Uglier

Chapter 16 Bracelet

Chapter 16 Bracelet

Ella and Quincy's Class

Alana-Hope wrote on the chalkboard, summer break starts tomorrow, joint end of the year party starts now.

Quincy clasped a bracelet around Zeda's wrist, which was how men on Crystal Alpha proposed. Crystal Alpha fruit seeds that sparkled and mimicked gems around the gold wires.

Alana-Hope removed her phone from her purse and recorded their love story.

Students followed her lead.

"Please marry me, I love you." Quincy placed his arm on her shoulder.

"Yes." Zeda sunk into his embrace.

He held her and could feel her breath against his cheek, and walked back to his and Ella's desk.

A student approached Zeda and Quincy, while others ate donuts and wrote their chapters.

"Professor Quincy, what are you and Zeda planning to do over the summer break?"

"I usually visit the Planet Unicorn Prime, but Zeda and I are waiting on her approval to leave, but that won't happen until December." He turned to Zeda and placed her fingers near his mouth, but did not kiss them.

She stared at him, and a soft sigh left her lips.

Ella tapped Zeda on the shoulder. "Chaz is going to meet with us tomorrow."

"I don't have that much time and being seen with him gives the media the wrong idea," Zeda said.

Alana-Hope approached them. "I have great footage for your love story. My ex came by last night, spouting the usual creepy stuff, to scare me back. He texted me he should be out of the hospital tomorrow."

Teenagers entered the room and shoved an article into everyone's hands.

"What is this?" Alana-Hope asked.

"We're the new media," a student with one Mark replied.

Alana-Hope glanced over the article.

Josh and Lisa Underground.

The Mark Board has tried to stop us from telling our truth by purchasing the papers. We are now running our own underground media organization.

If we are stopped or killed, others will rise and write in our place.

Note from Lisa: Josh and I still have our jobs, but women with two Marks are forced to work in complaint call centers. A call center is where the non-depressed sad sacks call to complain.

Women are often dragged off at a moment's notice by the sketchy Mark Authority Squad. The squad arrested Ministry police officers, which our Prime Minister can't stop because our planet's resources are spent on beautification, and he can't challenge the law without a majority vote from the Mark Board. We can't vote on beauty laws, only traffic and housing. Marked women and men who marry them cannot vote at all.

Chaz should donate and hire Marked women. He needs to stop hiding in his glamorous office and visit one of the poorer provinces.

Alana-Hope's phone rang, and she discarded the article on the desk and answered it. Her voice shook, and her body rocked. Tears formed in her eyes. She was silent for a moment. "Oh, thank you for telling me." Alana-Hope listened for another moment, and a sob left her lips.

"Are you okay? Is he threatening you?" Zeda asked.

"My ex-died, his sister called me to thank me for trying to save him. I loved and hated him, but I never wanted him to destroy himself. He scored Beauty Drugs in the hospital vending machine. He was ranting about blood and death before he died, and he told his sister he'd bury her if she didn't bring me to him," Alana-Hope replied.