Consensus: Part 1 - Citizen

006

"Did it go up before or after Clarine rated her?" Dal asked.

"I don't know," Rena said, looking again at the 012 on the back of her hand. "I noticed it after I woke up. Dr. Mallory may not have even been affected by my mom's rating. She has so many interactions with patients."

"But you, on the other hand, don't. So you must have said something right."

Rena shrugged. "I can be charming when I want to be."

"Which brings up a good point. Why don't you?"

"Maybe I am ... with other people. I save my rudeness for you."

"I'm honored," Dal said over his shoulder.

The door to the social studies room was open, and more than half of the seats were occupied. Mr. Yan was standing in the middle of the semicircular arrangement of chairs, speaking quietly with a student in the front row.

Dal climbed the steps toward the back row. Though seats weren't assigned, the students tended to sit in the same place every time. He took his seat and quickly extended his legs so Rena couldn't get to the empty chair beside him.

"I don't know. You're a twelve now. Maybe you should sit down front with the other highrates."

Rena grinned as she looked down at Dal's legs. "Do I need to remind you of what I did to the leg of another single-digit?"

Dal's smile disappeared.

"What? Did I go too far?"

Dal pulled his legs in to let her pass, but his eyes were focused elsewhere.

Rena turned around and realized why Dal's expression had shifted.

The new student—the same young man she couldn't help staring at in the hallway yesterday—had just come into the classroom. He made eye contact with Rena for a moment before taking a seat in the front row.

And just as she'd felt before, the warm, electrical tingling came over her again. But this time it didn't take control of her body. She was free to move. Free to look down at Dal's face and recognize the bulging muscles along his jawline from gritting his teeth.

Rena slowly moved to her seat, grateful to have a physical motion to hide behind. But it only lasted a few seconds. When she was seated next to Dal, and had tried several positions before settling on one with her legs tucked to the side, she looked up to find him staring at the floor and chewing on his thumbnail.

The new student was reclining with his arms crossed.

Mr. Yan shut the door and began speaking to the class, but Rena may as well have been wearing earplugs. All she could think about was the new student, the way his presence made her feel, and Dal's obvious discomfort with it. Excitement and anxiety. The tension of conflicting feelings.

She closed her eyes and massaged her forehead, hoping it would calm her. Make her feeling differently about the situation. But her reality hadn't changed when she opened her eyes. It was like what Dr. Mallory said last night about the subconscious and the conscious. Her reaction to the young man in the front row was visceral. Something apparently beyond her ability to control or even conceal. And then there was Dal. Her best friend. He was acting jealous. And though that made her feel guilty, she could dismiss her guilt by reminding herself she'd done nothing wrong. She hadn't made any promises to him. Their relationship wasn't like that. She was free to feel however she wanted. Or maybe Dal was just being protective. Either way, she didn't want to ignore his feelings. His happiness mattered a great deal to her. Conscious thoughts. Controllable.