Glitched

Chapter 19

((Laila's POV))

256 literally pushed 381 out of her way with so much force, he stumbled and fell to the ground.  She ran up to me, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open.  She grabbed my arms and pulled me to her.

"You're a Citizen?  Like, a Citizen from the New World?" she asked me, looking me in the eyes.

I nodded, a bit worried.  Her hands were squeezing my arms so tightly it was beginning to Hurt.  Was she doing it on purpose, or was this pain accidental?  

Behind her, 381 stood up and dusted himself off.

"Y-yeah, I am a Citizen from the New World." I answered.

If it was even possible, 256's eyes grew wider.  She started to shake me and squealing, a noise so high and loud it made my ears Hurt too.  She finally stopped shaking me and screaming, and turned to 381, but she did not let go of my arms.  381 took a few steps back, looking Worried.  

"She's a Citizen!" she said to him.

"Yeah... I think we've established that..." he said, dragging out his words.

256 turned back to me, and gripped my arms harder.  I hissed out, the Pain tinkling up my arm.  

"What's the New World like?  Is it big?  How many people are there?  What are the hover machines like?  How do they work?  Are they fast?  Are they fun to ride?  What's the Conservator like?  Are they trying to fix us?  Is the sky always blue like everyone says it is?  Is it perfect?" 256 asked, question after question, her words were so rushed and fast I wondered if she took a breath at all.  

381 walked up and put his hand on 256's shoulder.  "256, I think your hurting her." he said, and looked down at my arms.  256 turned slightly red and let go of my arms.  She held her arms together and backed away from me slightly.  There were nail indents in my arms, and the area around them was red.  The pain still tingled, but it slowly went away.

"Sorry..." 256 said, looking at the floor.

"I forgive you," I recited, rubbing my arms.

256 took a deep breath in, and then let it out.  "It's just...  I've never been there, the New World.  I've heard so much about it...  and...  I just...  it sounds so perfect." 256 said, looking me in the eyes.

I gave her a warm smile and sighed.  The New World flashed in my head, and I felt fluttery inside.  Thinking about the New World made me feel so comfortable, even in a new place, with new people.  

"It is perfect, it's as perfect as perfect can be." I said.

256 squealed once more and did some sort of dance where she hopped really fast from one foot to another over and over again.

"Really?  Really really?" she asked, getting really close again.

I nodded.  "Really,"

381 sighed and pulled 256 back.  "Give the poor girl some space, jeez." he told her.  He looked up at me, still holding 256 back.

"Maybe we should find a place to sit, this seems like a conversation best had while seated." he offered.

I nodded.  Maybe if we were sitting, 256 would calm down a bit.  I spotted a someplace to sit, it looked like curbs, getting higher and jutting out from an arced wall.  It was tall and looked as if it was made with metal, thin metal bars.  We walked over to it and took a seat.  I sat on a seat above 381, and 256 took a seat next to me.  The seats were not ver comfortable, and they kind of Hurt to sit on.  I brushed off the lack of comfort and turned to 256.