The ARC 01: Tainted Read online

  I glance over at Gemma, who is now contemplating bribing the costume room lady. I wonder what she thinks of what we overheard yesterday. Does she also think there was more to Sebastian and Chelsea’s friendship than he’s told me?

  I want to talk about it with her, but something holds me back. Would she see me as a concerned friend or would she notice my concern is something more? I push the thought away, unwilling to admit, even to myself, that I worry more than I should.

  The rest of the school day drags and teachers constantly pull me up for having my head in the clouds. It’s a relief when the final bell rings and I’m dismissed for the day.

  I feel a rush of excitement as I walk out of the science lab and, for the first time today, the tainted are the furthest thing from my mind. Time for the simple, yet effective, plan Gemma came up with at lunch to kick in: run like crazy to the costume room, using brute force to elbow past others if necessary.

  Most of the students seem to be massing towards the costume room, so I have to duck and weave to get past them. I didn’t want to resort to using my elbows but I find I need them, if only for self-defence. If there’s one thing a school dance teaches you, it’s that clothing brings out the worst in girls—and some boys.

  When I make it to the costume room I’m pretty pleased with myself. There’s barely anyone here yet and I’ve managed to get reasonably close to the front of the line. I should definitely be able to pick up something decent from here. Unfortunately, Gemma is nowhere to be seen.

  The line moves forward quickly and after only a few minutes of waiting I find myself walking into the costume room. Although, given the size of the room and its contents, ‘closet’ is probably a more appropriate description. The room is packed with clothing from before impact, with colourful dresses and material bulging from the clothes racks. There’s barely enough room to walk between the rows.

  They have a one person in, one person out policy, and the girl walking out as I go in has the biggest grin on her face, which is promising. I must be early enough to get something good.

  As I enter I am bombarded by the riot of colour inside and my greys seem even more dull and lifeless than usual. I squeeze my way between two racks of dresses to begin my hunt for the perfect dress. On the first rack I try the clothes are pretty old and really beginning to show their age. I quickly skip to a different clothes rack. You have to be ruthless, yet thorough, if you expect to find a hidden gem.

  I’m trying to make my way through a rack of rayon, satin and taffeta, when I catch a glimpse of emerald green silk further up the rack. I walk over to it and pull out a truly beautiful dress. It has a plunging neckline with thin spaghetti straps and soft material that luxuriously drapes down to the knees.

  ‘Perfect!’ I whisper to myself.

  My excitement is short lived though as I am unceremoniously thrown forward by a girl who knocks past me. The room is becoming chaotic. Girls are quickly dragging hangers across racks, eyeing off other girls’ finds and shoving each other out of the way in their desperation to find an outfit. I stand up on my tiptoes and scan around. No Gemma. I carefully drape my dress over my arm and set about finding another dress for her.

  Three racks later I manage to track down something suitable. It’s not amazing, but I’m pretty sure at this stage it’s the best I’ll be able to do. I walk back towards the door and place the garments on the counter.

  ‘That green dress is beautiful!’ the teacher behind the counter says kindly. ‘Oh, but I see you have another. I’m sorry but you’re only allowed to take one.’

  ‘I know. But the other is for my friend. Please, I don’t know where she is and I really want her to have something nice.’

  The teacher shakes her head. ‘I’m sorry, I can’t let you have it. It wouldn’t be fair to the other students who lined up and got here early. Besides, your cuff won’t let you scan out two dresses. One dress per cuff.’

  Disappointed, I push the second dress towards the woman and bump my cuff roughly against the CommuSensor. With just the green dress draped over my arm I leave.

  A long line winds its way from the costume room door, down the hall and around the corner. Gemma’s nowhere to be seen. I try to comm her, but she doesn’t answer. Then, as I make my way out of school, I stop by the library just in case she received detention. After several unsuccessful laps of the place I give up and head for the dining hall. What is she doing?

  The dining hall is practically deserted when I arrive. They’ve only just started serving dinner, so it’s still quite early. There are only about ten people in here so it’s a nice surprise when I notice Quinn’s light blonde hair across the room. I hadn’t expected to see her and it feels like ages since we’ve spent any time together.

