Ron was not excited for this meeting. He doubted President Arnold had made any changes at all to his list of requirements for his officials. He couldn’t help but think he was about to enter a blood bath.

The room to security was wide open. He saw John with his intern, watching the screens while they finished up their lunch. Ron about knocked when he froze. John and Edgar had their backs toward Ron, so he watched, curious. There was something about the air of the room, both were quiet, neither one of them really cared that the other didn’t talk. In fact, both seemed comfortable in the silence as they ate their lunch. Edgar picked up a slice of bread and opened the packet of butter. John, without needing to be prompted, pulled out the butter knife and handed it to Edgar. He didn’t acknowledge or give any thanks, simply spread the butter over his bread and gave a nod to John when he handed it back. John nodded back and stretched out in his chair as he tossed a crumpled napkin in the trash.

Ron knocked as he cleared his throat. John craned his head back to see Ron.

“Oh, hey,” John said. Ron had the impression this was the first time John talked for at least an hour, maybe two.

“Ready for the meeting?” Ron asked.

“Nope.” John stood up anyway and brushed the crumbs from his clothes. “Keep an eye on the screens,” John told Edgar.

Edgar nodded, taking another bite of his bread.

Ron didn’t talk until they were in the elevator. “So, it seems like you’re getting along with your intern?” John gave him a look Ron wasn’t entirely sure he could understand. “You at least sit together in silence comfortably?”

John gave a shrug. “The kid’s alright. He likes to be left alone with his thoughts every now and then. I don’t mind a little peace and quiet myself.”

“So do you think he’s part of the underground?” Ron asked.

“No idea. Yours?” John asked.

Ron stared at the top of the elevator as he thought. “I’m not sure. He’s definitely part of something, though.” The elevator doors opened and the two men walked down the hall. “I’m not looking forward to this meeting.”

“Join the club,” John said.

They walked inside and sat down next to each other. There were groups mingling with each other, some laughing and joking, others whispering and glancing around. Both made Ron nervous.

“Hello,” said a familiar voice. John and Ron turned to see Walt sitting down next to them. “I hear people are forming alliances.”

“Already?” Ron asked.

“It’s a power play. Just as I thought, they’re going after the Germains,” Walt said, glancing around the room.

“All of them?” Ron asked.

“Most of them. Even still, I don’t like it.” Walt rubbed his head as the Germains walked in. The room quieted as they took their places at the front of the room. Mr. Germain sat down as Mrs. Germain stood, arms folded, looking forward at the group.

“Alright, let us begin.”

There was a moment of silence as everyone waited for the storm. Mrs. Germain unfolded her arms and gave a tittering laugh. “Oh come now. Do you think my husband and I are completely deaf? We’ve heard the whispers and the songs in the offices. We’ve seen the emails. You all are about ready to attack us for our jobs.” She pointed to an Official, Mr. Robespierre. “I heard what you said, Max. Out with it.”

Taken by surprise, Mr. Robespierre got to his feet. “Look, clearly you have some math roots if your daughter turned out the way she did.”

“People sometimes are born different.”

“But didn’t you hire a math tutor for her?” Mr. Robespierre asked.

“No.”

“You sent her to an elementary school that is well known for its science and math.”

“And we gave her tutors from the S.E.A. to help her stay on top of the arts. You may check that with Margaret herself, as she found the best tutors for Sophie. On top of that, we actively worked to strengthen the arts program in that elementary school.” Mrs. Germain was talking so fast Mr. Robespierre couldn’t get any words in. “We pride ourselves in the fact that the elementary school our daughter went to is now just as good in the arts as every other elementary school in the city. In fact, it did not falter and shut down when President Arnold signed the bill to forbid teaching math and science in any schools. It is truly a blessing for that impoverished area of our city.”

Someone else stood up. “But there’s still the fact that Sophie is most likely with the underground right this second. Your own daughter is fighting against President Arnold.”

“My own daughter is being held hostage by the underground,” Mrs. Germain said, her voice somehow still a steady business voice.

