Sleeping Jenny (16 page)

“Good morning, Jennifer. I trust you slept well.”

“I need you to do a search for me.”

C-7 scanned the living room, and I wrapped my hands around his arm. The metal felt cold and hard under my fingers. I whispered, “Please. There's something I need to know.”

He checked the hallway, but Len had gone back to her room. Valex and Pell sat on the couch playing Pixie Swap. His head buzzed as he glanced down at my hands on his arm. “Very well. Give me your search parameters.”

I nodded, trying to find the courage to say what I suspected. “I need to know who Maxim Fairweller's ancestors are, from my generation in two-thousand-twelve. Is it anyone from Ridgewood Prep?”

C-7 blinked, and his head buzzed like a computer during a really big download. “Affirmative.”

My heart jumped to my throat and thought I was going to be

sick. “Who?”

“There are several strands of the family tree, but one leads directly to two students attending the same years as you.”

It was too much of a coincidence to be made up. I knew the names before he said them.

C-7 stared at me, and although his eyes should have been cold, a spark of compassion glowed there. “Chad Foster and Angela Buffet.”

I fell back against the wall fridge and slumped to the floor.

“Jennifer, are you okay?”

“No.” I'd kissed a descendant of the boy I used to like and my best friend. Combined. How screwed up was that?

C-7 put a cold hand on my forehead. “Your temperature is two degrees above normal. Should I call for Valex and Len?”

“No, no, no.” They'd ask me what I was upset about, and I couldn't talk to anyone about this. It was just plain too weird. “I'm fine. I just need to go back to my room and rest.”

As I stumbled away, gripping the wall for support, I realized why I felt such a connection to Maxim. He had everything I liked about Angela inside him, along with Chad's hotness. The thought of kissing him made me excited and squirmy at the same time. Was it like kissing my best friend?

My head ached just thinking about it. I pulled the disc adapter out of my wallscreen and sank back into bed, cursing myself for watching another window to the past.

Those videos were like a game of roulette. Every other one shot me in the foot. Or more like the heart.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Eighteen

T
wo weeks later, I sat on my bed, checking my miniscreen for any messages from Jax or Maxim. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

I tried the Timesurfers for the zillionth time and no one answered.

Maxim's card rested on my dresser, gathering dust. He sat with Exara every day at lunch, stealing guilty looks at me from across the cafeteria. I tried not to look in their direction, but every so often I couldn't help it, trying to find a part of Angela's face inside his. It took me a while to get over the grossed-out factor of my mixed-up relationships, but after I accepted it I found myself drawn to Maxim more, as if spending time with him would recapture what I had had with Angela. He was a gorgeous guy and a best friend combined. But I couldn't have him. Even if he liked me back. Just thinking about it tore me apart, like reading
Romeo and Juliet
. Except we weren't dead.

In an effort to focus on the present and not the past, I stayed away from the videos and spent time with Valex, Len, and Pell. Pretty soon, a whole month had passed since I'd seen any of my real family's faces. At first, I was scared I'd forget what they looked like, that their features would blur in my memory. That didn't happen. I could still picture Mom's bright eyes and the stern, quizzical face Dad made whenever Timmy threw one of his toys. Things were as normal as they could be living three hundred years in the future with a substitute family and no animals besides a cloned cat who hated me. My life sounded like a sitcom that was destined to fail.

“Want to help me pick a birthday present for Pell?” Len stood in my doorway, jolting me out of my miserable reverie.

I had homework to do, but I needed to get away from my minis-creen and out of my room before my head burst from boredom and waiting for things that would never happen. “Sure.”

“Excellent. Valex took Pell on a sightseeing trip to the greenhouses, so we can use the wallscreen in the living room.”

I stood up, gave my miniscreen one last backward glance, and followed Len into the hallway.
What if it beeps while I'm gone?
I had to face reality—if no one had called me for weeks, no one was going to call me in the twenty minutes it would take to choose a present for Pell. I had to detach myself before I started plugging the battery cord into my arm.

