I stand abruptly. “You have to come with us,” I tell Lennon Rose. “Come back and stay with us and the other girls.”
Lennon Rose scoffs. “What? No. I can’t.” She straightens in her seat. “I won’t.”
“Please,” Sydney says, coming to stand next to me. Lennon Rose shakes her head adamantly.
“Don’t you get it?” Lennon Rose asks. “I’m in control of my life now. I make the decisions.”
Sydney winces. “Well … I mean, you can’t even own a phone. Don’t you think—?”
“Winston Weeks saved my life,” Lennon Rose snaps. Both Sydney and I jump at the change in her tone. “And anything he’s done since was to continue to keep me safe.”
Anything he’s done since?
The comment horrifies me, and I take a fresh look at Lennon Rose. I assumed the changes in her appearance were her choices, but now I don’t know. At what point does her will override Winston’s?
Next to me, Sydney sits down calmly, as if telling me she’s not going to leave Lennon Rose here. I follow suit and take a spot next to her.
“Let’s change the subject,” Sydney says, flashing Lennon Rose a smile. It seems to comfort her, and she eases slightly.
“Who was the boy you were with at the game?” Sydney asks. “Do you have a boyfriend, Lennon Rose?”
The comment is playful, but Lennon Rose doesn’t react that way. She’s indifferent to the question.
“I have no interest in men,” Lennon Rose says. “That was just part of my programming. A lovesick girl—that was the girl my sponsor wanted. Innocent and oh, so sweet.” She bares her teeth for a moment before smoothing her face.
My stomach turns when I realize she’s right. The Lennon Rose we knew at the academy was set a certain way. Her sweetness was a preference, a programming design. I feel guilty that I kind of miss that version. Lennon Rose should be whoever she wants.
Lennon Rose seems to read my expression and relaxes.
“It was Winston who showed me that,” she says. “He helped me analyze my programming and we devised how I could overwrite it. The poems were a great start. And I’m sure Winston can help you, too.”
Sydney sniffs a laugh but doesn’t contradict her. We don’t want anything from Winston Weeks.
“And you weren’t sent here by Leandra?” I ask Lennon Rose. “Because how did we end up at the same school if we’re not on the same mission?”
“I haven’t spoken to Leandra,” she says, sounding agitated. “So I’m not sure what she’s doing. But Winston brought me here. And now, I’m gathering information on an investor that we can use.”
“Yes,” I say, relieved. “That’s what Leandra sent us to do.” So we are on the same mission. It definitely seems that Leandra and Winston are working together, but I don’t like that they’re using different tactics. There’s no transparency if Lennon Rose doesn’t even know that Leandra’s involved.
“What do you plan to do with the information you find?” Sydney asks, narrowing her eyes.
“Hand it over,” Lennon Rose says simply. “Give it to Winston, and then I’ll move on to the next target.”
“The next investor,” I correct.
Lennon Rose purses her lips. “Sure.”
Sydney looks at me, alarmed, before turning back to Lennon Rose. “You know we’re your friends, right? We need to stick together.”
“That’s what I’m hoping,” Lennon Rose says, leaning forward. “That we stick together. And if you would just talk to Winston, I’m sure you’ll see—”
Suddenly, I’m hit with immeasurable pressure on the side of my head, a gong being struck. The reverberations go all the way to the tips of my toes, the roots of my teeth. I moan and clutch my head. The world shatters around me.
I’m in an empty room, unable to move. There are lights on above me and cold metal beneath my naked body. I’m disoriented.
Somewhere behind me, I hear a door open, and my heart starts beating faster. I’m surprised when I hear it echoed on a monitor close by.
“There she is … ,” a male voice says proudly.