  ‘Look at what I’ll be wearing to the dance tomorrow!’ I say, showing Quinn the satin green dress as I approach.

  ‘Wow,’ she replies. ‘That’s going to look amazing! Can’t say I remember seeing that one before. Maybe it’s a new donation?’

  ‘Who knows?’ I respond. ‘I’m just going to go get some food. Save me a seat?’ I place the dress carefully over the back of the chair next to her. Quinn answers by picking her bag off the floor and dumping it firmly on the seat.

  ‘This chair’s going nowhere,’ she grins up at me.

  As I make my way back to my seat, with a disappointingly small serving of potato chips, I see Gemma walking in. Her shoulders are slouched and her head is slumped over. In her arms she carries some material screwed up in a tight ball.

  ‘Mmm, chips!’ Quinn exclaims when I place my tray down on the table. As quick as lightning her hand flicks to the bowl of hot chips and steals one, popping it lightly in her mouth.

  ‘Hey!’ I complain. My objection is cut off though as Gemma slumps down into the chair opposite with a groan.

  ‘Where were you this afternoon?’ I ask, slapping Quinn’s hand away as she tries for another chip.

  Gemma sighs and unravels the dress she has in her arms. It’s pretty much a sack. A purple sack with a few choice stains across the front of it. You could definitely see how it ended up getting donated to the school.

  Gemma screws it up and dumps it on the table. ‘I’m in so much trouble,’ she moans. ‘I’ve been skipping some of my community service hours. I hadn’t realised quite how many though. I’m down by a lot.’

  ‘How many?’ I ask quietly.

  ‘Too many apparently. They’ve restricted my cuff to only emergency transmissions, they’ve taken away my free time credits, and according to the official they brought in to discipline me, I’ll be lucky to be a janitor when I receive my apprenticeship.’

  ‘The only positive is I still get to go to the dance on Saturday, but that’s hardly a good thing when this was the only dress I could find to wear.’ She pushes the purple dress aside on the table and places her head down in her hands.

  I pull the beautiful dress I’d managed to find off the back of my chair. I caress its silky, supple texture in my hands and then look back at ‘the sack’ lying crumpled on the table. I know what I have to do.

  ‘Here,’ I offer the dress out to Gemma. ‘You should have this.’

  She lifts her face up from her hands to look at the beautiful green silk I’m offering her.

  ‘Elle, I couldn’t,’ she whispers.

  ‘No. You should take it,’ I reply firmly. ‘I said we'd get you an awesome dress for the dance, and I’m not taking no for an answer!’

  She still looks uncertain.

  ‘Besides,’ I continue. ‘The green will look way better on you anyways.’

  ‘Elle!’ she whispers astonished, her eyes bright with excitement. ‘What would I do without you?’ She jumps up from the table and runs around to hug me.

  Well for starters you’d be looking like a joke at the dance, I think to myself. But then stop as I realise, the joke would now be on me.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  No matter what I do I can’t make ‘the sack’ look any good. It’
s hopeless!

  To make matters worse, I still haven’t talked to Sebastian since the other night and I continue to worry about him. He was so despondent and barely said two words to me as we made our way back home.

  Hopefully I’ll see him at the dance tonight. I catch a reflection of ‘the sack’ in the mirror. Then again, maybe I won’t be going at all!

  I’m starting to consider just wearing the usual greys tonight when Quinn comes through the door. Upon seeing me she bursts out in a fit of laughter.

  She’s literally crippled with it. Every time she goes to say something, it seems to hit her again even harder. I can feel my cheeks flushing bright pink with embarrassment.

  ‘Definitely wearing the greys,’ I mutter, walking across to my drawers to pull them out. Quinn manages to get a hold of herself and comes over.

  ‘No, stop,’ she says, plucking the greys out of my hand and placing them back into the drawer.

  She turns and pulls an old, battered suitcase out from under her bed. Handling it ever so delicately she places it on her mattress. Her hands seem hesitant as she slowly unzips the case, and she blows out one long breath before she pushes it open.

