Birthright

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The beep of her handheld woke Alex up. She rolled over in bed and clicked a button that brought up a real-time hologram of her mother. She smiled and said groggily, "Hi, Mom."

"Hi, honey." The hologram's face frowned. "You're still in bed? Your meeting is at nine, isn't it?"

"Mom," she replied, trying and failing to hide her exasperation. She scooted back to rest her head against the creamy upholstered headboard and brushed back her chin-length black hair. Her sheets fell away, revealing her bare, toned arms and a pale pink camisole. "It's seven o'clock in the morning."

Her mother clucked. "But you still have to get situated. You arrived on campus just last night. It might be a good idea to get an idea of where everything is before you have to be at the meeting. You don't want to end up in a rush, do you?"

This was nothing new. Her mom was such a worrier. She was known for planning things days, even months, in advance to account for all possible things that could go wrong. Rain. Traffic jams. She probably even considered the possibilities of natural disasters.

"You're right," Alex relented. The only way to appease her mother was to give in.

The hologram's eyes surveyed the spacious and extravagant room. "This is a nice dorm room. Are you sharing it with anyone?"

Alex wasn't sure if she should call it a dorm room. More like a luxury suite. A plush queen size bed, wood paneling that complemented the polished floorboards, a giant bathroom with could only be a Jacuzzi for a bathtub, a TV screen as big as an entire wall, and a whole space off to one side for working out, complete with a breathtaking view of a crystal-blue lake.

"No," she answered. "The top floor of the North Dormitory is for the ten highest-ranked recruits. Some of them are sharing dorms, but father wanted me to have my own space."

"Of course." The hologram shook her head. Alex's mother never did like opulence, but her father believed it was a good demonstrator of rank and power.

"I called to talk to you about the gala this coming Friday," the mom said. "I know it'll be out of your way, but it's important that you attend it to support your father. You are the face of the Concordance Policy. I think it would mean a lot to your father if you were there to speak about your experiences in the first week and to make your rounds with the guests."

"I plan on being there."

"Good. Also, General Vargas mentioned to your father that she would like you to visit on Saturday. She wants to congratulate you on taking the first spot in the rankings and to show you their Meta advancement program in case you're interested in doing next summer's internship in Macot and want to diversify your field experience."

Macot was certainly different from other provinces, both in culture and the gang-related Sanser issues confronting its Metas. Alex couldn't figure out why General Vargas went out of her way to be nice to her. General Castillo and General Ronley certainly didn't bother themselves, and General Hanson of Calsin always had his own motives for everything he did.

Vargas was different. She was a hard woman, but she seemed to have taken a liking to Alex. Maybe it was because Vargas and Alex's father used to be partners.

"I'll accept her invitation for this Saturday," Alex said, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

Her mother paused. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes," Alex answered quickly. When that didn't erase the worry from the hologram's creased forehead, she added, "I'll be fine. This will all take some getting used to, but it's nothing I can't handle. I'm General Drasse's prodigal daughter, aren't I?"