The Genetic Code

Chapter 10

Sterling

I don't seem to be able to find my ally in the hallway, though I swear I'd seen her go this way.

In class Kera had been throwing paper balls at her, and she just sat there and continued writing, ignoring it. It took every ounce of will in my body to stay put because I knew that my ally wouldn't want me to cause a big scene in front of everyone over something small like this. It's a good thing that girl Nadine told Kera to cut the childish crap because I was two seconds away from leaping out of my chair.

I don't understand why she's still letting Kera do things like this to her. It makes me so angry, but I know she wouldn't want me to interfere, so I'm trying to respect her preference. But just the mere thought of her being hurt by anyone in any form almost drives me crazy. For some reason, I have this instinctive impulse to protect her, even though she's been vehement about wanting to protect herself.

I also have this sort of natural radar so I'm able to sense when she's near me. Right now, that radar pulls me to an empty classroom at the end of the hall. It's the same one that I'd dragged her to on the first day of school.

In hindsight maybe I shouldn't have made a deal with my she-devil stepsister to bring Juliette to her back then (especially since said she-devil didn't even follow through with her end of the deal) but at that point I just wanted an excuse to approach Juliette. Ever since I'd heard that the girl I'd met outside Lucinda's Lair — who'd had me naturally drawn in by the mysterious charm behind her image of innocence — was coming to school in the East Wing, I'd been wanting to find a way to make our paths cross.

And it worked. I'd managed to peel past that first doe-eyed, naive layer of hers to find a bold girl full of grit who challenged me and the system we live in. The more time I spend with her, the more layers I discover, and I get even more enamored by her complexity.

I see her in the classroom with Kera, but right now the two of them are just standing and talking, and my ally seems to have everything under control for now, so I simply stand in the doorway and listen to their conversation, poised ready to make a move if I need to.

"You and my brother have been unusually close these past few days."

"Does that bother you?"

"Yes, it does, actually. The both of you are from two whole different worlds. You trying to breach the boundary that has been so diligently established and maintained by our predecessors shows a vulgar disregard for any sense of respectability or duty to our nation."

My grip on the doorframe tightens, anticipating Juliette's response with bated breath.

"In case you're not aware, Kera, there's just one world. The only person living in a different world is you, in your made-up universe where you've made yourself the centre." Kera's mouth drops open in shock, clearing not expecting my ally's rebuttal. "Using flowery language isn't gonna make you look more intelligent if what you're spouting is still narrow-minded nonsense."

Her answer allows the knot in my stomach to unwind and melt into a pool of warm relief. On the other hand, my beloved stepsister seems to have a completely different response, judging by how her eyes narrow sharply and her nostrils flair.

"Narrow-minded nonsense?"

My body jerks forward when Kera reels her hand backwards, but my ally catches her wrist midair, and I halt my movement. Kera struggles against her hold, but my ally's grip on her is too strong for her to break out of. Kera tries a strike with her other hand, but that's caught too.

"Have you gone crazy, Hybrid? Are you trying to make sure that your fake dad goes into early retirement?"

Juliette looks away from my screeching witch of a stepsister for a few seconds, before snapping her eyes back to Kera's with a newfound resolution flashing in them. "Earlier I was giving you a break because you hadn't realized the change in rules yet."