“I'm so thankful for all the time you spend with Pell.” Len settled onto the couch and turned on the wallscreen.

“She's a sweetie. I love her.”

“She looks up to you. She's always wanted a bigger sister.” Len didn't move to search the cybernet.

What's on her mind?

She never did anything random. Every move seemed like a gentle nudge. My heart quickened. Did she know about Maxim or the Timesurfers?

“When we heard you'd be awakened, I was nervous to bring someone into our house. Yes, Pell wanted a bigger sister, but I didn't want to disappoint her if you didn't like us and wanted to live somewhere else.”

“Besides my real home in 2012, I'd never want to live somewhere else. You and Valex have been so welcoming. If I'm quiet, it's my fault. Getting a new family and having everyone I know being gone is hard.”

Len put a tentative hand over mine. Her fingers were dry and cold. “I can't imagine. I'm always here if you want to talk.”

“Thanks.” For a second, I considered telling her everything—my feelings for Maxim, going to the Timesurfer meeting, missing my family. But I couldn't bring myself to say any of it out loud. The hurt cut too deep for words, and speaking of it would only magnify the pain.

“I wanted to let you know you've exceeded all of our expectations. You're a brave young woman, and I know you'll do wonderful things in this world.”

Guilt came over me like sappy sauce, all sticky and sickly sweet. What would she say if she knew I'd applied for a scout position with the Timesurfers, leaving them all behind? I kept my mouth shut. I wasn't sure I'd go through with it anyway, even if they picked me. The thought of entering cryosleep again still freaked me out.

“So, what are you thinking of getting Pell?”

Len pressed a panel in the arm of the couch and the search engine for the cybernet flashed on, a glimmering pixel leading to infinity. She typed in Pixie Swap, and a dozen options filled the screen, from pink, fuzzy pixie slippers to pixie tunics and higher-leveled games.

“Wow, she'd like everything up there.” I pointed to the slippers, noticing how the sides glittered like fairy feathers. “I really think she'd like these the most.”

“That's what I thought.” Len pressed a button and added the slippers to her virtual shopping cart.

“Your birthday's coming up, soon, too. The big eighteen.”

More like three hundred and two plus eighteen, but I didn't correct her. “Yeah, it's hard to imagine I'll be legal to make all my own decisions, to vote.” Although, in this day and age, I had no idea who to vote for.

“Have you thought about what you want?”

I slumped back against the couch. No one could give me what I really wanted—a hug from my parents, a ride on Thunderbolt, a game of Transformers with Timmy. Funny how life worked. When I was with them, I wanted a salt-water fish tank, an African safari, material things. “No.”

“Valex and I talked about throwing a party for you, having some friends over.”

I pictured Exara coming over loaded with insults and Maxim meeting Jax. My brain short-circuited. “That's not necessary. Really.” I had to think of something quick before she sent out invitations. “How about we celebrate as a family, just the four of us?”

Len smiled.

Thank God
. The last thing I wanted was my complicated life put on display.

“That would be wonderful. What a great idea.”

“I'd love to watch some movies from my childhood. I know Pell would like some of the cartoons.”

Len nodded. “I can arrange that. Give me a list and I'll see what's still downloadable.”

“Okay. I'll work on it.”

“Thanks for helping me.”

“No problem.” It was actually kinda fun. The exchange with Len broke a barrier in my heart. I was growing to like her gentle way of persuasion. Even though she wasn't my real mom, she was pretty cool. “Anytime.”

Len shifted uneasily on the sofa. “I'm not expecting you to ever call me
Mom.”
She picked at a hole in the couch with her fingernail. Sadness tinged her normally bright eyes. “I know what it's like to lose someone you really care about. How the loss eats a hole out of your soul until you think you'll never feel complete again.”

I stared in silence. I'd never seen a crack in Len's composure. I didn't think such a thing like crying happened in her perfect world.

Len breathed deeply. “I know I put up a good front. It's my defense. My mom died in a hovercraft accident when I was Pell's age. Since then, nothing's ever been the same. Putting a smile on helps me convince myself that life goes on.”

