“I’ve been here since the beginning. There are a lot of people that want a history lesson, and I’m not in the mood today.”
“I’m not asking for one.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah…” Jenny tilted her shoulders away from him and unraveled one of her braided pigtails. “I’m sorry. Maybe we can talk another time then?”
“Next!”
“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I’m up. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
“That’d be nice.” Her lips twisted into an awkward smile, obviously upset by Xavier’s decision.
He stepped forward to the window and took the scrap sheet from his pants pocket. His fingers worked to unfold the order, and he laid it face down on the counter. “Good luck,” he said with a grin, pushing it past the partition. The disbursement officer took the paper and glanced at the chicken scratch.
“I see Grant’s your boss.” He worked to flatten out the creases as he spoke. “What do you really need? I’m not sure what ‘qirggeg’ are.”
Xavier gave a polite chuckle. “I only need glasses. I don’t know anything about picking them out, but yeah, I’m having some trouble.”
“Glasses are easy. I have bunches of those in the gym.”
You have?
“Do you have others to turn in or is this your first pair?”
“First.”
“Let me grab some up, and you can try ’em out.”
The officer shifted from his position and started toward the back of the service area. Xavier craned his neck as the officer opened the door into the gymnasium. No luck. How much of our stuff is still in there? The common hallway entrances were now chained from the inside—strictly off limits. He might never know. Everything was a big secret now.
Xavier drummed his fingers on the edge of the counter and hummed as he waited. He noticed Jenny putting in her request two windows down. Annoyance filled his thoughts but began to soften as he studied her body—top to bottom. She had a gentle face. Her skin complexion was fair, but a light dusting of dirt gave her color.
Jenny took to unraveling her other pigtail. She let it out—evened now with the other side. Her head swiveled, swishing her hair along her shoulder blades. She placed both elbows on the ledge and arched her lower back, angling her butt slightly toward him.
Xavier spun away. He couldn’t be caught admiring her. He was pleased with having her want something from him. The thought of speaking with her became more appealing now that he had properly vetted her.
Jenny’s attention remained fixed to the officer that was handling her request. Her voice was sweet. She was fluttering—laughing and smiling. Her gestures were pulling at Xavier. What is that guy saying that could be so funny? He stumbled, but caught himself on the counter. Jenny giggled again, but only this time, it was about him.
He adjusted himself, straightening in front of his window. He blushed. She knew. His advantage was probably destroyed. “We should work together sometime,” Xavier blurted out.
“Great. I’d love to.”
“Alright, got ’em.” The officer put a shoe box filled with glasses down in front of him. “Take these to the back of the room. Swap ’em out until the boards look clear to you. Nothing to it, really.”
Xavier collected the box and went to the back of the room. He carefully emptied its contents onto the floor and began. The words faded in and out as he tried each pair. Every attempt earned them a spot back in the box or off to the side for comparison. He rested a pair of thick black frames on his nose. Finally, the job postings sharpened, and Xavier could clearly read them:
Position: Farm Hand – Age: 8 years old
Position: Maint. Gen. – Age: 12 years old
Position: Scavenger – Age: 15 years old
“This is probably the best it’s going to get,” he said while glancing around the room.
Jenny grinned, making her way toward him but stopped just beyond his breath. She raised each side of the frames and reset them. “There you go. Much better.”
She caressed his cheek with the back of her hand. Xavier peered at the officers working behind the counter. He became nervous. Did they see that? She’s crazy. The three disbursement officers were preoccupied with their duties, and the last man in line was too old to hear or to even care about their conversation.
“You can’t do that here. We’ll get in trouble,” Xavier whispered.
“I’m sixteen.”
“Yeah, well I’m not yet, alright?” He kept a nervous watch over the others as he continued. “I can’t afford to have the town’s council after me too.”
“Who’s after you now?”
“The Second Alliance is after everyone.” A disbursement officer coughed, startling Xavier, making him reconsider the direction of this conversation. “Hey,” he whispered again. “Do you have a key to the basement?”
“No.”
“Go to the entrance by the maintenance room. Knock twice, pause, and then knock three times so I know it’s you. I’ll be there.”
“Why the basement?”
“I go there to think sometimes. It’s quiet. We’ll just talk.”
“But wha—”
“Be there an hour after the night lighting comes on.”
“I will.”
Chapter Three
“Lana, Lana, Lana,” Xavier softly reminded himself as he returned to the courtyard. By now, his stomach was well established in its revolt—groaning against the involuntary hunger strike. I’m here for one thing. Food. That’s it. Don’t get caught up in a conversation again. He pressed upon his stomach, assuring it that food would come, but then his thirst joined in, begging for water. He couldn’t win. It was an unfortunate start to his day that he just couldn’t seem to adjust to. Dad, you need to get back here and fix this… The S.A.’s taking our food, supplies—Sam…
He raised his eyes to the vast August sky, and sighed. The land it stretched across was simply a dream to Xavier—his life confined within the walls of River’s Edge. He held his hand across his forehead as he looked further into the distance. Not a single puff of cloud around. Not a bit of shade to relieve him from the sun’s unrelenting glare. It seemed higher than usual—hot and brutal—draping the school in a blanket of heat. A sweat began to form beneath his clothing as he stood there underneath it. What I wouldn’t do for air conditioning or some ice or… rain.
He spotted the reservoir tanks, now more empty than full, sitting along the brick wall. It hadn’t rained in more than a week—a serious concern during a long summer. He started toward the tanks, but stopped—his eyebrows puckered. Realizing that he was by himself, he began along the rows of corn, pacing, searching for someone else, but there was no one.
The rabbit hutches and chicken coops were filled, but without anyone to tend to their needs, they sat there, waiting. Only the bleating of a goat and its indiscriminate appetite picking through the grasses and dirt of its paddock gave any sign of activity within the farm.
“Hey!” A single Sentry perched in an observation post along the rooftop called out to Xavier while keeping close watch of his movements. The Sentry’s scowl pegged him as a potential thief. “Whatchu doin’ here!”
“I’m looking for Lana,” Xavier yelled back.
“Not here.” The Sentry waved his hand across the open farm below him as if he were a magician and had made them all disappear.
“I see that. Do you have any idea where she went?”
“Lunch.”
“Lunch already? What time is it?”
The Sentry pointed toward the sun. “Guessin’ bit after eleven, you know, lunchtime.”
“Thanks,” he called out and then lowered his voice, “dick.”