Julia Karr - Truth

“Can I go with her to the Bureau, Dad?” Wei asked.

Mr. Jenkins shook his head. “They’ll be making records of whoever shows up with any interest in Mr. Oberon’s case. The fewer people who are concerned with him, the safer it is for everyone.”

“I’ll be fine.” Yeah , I thought, I’ve already been there once—and nearly got arrested . Why should going back be any scarier? Right. I’d be terrified. But that was two whole days away. The way things were going in my life, anything could happen in two days.

“Dad,” Wei said. “Have you heard anything about the FeLS information that you gave to Nina’s dad?”

“As a matter of fact, there should be an announcement soon. I believe it’s important enough that it will come as an Alert.”

“ Très cool! You’re the best.”

Mr. Jenkins smiled. “I try. Now, you girls go on. I’ve got work to do.”

We went back to the apartment. My apartment.

“You want to hang out?” I asked Wei.

“Of course. It’s either stay here with you or more piano. I’ve already worn my fingers to the bone today.”

Dee popped her head in my room. “Guess who I was just talking to.”

“Maddie?”

“Nuh-uh.” She beamed. “Miss Maldovar!”

“Really? School’s out until after New Year’s. What did she want?”

“I’m her assistant, remember?”

“Yes, but still…” This was the first time I could ever remember hearing of a teacher calling a student over break. “So?”

“She was wondering if I had any free time over the holidays to go with her to the Museum of Science and Industry. She wants to maybe set up a classroom visit in January.”

“That sounds like fun,” Wei said.

I frowned. First time I’d heard of classroom assistants doing things out of the classroom. And there was something about Miss Maldovar… even though I’d seen her just the one time. Her expression, maybe? No, it was the way she’d looked at me as I left Rosie’s—like she knew things about me that she shouldn’t know. Whatever. The huge smile on Dee’s face made me swallow what I wanted to say.

“Don’t be mad.” Dee bit her lip and scuffed her feet, like she used to do when she had to tell Ginne she’d done something she knew was wrong.

“What did you do?” I tried to keep the irritation out of my voice, but wasn’t successful.

“I told her, Miss Maldovar, about the writ.” Her chin quivered.

“Dee! How could you blab our family problems to someone we hardly know?” I couldn’t believe my little sister could be so stupid. We were being watched all the time, and she’s volunteering information to strangers.

“I know her really well. She’s been my teacher for over a month now.” Fire came back in her eyes. “She thought it was awful, Nina. She said if there was anything she could do, she’d be glad to.”

Uneasiness niggled at the base of my neck. That Miss Maldovar knew this about us, something indirectly related to my father, Dee’s father, made me really uncomfortable. “You can thank her, but Mrs. Jenkins is going with us to the hearing. We’ll be fine without your teacher’s help.”

“She was just being nice,” Dee said. “I don’t know why you don’t like her.”

“It’s not that I don’t like her. I just don’t think everyone needs to know our business, that’s all.”

“I guess.” She started to her room but turned back. “Hey, Maddie called earlier. Can I spend the night at her house?”

“Dee, isn’t there enough going on right now? I don’t want you taking the trans by yourself at night, and it’s nearly dark out.” I knew even as I heard the words coming out of my mouth that I sounded just like a mom.

Wei, who had been standing by quietly during our whole conversation, said, “Hey, Nina, I think everyone needs to get their mind off of things. Why don’t we go to Soma tonight? We were going to anyway, before all this stuff happened. I actually told Derek I was staying here with you tonight, but maybe we should go. It could be fun. We could surprise him; I bet Chris would drive us, and we can drop Dee off at Maddie’s.”

I started to protest, but a night with my friends seemed like exactly what I needed to keep me sane. “Sounds good.” The only thing that would make it better would be if Sal was there. Since I hadn’t heard from him after our far-too-short conversation at the hospital, I figured there’d be a molecular chance of that happening. I knew he was on NonCon biz, like my father.

Dee went to her room to gather up things for her night at Maddie’s. When I was sure she was out of earshot, I said, “I don’t make the best mother, do I?”

“I think you’re doing great,” she said. Her PAV alarm beeped. “I almost forgot! We’re supposed to meet with the Sisterhood. Do you feel up to it? If not, I’ll call and postpone.”

“No. No. I want to.” It would be something to focus on besides my upcoming appearances with B.O.S.S. and in court.

“Let’s head up to my room, we’ll call from there.”

Dee was busy talking to Maddie, paying me only enough attention to wave to me on my way upstairs.

“Before I click us all on together,” Wei said, “I need to warn you… Paulette Gold is one of the Sisterhood.”

“Paulette?” I bet she wanted to be in a group with me as much I did with her.

“Yeah. I couldn’t help but notice the other day when I mentioned her, you were, well… you didn’t seem to like her.”

“I don’t like her because I think she’s after Sal,” I said bluntly. “They’re always together, you know. I mean, I know he’s off doing something NonCon, but she’s with him. Or was. At least, she was there in the background when I called him at the hospital. I don’t trust her, I think she’s got ulterior motives.”

“You’re not wrong. I know she’s got this thing for him. But I also know that he doesn’t think of her as anything except someone who helps him out. She’s useful—with her family’s connections, she can go to all kinds of places none of the rest of us can. And since Sal is a trannie whiz, her dad sets him up as a driver or mechanic. It’s a perfect cover.”

“So what did she say when you talked to the Sisterhood about me?”

“Uh… not much. Honestly, she was about as happy as you are right now. But the other girls are thrilled. Wait until you tell them what you did today, taking those meds down to the Bureau! Nina, you even freak me out with your guts. And I am not easily freaked.”

I took a deep breath and let it out. I freaked myself out sometimes. “Okay,” I said. “Let’s do it.”

She clicked on her receiver, and three panels appeared on the wall. Paulette in one. Two girls in another. And a single girl in the third.

“Hey, everyone. This is Nina Oberon.”

“Hi!” The single girl waved. “I’m Magrit. But my friends call me Mag.”

I waved back.

“Brie and Dorrie here.” A petite girl with blond, curly hair waved. Her arm was tucked around the waist of a tall, willowy girl whose deep brown skin contrasted beautifully with the paleness of the other. They sat back, an obvious couple.

“Hey,” I said.

“I’m Paulette.” Her voice was sharp as a blade. One she’d probably like to bury deep inside me, from the look she gave me. Anger shot through me, but I held it in.

She clearly knew who I was, but I didn’t know if she was aware that I knew who she was. If I wanted to be in the Sisterhood, I would need to figure out how to get along with this girl. I realized, if she was here on this call, then she wasn’t with Sal, wherever he was. So maybe Wei was right. Maybe she was just a necessary evil to endure, as Pops would say. Thinking of it that way made my “Hi, Paulette” sound a lot nicer than it would’ve otherwise.