Missing Streams

Upgrades - 12

"Excuse me?" I snapped as I pushed myself to my feet. Foot I guess, "You want to do what?"

"Please calm down, 6-6, before I have to bring in security." Dr. Hofsbrain stared at me with cold eyes, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.

The feeling was mutual, "Then I'll ask politely. Please explain to me further than saying I'll be receiving a brain surgery so I can get a bionic limb."

"That's better, 6-6." He apparently loved rubbing it in that I didn't even have a last name to be called by. Squadron 6, member 6, my only identity here. Others would call kids by their last names if they wanted to get more personal - usually with insults.

"Then can you tell me?" I didn't need to be here for more than an hour to know nobody around here likes to answer questions.

"The brain surgery will put an electronic energy reader that will detect brain signals that you would use to move your leg before it was amputated, and will now send them the the bionic limb." Hofsbrain spoke like this was common knowledge, looking at me like I had a banana peel draped over my nose. Maybe it was common knowledge for a neurosurgeon, but not for a seventeen year old girl.

"Fucking wonderful." I rubbed my temples, because that seemed like something an angsty teenager wouldn't do. I was lost for anything to do to help the situation, so resolved to trying to do something funny.

"Please be respectful or I'll have you taken to detention."

"Respectful?" I laughed, apparently loud enough to make him jump, "That's like asking a hostage to say please and thank you. Oh wait, that's exactly what it is."

His hand moved to his waist, assuming I didn't know what he was doing. Every staff member had a radio that included a button to call security. Off to detention I went. Not before Hofsbrain tried to cover his ass, "We are a government run facility that strives to help troubled youth-"

"Leave behind their troublesome past and become a productive member of society. I know." I rolled my eyes, having heard that from anyone I dared to talk back to.

I'd only been there five days, and I had already been pulled from class to go for a doctor's appointment. This crap was straight out of a science fiction movie, but there was a part of me that wished for it to happen. There was an undeniable hope that walking normally wasn't that far out of my reach. That it really was that easy.

But in places like this, nothing was ever that easy.

A knock on the door, "Did you order pizza? Or maybe we get to hear about our lord and savior-"

"Please come with me." The tall burly man in black in the doorway demanded, "Or I will be forced to make you."

"You'll have to buy me dinner before you can go putting handcuffs on me." I hopped on top of my crutches, "I'll walk, thanks."

Walking down the hall, I passed by Simon. He couldn't say anything to me during class unless I was actually his patient, since he was virtually a nurse. Because of that he'd get shit for doing anything unprofessional and could only look at me. But he knew I was off to detention, and he clearly felt bad for me.

I didn't see why, considering I hadn't gone a day yet without ending up in detention. I could claim it was about the principle of it or something, but really I couldn't help myself from breaking their precious little rules.

How could I? Watching security guards glare at me while staff members fumed was just so much fun.

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