Aquifer Read Online Free Page B

between my eagle and me.
    “Luca. We need to talk.”
    I stare at the bulge in his shirt pocket. A dial. An Amongus.
    “My dial isn’t synced. I don’t know what emotion it registered. We were in the welcome. There’s little passion in that.”
    The Amongus turns, his dreadlocks swishing down across his back. He approaches my dial, and I start to recite in my mind.
    Left, slight jog right …
    The monitor falls quiet.
    “Would you please replace my dial?” I ask. “I’m getting tired of these faulty readings.”
    He removes the monitor, turns it over in his hand, and glances at the teacher. “Keep your welcome calm. You may continue.”
    When the door shuts, I smile. More than once my Birther’s error has saved me. I can’t understand my agemates. I’ve schooled with them for ten years, and never once has any dial twitched but mine.
    Today’s lessons, as they always do on the day of descent, focus on history, the History of the Exchange. The class hears the annual retelling of Rabal and the gold mine.
    It was he who first discovered it, the bed of fresh water rock deep below the ocean floor. The thirsty world had no choice but to give to him allegiance, and all countries became one.
    “But how fortunate to swear fealty to such a wise man, the first PM. Soon the once-necessary evils of this world were gone, and surrounded by the Council of Nine, Rabal and his wise sons established the security we now take for granted.”
    Blah. Blah
.
    “Such fortune was not had below …”
    The tone of the story darkens, and my stomach flips.
    “The nine miners who had worked alongside Rabal made a fateful choice: to stay below, to live near the mantle of the earth. While they took on the important task of providing life-giving water to the people above, I don’t suppose they realized they would devolve. From human in form to little more than rats, crawling on all fours in the darkness. And there they would breed, and multiply. It’s to them that Massa will descend today to make the trade on which our lives depend.”
    Lendi glances my way with eyebrows raised. He knows the task will one day fall to me.
    Teacher Two pauses. “Please stand for your recreative minutes.”
    “Happy Birth Hour,” whispers Lendi, leaning over.
    “I forgot.”
    “You always forget. The curse of a seventh of the seventh birth hour. I consider it my job to remind you.”
    At quarter of noon, I will turn sixteen, and be escorted up the stairs to the next room for the last months of myformal schooling. I’ll miss Lendi. He’s already a Sixteen, but was detained. Hopefully, he’ll join me soon.
    “How does your father look?” Lendi asks.
    “He’s strong,” I lie.
    Lendi exhales slowly. He is an anxious sort, always concerned about Father’s wellbeing. I suppose it makes sense. His life depends on the man.
    “Back to your positions.” Teacher Two points to the clock. 11:45.
    “Class, Luca will be moving up today. Wish Luca well.”
    Nobody speaks. They can’t. Their parents have given them orders, and on this day alone, Teacher accepts their disobedience.
    “On behalf of the entire class, I wish you well.”
    I nod and stare at my eagle.
    “Save me a good seat.” Lendi speaks, and I hear the smile in his voice. I shift in time to see the wiggle on his dial. The door opens and the Amongus returns. He whispers to Lendi, who rises.
    “And while I’m here,” says the Amongus, “I will escort Luca to the Sixteens.”
    I rise and join Lendi. He’ll only be chastised, but that’s still quite a sacrifice for a mate.
    The three of us exit the door and circle higher.
    “You shouldn’t have said anything,” I say.
    “You do.”
    “My position is somewhat more protected than yours.”
    The Amongus opens the door to the circle of Sixteens. Nobody but the teacher turns to look.
    “I have a new student for you.” The Amongus pushes me through the doorway, and then grabs my shirt. I glance over my shoulder. “Wish Massa good luck.”