“Good morning, Miss Calista Medley. It is now 9:15 in the morning of August 20th, 2349 in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. Your meeting with the Art School recruiters is scheduled at 11:00 AM today at the Museum of Art and Design.”

  ===

  Calista’s mother had been getting weirdly paranoid about hacking lately, partly because of reported hattacks— hack attacks— across the city, but mostly because she found one of Katelyn’s scramblers lying around the house. She hadn’t suspected anything about Calista’s tests, but she was checking their security more often. She would probably chalk it up to some crazed fan trying to spy on them; it had happened once or twice before.

  Thankfully, since the school year was coming up, Jennifer was getting invited to attend AR conferences in Socializer schools all over the country. She would constantly be speaking, inspiring the newest generation of aspiring beauty queens, so she wouldn’t be able to look at her house’s security at all. During those times, Calista took the verbal and written tests for Fistborn without the need of a projection to disguise her. She could easily take them on an incognito platform that was completely legal.

  She studied to the point that she missed her usual beauty sleeps and Thinning appointments. She managed to convince the SociaLights she’d simply burned out and needed a break. When she appeared at a meeting with bags beginning to form under her eyes, they crashed. They’d even treated her to a full Thinning Spa treatment so she could look ‘beautiful enough’ again.

  This was the first time Jennifer wasn’t constantly hovering over Calista like a SECURE bodyguard. She was so busy that Calista had become a bit like Katelyn; unnoticed. It felt pretty freeing. She wasn’t getting any constant reminders about her waist, or her hair, or her makeup. It almost felt like her childhood, back when Jennifer focused more on being a mother than a celebrity.

  Her father didn’t know anything about the tests, either. He would’ve been supportive, but it was best not to give him something to lie to his wife about. Their marriage was shaky enough already with their differing opinions on how to raise their kids. It was easy to hide from him, since his engineering firm was working harder the past weeks due to the hattacks.

  Now it was time for her practical exam, and Calista had to hope no one would recognize her. She would have a Mask on, but as soon as she entered the exam, she’d have to take it off. A fraction of a second was all it would take for someone to spot her and share it to the whole Hub.

  The sisters arrived at their destination through the travel tubes. Their excuse to go out was that Calista was meeting recruiters for the Art School clique in Katelyn’s museum. Afterward, they’d stop by the Thinning Spa after the exam for some ‘sister bonding’.

  The AU Projector building was a simple, one-floor facility with no interior. There were about 10 oval doors on each side, where each user would enter and use the installed Projector to virtually arrive at their real destination for whatever appointment they needed.

  Calista’s stomach dropped to her feet. Two sides of the building were reserved for the Fistborn applicants, and holy glitch, it was packed.

  People waited in hovering shelves with comfy seats on them, connecting their AIDA band to the system around them so they could remain entertained during the wait. The Medleys proceeded to one of the shelves with available seats. Calista checked her Mask over and over again, ensuring she looked like a tough Mercurian that totally matched the description of a fighter.

  Calista squinted, her eyes scanning the crowd. There were all sorts of people; different colors, different sizes, different features. One thing she noticed, however, was that there were hardly any humans— almost none.

  She sighed. This was one of the reasons she’d decided to do what her mother asked and become a Socializer. What was the point? How could she compete with all of the stronger species? Katelyn’s friends had gone easy on her for the fake ‘bar fight’. Yet, Benson Kalley requested her.

  It was still well-known that Benson Kalley was an advocate for giving all species a chance, in particular, species that didn’t have special abilities like fire or ice or telekinesis. He had become controversial after suggesting that the Versus admins start hiring Socializers to further the PR campaign for the tournament. Humans, Paeseoans, and Seeyastians were the three species that were considered ‘weakest’ in terms of raw power, humans being the weakest of those three. Maybe Benson had requested her just to further the movement.

  If that was the case, she had to prove she was worth it.

  Calista connected her AIDA band and played an episode of Astrana on her mini-screen, the bubble blocking off the sound around her. She’d studied and practiced as hard as she could, so she preferred de-stressing before the exam.

  The past few days were absolutely grinding, mostly on her limbs and abdomen. Under the guide of the free pre-training module Fistborn offered, she’d done push-ups, sit-ups, jogs, and basic fighting exercises to prepare her body for the test. The stress and anxiety about possibly being caught didn’t help.

  She definitely wasn’t used to so much physical exertion anymore, having collapsed after only 10 push-ups the first time. If it hadn’t been for Katelyn pushing her so hard, she never would’ve made it to 25. And the sweat… ugh! It was revolting. She was too used to constantly being prim and proper for the scanners.

