Democracy is Dead

Chapter Twelve

"Successful?" Cress asked as Athena stomped back into the flat, a small current of rainwater trailing behind her.

"Sort of," Athena replied, shaking off her coat and hanging it to dry. Once her boots and socks were off and replaced with fluffy pink slippers, she padded into the living area.

Cress was curled up on the sofa under a blanket, a digital textbook open on the screen on the wall. The gentle notes of Debussy drifted through the flat. Classical music was Cress's one exception to pop voting. She followed every other result religiously, but music was as important to her as her heartbeat and she wouldn't give it up unless there was a vote to outright ban it. It had been popular when she was a child, and her musical mother had taught her to play the piano and violin. Cress still had both instruments in her bedroom.

When they'd first moved into the apartment at the beginning of the year, Cress would only play when Athena was out, until Athena had returned early one evening and heard her. Girl bands were the pop music of the moment and Cress had been embarrassed, but Athena reassured her that it was fine. She'd encouraged her to keep playing and Cress had become more and more relaxed about it.

"So, what happened?" Cress asked, tactfully not commenting on the fact that Athena now resembled a drowned rat. Water dripped from her hair in a steady stream and her jeans contained more water than fabric. Even her jumper, which should have been protected beneath her coat, was damp.

"I saw one of the members of the group breaking into a voting centre," Athena told her. She decided to leave out the part where he caught her; Cress would be horrified that she'd failed on her first attempt.

"What were they trying to do?" Cress asked, her expression a mixture of shock and interest.

"I'm not sure." Athena felt like following Dyo had created more questions than answers. "Whatever it was, it looked like the guy I was following was interrupted before he could do it. He was definitely up to something though."

Cress' eyes shone with excitement. "I have to go and call Castor to tell him!" She jumped up and was halfway back to her room before she turned around and asked, "Have you replied to Demi yet?"

"Replied to what?"

"The party, silly! Have you not been checking the feeds?"

Athena had been so caught up in what had happened with Dyo that she hadn't looked at the feeds, or read her messages, since the lecture that morning. She was completely out of the loop.

"They are going to announce the result of the healthcare vote tonight, via the feeds. Demi is going to host a party so that we can all be together to celebrate. I already said that I would go."

"Sounds good, what time does it start?"

"Six. We can grab some food after. I've downloaded a new application for it too: Rating Rank. In large groups of people, it lets you know where you stand in the ratings. With so many second and third years there, I know I won't make the top five. But I've thought of everyone who should be going and I think I might be seventh."

Athena nodded, not really sure how to respond. She had no idea what use Cress had for an application that would tell her something she'd already calculated for herself. "I'd better get dried and changed then! If I arrive like this, I'll slip even further down those rankings." Forcing herself to sound more enthusiastic than she felt, Athena trudged through to her room, leaving small puddles in her wake.

For the second evening running, Athena found herself staring sceptically at the contents of her wardrobe. Getting dressed never used to be this hard; fashion and style were things that Cress obsessed over. Athena preferred to blend in.

She was exhausted and confused. She'd never felt less like getting dressed for a party. Curling under a blanket and brainstorming all the possible reasons Dyo might have for breaking into a voting centre sounded much more appealing.

When she spoke to him on the doorstep, Athena had been trying not to sound too keen on returning, so that Dyo wouldn't become suspicious. But in the comfort of her room she was beginning to see the truth behind her words. She wasn't sure she could go back. She wasn't sure she wanted to. This wasn't her - sneaking around, deceiving people. Even if Dyo was doing something wrong, spying on him made her uncomfortable. Plus, her stomach tightened at the thought of spending more time with the group while they - or Dyo - might be plotting the destruction of something that was as vital to her everyday life as the air she breathed. Castor wanted a calm, calculating spy, but her trip through the voting centre had left Athena's heartbeat erratic and her breathing unsteady.

And how was she supposed to focus on dresses when her mind was such a blur?

"What do you think, Hoot?" Athena asked her hamster, in the hope that inspiration might leap from his wheel, but Hoot was tucked up in his sawdust, fast asleep.

When she was still staring into the wardrobe a few minutes later, hoping the right outfit would jump out and attack her, Athena accepted that she was going to need help.

Cress was back on the sofa when Athena opened her bedroom door. "You okay, Athy?" she asked.

Athena shook her head. "I'm having a clothing crisis. Would you mind if I borrowed something of yours?"

Cress grinned back at her wickedly. "That sounds like a lot more fun than studying. Come on, we'll make you look like a proper pop vote princess!" Athena felt her stomach calm for the first time since she'd seen Dyo. A pop makeover was exactly what she needed to feel herself again.

When they'd moved into the flat, Cress' room had been an underwater oasis of teals and periwinkle, with the walls a soft duck-egg blue. But over December it had been transformed into a palace of pink. Technically, the colour vote was only supposed to be about clothing; people had grown frustrated with the constantly changing fashions in shops and hated designers' tendency of bringing back things no one would have chosen to wear otherwise. The colour vote had been a way for shoppers to have more of a say. It was one of many regular fashion votes, but it was by far the most important. For voters like Cress the colour vote had become a way of life. Not only her clothing, but her entire world had to match it.

Cress sat Athena on her bed and opened all five doors to her wardrobe, which was overflowing with pink clothing. Athena had seen pictures of Barbie dolls in her secondary school history classes, but even they'd worn less pink than this.

Maybe this had been a bad idea.

"Demi and Dora are turning tonight's result into the biggest party of the term. They are saying that we need to celebrate after everything that's happened. We can therefore afford to dress you up a little bit..." Cress trailed off as she leafed through outfits on the rails. Cress had a knack for knowing what would look good on people. In another, vote-less life, Athena could imagine her making a career out of it. By putting herself in Cress' hands, Athena would avoid having to try on countless outfits. All she had to do was sit back and let Cress take control. After the afternoon's confusion, it was exactly what she needed.

"Why is the result itself being announced over the feeds in such a low-key way?" Athena asked, leaning back on the fuchsia bedspread.

"Everyone's a little bit jumpy. They decided that it would be safer to announce it over the feeds. Of course, the early warning meant that we could still arrange a way to celebrate. After all that work, it would have been a pity to sit at home and read the results on our own. Ah, here we go." The dress Cress pulled out of her wardrobe had mesh panelling across the shoulders and collar bone, with a fitted waist and flared skirt.

And of course, it was pink. It was safe. It was everything Athena voted for and believed in. After an afternoon of vote-related turmoil, it was perfect.

{Let me know in the comments what you think of the pop vote system! Do you think it would take some of the stress out of everyday life, or would the lack of choice frustrate you? As always, please vote if you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading.}