a stupid romance? How selfish are you?” Her tone and
posture were so aggressive I tensed up, trying to control my
nerves.

“
I’m not just doing this
for myself!” I protested. “I look around and see so many of us
heartbroken, or simply miserable with the results of the
partnering. I know people here who’ve been forced away from the
person they love, just because of a few differences in
DNA!”