Lifespan of Starlight Read Online Free Page B

somehow
imposing because of its size. Her outline is reflected in the screen but I can’t
make out her expression.
    After a while, I lean forward. ‘Are you … angry?’
    ‘No, Scout.’ She turns back to me and forces a smile. ‘I’m … sorry for that woman
but I’ve brought you too far down this path to be angry about what you did.’ She
shakes her head. ‘I only wish you’d discussed this with me before you registered
for the test. It would have been much safer if you’d registered with my chip. I could
have accessed that woman’s rations and you could have just …’
    She trails off but I know what she was going to say. I could have just stepped into
her life. I could have taken over her chip. But it’s such a non-solution; we’d just
be transferring all my problems to her. I can’t believe we’re still discussing this.
My eyes drop to the mushrooms and sausage on her plate; she hasn’t even touched them.
    ‘You need to discuss these things with me first, okay? This room is registered to me .’
    ‘So?’
    Mum lets out a sigh, but instead of answering she turns away, carrying her plate
to the sink and standing to bite at the sausage with her back to me. Her hands shake
slightly as she eats; she must have been hungrier than she was letting on.
    After a while she turns to me and leans backwards against the sink. ‘You’re a smart
kid, Scout,’ she says. And then, almost to herself, ‘You’ll have to be.’
    I stand and move towards her, trying to read her expression. ‘I did it, Mum. Didn’t
I tell you that I’d handle it?’
    ‘Yes, Scout. You did.’ The air about her is more hope than happiness, but I reach
in for a hug anyway.
    ‘It’s going to be okay now,’ I say, my head tucked under her chin. Mum doesn’t say
anything but I feel her arms hold me tighter.
    Silently, I make a pact.
    From now on, it’s my turn to give back to Mum. For all that she’s done for me, all
that she’s given up, I’m going to pay her back.

A MESSAGE IS WAITING from Alistair when I wake up the next morning: Don’t know how you did it, but pleased nonetheless. Try some practice tests if you’re feeling nervous. Once again,
Agent X, you surprise me.
    The emotiphone at the end is set to trigger cheers and applause as soon as it registers
my eye-focus. So utterly corny that I groan and make a face, laughing at the screen.
    It’s a while since he’s used that nickname, Agent X. A top code-cracker, in hiding
from the government. That was me for as long as I can remember.
    I must have been six years old, home alone while Mum was at work, when I worked out
how to unlock our door. Those long hours in our room used to feel like a lifetime
each day. I was already at the front gate when Alistair found me.
    I remember Mum and Alistair talking that evening, but I don’t remember what they
said. All I know is that soon after, Alistair started sending me little onscreen
games. Each day, he’d send me a new code to crack. At least, that’s how he described
it. But as it turns out, he was taking me step-by-step through programming basics.
    I send an emotiphone back to Alistair – a cheering emoji with a posh voice saying
‘thank-you, thank-you, thank-you’ and applause in the background. Then I spend some
time on the practice tests he linked to. I only have to revise one of the maths questions
and grit my teeth through a reading comprehension. But soon my mind turns to the
world outside that door – and my list of all the wonderful things I can do, the same
as all other citizens.
----
    I’m nearly at the overpass to Footscray Station when my steps slow and I find myself
glancing up at the security cameras.
    When I was little, Mum refused to bring me past this part of town. That was before
I understood. I still remember the tightness in my chest as I begged her, holding
back the tears, promising extra chores and trying to tempt her with my share of her
rations. Please, Mum. Please. Please.
    I would have done