In Case of Rejection

CHAPTER EIGHT

"I wonder how they do it," Dusty said, staring blankly at his lunch, now having lost his appetite. The group had been sitting there for a while, at their table in the corner of the cafeteria, not really knowing what to say.

"Like a brain transplant, into a Bot body? I don't get it," Dusty argued. Dusty was a big guy, taller than Matthew, who thought himself to be tall. He had a dark complexion and heavy, muscular arms. He was cracking his knuckles nervously at the table.

"It's not like a brain transplant, stupid," Jason shook his head, scoffing at the thought. Dusty shot him an angry look.

"Well how am I supposed to know?" He asked defensively, throwing up his hands in his frustration.

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen a more uninformative broadcast. It's almost like they want to give us the bare minimum," Meng said from Jason's side. She put her head in her hands in a hopeless sort of way. Jason shook his head in response.

"They said more information will be coming out soon," Matthew said, breaking his silence. He couldn't shake the urgency of his father's letter, wearing down like lead on his shoulders. He wondered if he should tell the group. His first instincts were telling him it was better not to. Olive was watching him out of the corner of her eye; she could see the thoughts racing fast behind his eyes.

"I wish they told us more," Dusty continued, thinking aloud. Meng huffed in her seat.

"I just don't see how anybody could want that," she said disgustedly, looking sideways at her boyfriend, who lacked the appropriate response. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"I don't think people are going to have a choice, eventually," Jason said, his words falling flat on the air around them. Meng looked at him straight now, her eyes reflecting the hurt she was feeling.

"Is that really how you feel?" She asked.

"I mean think about it, the whole world is so messed up already -- it's one kid per family, it's one tiny apartment per--" he was cut off.

"That's here in Sector 18, where everything sucks. How do you know the rest of the world is like that? Have you seen it?" Olive was indignant -- she had that uppity edge in her voice that made Matthew's chest tighten. He so badly didn't want them to fight, and he hated seeing her upset. This tone of hers was the equivalent of the hair standing up on the back of a dog's neck, and she was just as riled.

"Do you honestly think it's different out there? In the first sectors, maybe, but we're definitely not alone in being screwed over by the government and DefTech," Jason hissed. Dusty chimed in, his voice escalating in volume.

"Of course it's different for the first sectors, they don't have the same rules we do. Those places are made up of the wealthiest people on Earth. It's not rocket science," he said.

"Yeah, and they have less Bots," Meng said.

"Exactly," Jason finished, proud of himself for saying absolutely nothing.

"So you agree Bots are awful, but somehow you condone this?" Meng asked, her voice becoming suddenly pleading. None of them had realized that her eyes were welling with tears. Jason shoved an arm around her, squeezing her up into his side.

"I'm not saying I condone it, I am just saying this kind of thing was inevitable," he said, barely loud enough for all to hear.

"And who knows, maybe it's not that bad. What if it is just you in a Bot's body?" Jason said, almost like he wanted to get the words out quickly, so that no one could fight him on it.

"I wouldn't mind being indestructible," Jason finished.

"Oh shut up, Jason," Olive spat, picking around at the carrots in front of her. The group fell silent again. Meng looked to the right, out the windows of the cafeteria and out into the courtyard.