The Color of Knowledge

Chapter Nine (pt. 1)

"How could you let this happen? How many times have I told you to stay under the radar? To follow the rules." Mr. Stone sat next to his wife at the kitchen table across from Ivy, with fierce eyes and flared nostrils. It had not taken long for Ivy's parents to realize something terrible had happened when they had arrived home to the sound of Spencer's howling.

"I can't follow the rules and lay low when there is so much wrong. I can't do it," Ivy argued.

"And you can't even tell us what is wrong with The Society?" asked Mrs. Stone, wiping tears from her red eyes.

Ivy shook her head. A wave of grief and guilt had settled upon her already tired shoulders. Spencer was in her room, having been finally able to sleep after hearing her parents' comforting words of how they would be able to fix the situation. They would be able to reason with the President. Ivy knew there would be no reasoning. What was done was done. The only thing she needed to focus on was using her time wisely the next three days, to plan for her final descent. It had not quite hit her yet how she had only three days left to spend with her family. Forever.

"I can't take back what I have done. I know that, and I'm sorry."

Throughout the conversation, Ivy found it difficult to look her parents in the eye, even though she knew she had little time to spend with them. She should be taking in every detail of their faces, trying to engrain them in her memory.

Mrs. Stone started to sob again. "Just go to bed," she said through staggered breath. "We'll figure it out in the morning."

"There's nothing to figure out. I'm already dead," Ivy muttered as she rose from the table. Her parents may have heard or perhaps they chose to ignore the comment. Knowing how true it was, neither wanting to speak it.

Ivy closed her bedroom door behind her and crawled into bed. She knew it would be a sleepless night, so she tuned into her thoughts: what would it be like, all alone with nothing but the burden of self for company? What was her purpose in life if she would soon be exiled? Why was she born into the natural world, just for it to end? Nothing made sense. Ivy chuckled as she remembered her own response when Zari had made the same comment just that morning. Nothing had to make sense. There were no rules other than the ones created by man. A great heartache overcame her as she lay in bed. If only she could see into the future. Only then would she know how she would turn out in a year, or two, or five. If she lived that long.

After what seemed like forever, Ivy heard her parents climb the stairs and retire to their room. Perhaps the only person able to sleep that night would be Spencer. The hours crawled by and a soft knock came at the door. Ivy shifted her eyes to the source. The door creaked open, revealing a little girl dressed in black nightclothes. No, not a little girl anymore, for Spencer no longer looked little, probably due to the fact that she had been through so much in such a short period of time. The stress of grief, anger, and impending loneliness showed on her seven-year-old face.

"Can I sleep with you?"

"Of course." Ivy pulled back her comforter and made room.

As the sisters lay side by side, silence filled the room once more. There was no reason to speak. Only one thing was on their minds.

The next morning, Ivy slid out of bed, careful not to wake Spencer. She got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast, which, to her surprise, was nowhere to be found.

"You're not hungry, are you?" asked Mr. Stone behind Ivy.

"Of course not, how could I be?" said Ivy taking a seat at the table.

"You know your mother's heart is broken, right?" Mr. Stone took the seat across from his daughter.

Ivy seized the moment to roll her eyes. "Why are you telling me this? Why try to make me feel worse than I already do?"

"I don't believe you know the full magnitude of what is going on—"

"But I do, okay! I know you'll never see me again after Sunday. I get it." Ivy's hands clenched and slowly released, letting go of the pent up anger within. "There's no point in looking at the negative side of things," she said with more control.

"What other side is there?"

"You can't have yin without yang, right? There's good in this somewhere."

"Make sure you tell me once you find out what it is."

For a moment, silence enveloped the room.

"What would you like to do today?" asked Mr. Stone.

"I was going to go to work and tell them I won't be employed for much longer and then to tell Tima the news."

Mr. Stone's face fell. "Well, okay. We have all day tomorrow, too."

"Shouldn't Spencer be getting ready for school?" Ivy asked, remembering what day it was. "She'll be late if she doesn't hurry," she added rising from the table.

A wave of her father's hand told her to calm down. "She has been excused for the day. She wanted to spend the day with you, if you didn't mind."

Ivy did not mind at all. The more time she spent with Spencer, the better. It would be great making a few more memories with her.

"I'll go wake her." Ivy ran back up the stairs. She opened the bedroom door to reveal Spencer, who was still asleep. "Spence," she whispered, drawing closer to the bed. "Wake up. We have a long day together and we need to start it now."

"Huh?" said Spencer turning over onto her back. "Now?"

"Right now, Spence."

"Ten minutes," the girl whispered back, eyes still closed.

Ivy sighed. "Okay, I'll just tell K.J. he's going to have to come back some other time."

"Wait!" Spencer jumped out of bed. "I'm up, I'm up."

She scurried across the hall where she got dressed and ready in less than five minutes. She returned to Ivy's room looking like she had spent hours on herself.

"You look great," said Ivy. "Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

The pair walked downstairs to an empty first floor.

"Where is he?" Spencer looked around with wide eyes.

Ivy cringed before answering. "Promise you won't be mad?"

"Promise."

"I lied to get you out of bed." She held her breath.

Spencer stared blankly at her older sister. It looked as if she were making a decision. Her jaw clenched and released. "That's okay," she said calmly. "Where are we going first?"

"The Exploration Unit building."