Turning Eighteen
“We’ll stay here until you get back,” Mama said. “Don’t worry about us.”
Kary shook her head. “I’ll sign you in.”
“You sure?” Mo said, trying not to sound too eager.
“Positive. I’m done for the day. Now go, before Bailey pops a blood vessel.” She shooed Mo out the door.
Mo caught Les sneaking a look at her comm unit and quelled her irritation with difficulty. That was the third time. If Les was bored, she should excuse herself. Sitting with Mama and Papa wasn’t the most exciting thing they could be doing, but it wouldn’t kill Les to pretend she was interested.
“It’s much quieter now.” Mama sipped her tziva. “I could hardly hear myself think earlier.”
“We could have eaten in my room,” Mo said.
“Oh, no, we wanted the mess hall experience,” Papa said. “And it gave us a chance to meet some of your friends.”
All of whom had rushed off after wishing her a happy eighteenth. Not that she could blame them—they weren’t obligated to socialize with her parents. Only Les, being her girlfriend, was stuck with that apparently excruciating task.
“So what should we do now?” Mama asked.
Les leaned forward. “Do you want to see the recreation centre?”
So Les was paying attention. The recreation centre wasn’t a bad idea, but it was already almost 20:00. It would take at least an hour to show them around the centre, a network of connected buildings. They hadn’t said how late they planned to stay. “If you have time,” she told them. “It’s pretty big.”
“We’re here until at least midnight.”
“You don’t have to stay until midnight,” Mo said, though she hoped they would. She wanted to celebrate with them if she was a Chosen, and lean on them if she wasn’t. If she hadn’t been at the Military Academy, they would have thrown her a party. They’d offered, but she’d turned them down. Rules were rules—the military wouldn’t grant her an overnight leave for something as frivolous as an eighteenth party. So her parents had come to the academy, and she grew more grateful to them by the minute. They were keeping her mind busy. She hadn’t thought about Chosen Council couriers for at least an hour. Okay, now she’d ruined it, but still. If Mama and Papa weren’t with her, she’d probably be in her room, hiding under a blanket with the light turned out.
“Nice try, but you’re not getting rid of us that easily.” Mama plunked her empty mug onto her tray. “Let’s go see this recreation centre. We’ve been sitting here for over two hours. Time to stretch our legs.”
Mo’s anxiety level rose as soon as they stepped into the cool night air. She’d be easy to find out here, if anyone was looking. “No Solitary Notification yet,” she felt compelled to say, then wished she hadn’t.
Mama put her arm around Mo’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “It’s almost eight o’clock. I think we may have another Chosen in the family.”
Mo wondered if Les, walking a few feet ahead of them, had heard.
“I thought you’d be a Chosen,” Papa said.
“Why?” Mo asked.
He pursed his lips. “I don’t know. I just had a feeling.”
Her parents’ certainty made her uneasy. Declaring she was a Chosen before midnight was tempting fate. “It’s not midnight yet.”
Papa nodded. “True.”
Mo relaxed a bit when he said nothing more. “You see those buildings off to the right?” She pointed. “Those are the barracks. We stayed there when we were here for the evaluation.” Mama and Papa squinted toward them. “And coming up is the infirmary.” She continued to point out landmarks, determined to keep the conversation away from Chosens and Solitary Notifications.
“You were right. This is big,” Mama said when they arrived at the recreation centre.
Les held the main building’s door open. “Let’s start with the meeting rooms on the second floor.”
Mo opened her mouth to ask why they’d start on the second floor when there were all sorts of facilities on the first, but Les and her parents were already climbing the stairs. “I take my violin lessons here, in one of the other buildings,” she said, but they ignored her. “And Les takes her flute lessons.”
Nothing.
“We may as well show you one of the larger rooms first,” Les said as they strode along the second floor corridor. She started to open a door, then stopped. “Mo, why don’t you lead the way?”
Les was acting awfully strange tonight. “Sure,” Mo said, not wanting to be difficult in front of Mama and Papa. She pushed open the door and flicked on the light.
“SURPRISE!”
Time seemed to stop. Mo stood confused, staring at the multitude of faces peering at her. David and Kary. Neil and Matthew and Mary! Bruce and others from her study group. And was that Adelaide and Alan standing in the corner? Happy Eighteenth, Mo the banner strung across the back wall proclaimed. A party? For her? “Wow!” When everyone clapped, she realized she’d said it out loud. “I had no idea.”
“You didn’t suspect anything?” Les said.
“No. Who arranged it?” One look at her parents provided the answer. They were grinning from ear to ear like a couple of children. “Thank you,” she mouthed to them.
“We couldn’t let you turn eighteen without a party,” Mama said, to another round of applause.
“So let’s have a party,” David shouted. “Put the music back on.”
Bruce, nearest the comm station, turned and hit a key. Up-tempo music filled the air. Everyone quickly grabbed a partner.
“Can I have the first dance?” Les asked.
Mo responded by holding out her hand. “You must have helped,” she said once they were out of earshot of her parents.
“I cleared it with Richmond and booked the room. Oh, and helped with the invitations. That’s it. They took care of the catering, the decorations, everything.”
Now Mo noticed the refreshment tables against one wall and the streamers stretched across the ceiling. It was almost like being at the Dance Hall. Well, except the room was much smaller and supper hadn’t been served, but who cared? This was her party, and the room was packed. She hadn’t known she had so many friends at the academy.
“I can’t believe you never let it slip,” Mo said, reaching up and looping her arms around Les’s neck. “I never would have guessed you were planning a party for me.”
Les looked down at her. “I guess we all have our secrets.” The next piece blared from the comm station. “I like this one.” She spun Mo around. They fell into step with the music.