Cipher slouched down a little and said quietly, “I’m sorry I never got to meet her. When she was well, I mean.”
“Me too,” I said without the sadness that usually went with it.
“What about the drugs? Do you think I should quit?”
“I don’t know. They help you sleep and that’s important. You should probably quit smoking cigarettes though.”
“Probably.”
“How are you going to get more pills?”
“I don’t know. Guess I’ll have to rob a pharmacy.”
I tensed at that and he squeezed my leg. “Joking, sweetness.”
“It’s hard to tell with you sometimes. That sounds like something you’d do.”
“Really? You think I’m a criminal.”
I considered it. “I think you don’t always follow the rules.”
“Understandable, but I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize what we have here. I’ll figure out something else.”
We fell into a comfortable silence. With all of him laid on top of me, wet and warm in my embrace, my little monster started acting up again, sliding against the small of his back, almost as if it were an accident.
“You’re poking me,” he said with amusement.
“Can’t help it. You got me all horned up.”
“This is a pretty good Placement Day so far.” He turned a little so that I could see the hitch in his mouth. “But you know what would make it even better?”
“Pancakes?” I said, hungry again even though I’d already had tea and toast with Teresa.
He smiled, shook his head, and opened his mouth to tell me, but a loud banging cut him off, followed by Macon’s booming voice through the bathroom door, “We’re leaving in ten minutes, lovebirds, with or without you.”
I grumbled at the interruption, but Cipher pulled me close and whispered, “Later on I’m going to show you how to sixty-nine.”
“Cool,” I said with a goofy grin while thinking,what the heck is that?
* * *
We woreour best clothing to meet with the Placement Committee, “dressed to impress” as Artemis said, and even Cipher had on a collared, button-down shirt, though still with his weapons strapped to him. So handsome. So lethal. I carried the knife he’d given me, tucked into a leather sheath that hung from my belt alongside my inhaler because Cipher got mad at me whenever I left either one behind.
Juniper Jenkins was back, and after walking us to a building that served as the Placement Committee’s headquarters, she handed us all clipboards with surveys to fill out. The inside of the building resembled a dance studio with a reception area that connected to a larger room with mirrors and a ballet barre. Through a glass window, we could see into the studio where the committee members sat behind a long table. It felt like an audition already.
I filled out my name, age, and where I was from, then took a look at the first question:When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Tough one. We were just trying to survive. As I considered my answer, I noticed Teresa clutching her clipboard with both hands and blinking at me with panic written all over her face. I motioned her over and Cipher scooted down on the wooden bench to make room.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I don’t know what to write.” She smoothed her small hands across the paper’s surface as if trying to flatten the wrinkles, but there were none.
“I’m having trouble too. I can’t really remember what I wanted to be. Mostly, I thought about food.”
“Is that what it’s asking?” She frowned at her form.
“Yeah. Can you see it?”
