The Rainbow Maker's Tale Read Online Free Page A

of
filling up. Something nervous fluttered vaguely in my abdomen,
matching a sensation of expansion in my chest that was not
physical, but strangely other . It had taken me years to
subdue, but a few short sentences spoken with her and I remembered
something human about myself that I had repressed in pursuit of
something else.
    Maybe the final answers I
sought lay in what I had hidden, and not what I found around
me? It was an interesting idea, and one I had certainly not
explored before. For this reason alone, it might be worth talking
to Cassie.
    “I think I know what you meant
too,” I said, feeling oddly confident as I turned back towards
Cassie. With my new objective clear, I intended to prolong our
encounter as long as possible and ignore the part of my conscience
that told me not to.
    “Where are you going now?” I
sounded casual, not even having to work at being nonchalant.
    “Now?” She seemed confused, as
though she were uncertain of what exactly I was asking of her. I
thought it best to clarify.
    “Well – as much as you love examinations, I assume you don’t intend to spend the
rest of the day in the assessment room. Do you?” I was teasing her
I knew – but it didn’t feel impolite, more comical – another smile
began playing cheekily with my lips as I waited for her answer.
    Cassie responded similarly, her
tone mocking. “I don’t know – I do really like it in here…”
    To my surprise, I found myself
briefly entranced as her green eyes flared brightly on meeting
mine, and I had to roll my eyes – acknowledging her joke – to pull
myself free of them.
    “I’m heading over to Park 17 –
most of the other classes end up there for a bit of a wind down
after the last exams.” She said.
    The park…others…her
friends… I nodded in understanding.
    Right then, I probably should
have walked away. My only reasons for speaking with Cassie were
selfish, and it wasn’t fair to use a real, live person as part of
an experiment. I hated feeling like that myself, so how could I do
it to someone else? I could pretend this was for my own good: that
reaching out to someone, one last time, might be beneficial, before
I left the Family Quarter forever. That was a lie – and I hated lies.
    Logically, I knew that we could
not be friends. Since Scarlett, I had not allowed anyone to get
close to me, and now – with what I was planning to do – there was
no point. Trying to be friends, for the sake of information, might
get Cassie into trouble, or even risk putting her in danger.
    Knowing that all of this was
true – why did I not leave right then?
    “Do you mind if I walk with
you?” I heard my voice speaking the words. It was an afterthought
when I assured myself it was only a walk.
    “Of course,” Cassie
accepted.
    I caught myself thinking that
her voice sounded eager as she answered. That was even worse: why
would I be hoping for that?
    Standing aside in the corridor
to make space for her, Cassie stepped out to join me and we walked
away from the classroom side-by-side. I found myself glancing at
her, examining her features when I believed she wouldn’t see me.
Once or twice I thought I noticed her doing the same thing, peeking
carefully at me through her curtain of dark hair.
    “Ahhhh,” I sighed loudly. I
couldn’t help myself: as we emerged from the dimly lit building
into the bright, almost natural daylight of the late
afternoon, I felt immediately better.
    “What was that for?” Cassie
laughed, regarding at me with interest.
    “The sunlight feels so good
after being trapped in that little room,” I grinned back, before
turning my face upward to fully capture the warm glow. It was nice
to share something – even such a tiny truth about myself – with
someone else. Realising this was a surprise.
    My eyes closed and I focused
for a few seconds on the hot pinky-red colour of my eyelids, as
they were backlit by the afternoon sun. I inhaled deeply.
    “And here’s me thinking that
you love