  Inside there is an explosion of colour, like the sun has crash landed on Quinn’s bed and blown up in our room.

  Dresses!

  ‘You were so kind giving Gemma that dress, I think it’s only fair I do the same for you,’ she says.

  I am speechless.

  ‘But how?’ I eventually stammer.

  ‘My mum,’ she says softly, as she turns around and sits. ‘I don’t know if I ever really told you, but I wasn’t like you—you know, orphaned from the start. I came to the ARC with my mum.’ Her eyes glaze over and seem to stare beyond the bedroom wall.

  ‘I was seven at the time, so I can remember the trip quite well. Mum had been chosen to come here prior to the asteroid hitting.’ A hint of pride edges on her voice as she says this, but her face quickly drops and she frowns.

  ‘It was near impossible for us to leave though. My dad had cancer and was close to dying. They wouldn’t let him come. Bastards said they didn’t have room for someone who was just going to die anyway. Mum didn’t want to leave him, she wanted to stay with him to the end, but she came to save me. Only three years later she was taken.’

  ‘I had no idea,’ I say, unsure of how to comfort her. For as long as I’ve known Quinn, I’ve wondered about her past. She has always had a tendency to immediately shrug off any questions or only respond with short, vague answers.

  ‘Well, it’s not really the type of thing I enjoy talking about. I guess that’s why I’ve never really brought it up.’ She pauses, and I stand watching her in silence.

  She looks uncomfortable after sharing the burden she carries. Quinn’s never been big on delving into feelings that upset or trouble her. A moment later her face completely transforms, masking any pain she feels. ‘So back to the dress!’ she says perkily, effectively closing shut the door she’d briefly opened to her past.

  ‘Here.’ She offers out a beautiful pastel lemon dress. It is strapless, with a tight silk bustier and a sheer, chiffon skirt that poofs out from the waist. ‘You’ll look like the most beautiful ray of sunshine in this one,’ she says, handing it to me. ‘But you better believe I will hunt you down if you so much as think of getting it dirty! I know where you live!’

  I hold it in my hands, not quite able to believe this is happening.

  ‘Did you ever read that children’s story, Cinderella?’ I ask. ‘Because I’m pretty certain you’re my fairy godmother.’

  ‘Hmm, well I don’t think Cinderella was issued with death threats, but I’ll take it.’

  I practically tear ‘the sack’ off my body, feeling relieved to be rid of it forever. I put on Quinn’s dress and give a spin before asking how I look.

  ‘Like I said, a ray of sunshine!’ she responds.

  As I walk to the sports centre, where the dance is being held, for one of the few times in my life I feel truly special. Quinn had spent over an hour fixing my hair, and applying some of her precious makeup. When I had seen myself in the mirror it had taken me a minute to recognize myself looking back out of it. The dark, smoky eye shadow Quinn had applied made my blue eyes pop, the soft pink lipstick gave me positively luscious lips, and my hair fell in soft waves, similar to Quinn’s.

  I almost feel beautiful.

  Arriving at the dance, I’m nervous. I’ve never really cared what other people think of how I look, but now I stupidly feel the need for their approval. My stomach flutters as I wonder what Sebastian will think. I quickly adjust my dress to make sure it sits just right, then pull my shoulders back and walk in.

  The basketball courts have been converted for the occasion. The battered old disco ball they always bring out hangs over the dance floor and an array of coloured lights flash as they dance around the room. A long stage has been set up in front of one of the basketball hoops and some of the boys from school, who have a rock band called ‘Taken Nation,’ play on top of it. The room is packed with people, all dressed in clothes from before.

  I spot Gemma chatting with a group of girls. They are gushing over how amazing she looks in the green dress. I feel so happy watching her show it off. Especially after how horrible her last dance experience had been. ‘The sack’ was practically haute couture compared with the last outfit she had worn. She had been completely embarrassed by the whole ordeal. I wouldn’t be surprised if she still had nightmares over it.