  Her mini-screen suddenly disappeared, startling her. She blinked and found herself in front of the second door on the left. “Calling Calista Medley,” the AIDA said.

  She closed her eyes, wincing. Glitch. She hoped everyone would chalk this up to her name being common— which it sort of was. But these were all people that wanted to be in the Versus, meaning, they didn’t give a bug about Socializers. Chances were they really wouldn’t know who she or her mother were.

  She took a breath and summoned her self-confidence, strutting into the projector like a Mercurian would. She glanced back at her sister, whose chair veered off to the right to wait for her. Once Calista entered the portal, she took off her Mask. At first, it was pitch-black. She stopped, apprehension keeping her from walking into pure darkness.

  “Please stand in the middle of the AU circle.” A light shone in the center. She obeyed and placed her feet on the glowing footprint indicators. Instantly, the darkness vanished, gradually lighting up until she was surrounded by sea green.

  “Projecting to: Hall of Affairs, Versus Wing, Fistborn Academy, #1 North, Versus Grounds. Code VERSUSEARTHUSA-1001.” The light softly gave way to the Fistborn examination room.

  Calista’s green eyes wandered around curiously, wide with wonder and amazement. She arched her neck and turned slowly to take in the details of the room. It was simple, but beautiful. The pale sky-blue walls rose up in geometrical shapes like a kaleidoscope, all the way up to a large skylight. Large windows let in plenty of natural sunlight. In the middle, where Calista stood, was a mat that covered nearly the entirety of the space.

  At the far end was a wide, white table with five people, the Fistborn Academy crest hovering behind them. It was a red-white-and-blue circle with letters reading ‘FBA’ diagonally.

  Among the judges, Calista recognized one face.

  Lisa White.

  Anyone would recognize those cat-like amber eyes and dirty blond hair. The only difference was a bit of aging in her face. Calista couldn’t believe she was staring at her childhood idol.

  Below her was a softly-glowing sign identifying her:

  Ms. Lisa “Dark Horse” White

  Earthian American

  Versus Champion 2334

  Dean of the Fistborn Versus Fighting School

  Lisa White was the first human to win the Versus Games in decades. For years, she was accused of cheating and foul play, but there was never any proof, only her raw and prodigious talent. Calista had stopped following her career since joining the SociaLights, but her admiration for her never faded. She only knew that Lisa had become a Dean at Fistborn this year.

  Since Lisa, there hadn’t been a human winner. There was a human fourth-placer last Versus, in 2346, named Harrison Smith. Despite him not reaching the top three places, there were controversies around him, since he’d beaten a Klausian in his second-to-last match before he lost the third place to a Dnilian fighter. Klausians were one of the most powerful species in the Utopia, able to wield any ice-based elements. To think a human had beaten one of them to the top four was unthinkable.

  Clearly, since Lisa had taken first place over planets like Hajja, Klaus, and Dnili, the other planets had it out for Earth and were determined to never let a human show them up again.

  In the middle of the panel was an Emitonian woman that looked around 60 in Earth years, with purple skin and gray hair tied into a bun. Her harsh demeanor and large, cold, calculating eyes gave Calista shivers, not to mention her large forehead sporting numerous wrinkles. Her eyes were colored a shimmering gold, as warm as the sun, but her scrutiny made them icy.

  Mrs. Josephine “Cruella” Chrisman

  Earth-raised Emitonian Pensan— England

  Versus Champion 2310

  President of Fistborn Academy

  Emitonians were very powerful, with telekinetic, telepathic, and advanced intelligence abilities. The only reason they weren’t considered more powerful than the top three was because of their weakness being so obvious— their eyes. If anything hit them straight in their huge eyes and broke their concentration, they wouldn’t be able to use their powers for a good while.

  Still, they were not to be underestimated. Calista didn’t remember much Versus History, but she knew that Cruella lived up to her call sign. She’d pummeled her way through that year’s Versus to the top place.

  On Chrisman’s right, a kinder-looking Paeseoan man carefully observed her with a smile. He had green skin with intricate markings lining his muscular arms like veins, and red eyes that twinkled with curiosity. Thick blue hair sat on his head, parts of it glowing with the sun rays.

