In Case of Rejection

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

The group sat down at the surrounding booths, while Matthew stood out on the main floor. It was easier to talk to them all this way. Matthew felt oddly like a leader, where he usually felt this was the spot Olive held. The situation presented him with a novel sense of authority. He hated to admit that he liked being the one to direct Jason.

"I'm sure you've all heard that Brick Sanders is here, in Sector 18. He came a few days ago, once things started going awry and the people started rebelling," Matthew started. He paced in front of the booths. He caught Olive's gaze and became distracted by the way she smiled at him. It was barely there, soft, encouraging, and he couldn't help but let his chest swarm with butterflies.

"I was taken to Nerve Center. That day I ran through assembly," Matthew said. Dusty chuckled to himself in response. 

"God, that was insane," Dusty laughed out into the open.

"Yeah, you're really insane, Matthew. Why are we listening to your plan?" Jason went on.

"Stop," Meng gripped Jason's arm, and he looked at her sharply.

"When I woke up at Nerve Center, Brick was there to interrogate me. It sounds crazy, but he was. And he asked me about the work my Dad was doing up in Sector 3. About Blues, Bots, the whole deal-" Matthew took a deep breath in. It really did sound crazy, going over it all. He was waiting for the rejections from everybody. He looked over at the pair of brothers, who both watched him with wide eyes. That same look from before, but he knew they were really listening to him. His heart surged with hope.

"He wants me to come with them to Sector 3. Sell away my father's secrets, tell them how I was able to take down some of their Bots," Matthew was about to continue, but Dusty had broken out again.

"You what??" He gaped, and Meng sat forward in her seat too.

"You took down a Bot, Matthew?" She asked excitedly. Olive sat back slightly. Matthew laughed to himself.

"Yeah, but only because I knew how. From my Dad," Matthew looked at Jason when he said the words, who kept his stern gaze locked on Matthew: unimpressed.

"I think that if I can distract Brick, at this talk he's having tonight at the school, in about an hour, actually," Matthew looked down where his watch would normally be, and was surprisingly disappointed to find it missing.

"I will get them to take me. Take me to Brick -- and then I can try to convince him to stop transporting people. And while I do that, with your help," he motioned at all of them, "we can maybe try to break the others out. Bots will most likely be guarding the entrances, but now that we know how to get rid of them..."

Matthew trailed off a moment, suddenly thinking that they might be able to accomplish it all. He remembered the desperation in Brick's face -- the way he sweated and shook and the pain behind his eyes. He needed Matthew's help.

"You think you can change his mind?" Jason asked sharply, pulling Matthew back into the Arcade. He laughed at the thought of his own question and the incredulousness of the whole thing.

"I don't know. But I still think it's worth a try. No matter what, I know he wants to talk to me. So I'll at least be able to distract him," Matthew said. Jason was shaking his head. Roger shifted in his seat.

"You don't even know what it's like there. You don't have a plan," Jason retorted, shifting his stance to a more defiant one, shoulders arched forward.

"No. But we all know the school. If anything, they catch us, take us to Sector 3 with the rest," Matthew nodded his head with a certain finality to it. He realized that this was a very real possibility, and it came crashing down on his shoulders.