Program Error

Chapter Two

"What do you mean?"I question, perplexed. 

"Maybe this is a test. Maybe the Society is just testing us to see our reaction if something like this ever happened for real." He flips his curly blond hair out of his eyes, which are staring into mine. That's actually a pretty legitimate answer. But why now? Is something going on that the Society is not telling us? 

"Interesting,"I say. 

We are trapped for about another hour in the classroom. To pass the time, we actually do something other than learning. Mr. Wescott tells a few tales from his childhood, and he's actually an interesting man. We toss around an old ball. We could be able to play hangman or tic-tac-toe, but we don't have a functioning smart board to write on. The time drags on, until finally the power is revived.

There is a loud pop, which startles me and my classmates. The lights flicker on, and I can feel my desk and BioTab buzzing to life. All power has been restored. Finally.

The intercom crackles to life, revealing Ms. Groden's voice. She sounds frazzled. "D-due to the current circumstances, as ordered by the Society, school will be dismissed early. We are sorry for any confusion this ordeal may have caused. Have a good rest of the day."

School dismissed five hours early? Maybe this is more serious than I thought. I turn to Des, but all he can offer is a shrug. The others pile out the classroom door, some confused, some happy to be leaving so early. Des and I follow them out of the class. Liena steps in front of me and gives me a suspicious, cold glare before walking into the hall.

Des and I meet up with the other members of our group. Saira, Lewis, Imani, and Joel stand by the hydration fountain, our usual spot.

"Wasn't that wicked?" Imani says to me, smile wide. I would describe her as the oddball of the group. Her short, spiky blue hair gives her the appearance of a blueberry. One rad blueberry.

"Was not, Imani,"Joel inputs. "Something went really wrong. And I'm worried." Joel is the smart, practical guy. He's sensitive at times, but he's really sweet. 

Imani rolls her eyes. "That was so cool! We didn't even have to take the math test we were supposed to have. We just talked all hour. Pretty awesome emergency in my book. ." 

"I just think it's really weird,"I say. "I mean the traffic shutdown, and now this? Not a typical Tuesday."

Saira and Lewis nod their heads in agreement. Imani shrugs. "I guess. But no work is still awesome."

We begin to walk to the BioBus ports outside of the school. The brothers, Joel and Lewis, head in the opposite direction, down to their bus. Imani, Saira, and I continue on our path. 

"You don't think the Society wouldn't tell us if there was something bad happening right?"Saira asks. 

"That's impossible. Of course they would tell us. And the Society is flaw free anyway. Errors aren't possible,"Imani answers. Flaw free? I think today's problems erases that idea. 

"You're right Imani. I'm just overreacting. The Society will take care of this, like they always do,"Saira says, comforting herself. I have something to say, but I keep my thoughts to myself. Worrying Saira isn't a good idea, and neither is disagreeing with Imani. Those arguments can get pretty heated.

"See ya,"I say to Imani as she climbs onto her bus. Saira waves at her and smiles.

She gives me and Saira an army salute before saying,"Later, losers."

Saira follows me to our bus and we get on. I begin to take my status out of my pocket, but the status card scanner is not activated. I slip my card right back into my pocket and move to our seat. "One more glitch,"I say to myself. We slide into our seat, vinyl squeaking as we scoot. 

Saira  pulls out her BioTab. "What the heck?"she says, alarmed. 

"What?"I ask, startled.

"Almost all of my files are gone!" She rapidly scrolls through her data, but it's true- more than half of it has been erased. "Let me see yours,"she demands.

I compliantly hand her my BioTab. The only two apps available are the internet and assignment apps. We aren't able to see if anything has been deleted. 

"This sucks,"she says, defeated. "I knew something crazy is going on."

"I know. What is the Society hiding from us?"I question.

Some minutes later, Saira gets off the bus, leaving me to answer my own questions. I'll ask my parents. My dad is an Automater, the kind for BioBuses and other transportation. He should know what exactly happened this morning. My mom works for the Society. That's all I know, which is not much to go by. I know she works high up in the Society, but she's not allowed to tell us exactly what she does. Whenever I ask, all she replies with is "important work." But I want to know what kind of work. She's full of secrets about her job.

Maybe I can crack those secrets tonight. I sit back in my seat, hungry for answers. I know the Society is hiding something, and I bet she knows too. Maybe I can finally get some answers.