  Mr. Benson “Kind Killer” Kalley

  Kwantan-raised Paeseoan Silikan— Alik

  Versus Silver-winner 2334

  Vice President of Fistborn Academy

  Calista knew him from the last Versus she watched before her mom banned the word from their home. He was notoriously kind to everyone— hence his call sign. Paeseoans in general were usually very kind, both from their birth planet and Kwantan.

  Kwantan was an interspecies planet; it housed many diverse species, but didn’t have an original species in and of itself. It was discovered by Paeseo, so they were the most predominant there. While Earth had the stereotype of being lazy and mediocre, Paeseo and Kwantan had a reputation for being very generous, even na?ve at times.

  On the vice president’s left was a man that looked as cruel as Mrs. Chrisman. He had icy blue, crystalline skin that sparkled with the sunlight and coal-black eyes. A Klausian on the panel didn’t give her any positive thoughts. They were very prejudiced against humans— as proven by the Harrison Smith controversy.

  Mr. Islen Estalen

  Klausian Bastan

  Combat Technique Professor

  Versus Fighting School Evaluator

  And finally, on Lisa’s left, occupying the last seat on the panel, was a Mearthian woman who resembled Lisa quite a bit. She sported a kind smile that curved her glassy black eyes. She had pale, washed-out skin and long blonde locks that spilled over her shoulders.

  Ms. Gina “Gaslight” White

  Mearthian Yostan-American

  Versus Silver-winner 2346

  Dean of the Fistborn School of Combat

  Calista remembered her. She was Lisa’s cousin. She wasn’t as famous as Lisa, but she was recognized widely. Born on Mars, she won second place last Versus and had just graduated from Jostif Combat School. Because of her, the second stage of this year’s Versus would be hosted by Mars.

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  “Calista Medley, 17-year old Earthian American, number 385,” Professor Estalen rambled off in a bored drawl as he read his screen. A thick accent bled through.

  “That’s right,” she said with a nod.

  His coal-black eyes glanced up at her, seemingly bothered. She folded her lips and rocked back and forth on her feet, staying quiet.

  “How long have you been interested in fighting?” President Chrisman asked, sporting a heavy British accent.

  “Um… since I was a little girl,” she answered. “I’ve always wanted to be a Versus fighter. I actually applied for the Junior Versus when I was younger. I think… I’d do pretty good.”

  “But you weren’t accepted for the Junior Versus, were you? You were rejected twice.”

  Her confidence instantly dimmed. “No… I wasn’t.”

  Chrisman glanced at Vice President Kalley, who shrugged. She then sighed and raised her brows, wrinkling her large forehead further. “Alright, then. Let’s get on with it. Turn on the CDSim.”

  “The CD-what?”

  Before her question was answered, the mat she stood on glowed brightly. She stepped back as a holographic, man-shaped simulation appeared before her. Now she remembered what the acronym meant— Combat Defense Simulator. “Start with defense. Use all the blocking maneuvers you have practiced up to now. Do not attack back,” President Chrisman commanded.

  The holo-man circled around the girl, getting into a combat position. Her nerves frayed, she quickly did the same.

  “Begin.”

  The simulation started the fight by lashing out with its fist, aiming for Calista’s jaw. The girl’s instincts clicked and she blocked it by swiping her arm to the side. It tried a kick to the stomach, which she also deflected.

  Okay, maybe this isn’t so bad, she thought.

  The hologram suddenly sped up, the cadence of the fight increasing as it unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks. Calista’s defenses were quickly broken and she grunted as its fists and feet landed in her face, chest, stomach, and sides.

  I stand corrected!

  She was tempted to hit back. Instead, she held her arms up in a boxing block, shielding her face, but she failed to protect the rest of her body.

  Her stomach dropped as she was lifted into the air and slammed harshly onto the mat. She groaned in pain and inhaled deeply, her stomach aching as her muscles contracted.

  “Stop.”

  The simulation ceased its attacks at the president’s command, letting the girl recover. It took her a few moments to get over the harsh blow, but she eventually rose to her feet. Pain was not something she handled well.

  The entire panel, even the kind-looking ones, stared at her emotionlessly, their eyes unreadable. She could feel her face turning red.

  “Next stage is offense,” President Chrisman said, ignoring her humiliation. “Find openings, land as many hits as you can, and knock your opponent off-balance in the shortest amount of time possible.”

  The hologram shifted into a more defensive position this time. Maybe she’d have more of a chance if she went on offense.

  “Begin.”

  Calista lashed out with her fist and aimed for the holo-man’s throat. It blocked her attack with her forearm and stepped back. The girl winced at the impact, but kept throwing punches at its face and stomach. It continued avoiding them easily, smoothly dodging every blow.

