The Rift Uprising by Amy S. Foster Page A

couldn’t lie to her; she was my best friend. So I avoided her as much as possible. It broke both our hearts. We have gotten over the worst of it by now. We are civil to one another—nice, even. Still, it will never be the same between us. Tonight, though, she seems weird but happy, happier than I have seen her in a long time. Her cheeks are flushed, and I realize part of the reason for her attitude: She is drunk. She passes me a drink and puts a hand on my shoulder.
    â€œI mean . . .” Flora begins, “how can you not even have one ounce of body fat on you? It’s, like, not natural.” Flora is slurring her words. I take the drink and shrug. What am Isupposed to do? Apologize? I look around, suddenly uncomfortable. “I think you . . . something is going on there. I don’t know. It’s Levi, too. Levi!” she screams over the music, and waves her arm wildly. I catch her older brother’s eye. He’s on the stairs, behind us. Watching. Slowly he walks down and joins us. Levi and I look at each other, communicating caution without words.
    He is tall and muscular but not too beefy—as his sister noted, not an ounce of fat on him, either. His hair is a true auburn, like his sister’s, and his eyes are the most remarkable shade of green, far brighter than my own. Another interesting fun fact about Levi is that he tried to work around his implant with his girlfriend, another Citadel, named Ingrid. She ended up in a coma for three weeks, while he got most of his ribs broken. A leg, too.
    Oh . . . and he’s a jerk.
    During one of my first experiences with Karekins at The Rift, I had almost let one get the jump on one of his teammates. When it was over, he just screamed at me. He was the first boy I really crushed on, but after that day any romantic feelings I had for him immediately evaporated. To be fair, he was never really all that nice (hot, yes, but aloof), but after the Ingrid thing he became a downright prick. I generally avoided him as much as I could.
    â€œYou two.” Flora sways as she says it and points a finger at us both. “What is it with you? You’re like aliens. You think I’m stupid? You think I don’t know there’s some freaky shit going on?” Levi tries to grab the drink from her hand, but she lifts it up and spins away from him. “Fuck off, Levi, you weirdo.”
    â€œI think you’ve had enough to drink,” he says sternly, narrowing his eyes.
    â€œShut up, Spider-Man, or whatever the hell you are. I justwanted to tell you both that I don’t know exactly what it is, but I know it’s something.” Flora backs away and walks off into the crowd.
    â€œWhat was that about?” I take a long swig from the plastic cup in my hands.
    â€œWe were in the kitchen last month and she started a grease fire. I put it out very quickly. Too quickly, if you know what I mean.”
    â€œAhh.”
    â€œAnd a couple days ago she walked into my room without knocking and I was working out. Doing a handstand. On one hand.” I nod my head because I’m not sure what else to say. Finally, though, I can’t stand his eyes boring into me.
    â€œYou think I should go talk to her or something?” I ask. I really don’t want to go talk to her, but I feel like it’s the right thing to do, even though I have no idea how a conversation like that would play out.
    â€œNah, she’s too drunk to reason with. You’d probably just make things worse.” I roll my eyes. I don’t really know Flora anymore, but I’m sure I could say something that might make her feel less paranoid about the vibes she’s been feeling. Before I can say anything, though, Levi turns around and leaves. He’s about as sensitive as a bag of rocks. I shrug and join Boone and Violet, who are dancing happily in the living room. I don’t exactly start to dance, but I tap my boots to the rhythm