  I am standing watching from just inside the doorway when I feel someone come up behind me. A deep male voice whispers in my ear.

  ‘You look amazing.’

  The voice makes me jump. ‘Sebastian…’ I laugh at my reaction and turn.

  ‘Ryan?’ I ask, startled. ‘I thought… W-What are you doing here?’ My eyes dart over to the crowd on the dance floor. Is anyone watching? I notice an official standing over by the drinks table looking in this direction, and it puts me on edge. I feel too exposed standing out here with him, so before he can answer I pull him by his sleeve out of the sports centre and into one of the nearby classrooms. I close the door firmly behind me. He goes and sits on the teacher’s desk while I stride over to stand in front of him.

  ‘Seriously, what are you doing here?’ I ask again. It’s such strange behaviour for him to come see me at a school dance. I wouldn’t want people to get the wrong idea.

  ‘I don’t know,’ he says confused. ‘I’m not supposed to be here,’ he mutters.

  ‘Then what are you doing here? A few days ago you said I wouldn’t be seeing you for a while.’

  ‘A few days ago,’ he repeats. He seems really addled.

  ‘Yes … in the Plantation,’ I expand.

  ‘The Plantation… Yes, you’re right. We won’t be seeing each other for a while.’ I shake my hands at him as his says this. Won’t see him for a while? I’m seeing him right now.

  ‘Oh yeah, well besides tonight of course,’ he mutters. ‘I didn’t realise I would get to see you tonight.’

  ‘Didn’t realise?’ I ask. ‘But you came to my school dance. How do you not realise you’re going to see me when you do that?’

  His face closes up and I come to the conclusion I’m not getting any answers tonight.

  ‘Listen Elle, I don’t want to get into any of that,’ he says in his no-nonsense voice. Then his expression softens. ‘I’m just glad I get to see you tonight. You are so incredibly beautiful.’

  He stands up from leaning against the teacher’s desk, steps towards me and lightly cups my shoulders in his hands.

  ‘So beautiful,’ he whispers again. He moves himself closer and lightly kisses my forehead. I can’t move. I am overwhelmed by his sweet, masculine smell that surrounds me. I feel completely lightheaded.

  All too quickly he steps away from me.

  ‘Well, we can’t have Cinderella missing the ball,’ he says lightly.

  I laugh awkwardly. Tonight really does seem like the night for
fairy tales. I look at him and all I can think is if he comes that close again I’d quite happily miss the ball. As quickly as the thought enters my head I dismiss it. What am I thinking?

  Instead I say, ‘No. Well Prince Charming is probably inside waiting for me.’ For just a second I see a frown cross his face, but it is gone so quickly I have to wonder if I imagined it.

  ‘You should go,’ he says, nodding his head toward the door.

  ‘Right,’ I respond. I walk over to the door and turn back one last time.

  ‘Have a good night,’ he says, as I pull my eyes away from his.

  When I make my entrance for a second time, I no longer feel nervous. Confused is probably a more appropriate term. What was with Ryan tonight? I spot Gemma dancing in the crowd and make my way over to her.

  ‘Elle!’ She practically squeals upon seeing me. With complete unabashed enthusiasm she runs over and throws her arms around me. Then, with one swift movement she stands back to give me an obvious once over.

  ‘You. Look. Amazing!’ she gushes, her voice even louder and more high-pitched than before.

  ‘You look better!’ I call back, attempting to be heard over the music.

  ‘No sack?’ she asks.

  ‘No sack!’ I reply. ‘I’ll tell you about it later. Are you having fun?’

  ‘So much fun!’ she exclaims. ‘And who knew there were so many cute boys in our year. They really scrub up okay, don’t they?’

  I have to admit, she’s right. It definitely seems like the boys in our year at school have grown up. I notice several of them are looking at Gemma.

  ‘I think they think you scrub up okay yourself!’ I say. She looks around nervously, but I can tell she’s excited to hear it. I guess Cam has some competition.

  ‘C’mon, let’s go dance.’ She grabs my hand and pulls me through the crowd and into the thick of it.