The Undesirable (Undesirable Series) by S. Celi Page A

machine pedals, and stood up from the long tables. The Colonel walked down the long center aisle of the room. He made eye contact with each one of us as he walked. His boots beat out a pace like two drums in my ears. He stopped at the other end of the aisle and removed his lambskin gloves. He pulled out his black leather-riding crop and swatted the wall to his left.
    “Ladies!” he screamed, and I saw his brown eyes glint with anger. “I know the work you’ve been doing. I know the effort you put in for The War.” In unison, a group of soldiers and Homeland Guard members marched in and then circled the perimeter of the room. They surrounded and faced us, but didn’t meet anyone’s eyes with their own.
    I prayed my emotion would not give me away as I searched for Fostino. I found him two tables ahead of me. I fixed my eyes on his face. The sight stunned me. His sad eyes clouded and darkened. His jaw looked as tight as a rubber band slingshot. His mouth held a hard line and his blank expression fell right in line with the others.
    What?
    “Many of you say you are devoted,” yelled the Colonel. “Many of you say you don’t want Canada to win The War.”
    I gulped again. My heart quickened in my chest.
    “But some here, even now, don’t believe! Some people in this very room are not honest!” The Colonel pulled a folded piece of paper from the inside jacket pocket on his left breast and flipped it open. He cleared his throat. “Worker OHHC- 435. Marcy Havishham,” he read off the paper. “Come up here.”
    Every woman in the room turned to a short, fat, red haired woman who sat two tables down from me on the left hand size of the room. Marcy’s plump face lost all trace of color and her eyes bulged. She crept up to the front of the room like a woman about to burn at the stake. My heart broke for her even though I had not talked to her very much.
    “You, 435, stand accused of sabotage!”
    What?
    Marcy’s fear spread all over her round face. Her eyes bulged and she shifted from one foot to another. “I didn… wha… I mean… I didn’t sabotage anything,” she stammered and all of us heard her voice break. Sweat pooled on her forehead.
    “Guards,” the Colonel shouted. “Bring the evidence.”
    A soldier from the back of the room stepped forward with a black nylon bag. Mirrored sunglasses covered his eyes and almost wrapped around his head. He marched up to the Colonel and handed him the bag. The Colonel unzipped it and pulled out a mess of tan fabric. He held out the pieces like slabs of rancid meat.
    “This.” He directed his words at Marcy. “Look at this. Tell me what this is!”
    As the fabric straightened out, we all saw the shirts in question. Some had sleeves sewn in the wrong places and oversized neck holes.
    A mess. But sabotage?
    “If you think for one second you’ll get away with this… you won’t.” He scolded Marcy in a voice so cold it scared me even more than any of his other screams. The Colonel waved the shirts in Marcy’s face. Then he turned to all of us. “Sabotage like this will not be tolerated!” he barked.
    A man from the line of soldiers closer to the front stepped forward and pulled a pair black handcuffs from the back of his uniform. Once he reached Marcy, he slapped them on her and snapped them shut with a loud clink.
    “I place you under arrest, OHHC-435,” the Colonel announced at that same moment.
    Marcy cried out in a loud voice and mumbled something. The emotion rolled down her face. Her body heaved with every sob. I blinked back tears of my own and hoped no one would notice. The same soldier with the handcuffs pulled on the chain linking Marcy’s hands together, marched her down the aisle, and forced her through the back door.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

    Six minutes after 10:00 PM, I heard a soft knock on the apartment door. I slid the chain back and opened it.
    “Hello,” Fostino whispered from the dark hallway.
    “Hi.” I gritted my teeth. Fostino stepped