Glitches (Book 1)

Chapter 13.75: Claire

The President of WGO stared coolly down at me, her deep, brown eyes unwavering. She did not look angry, but she didn't appear pleased, either. In fact, her expression communicated no emotion at all, leaving me clueless as to what to expect from her. My breath hitched in my throat and I quickly sat up, feeling inexplicably embarrassed even though it was Amanda who had snuck into my room while I was asleep.

"I wish to speak to you," she said simply, her monotonous voice matching her blank expression. She folded her hands behind her back, remaining in eerily perfect control of both her words and mannerisms.

"Yes?" I asked as politely as I could, swallowing furiously at the hoarse sound of my voice. I mentally berated myself for not getting a drink of water from the sink as soon as I entered the room, despite the fact that I had been thirsty. Now, I was going to have to have what could be a life-changing conversation with the thought of water constantly at the back of my mind.

"I hope your orientation was satisfactory." She began with a question that sounded harmless, but was accompanied with a rather unsettling frown that intensified her already chilling features. Amanda had not bothered to turn on the lights when entering the room, and the only available light was the faint glow of a night light that was plugged in beside the door. Her black suit blended in with the darkness around her, giving her the ghastly appearance of a spirit of the night.

"It was alright," I managed an awkward smile. "Megan was very helpful. She told me a little bit about how WGO works, and the Divisions you have."

"I see," Amanda nodded slowly.

"Would you like to, uh, sit down?" I gestured to the chair in the corner, feeling rather intimidated by the fact that she was practically standing over me. I had spent my entire life speaking in front of crowds of thousands, yet speaking to the President of WGO alone was proving very difficult.

"This will do, thank you," Amanda said emotionlessly. "What do you think of Megan?" A devilish smirk crossed her lips as she asked this question, and for a moment, I got the impression that she already knew all about my tumultous meeting with her assistant. Still, I chose to answer respectfully and hope for the best.

"She's wonderful. She managed to explain the basics of WGO perfectly in such a short amount of time. Thanks to her, I'm feeling a lot less nervous about this."

"I don't appreciate being lied to, Claire," Amanda responded almost immediately, a flash of anger crossing her face. I recoiled in surprise, pulling my knees up to my chest. Since Glitches didn't have Code sequences of their own, there was no way she could've read my mind.

Then, how did she know that I wasn't telling the whole truth? How much, if anything, did Megan tell her?

"I will ask again. Was any information of note revealed to you during your orientation?" Amanda questioned, crossing her arms. Every second, our conversation felt more like an interrogation.

"That depends on what kind of information you consider to be 'of note,'" I said simply, hoping that giving her vague answers would prevent me from endangering myself.

For a moment, the typically calm Amanda appeared enraged, before she appeared to be struck by some kind of realization and regained her composure. "You truly are not aware, are you?" she muttered to herself, tapping her crimson fingernail thoughtfully on her bottom lip.

"Pardon me, but...aware of what?" I asked impatiently, hoping that my tone did not sound too demanding. The last thing I wanted to do was offend a powerful Glitch who was far more experienced than I, but I was growing rather tired of being the only one around who had no idea what was going on.

"I think you would be reassured to know that Megan does not hate you," Amanda stated. "She does not dislike you in the least. In fact, she has put herself through several rather unpleasant situations in order to protect you. As for why she has done so...that is for her to tell you, and her alone."

"She didn't look like she was inclined to tell me much," I said truthfully.

"Perhaps, she does not feel that you are ready to know. She's very big on the whole concept of worthiness and receiving what one deserves. Actually, from the looks of it, she may not be planning to tell you at all. She is a curious girl, Megan is. Wait..." Amanda paused mid-sentence, her finger hovering before her face, as her eyes widened epiphanically. The corners of her lips twisted upward into an evil grin.

"I do wonder how badly it would skew Megan's plans if I told you everything right now," she mused aloud. "Our dear Vice President certainly wouldn't be expecting that, would she?"

"I'm not so sure I want to know, actually," I scooted back against the hard back of the bed, my stomach tightening with anticipation.

"Did I say you had a choice?" the President chuckled. "The first thing you will need to know is that our friend Megan is actually your older sister."