Selections And Rhythm

Chapter 3

“Oh?” I say, distracted. I see other youth our age mingling and gathering on our street, walking to the Fun square like us. They’re waving, calling, wearing the same clothes we wear. But there’s a difference tonight. Some are watching. Some are watched: me, and Tetra.

The others’ eyes glance at us, hold, flicker away, look back.

I’m not used to it. Tetra and I are normal, healthy citizens, part of this group. Not outsiders.

But I feel separated now, as though a clear thin wal rises up distinctly between myself and those staring at me. We can see each other, but we can’t cross over. Are you al right?” Tetra asks.

Too late, I realize that I should have responded to Tetra’s comment and asked him which guideline he found interesting. If I can’t pul myself together soon, he’l know something’s wrong. We know each other too wel .

Tetra reaches for my elbow as we turn the corner and leave The Capital Square. When we’ve walked a few steps more, he slides his hand down my arm and interlaces his fingers with mine. He leans closer to my ear. “One of the guidelines said that we are allowed to express physical affection. If we want. ”

And I do want. Even with all the stress I feel, the touch of his hand against mine with nothing to separate us is stil welcome and new. I’m surprised that Tetra is so natural at this. And as we walk, I recognize the Jennyotion that I see on some of the faces of the girls staring at us. It’s jealousy, pure and simple. I relax a little, because I can understand why. None of us ever thought we could have talented, mischievously clever Tetra. We always knew he would be Selectioned with another girl in another City, another Province.

But he’s not. He’s Selectioned with me.

I keep my fingers locked in his as we walk toward the Fun square. Maybe, if I don’t let go, it wil prove that we are meant to be Selectioned. That the other face on the screen means nothing; that it was simply a momentary malfunction of the microCrest.

Except. The face I saw, the face that was not Tetra: I knew him, too.

There’s an opening over here,” Tetra says, stopping at a game table in the middle of the room. Apparently the other youth in our Square feel the same way we do about this Saturday’s recreation options, because the Fun square is crowded with people, including most of our friends. “Do you want to go in, Katlen?”

“No thanks,” I say. “I’l watch this round. ”

“What about you?” he asks Jenny, my best girlfriend.

“You go ahead,” she tells him, and then we both laugh as he grins and spins around to give his inspectCrest to the Watcher monitoring.

Tetra’s always been this way about the games—completely alive with enthusiasm and energy i recall playing with him when we were little, how we both played hard and didn’t let the other win.

I wonder when I stopped liking the games. It’s hard to recall

Now, Tetra settles himself at the table, saying something that makes everyone else laugh. I smile to myself. It really is more fun to watch him than to play yourself. And this game, Chess, is one of his favorites. It’s a game of skill and mind intelligence , the kind he likes best.

“So,” Jenny says softly, the sounds of laughter and talking covering her words from everyone but me, “What is it like? Knowing your Selection?” I knew she would ask me this; I know it’s what everyone would like to know. And I answer the only way I can. I tel her the truth. “It’s Tetra,” I say.

“It’s wonderful. ”

Jenny nods in understanding. “All this time none of us thought we could ever end up with one another,” she says. “And then it happens. ”

“I know,” I say.

“And Tetra,” she says. “He’s the best of us all . ” Someone calls her name and she drifts toward another table.

As I watch, Tetra picks up the white pieces and puts them out on the gray and black squares of the board. Most of the colors inside the Fun square are drab: gray wal s, brown plainclothes for the students, dark blue plainclothes for those who have already received their permanent work positions. Any brightness in the room comes from us: from the shades of our hair, from our laughter. When Tetra sets down his last piece, he looks across the board at me and says, right in front of his opponents, “I’m going to win this one for my Selection. ” Everyone turns to stare at me and he grins mischievously.

I roll my eyes at him, but I’m stil blushing a few moments later when someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn around.

An Watcher waits behind me. “Katlen Percy?” she asks.

“Yes,” I answer, glancing over at Tetra. He’s engrossed in making his move and doesn’t see what’s happening.

“Could you come outside with me for a moment? It won’t take long, and it’s nothing to worry about. Merely procedural. ” Does the Watcher know what happened when I tried to view the microCrest?

“Of course,” I say, because there’s no other answer when an Watcher asks you for something. I look back at my friends. Their eyes are on the game in front of them Jenny and on the players moving the pieces. No one notices when I leave. Not even Tetra. The crowd had covered me up and I simply followed the Watcher’s brown uniform out of the room. 4