  She had to land a hit somewhere.

  They paused, circling as she evaluated its movements. Glancing at its feet, an idea sparked.

  She shot her fist towards the projection’s face. As it leaned backwards, she suddenly dropped down and swept its legs out from underneath, making it collapse.

  Unfortunately, she collapsed as well. The hologram was upright in no time at all. She quickly scrambled to her feet.

  Well, she landed a hit, at least.

  The exchange continued, Calista’s movements growing faster and more reckless as her frustration grew. She couldn’t land a good hit anywhere. She punched it in the face and stomach a few times, but she couldn’t seem to defeat it.

  At one point, her feet clumsily stumbled as she went for another attack. It stepped aside as she fell forward.

  She knocked herself over. Awesome.

  “Stop.”

  She tried not to show any shame, but she was just about ready to burst into tears. The embarrassment was unbearable.

  “The last stage is a combination of both offense and defense. Basically a regular fight. Use what you’ve done in the last two stages. Begin.”

  The holo-man began the fight, swooping down instantly and kicking Calista’s legs out from under her. She let out a small cry as she landed on her back. She quickly rolled over and got to her feet.

  She dodged and blocked its fists, keeping her feet firmly planted to not lose her balance again. Her heart clenched with desperation as she tried her best to hold herself up.

  The simulation’s fist connected with her chin and she staggered back. Before she could recover, it grabbed her arm and pulled her forward, twisting her arm behind her back. She winced and let out a strained cry of pain.

  Adrenaline injected itself into her veins as her face firmed. She gritted her teeth and threw her elbow back into the hologram’s face, following it up with a kick to the shin. Her elbow weakened with pain. Ow, ow, ow, ow…

  She pulled her arm out of its grip and brought her other fist around to punch it. Her speed grew and her balance improved slightly as she launched all her strength against the simulation.

  With finality, she kicked the holo-man’s knee, forcing it to the floor, and drove her own knee up to its chin. Its head jerked back and it fell.

  “Stop.”

  She panted heavily and lightly rubbed her knee, looking up at the panel. None of their expressions hinted at what they thought. She only hoped they couldn’t see the tears pricking at her eyes.

  “Your practical evaluation is over. Thank you for participating. We will contact you within the week if you are selected for the third stage,” President Chrisman said coldly.

  Her limbs shook, the adrenaline fading. Just as the pain from her injuries settled in, a laser shone over her, healing every bruise and blow she took. That was a relief. She was worrying about the unflattering black-and-blue spreading all over her. The less she had to lie about, the better.

  Nervously, she thanked the judges before stepping out of the AU boundary. In a flash, she was suddenly teleported outside the building, followed by Katelyn. The younger sister looked around, disoriented, before gathering her bearings and noticing Calista.

  Her Masked face filled with hope at first, but her smile fell and her eyes dimmed when she saw Calista’s pale complexion, downturned eyes, and slanted lips. “How’d it go?” she asked tentatively.

  Calista only looked at her, sighed, and went to the travel tubes. She’d predicted it. She knew this would happen. It wasn’t worth it. NYWS was where she was meant to be. Not Fistborn.

  “Ca- Holly… come on. It couldn’t have been that bad.” Katelyn suddenly gasped. “Cali… your Mask.”

  Calista stopped in her tracks, cursing to herself. With a quick glance around, she quickly put the Mask back on, hoping no one noticed. Best case scenario was a few odd glances. How did she forget to put the Mask back on?! How much more stupid could she get today?

  “What exactly happened in there?” Katelyn asked.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Was it that bad? Did they-”

  “I said, I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just go home.” She went into the travel tube without another word.

  ===

  The two girls entered the house with casual smiles. Henry was in the HARP room, asleep while the Phoenix game went on. He was probably exhausted from work. Knowing his higher-ups, they’d give the human employees the brunt of the workload the hackers were dumping onto them.

  Quincy wasn’t around, probably playing games in his room. Their mother was also absent. If she was in a conference, chances were she’d never know where the girls were today.

  “You want to hang in my room for a bit?” Katelyn asked.

  “It’s fine. I want to just… be alone right now.”

  Katelyn nodded, understanding. “I’m sorry, Calista.”

  “It’s fine. You were just… you wanted me to try, and I did. Thank you.” Calista smiled sadly before going to her room. After a good cry, she’d be able to clean up and pretend none of that humiliating exchange never happened.

