Genesis Girl by Jennifer Bardsley

the clutch again, and we’re off, all the way down the driveway to the gatehouse. Alan gives a little nod as we make a U-turn and speed back up to the mansion.
     
     

     
     
    We’re lying on the grass underneath one of the orange trees I saw from the attic window yesterday. The branches hang low with big balls of fruit, waiting to be tasted. Seth picks some for us and peels open the flesh. The oranges taste like sunshine, their sticky juice dripping down my chin until Seth licks it off.
    “Stop that!” I laugh, pushing him back into the grass. I lay my head down on his chest and take a deep breath. I smell oranges, grass, leather, and Seth mixed together. I can feel Seth’s finger-chips buzzing against my arm, but he ignores them. Then he flicks his wrist, and the blue turns off.
    “Sorry about that.” He runs his hands through my hair, and quivers of relaxation overtake me. “This day is all about you and me.”
    “You’re not in tech-withdrawal yet?”
    “I’ve been kind of distracted.” Seth kisses me, and we roll across the grass a few times for fun.
    And I try hard not to think about any of it. Because if I do, I’ll start imagining crazy possibilities. Like maybe this day is changing my opinion of Seth. I’m having fun and enjoying the company of a Virus. Maybe he isn’t the jerk I thought he was.
    What if Seth is my only ticket to happiness?
    I’m already helping Seth beat his tech-addiction. Would he take out his finger-chips for me? Seth wants me for real, and maybe I could want him too. Is it possible the comfort I feel sheltered in his arms is more than lust? Maybe after the blowout tonight Seth and I could be genuinely together.
    Headmaster Russell doesn’t have to know about Seth and neither do the other Vestals. I wouldn’t have to tell anyone. I could be a Vestal, and I could be with Seth too. All I need is Cal’s blessing, and he might actually give it.
    I’ve always wanted to be wanted. I’ve always wanted a family. That was the hardest part about going Geisha. I never got the Vestal family that was promised to me. “It’s a lonely road,” Ms. Lydia said.
    All my childhood fantasies involved finding the perfect Vestal family after my Harvest. Blanca, I imagined my new Vestal-mom saying. We hoped our corporation would bid on you. Then my new Vestal boyfriend would lead me off into the sunset.
    “What are you thinking about?” Seth asks me. “You look like you’re a million miles away.”
    “I was thinking about you,” I say. “I’m thinking about you and me together, being happy.” At least, I think this is what happiness is.
    “I’m happy too.” Seth kisses the back of my neck. “I think you might be inspiring a new tattoo.”
    That’s the last thing I want to hear! But the sick part inside me is willing to take it. I could put up with anything to stay here with Seth, coiled together in the grass.
    I’m so busy looking at him and so busy feeling his hands on me that I don’t realize what’s happening.
    I hear the gunshot in the distance, but it doesn’t register. I hear somebody screaming, but I don’t understand that it’s Alan, back at the guard station, being shot.
    I don’t realize what’s going on. Not until the flashes start. Not until I finally look up and see people everywhere, taking our picture.
    It’s the viral paparazzi, and they’re here to ruin everything.
     
     

     
     
    “Blanca, go!” Seth yells at me. He tosses me the keys and shoves my helmet into my arms. Then he’s fighting every last Virus he can get his hands on.
    But they’re everywhere! They pour out of the bushes and climb the trees. Hands are up and flashes are in my face. Everywhere I look, there’s another paparazzi.
    “Go, Blanca! Go!” Seth shouts again. He knees a guy in the head and then kicks another Virus in the stomach. “Take the bike and go!”
    For half a second I actually think about it. I could take that bike and ride away. I could protect myself and stay