Free The Rainbow Maker's Tale by Mel Cusick-Jones Page B

myself remember the details of the day Scarlett died, but
didn’t stay dead. Throughout our friendship Scarlett had always
challenged me: she made me look more closely at the world around me
and question what we were told. It was her that had changed the
course of my life, firstly with her questions, and then with the
questions she left me with after she died .
    Since that day, when my world
was turned upside down, I had explored every avenue available to
me. All except the one that Scarlett had pushed me towards:
Cassie.
    Why was I thinking of this
now?
    I was close to leaving the
Family Quarter: certain that I would find a route out in the next
few weeks. Above everything else, I wanted to find out what the
lies were protecting. The only thing I truly knew was that the
answers lay beyond the grey walls that I had spent my life
inside.
    Why now?
    As the question echoed inside
my head, I realised that I already knew the answer: Scarlett had
told me that to find out the truth I would need Cassie. Alone, I
had done everything else I could think of, but there were still
gaps in my knowledge. If I didn’t at least try with Cassie, I might
never get out of here.

Chapter 5
     
    When the alarm on the viewing
screen alerted me this morning, I did not respond with my usual
irritation. I bounded up from the bed, thankful that Monday had
arrived. Catching a glimpse of my reflection in the highly polished
plastic window in my bedroom I paused, startled by what I saw. A
happy young man – with highly erratic bed-hair – grinned back at
me. It was not the image I normally saw and knew exactly why he
looked so pleased with himself.
    “You’re a stalker,” I informed
him firmly, but he didn’t seem bothered. His grin widened at my
words.
    Knock, knock.
    I turned slightly towards the
door. The sound of Mother’s reminder to get up didn’t even flatten
my mood this morning. Shaking my head at the fool I saw in my
window, we both turned away.
    Breakfast was a quiet affair,
as usual, although I was a little surprised at this. I had expected
Mother would have a lot more questions about why I’d suddenly
wanted to be entered onto the extended Medic rotation, rather than
awaiting the fast-track option I’d initially signed up for. Even as
I’d started explaining on Friday my fictitious desire to get more hands-on experience, thinking that my academic record was
all well and good but could not be compared to real life knowledge,
she’d already been agreeing with me and offering to smooth over any
issues at The Clinic on my behalf.
    As a rule, Mother had questions
for everything I did. She often appeared frustrated by the
information I gave her – or lack of it, more likely – so today was
a completely new experience. She seemed…happy. It was an odd thing
to see, as I was used to her being rather unemotional. The more
disturbing thing for me was the way her behaviour had affected my
mood. For no good reason I could discern, her unexpected happiness
made me feel uneasy. It was as though her happiness was a
bad thing.
    Breakfast was a familiar mix of
bland cereals today with a soya-based liquid to soften them. There
may have been dried fruit pieces in it, but I couldn’t say for
certain. I barely noticed the actual contents of my bowl, hurrying
through my breakfast eager to escape from Mother’s unsettling
presence. I was in such a rush I forgot my vitamin tablet.
    “Balik?” Mother called out to
me as I dashed out of the room, heading towards the bedroom.
    I turned.
    “You need your tablet.”
    “Oh yes,” I mumbled, leaning
back around the corner and reaching out for it, thinking that she
would pass it to me from the table where it was hidden behind the
half-drunk glass of juice. The distance between us was very small,
but she did not move to collect the pill. Standing perfectly still
next to the table, Mother’s eyes were abruptly blank after their
earlier animation. I was confused, and following a few
uncomfortable seconds