  But when she entered her room, it wasn’t empty. Jennifer stood imposingly, her hips cocked and her mascara-lined eyes narrowed. Calista felt a shock of panic go through her, freezing her in place. “M-Mom? What’s wrong?”

  “You tell me.”

  “What?”

  “I’m sure you have a great story about your day today, Calista Elise.”

  There was no way she found out. They’d just gotten back! Calista’s mouth flapped as she tried to keep playing innocent. “M-my day? We just… went out. The meeting went uber-great. I feel like I have a chance with the best Socializers.” She forced a smile. “And Kate and I had a lot of fun after. We played a lot of games.”

  “Yeah, you’re playing games. Playing them with me. You think you can lie to your mother? What, you think I’m uber-stupid or something?” She opened her AIDA band and expanded the screen. Calista approached it, watching the recording.

  Someone outside the AR Projector waiting area, across the street, zeroed in on Calista storming to the travel tubes with Katelyn behind her, still in her Mercurian getup. She watched as Katelyn stopped her and reminded her of her Mask, then watched herself hastily turn it on, covering her black hair and green eyes much too late. The caption on the recording read: ‘JENNIFER ZYBEN DAUGHTER AT VERSUS TEST’.

  “That’s just one of dozens that are already out,” Jennifer continued. “‘Jennifer Zyben approves of a fighting daughter’. ‘Zyben glitched us over’. ‘Calista Medley- the rebel’. ‘She ruined her mom’s body, and now her rep’.”

  “Mom…” Calista inhaled, trying not to cry. Jennifer always scolded her when she cried. “I can explain.”

  “You will. And so will your sister. AIDA, call Katelyn to Calista’s room.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  “When were you going to tell me it was Katelyn hacking our systems this whole time? I’m guessing you pulled your brother into this? Started filling his head with cache?”

  Calista shook her head. “N-no… it’s not like that.”

  “I risked my code out there for you,” Jennifer said, her voice getting louder by the minute. “I got you that scholarship. I got you into that school. I made sure everything was perfect for your future, and you go off and do something so glitching stupid!”

  Katelyn then entered, freezing for a second when she saw Jennifer, then sighing in defeat. “Before you start-”

  “Don’t say a word.”

  “Can’t you just hear us out, Mom? Please?”

  “Hear you out? I’ve heard enough from my followers, your grandparents, and everyone else in the family that’s mad at me for being a ‘bad mother’!”

  “It was just a test! It’s not like she got accepted or anything, okay?”

  “‘Just a test’?! Even mentioning that death game is a glitch-up! I’ve spent eighteen years cleaning up your mess, Calista!” Jennifer paced, combing her hair with her fingers. “I should’ve been more strict with you from the beginning. It’s my fault for letting your father expose you to that disgusting tournament.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Mom…” Calista let the tears go. What would she do now? If everyone knew…

  Her friends, her channel, her scholarship— she just lost everything, didn’t she? Now she had nothing. She’d screwed up that test, so she had no chance in the Versus now. She’d never survive in NYWS, probably never even get accepted due to the massive reputation hit. She wasn’t good at anything else… what would she do now?

  Maybe Katelyn could hack something up. A new identity, perhaps. Calista could move out and start fresh as someone else. She could get a transformative makeover and change her appearance. No fan would ever recognize her and attack her.

  Maybe all three of them could leave. Katelyn and Quincy could avoid having the family name fall on their heads. Their mother would have to clean up the ‘mess’ herself.

  “I should’ve known after I saw that pathetic excuse for a portfolio,” Jennifer continued. “Astronauts, my cache. How long have you been watching that thing, huh?”

  “I wasn’t! I swear I wasn’t.”

  “Well, it doesn’t matter. You better think of an apology, and make it good. I’ll try and get NYWS to still accept you, but now you don’t have a channel.” Jennifer grew more anxious. “God, Iva and Braxli will never let us near their girls again,” she added, referring to Danica and Rebecca’s mothers.

  “This is exactly the problem!” Katelyn suddenly burst. “Mom, all you ever care about is your stupid followers! All your stupid friends and what they think! You never cared about us! Don’t you worry about what your own family thinks of you?!”

  “Don’t you dare talk to me like that-”

  “Calista worked so hard to do what you wanted, and all you have for her is cache. You might as well make your followers your kids, Mom! She was going to force herself to go to that stupid popularity school with girls she doesn’t even like, girls that don’t respect her, for you! And for what? Your channel? You’re a glitching billionaire! You could become a Versus supporter and still have digits left over!”

