Chapter 28: All the Right Words
She speaks like you. She feels like you. She even flinches where you would. But what happens when the mask isn't just pretending... it's remembering?
Scene: Student Lounge – Early Afternoon
The light from the dome roof filtered down soft and sterile.The lounge was full, but no one was loud. Cadets lounged in groups, wristbands aglow, screens hovering, low laughter humming just beneath the surface.
Tessa Rye sat on the edge of one of the synthetic couches, tea in hand, eyes fixed on the girl across from her.
Ava Spire.
Blonde hair tight behind her ears. Uniform crisp. Composure flawless.
She was telling a story.
And it was one Tessa recognized.
"So I panicked, right?" Ava said, grinning. "I couldn't find the medical module, I was elbow-deep in half a synthetic circulatory system, and the instructor's just watching me suffer. And I blurt out, 'What kind of idiot makes the artery blue and the vein red?!'"
Laughter rippled around the couch.
Even Tessa smiled reflexively.