“I'm sorry. I didn't know—” I was such an idiot to think Len had never felt my pain.

Her bottom lip quivered. “My aunt stepped in. So did my grandmother and my older cousin. None of them could replace her, even if they wanted to.”

All this time I'd thought she was trying to take Mom's place. I'd built a wall of resentment against the one person who could truly understand me.

Len straightened, dabbing at the corner of her eyes. “I should have told you sooner.”

“No.” I wiggled closer, putting am arm around her shoulders. “I'm glad you told me now.”

Something beeped from the hallway, and we both jerked up and laughed. I still wasn't used to all the new noises in their house. “Is that the dry cycle on the dishwasher?”

“No.” Len listened, titling her head. “Sounds like your miniscreen.”

My miniscreen!
I raised my eyebrows in an unspoken question.

“Go.” Len smiled.

I bolted to my room, falling over my feet twice on the way. By the time I reached the door, the miniscreen lay silent. The side blinked with a promising yellow light. Whoever it was must have left a message.

I closed the door to my room for privacy. My hands shook as I flipped up the lid. Jax's boyish face flashed on, nose rings glittering in crescent moons. He still wore his ninja suit, the collar standing up around his neck. His blue hair stuck up at all angles in spikes like some manga character.

“I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back in touch with you, Jennifer.” He leaned forward. “It took us a while to recuperate after the last meeting. The good news is the organization has reviewed your files, verifying the information you gave me at the meeting, and you're invited to join our ranks. A tour has been scheduled for all of the new recruits next Saturday at noon. Be at your hoverbus platform on time, and a hovercraft will pick you up and bring you to our secret underground facility.”

His face grew serious. “Of course, if you've changed your mind, that's completely acceptable as well. Simply send a message to this new miniscreen's address and let us know.” His eyebrows rose and his blue eyes glinted, shining like the color of his hair. The hint of a smile touched his lips, like he already knew I'd be there and he was only mentioning the last part out of formality. “I look forward to serving in the Timesurfers with you.”

The message flickered out and I stood there gawking.
The Time-surfers want me?
Was it because of my previous experience with cryosleep, or the fact I was alive when animals were around? Or the fact that I'd saved their leader from sudden death?

Whatever the case, I had to act fast. I needed an alibi for Saturday, and Maxim had already said he was done helping me out. I tried to think of anyone else, but I hadn't really made any other friends at

Ridgewood Prep. At least not any that I could trust with something so epic.

No. I needed to talk to Maxim, tell him the truth. It wouldn't be easy, but if I knew him as well as I thought, he'd understand that the Timesurfers fulfilled my life's dreams and wouldn't get in the way. It was a gamble, but asking Maxim was the only chance I had.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Dreams

“
W
hy do we have to take the early hoverbus?” Pell twirled her braid around her finger. She still had two soycakes on her plate, and we needed to book it to the platform in the next three minutes.

I checked the wallscreen. Seven twenty-two.
Make that two minutes
. “Because there's something important I need to do.”

“What?”

How could I explain the complicated mechanics of my, Maxim's, and Exara's relationship to a seven-year-old? “I need to talk to someone before class. Listen, you don't have to go with me. I'll take the early bus, and you can catch the next one.”

“But we always sit together.”

“Geez, Pell, it's only one morning. What did you do before I woke up?”

She sniffed. “I sat alone. All the time.”

Major guilt trip. Had Timmy sat alone on the bus? I blocked the mental image of him holding a plastic Transformers lunchbox all by himself.
Earth to Jenny, you're in twenty-three-fourteen
.

Her little pout almost changed my mind. “I've gotta go. If you want to sit together, you have to come with me now.”

“Fine.” Pell stuffed the last two soycakes in her mouth and grabbed her lunch container. Her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel's mouth full of nuts. She chewed all the way to the hoverbus. Thank goodness there were a lot of people waiting in line to board, or else it would have taken off by the time we got to the platform. Guess this earlier bus got more action.