Marigold by Heather Manheim (best books for 8th graders .TXT) 📕

before and more strawberries. She took some of both and also what looked like some leftover fish. After she pulled the fish out, it seemed as if a beacon had sent out a signal for Buster because only seconds later, he came running into the kitchen, meowing like crazy. “Oh, you dumb cat, go away.” Davis lightly kicked at him but immediately felt terrible, wishing she hadn’t. She wondered if Buster would take food from her and held out a piece of fish out to him. At first, it seemed Buster didn’t trust her, but his want of the fish overcame him, and he slinked over to Davis, weaving in between her legs before gingerly taking the fish from her. Davis decided to leave the cat in the kitchen before all her lunch would be gone.

When Davis got back to her room, she decided to peek at those documents while she ate. Her confidence had returned somewhat, and she had little doubt examining the papers would prove them to be forgeries. She pulled up the first one and looked at it. Her first glance made her heart stop a beat. It appeared to be a legitimate hospital record; there was an embossed watermark in deep blue indelible ink. Davis quickly skimmed all the documents, seeing the watermark on all of them. It looked just like the ones she’d seen all her life when going into the medical center to get her checkups and immunizations. The process was easy: You walked in, let them scan your ID Card, and then were shown into an exam room, maybe after a short wait. The doctor came in with your medical file, which you confirmed was yours by checking the name, ID number, and class status. Then you initialed the top form with a red pen. Davis spotted all the red marks down each of the papers. Q, A, or N, depending on which one she was reading. And then there was the doctor’s signature, also in red. Davis held up the paper to light and looked at the backside to see if the red ink had seeped through the back or if it was just on the top. It had bled through, increasing the legitimacy. Not that she was ready to roll over quite yet. She would examine each line if it took all night, looking for any inconsistencies.

Davis started with Quinn’s file as it seemed the shortest. Everything on the top information page lined up with what standard checks would be. But she noticed, when she got to the doctor’s notes page that Quinn would not have seen, new notes started appearing when Quinn was twelve: “Possibly immune.” Right down the right side—one after another, like little red soldiers marching down the paper. She wondered why it started at twelve and made a mental note to ask the others about that. The next page brought a surprise and one she hadn’t seen before. It was another note page. It, too, had the embossed watermark and doctor’s signature. The notes went on about how Quinn, now at age fifteen, was confirmed to be a Natural Immune and had shown “slight tendencies of rebellion.” The doctor recommended reeducation at the Everett Center.

Ana’s forms were similar. At age twelve, “Possibly immune” started showing up, and then at fifteen, she had the rebellion note page. Hers was different, though, after the note indicating “slight tendencies of rebellion.” Ana’s doctor had noted that Namaguchi had submitted an Inquiry of Interest, and the doctor advised the match and marriage go forward. Dr. Mazella surmised that perhaps being married to Namaguchi, an official in President Everett’s cabinet, would positively influence Ana. For almost two years, it seemed to work. Then, the notes continued onto another page, showing Ana’s rebellious tendencies had become more vigorous, and she was also showing anger at her appointments. It also included a note that mentioned Namaguchi had started showing immunity in his latest tests. Then, in big red letters at the bottom of the page, the words “Eliminate the pair” were circled.

~

Davis set the files aside and leaned back, her head against the wall. She had no idea what to make of all of this. Her head felt woozy, and fatigue overcame her. Hours later, she awoke with a start. It took her a few moments to realize where she was and what had been going on. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and took a look around; the files had fallen on the floor and were askew. Davis grabbed the glass of water she had set on the table beside the bed and was happy there was a drink left. She then looked at the clock: 8:07 p.m. She wondered if she had missed dinner. Probably. Not that it mattered to her, she didn’t feel like having company. She did feel hungry, though. Before going out, she decided to look at the last papers in the file, Namaguchi’s medical report. It seemed the same as the others, except his was much longer, him being quite a bit older. As she suspected by this point, at the end of his report, for two consecutive appointments, it had noted that he had potentially developed immunity and that his wife Ana was a known Natural Immune. After the two notes about potential immunity, a third quickly scrawled note in red saying, “Confirmed, eliminate the pair.”

Davis hit her palm against her head in frustrated thought. They gave him three appointments to see if he was immune or not? That was it? How was that even possible? Namaguchi was a high-level official. It didn’t seem to make any sense that they would decide to eliminate him so quickly. Davis wondered how much of this she could believe.

As Davis pondered the dilemma in her mind, she had a hard time believing that President Everett or anyone in the cabinet could do such a thing. She also realized Namaguchi being in the cabinet made it even more unlikely. But