Regret by Elana Johnson Page B

can’t remember anything of substance. I made sure that detail made it into all my reports. Whether it was true or not remains to be seen.
    I tried not to dwell on Vi. She wasn’t my problem, even though my conscience nagged me in my quiet moments. The way Thane kept her brainwashed for so long (over eight months now) just didn’t sit right with me.
    Of course, that was one of my responsibilities too: Keep Violet close. Close and under the influence. Thane said it’d be better that way. I was still trying to figure out what it was.
    Fact 3: Violet did not attend genetics classes—at least notin the Education Rise—though it was clear she had talent. And all Citizens with talent were required to enroll in genetics classes. In fact, anyone suspected of maybe-possibly having talent was required to take genetics.
    I’d been in the class for ten years, yet I hadn’t formally registered any talents. Several of my classmates had. I’d watched them go from suspected to confirmed to registered. Then my father put them on his list and moved their afternoon classes to Rise One.
    They still attended genetics in the morning. We endured lectures and projections about the superiority of talented Citizens. We took field trips to the premier Rises—the Evolution Rise, the Technology Rise, and the Medical Rise—to see which jobs our talents could benefit the most. We learned to control those Citizens without talents.
    I’d seen people go from hunched over in desks to avoid eye contact, to waving their hands to control the wind (or detecting passcodes, or commanding the Educator in powerful voices), to looking everyone straight in the face and flying to Rise One after lunch.
    I’d seen people go from the Education Rise, to Rise One, to a job in one of the premier Rises, where they continued to brainwash the general population.
    I didn’t want to be one of those people. I didn’t wantGunner to be one of those people. I was thrilled he’d agreed to meet, agreed to learn more about the Insiders.
    I watched Violet’s chest rise and fall, rise and fall. Lines of exhaustion marred the (once sunburnt) pale skin around her eyes. I should do something, I thought. But I didn’t know what, and even if I did, I’d never get away with it. So I filled in the time on the form—12:13 a.m.—and blitzed it off to Thane.
    Then I slipped out the door into the darkness.
    Gunn had agreed to meet me at oh-one-hundred, which worked out perfectly with Vi’s nightmare schedule. Convincing him to join the Insiders took for-freakin’-ever. Even for me, and that’s saying something. And not something good.
    Now, outside in the dead of night, I leaned against a medical kiosk across the street from our agreed-upon location. I thought of him, of the careful way he’d avoided me at school today. He’d been hiding something. Something more than his voice talent. I mean, I’d heard him use that many times on his victims admirers.
    Other girls are such suckers for a nice voice and a sexy smile.
    But not me. I’d known Gunn for practically ever, and while he had all the right stuff in all the right places, he wasn’t really my type. I mean, who likes the dark, silent typeanyway?
    Not me, I told myself, even though Gunner’s face came to mind every time I thought about my match. That boy—Cannon Lichen—had these freaky eyes that saw way too much.
    Cannon was perfect for me—as a best friend—because I had a freaky habit of wearing gloves all day, every day, no matter the season. Cannon and I have never held hands in a romantic way. I don’t allow people to touch me, and besides, it’s Cannon .
    Neither one of us dreams about kissing the other. It’d be way too weird. No one knows me better, though. Not my father, not anyone. Cannon knew I went out after hours, but he’d never tell. Our loyalty to each other bordered on insane.
    “Raine,” someone hissed, out loud, not over my cache. I hated all the talking in my head, but I couldn’t very