“How could you possibly know that?” someone else asked. “How do you know the underground hasn’t restored her memories?”

“Because if they had, Sophie would have robbed us blind and she and the underground would have destroyed the S.E.A. skyscraper by now,” Mrs. Germain said, again using her business voice. Ron had to admit Mrs. Germain had a good comeback for the concerns and accusations, but it seemed unnerving how calm and collected her voice sounded. Mr. Germain remained seated, the smile on his face growing with every concern Mrs. Germain smacked down.

“I don’t need to answer for the choices of my daughter. She’ll have to face them herself one day. This meeting is strictly for the people here, for the choices we’ve made. So if any of you have a legitimate concern about my and my husband’s character, I’d like to hear them.” Mrs. Germain folded her arms and leaned against the table, waiting. Mr. Germain at this point was smirking. “No one?” The group had fallen silent, some too afraid to even look at other people.

Mr. McCarthy stood up. “I have one.”

The Germains turned as one to Mr. McCarthy. “This should be interesting. What could you have against us?” Mrs. Germain said.

Mr. McCarthy smiled as he straightened his tie. “Nothing on you two.”

Yet, was the unspoken word Ron somehow knew Mr. McCarthy was going to say.

“Funnily enough, it’s about Margaret,” Mr. McCarthy said.

Mrs. Hamilton, surprised to hear her name, turned and gave Mr. McCarthy a look. “Me?”

“Yes, you.”

She looked positively confused. “I haven’t done anything illegal.”

“Oh yes you have,” Mr. McCarthy said, pulling out an envelope. “Part of your job in education is to help troubled kids who might show signs of rebellion. Kids who usually favor the sciences.”

Mrs. Hamilton gave a laugh. “And? Am I in trouble by association? Mrs. Germain already said how foolish it was to blame someone for someone else’s actions.”

Mr. McCarthy placed the envelope on the table. “On this tape is proof that you encouraged one of your students to pursue math. In fact, this isn’t the first time you’ve done this. You were also the only Official who gave a nay vote to ban the teaching of math and science.”

Mrs. Hamilton stood up, the jesting disappearing from her face as she realized the serious situation she was in.

“I did. I’m around these kids all day, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. For some of these children, the only happiness they get is from things related to math and science. I would not take that away from them. It will only make their rebellion worse,” she said quietly.

“There you have it. She admits it. Take her testimony to President Arnold and see what he thinks of that,” Mr. McCarthy said.

There was an uncomfortable silence. Ron knew this meeting would be uncomfortable, but he didn’t like the introspection it forced him to make. In a way, he had encouraged Albert to study science. He even enjoyed their science chat. If pressed, he’d pass it off as him trying to befriend Albert. And a part of him hated himself for thinking that. Honestly, what right did a government have to force people to not study something? That alone seemed to beg for a rebellion to rise.

“Mrs. Hamilton,” Mrs. Germain said as she picked up the envelope with the tape. “Come with us. Let’s go talk to President Arnold about this.”

“I’d like to be there too,” Mr. McCarthy said.

“Of course,” Mrs. Germain said. “The rest of you, get back to work.”

The group filed out of the room, now most of them talking in low whispers.

“Do you remember those times when I could just sleep through a meeting?” John asked.

Ron tried to laugh, but it came out as barely a snort. “They weren’t that long ago.”

“I miss those meetings,” John said.

***

Marie dressed in her exercise clothes before walking out of her shared room. It was a bit after lunch, and the joints in her hands had stiffened. She hadn’t been exercising much since Charles gave her the cure. However, when her hand trembled when she lifted her fork at lunch, she figured she’d better stay on top of things and start exercising again. Especially since the trembling was enough that her dad noticed.

