The Genetic Code

Chapter 34

Kera

I sit across from my mother, fork hovering in the air. I can't seem to stomach my brunch today. My mind is too preoccupied with other thoughts, like finding a way to confirm my blood type without my mother finding out. If I go to any doctor I'll have to make an appointment, which she can track, and if I go straight to the Rosamund Tech labs without needing an appointment they'll definitely still inform her.

She's very meticulous when it comes to any medical examinations I undergo. If she can't be there herself, she'll make sure that the examination is done by a doctor she can trust who will only share my medical records directly with her. My medical records are always confidential, so much so that I don't even get to see the results to some of my own medical examinations. I'd never really been particular about it before, but in light of the new information disclosed by Doctor Park last night, I can't help but wonder why. There must be a reason my mother is so finicky when it comes to my medical records, and I'm determined to find out.

I look up at her as she flicks through her tablet, probably looking through emails from investors after last night's event, face devoid of emotion. She's impossible to read, and private to a religious degree. She has a lot of secrets, that much I can tell.

I don't know her at all. Her hobbies, likes, dislikes, personal taste, childhood experiences... They're all just question marks to me. I don't know if I'll ever find the answers to any of them. The only thing I know about her youth is that she had an older sister who was banished by my grandmother for marrying a Border and disgracing the family (apparently banishing is still a thing in this day and age)... and even that fact was told to me by Daddy before he and my mother split. Sometimes I feel like she's not even my mother; She's more like a stranger.

The stranger before me sips on her coffee, then puts down the mug and turns to me with static green eyes.

"The investors are raving about you," she says dispassionately. "You sure know how to put up a good pretense in front of people. You're a completely different person from who you are at home."

I pull a rigid smile. "I learnt from the best," I say. She responds with a tight sarcastic smile of her own.

I continue bitingly with a bright smile plastered across my features, "At least this way, people will actually believe that you're a good parent, and I'm a good daughter."

"Good. As long as they have that impression." She takes a long sip of her drink, then exhales deeply, speaking casually, "And even if you don't think so, I am a good mother."

I laugh in a cordial manner. "Oh, really?" I ask as if inquiring about the weather. She raises a perfectly-pencilled eyebrow as if civilly inviting me to a challenge, so I decide to accept it. "Well then, Supermom, what class am I in?"

"The same class as I was in Trinity: 2A," she answers resolutely without batting a lash.

I sneer. "Our classes aren't even in alphabets anymore, and I'm in Year 3, mother. I know old people like to live in the past, but I would like to peaceably suggest that you keep with the times."

"My apologies, dear. I've been too engaged in monitoring and setting up the path for other aspects of your future that I must have overlooked the part of what title your school homeroom group was given. I guess our priorities aren't in the same order. Must be because your brain has still yet to become mature... The capacity for improvement is still very broad, I see. I remember you telling me a while ago that Suzy Jung scored better than you in the most recent chemistry test?"

I distinctly remember when I told my mother about the chemistry test scores. She didn't give more than a single 'hmm' for a reply, and continued typing busily on her tablet without sparing a look at me the entire time. I didn't even know if she heard me at all.