The Genetic Code

Chapter 8

Kera

"We should get our tickets for Premium soon, or we may not get the best section."

"Seriously, Suzy? VIP passes. We'll have even better seats than those in the best section, and backstage access."

"Aren't VIP passes practically impossible to get? They're only available for those who have connections with the organizers, or like, the Queen of England."

"Come on, Suzy. Have you forgotten who I am? I'm Kera Rosamund. Do you honestly think I wouldn't have those connections? And even my godsister, Princess Elaine, doesn't have access to these tickets. You guys are just lucky enough to be friends with someone like me who has unlimited global connections right at her disposal."

I would usually never step anywhere near a festival with a ten-foot-pole, but Premium is an exception.

The Premium Music and Arts Festival is an exclusive outdoor music event held at the Empire Island Resort, on a private offshore island to the south. The high-value tickets weed out the underprivileged, and only those with 'Perfect' on their ID are permitted to register for entry, ensuring that everyone attending is a person of quality...

As far as they know.

I violently crush the train of thought in my head threatening to rise and swallow the lump lodged in my throat, putting on a smile in an act of forced composure.

"You two can pay me back once I've confirmed the tickets."

After a few moments of silence Thalia speaks up, "H-How much are these tickets gonna... cost?"

"$9,999 for VIP tickets. Plus extra for transport and accomodation. Why?"

Her eyes widen a bit when I say this, which makes mine narrow curiously.

"It's nothing," she tries to brush off with a tight smile, but it's even more stiff than mine was.

Thalia has been acting strange lately. I've noticed that she tends to go quiet whenever Suzy or I bring up Premium. She also doesn't follow us to the mall anymore, and when we go out to eat together, she just orders a drink and none of the mains.

She does this exact thing when we go to our favorite Japanese restaurant after school. Suzy gets a salmon rice bowl, I get a soft shell crab sushi roll, and Thalia just asks for green tea, which comes free.

Throughout our entire conversation about Premium — what we're going to wear, where we're going to stay at night, what drinks we're gonna sneak in — Thalia remains silent. I can tell that there's something she wants to say, but she keeps hesitating, giving up each time and looking down at her empty glass.

"Kera..." she eventually starts gingerly.

I pick up a piece of sushi with my chopsticks with ease and look up at my redheaded friend.

"I don't think I'll be going for Premium."

"What? Why?" I demand.

Her answer is so mousy that I almost don't hear her, but I manage to catch it: "I... I don't think I can... afford it."

The sushi drops from my chopsticks as my head snaps up to look at her with an expression of disbelief. I stare at her blankly for a few seconds, before breaking out in laughter.

"Good one, Dawnings."

She blinks a few times and furrows her defined eyebrows together. "I'm being serious, Kera."

I continue laughing like a maniac, holding my stomach and wiping away the tears from my eyes.

"Stop joking around, Thalia. You're so annoying, you're making me lose my concentration on eating."