Marie headed out of her room to see Sophie at the table, reading poetry. Marie glanced at the book, wondering once again why Sophie bothered, when she noticed Sophie watching her. Did some disdain play across Marie’s face? It must have, because Sophie’s eyes narrowed at Marie before she lifted the book up closer to her face. Marie tightened her lips and headed for the machine. She started walking, hearing the beginning squeaks of the machine. Her joints groaned a bit, but once she got the hang of it, they loosened again. Nik came out of his room for lunch, usually eating after everyone else had, though hesitated when he saw Marie exercising.

“Nik, hey,” Sophie said.

Marie shot her glare at the wall, not wanting to make Sophie any more angry.

“Hello, Sophie. Do you mind if I eat lunch?” Nik asked.

“Not at all.”

Marie continued to stare at the wall, pretending no one else existed in this stupidly cramped basement. She tried hard not to imagine what it was like to be in her own apartment without four other people crowding her.

She focused on the chipped part of the wall as Nik finished getting his lunch. She had to force herself not to walk so fast. In her anger, she’d probably start running on this thing. She tried to slow down. Sophie was chatting Nik’s ear off. Okay, maybe not chatting his ear off, but Sophie had never talked like this since before her memories were wiped. And Sophie usually talked like that with Marie.

Marie’s hands tightened over the bar as she found herself walking fast again. She didn’t mind. Besides, the faster she walked, the better it was for her joints. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she forgot how long she’d been exercising. Beads of sweat were forming on her forehead.

This was ridiculous. A part of her admitted she was getting jealous of Nik because of the friendship he formed with Sophie. But still, Marie felt justifiable anger toward him. He was clearly too old to have a friendship with a teenager. Nik was obviously more of a recluse. Nik didn’t even want Sophie’s friendship at first. He wanted to hide. And of course, Nik was a mad scientist, even if he did deny it. Mad scientists would never admit to actually being mad scientists. Nik would leave the friendship to go and get himself blown up or something.

Marie winced, realizing how harsh she sounded. She really hated Nik. And it all stemmed from Sophie being friends with him. It was ironic of her to assume Nik would blow himself up when Marie herself injected a deadly chemical into her body. Marie got off the exercising equipment. She used the entire exercise time to think vile thoughts toward Nik. It wasn’t fair to him.

Nik said something that Marie didn’t quite catch. Sophie started laughing her deep belly laugh that of course ended in a snort. Sophie gave a tiny gasp and covered her mouth, her eyes growing wide. “Is that my laugh?” she asked, her cheeks immediately turning red.

Marie glanced over, a horrible feeling of shame washing over her. Marie had always wondered if Sophie was just faking her snort laugh, but clearly she never had. And now Marie realized with a sinking heart that this was the first time Sophie had ever given a belly laugh since her memories had been wiped. Over eight months and no laughter.

The same thought must have crossed Nik’s mind, because a look of heartbreak crossed his face. He caught Marie looking at him. Nik cleared his throat as he brought his almost empty bowl of instant noodles closer to him. “Well, you should be proud of it. It’s unique.”

Sophie beamed as she gave a huge smile. Marie quietly made her way to the bathroom. She needed to shower, but all she could do was stare at her reflection. A crushing realization hit her. She was acting just like the Germains. She was insanely jealous of someone who was a scientist and immediately labeled them as dangerous in order to justify her anger. She was doing this all because Sophie wasn’t being friends with her.

No, Marie realized. Because Sophie isn’t acting how I want her to act. Just like the Germains did to her.

Marie quietly groaned in pain as though someone had actually hit her. She was acting exactly like Sophie’s parents. Even though Sophie may have changed, the stubbornness of wanting to have her way was still present. If Marie told Sophie she hated poetry, Sophie was going to read poetry. If Marie told Sophie they were best of friends, Sophie would wait for Marie to prove it. If Marie demanded Sophie stop talking to Nik…

Marie opened her eyes and faced herself in the mirror. She would not be the Germains. As much as it pained her, as much as she knew this was a betrayal to their deep friendship, Marie had to let Sophie go in order for her to discover things for herself. Even if that meant letting Sophie choose who to confide in.

Above all, she would not vilify Nik out of jealousy.