I couldn't take my eyes off the girl standing in front of me in her underwear. I had seen girls wearing less in their swimsuits, but that wasn't underwear, and something about that fact seemed to scramble my brain. "Sorry," I said, shaking my head and trying not to look below her chin, which I quickly realized was going to be totally impossible.
"You said you wanted to do something fun."
I looked again over the side of the cliff and immediately realized what she had in mind. "What? Jump? You want me to jump off this cliff?"
"Not in your clothes," she said, waggling her head and whipping off her pants. She didn't show a hint of shame or worry about it, and I also couldn't help but notice that the girl had nothing to be ashamed about. Every inch of her was fit, which made sense for a girl who probably walked thirty miles every day, rain or shine. But while her pale skin showed all the muscle and bone under it, just then I also noticed the black tattoo of a jackrabbit on her forearm, the only blemish on her otherwise creamy skin.
Realizing I was staring and deciding I'd just have to sock the question of the black rabbit tattoo away for later, I looked again over the cliff. Every time I did, the water seemed further away.
"Afraid?"
I looked back at the girl, her hands on her hips, the glint in her eye daring me to follow her.
"No," I said, hoping my tone was enough to overcome my momentary pause. Whipping my shirt over my head as I kicked off my shoes, Mia grinned wider. Then turning, she took three giant steps and hurled herself off the cliff with a shout I was sure they would hear miles away in Wonder.
Stepping out of my pants and refusing to think or even look, I ran and jumped. The momentary feeling of weightlessness was almost as shocking as hitting the water, considerably cooler than I thought it would be and getting colder the deeper I plunged. I kicked my legs looking up at the disappearing form of the half-naked girl above me and then pushing myself up through the water, I came through the surface only a few feet from her. Shaking the water from my face and hair and wiping it from my eyes, I looked at Mia, her wet hair slicked back, an uncomplicated smile on her face.
"I didn't think you'd do it, Bo."
"Neither did I," I said with a little laugh that quickly had Mia laughing too. "This must be the quarry where they dug the stone for the buildings in Wonder. It looks deep," I said, treading water and looking again at the wall of limestone that went down into the darkness below us.
"It is. I've jumped in with big rocks, trying to see if I can make it to the bottom. I never get there. If there's a bottom, it's a long way down."
I nodded and then leaned back in the water, letting myself float, the water cooling my back and the sun warming my chest. I glanced to my side, squinting to see Mia doing the same, her eyes closed against the sun. I closed my eyes too and even though I couldn't be sure, I imagined she was floating just an inch away, just enough water between us to keep our skin cool.
I felt a splash on my face and sat up to see her grinning again. She nodded at the wall. "Come on, Bo," she said, swimming backstroke toward the wall with a surprising amount of grace.
I swam to catch up. "Where are we going now?"
"That was the fun part. Now we have to climb out of here."
My smile flickered as I looked at the wall and realized exactly the mess we were in. Mia turned onto her stomach and swam toward a crack in the wall twenty yards down from where we jumped. Near the crack, the wall shrunk to ten feet and had enough jagged ledges on its face that I figured we'd have no trouble getting out. Seconds later, I watched Mia grab hold of the wall and scale it with the ease of an acrobat.
Reaching the wall just as she was cresting the top, I tried to remember where she had put her hands and feet. After what seemed like an hour, I finally lifted myself over the edge, huffing from the exertion, my shoulders burning, sweat pouring down my face. And as I stood there, the midday sun glistening off the beautiful girl smiling at me, I felt a sensation I had never known before. I could put no words to it, but as the seconds passed, I straightened my back and let out a yell that startled both of us and had Mia laughing along with me.
"Come on," she said, turning to race back up the hill in a full sprint.
I tore after her, closing the gap between us and as we crested the top of the cliff, the girl looked over her shoulder, smiled and then dove out over the water head first. I threw myself out over the water after her, watching as her body arched through the air like an arrow falling to earth at the end of its flight. We both hit the water, and I let myself sink even further this time, a gentle wave of my arms pulling me to the surface to see the deep brown of Mia's eyes looking back at me across the water.
I lost count of the number of times we threw ourselves off the cliff. We talked as we swam and climbed and walked. I told her about my classmates and she told me about the people in her clan. I asked her more about the Ferryman, and she tried to explain the stories she remembered about him. She told me what it was like for her to grow up, frustrated to be always moving, and I told her what it was like, frustrated to always be in the same place. And as the day waned into a lilting sun over the horizon, Mia and I climbed out of the water a final time. We sat on the rock at the top of the cliff, letting the remnants of the day's heat dry our skin and the little clothing we had on.
We said nothing for a while, both of us enjoying the quiet and the breeze and the moment, and then Mia stood, slipped her pants on and pulled her shirt over her head. Taking the cue, I dressed and then opened the pack of phos.
Pulling out the lime soda, the pale white luminescent liquid bubbling inside, I pulled the top and handed it to Mia. "This one's my favorite."
Mia's eyes bulged with wonder at what she held in her hand and then gently tipping the bottle to her lips, she took a sip. To see her expression change from confusion to surprise, her brown eyes lighting in seconds, I couldn't help but laugh.
"You like it?"