  “Get out of this room, Katelyn.”

  “Kate, it’s fine. I glitched up, okay?” Calista just wanted all of this to end. She didn’t need her mother’s rant on top of everything else.

  “No! You’re making her apologize for nothing! They have to get over themselves!” Katelyn insisted. “You should apologize for being a buggy mom!”

  “You really think it’s that easy, Katelyn Lakynn?” Their mother chuckled. “You really think an apology will cut it? No. All those people that have worshipped the ground we walk on? They’re not forgiving people.” She looked at Calista, approaching her with crazed eyes. “It doesn’t matter what you say. You could make a five-hour long apology broadcast. You could donate to every single follower out there. You could grovel on your knees and beg. They’ll never forgive you. You’re someone they admired and respected, someone they saw as perfect. Now that you’re suddenly not perfect, they’ll never accept that. You can’t make mistakes in this world. Everything you do has to be a secret, and a very deep one, because they watch you all your life! They’ll never stop!”

  Shivers crawled down Calista’s spine. She’d never seen her mother like this. She looked so furious… almost manic. She glanced at Katelyn, worried, when their mother started to giggle uncontrollably. “Mom…”

  “They’ll never let us live this down, Calista! You probably think they all forgave me for having you! But they didn’t! They still watch me and pour their hearts out to me, but they still talk about it! And they still talk about when I lost my first pageant when I was sixteen, and how I tripped and fell onstage when I was twelve, and how one… single pimple grew on my forehead because I forgot to take my acne meds!” Her voice had raised to a shriek. “You have to make up for every single mistake for the rest of your life. This? The Versus? That’s unforgivable. You just made everything so much worse…”

  “Then why the bugs should I care anymore?!” Calista found herself saying, suddenly overcome by anger. A burning hatred grew in the pit of her stomach, blazing towards all of their followers. All of them. They didn’t understand what it was like to be in the spotlight all their lives. They didn’t understand anything.

  Henry always told her growing up, “Don’t waste your battery over this,” he’d say. “It’s done. Just learn from your mistakes. It’s okay to lag behind a few frames every now and then.” Their followers would never say that. Being a Socializer meant being perfect, and Calista just couldn’t do it. Socializers always talked about following one’s heart and achieving one’s dreams, yet they didn’t let her reach her dreams!

  She could say whatever she wanted to say, as long as they approved. She could do whatever she wanted to do, as long as it didn’t go against their values. She could slip up and fall sometimes, if they decided to brush it off. She could have her opinions, as long as they aligned with their opinions.

  “It’s always about them. They’re our life, right?” Calista’s limbs shook with the urge to punch and kick something, like that CDSim hologram from the test. She’d never felt so angry before. “Our lives are theirs. We can’t have our own. I can’t have my life. Neither can she,” — she pointed at Katelyn— “or Quincy. I can’t marry whoever I want, right? And when I have kids, I’m going to have to do this whole thing over again, right?”

  “Of course it’s always about them, Calista,” Jennifer said spitefully. “They made us who we are. If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be in this house! You wouldn’t have the privileges you have! I made a lot of sacrifices for the three of you, especially you!” She pointed sharply at her. “And you just threw it all in the cachebin!”

  “Maybe I wanted to! Maybe I don’t want all of this anymore! If I was such a rep hit to you, maybe you shouldn’t have had me!”

  “Yeah, you’re right! I should’ve just left you in that pod!” Jennifer’s eyes softened, the mania instantly dissolving, when she realized what she’d said. It hit Calista worse than when the CDSim slammed her on the mat.

  Silence stretched out between the three Medley women. Calista’s face turned as cold as stone as she watched her mother. It was like she was a stranger.

  Henry and Quincy suddenly entered the room. “What’s going on?” Henry asked.

  “Nothing,” Calista said icily.

  “Dad…” Katelyn burst into tears and hugged her father.

  Henry instantly looked at his wife, who was still in shock. “What did you do? What did you say to her?” He looked at Quincy. “Did you hear what they were saying?”

  “It doesn’t matter, Dad,” Quincy said. His face was as impassive as ever, but sadness reflected in his blue eyes. He must have used a scrambler to listen in again.

  Jennifer then cleared her throat, composing herself. “Think up an apology broadcast. If you work hard enough, you could make people forget about this enough to let you level up in life. You’re locked down. You’re not going anywhere. If any of our fans see you out there, it could be dangerous.” She left, quickly followed by everyone else, leaving Calista alone in her locked-down room.