Free Perfect by Pauline C. Harris

the road
and then resumed as the cars stopped for us. “He said that he
hadn’t even liked Yvonne. That she was the one who had kissed him
and that he told her to leave.”
    “Really?” Jessica asked, her eyes wide. “That
must be why Yvonne’s snapped at him a few times.”
    I nodded.
    “Well gee, I’m sorry, Drew,” she added. “I
must’ve just mistaken the whole thing. I should have confronted him
first, before just going by what I’d seen at least two blocks
away.” She laughed guiltily.
    “It’s fine. Everything’s all good now.” I
smiled.
    Jessica giggled, shaking her head. “I
wondered why, all of a sudden, you guys seemed so close.”
    Just then I looked up and saw someone walking
toward us from a short distance away. I nudged Jessica. “Hey, isn’t
that Hailey?” I asked, recognizing the girl we used to hang out
with at school.
    Jessica looked excited. “It is! Oh, my gosh,
I haven’t seen Hailey in forever.” Jessica waved her hand.
“Hailey!”
    Hailey was only about five feet away now and
coming closer, but didn’t show any signs of recognizing us or even
acknowledging us. Suddenly, I realized why and I tensed.
“Jessica...” I started, trying to warn her, but she had already
reached out and grabbed Hailey by the arm.
    “Hailey?” she said. “It’s me, Jessica. And
Drew.”
    Hailey stared at her blankly.
    Jessica gave her an incredulous look.
“Hailey, we’ve been best friends throughout high school. Don’t look
at me like you have no idea who I am.” Her voice was shrill.
    “Jessica,” I said quietly and she turned to
look at me. “She’s been perfected,” I barely whispered.
    Jessica stared back at me, her expression
changing to disbelief, her dark brows furrowing. She started to
slowly shake her head. “No,” she whispered in disappointment. “She
couldn’t have been perfected.” She said it louder this time. She
turned back to Hailey. “Hailey, listen to me. It’s me. It’s me,
Jessica. You remember me. I know you do.”
    Hailey just stared at her, completely
expressionless.
    “Hailey!” Jessica nearly shrieked.
    “Jessica, I’m sorry,” I said, reaching out to
her, but Jessica was shaking her head, gripping on to Hailey.
    “Let go of me,” Hailey said slowly, watching
both of us.
    Jessica looked up. “You know who I am,” she
said firmly.
    Hailey yanked her arm from Jessica’s grip and
started walking away. Jessica started to run after her, but I
gently grabbed her arm and she stopped.
    “How could they have...” But she didn’t get
to finish her sentence before she had broken down in tears.
     

Chapter Twelve
     
    When Jessica and I
got back to the hotel room, we were surprised to see Yvonne was
there. Jessica quickly wiped the tears away from her face when
Yvonne looked her way.
    “There you are,” Yvonne said. Michael stood
by the TV, having been watching it until just now. He looked up and
met my eyes.
    “Hi, Yvonne,” I said uneasily. What did she
want now?
    Yvonne made herself comfortable, sitting on
one of the beds.
    “Did you need something?” I asked her,
closing the hotel room door behind me.
    She smiled the smile I knew too well. “Yes.”
She nodded. “Just an idea I’ve got that I need your help with.” She
crossed her legs and watched me.
    I groaned inwardly, walking over and sitting
beside her. “What is it?” Michael and Jessica both had their
attention glued on us.
    “Well, since I’ve been such a good android,”
she said with a wink, “I’ve been gaining more trust with the
creators, but still, that isn’t enough for me.”
    I rolled my eyes. Of course not. “Go on.”
    “I want them to trust me more and give me
even more power. And I think I’ve found a way to do that. Or at
least get them closer to it.” She stared at me, her intense gaze
boring into mine.
    I narrowed my eyes. “Just tell me what it is
you want me to do,” I told her, but not entirely sure whether I
wanted to hear it.
    “I want to turn