Chapter Three

He let his upcar hover just outside the drop-tube of his SchoolTM. The vehicle protested with an unhealthy grating sound. It was an old model: a yellow Dodge Pheonix he'd got from a friend. The friend had been desperate to get rid of it.

The thought of a day in SchoolTM made him feel tired. Exhausted. He'd been awake all night at work for the Coalition and would have been more than happy to sleep through the day, if it weren't for the suspicion he'd arouse if he didn't attend his classes at least once in a week. Sighing, he scanned the parking lot for a place to leave the Dodge.

Hey.

He spotted a space and glanced around for incoming traffic.

Jule.

He sped towards the space and settled his upcar into it carefully.

Hey. Okay today? Jule?

Jule sighed again. He knew Ember, knew she'd keep chatting him until he answered.

Hey, Ember. Okay. I'm supposed to be at SchoolTM. Okay?

Oh. Well, okay. But-

But what, Em?

Come over and I'll tell you.

He rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand.

Look, Ember. I'm late in like one minute. He loathed himself for slipping into feed-talk.

Jule, I'm being bombarded.

Well, you know what to do. Don't delete it all at once, you'll just get it right back again. Cache it. Then delete it slowly, like you're hearing what the messages say. Remember you have to-

It's okay, Jule baby.

What? He gritted his teeth. He had his suspicions.

I'm not being bombarded. Did I make you late for SchoolTM?

He watched as the leaves on the model trees surrounding the parking lot slowly grew red.

Yeah, you did, Ember.

I guess that means you'll have to come over here now?

He didn't need to answer. He pulled his Dodge back towards the drop-tube. There was always tomorrow for SchoolTM. Now, all he wanted was to sleep.

As his upcar fell downwards, he groaned again.

No chance of that, where Ember was concerned.

She was waiting outside when he arrived, squinting at a crack in her neighbourhood's dome as it let orange light in. It wasn't much of a home, they both knew, but infinitely better than having to share rooms at the Coalition. He parked his Dodge well out of reach of the harmful glow: it was unlikely he'd be able to afford another upcar – even second-hand – if this one got fried.

Ember disappeared into the house as Jule approached the door and, shrugging, let himself in. With the girl nowhere to be seen, he took the opportunity to rest, collapsing onto a familiar couch and closing his eyes. The couch expanded around him. As he lay there, he was vaguely away that his cache was full. He knew he should empty it. It would be just his luck for him to receive urgent Coalition information, and not have the storage capacity to accommodate it.

Still…Unlikely. Later, he told himself. Do it later. Right now, he wanted to sleep.

Jule.

He'd almost been there; he'd seen that short jump between awake and asleep ahead of him. And now he'd just been caught in mid-leap and flown back to consciousness.

Jule, listen. It's me.

Ember. Even his chat was slow, like his mind. Ember, where are you?

There was a pause, so he rolled over, settling down again. Sleep was so close.

Ember? What – Jule, it's me, Violet.

He jerked upright, forgetting about rest. The couch made a sound like suction as it drooped back to its original shape.

Violet!

Yeah, uh…who's Ember?

Look, doesn't matter. Why are you chatting me?

I don't know. I was bored? I needed to talk to somebody from the past…there was only one person I could…you know? You're the only one who doesn't hate me for what I –

He put the transmission on hold as he heard the kitchen door slide open.

"Jule? You okay? I found snacks." It was Ember. She shook a packet of Cheese Things at him. It was a vacuum pack, and didn't make a noise as it shook.

He sighed inwardly and broke the feed connection, meaning to cache his conversation with Violet for later playback. He remembered his full cache a second too late and swore, wishing – as he rarely did – that his feed was a more efficient model. He couldn't clear his cache without deleting his latest chat first. His chat with Violet.

Ember moved across the room and sat down next to him, the couch expanding again. Jule found himself sliding towards the girl as the chair tipped, and in a matter of seconds his chin was squashed firmly against her shoulder, her hip digging into his waist. At any other time, he'd have been content with the situation. Today, he wished he'd chosen any other seat but this to collapse on. He thought fast.

"Have you been to talk to those girls at the tunnel yet?"

Ember looked at him oddly, then began to wrestle with the seal on the bag of CheeseThings.

"No, actually. Why?"

"I think you should."

"I'm going to! I just haven't had time-"

"Oh, well. Okay." He felt annoyed. "But remember, they're potential Coalition recruits. You know your-"

"-My job." She finished for him, bored. "What's bothering you, Jule?"

"Nothing."

From the corner of his eye he saw Ember raise a hand slowly towards his cheek. He was so tired. He didn't want this; not now. He'd tell her.

Violet chatted me a few minutes ago.

He loathed himself for his cowardice; he hadn't dared to say it aloud. Nonetheless, he was satisfied with the result the news had on Ember.

"Violet? What did she want with you? She was supposed to have…"

"Disassociated herself with the Coalition. I know. I cut her off before she told me why."

"Did you store the chat? Send it to me."

He shook his head. "My cache was full."

Ember considered him for a moment, a look on her face that Jule could not recognise or begin to understand. She nodded, slowly.

"Okay. But don't forget what she did. Just 'cause she decides to chat you after all this time…don't think you can trust her."

Feeling green, Ember Wood?
Don't worry!
It doesn't have to be the colour of envy! Why not feel green and help improve our environment? Simply donate your credit and you could be contributing towards newer, more efficient air factories!
So think about it, Miss Wood; don't feel jealous when you could be feeling-