[Day 298] Eugenia part 15

Read part 14 here!

The first thing I did after introducing Julie to her new home was go to see Decklan. He’d stayed silent for three weeks, so I figured it was safe to go one step further. This would test the boundaries.

It was raining as I jogged into town and made for the grocery store where he worked, so my long sleeved hoodie wasn’t out of place. He wasn’t working when I got there, but a glance at the clock on the wall reminded me that he wasn’t out of school quite yet. As I browsed the store for a treat for Julie, I contemplated how much I’d missed in the classes I was unofficially taking.

Halfway through deciding between a gummy candy and a sour one, Decklan walked in from the rain, drenched. His hair looked even more unkempt than normal, slicked in all directions from the rain, but his eyes shone excitedly, and I actually smiled. Someone else who enjoyed the rain.

Slipping both bags of candy into my bag, positioned in a way that hid me from the solitary store camera, I followed Decklan to his cash register. He nodded to the girl who had been running it before him as she picked up her things and left, cringing at the scene outside.

When I approached, Decklan didn’t seem surprised. “I was wondering if I was going to see you again. Where have you been?”

“Traveling.” I answered honestly. “How have you been?”

“Look. I don’t even know who you are. Don’t pretend that we’re buddies. What the hell do you want from me?”

Glancing briefly at the camera, I leaned in and lowered my voice. “Just how against the eugenics system are you?”

“A lot. Don’t you think it’s wrong?” I appreciated the leap of faith. We were casually discussing treason as complete strangers, and there was really no reason to trust me.

“I don’t think,” I replied, rolling up my sleeve. “I know.”

Decklan stared at the unblemished skin of my forearm. “What, are you wearing makeup or something? Is this a political statement?”

I laughed. “I guess it’s a political statement, but look, no makeup.” I rubbed at my skin, revealing that I was telling the truth.

“Who are you?”

“That’s not important right now. How old are you?”

“How old am- twenty. I’m twenty. Why? What’s going on?”

Shaking my head, I backed away. “Another time. Just think about it for a while. You’ll be seeing me.”

He nodded mutely, considering the situation I had presented.

Julie excitedly inhaled the candy I took her, and I watched her eat smiling.

Once finished with her food, she took out a sketchbook she had smuggled to her execution site and began to draw. Like most of the things she drew, it didn’t really have a form, but there was a sort of simple beauty in the way she did it. Sometimes, I just watched her sketch for hours, and sometimes I took advantage of the blissful silence, which was rare now that Julie was around, and wrote in my own notebook. I wasn’t so sure about myself, but Julie was talented, and I was furious even more often with my society for wanting her dead, thinking her useless. It was sick, and it needed to change.

Maybe something was about to start getting better. It was about time.

Continued in part 16!