"Yeah," she said, nodding quickly wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She took another sip, letting the smile etch her jaw.
I reached in the bag, taking out the other flavors—grape, orange, pineapple, chocolate, cherry—and didn't waste a second popping the tops on all of them, handing each one of them to her. The girl couldn't help but stir in her seat as she tried them all. And each time her expression morphed like she had just tasted something so perfect and sweet, it almost knocked her off the cliff.
"That one is my favorite too," she finally said, pointing at the lime phos. I handed it to her to finish and took the chocolate one for myself.
"Tell me more about your city," Mia said, bracing herself on one arm and looking closer at the rapidly emptying bottle in her hands.
"What do you want to know?"
"I don't know ... tell me about the building in the middle ... the big one."
I sipped my drink. "That's called The Lists. That's kind of like our school ... I'm testing this summer to see what job I'll get."
"What job do you want?"
I smiled at Mia. "Being a scout sounds pretty good to me."
"You don't have scouts," she laughed.
"No, we don't," I said slowly and once again as I remembered my place, and my prison at the base of the mountain on which we sat, the familiar presence of melancholy took up a seat beside me, between us. I sighed. "My parents work in the library in New Fields. I kind of wonder if that's where I might end up too."
"Library?"
"Yeah, it's where we keep all the history and records about humanity."
"The history that tells you nobody can live outside your cities?"
I looked at the girl sitting next to me, a funny quirk in her brow that seemed to smash her words into my head with the force of a sledgehammer. It was obvious I was not going to die outside the glass. Emiline hadn't died either. So, what purpose there was in keeping the history of humanity safe, if it was nothing but lies, I couldn't imagine. I also couldn't imagine doing whatever it was Calista had in store for me, when I had so many unanswered questions. Still, I nodded. "Yeah. That history."
Mia nodded again and then thought some more. "And what about the bridge out to that island?"
"That's the Midway. That's where we go for fun." I heard the words, but they sounded like they were coming from someone else, my mind still slogging through the sadness of my plight, trapped in a city full of lies.
"What kind of fun?"
I shrugged. "I don't know ... games ... music ... that's where everyone goes after testing."
"Every day?"
"Pretty much."
"That's a lot of fun," Mia said with a whoa-sigh of surprise that partially snapped me out of my funk.
"I suppose."
"We aren't supposed to talk about it. Rave forbids it ... he says talking about cities and standing still tickles the ears of the Ferryman ... brings him to you faster. But there is a story I heard about a city in the south. One with no glass. One where people can come and go as they please, and can stay as long as they want. One with hundreds of people ... maybe thousands. A city the Ferryman has forgotten."
"Is it real?"
"I don't know," she said, looking back at her bottle to find it empty, and resting it on the rock beside her. "Sometimes I think maybe Val found it ... I hope she did."
"It sounds like a great place," I said, and though I had never had thoughts of living other places before, my thoughts took root for a moment as I wondered about the strange place Mia had described. I imagined myself walking through a great arch into a city with buildings and people there to greet us, because strangely, I realized Mia was standing there with me. I shook my head, trying to snap myself out of the delusion.
Mia nodded. "Sometimes I wish I could live in the city. Sometimes it seems like it would be easier." She turned to me. "Do you have a bed?"
Whatever I was thinking about cities and work and glass prisons shattered as I looked at the girl. My heart thumped at what I immediately took to be some sort of invitation. "Sure," I said in a tone completely lacking any confidence.
"I have heard of beds ... I think I would like to sleep in one," Mia said with a nod.
My thumping heart quickly fell to a thud. And strangely, as I watched the girl looking calmly over the water, a wave of relief washed over me that apparently we hadn't been thinking about the same thing at all.
"You have phos, and fun, and food you don't have to kill first," she added, folding her hands into her lap and looking at her dusty bare feet as she wiggled her thin pale toes.
My chest started aching for the girl, and I knew it was strange. We wanted totally different things, but the fact she couldn't have what she wanted any more than I could, made me feel like I understood her better than most anyone I knew. And as I sat there with her, my heart pounded again as another idea took root.
"You know," I said, turning to her, almost touching her arm with my elbow but hesitating, "if you want to see the city, I can take you."
The flicker in her eye told me it took less than a second for her to realize what I was inviting her to do.
"I just have to get you some clothes so you don't look so ridiculous," I added, the grin stretching across my jaw even before I could finish my thought.
Mia laughed and shook her head. "No, it's too dangerous."
This time I brushed the girl's arm. Maybe surprised, she looked at my arm and then back at me but didn't pull away.
"Nobody will know," I said, trying to reassure her even though I knew it was going to be a lot easier said than done. Any officer or machine that saw her would likely know instantly she didn't belong, seeing as they were all tied into Calista, and Calista knew all the citizens. Still, I couldn't help myself. "And we'll stay out of sight."
"I don't know, Bo."
And for the second time since I met her, I heard the curious but hesitant inflection in her voice. I knew I had her.
"Come on," I said, handing her the rest of my chocolate phos. "One time and then you'll know for sure you aren't missing out on anything in the city."
The girl took the phos, looked at it and smiled as she took a sip. Glancing back at me, she nodded. "Tomorrow?"
My heart raced. I was going to see her again. "Tomorrow."