The Lofties (The Echelon Book 2) by Ramona Finn (no david read aloud .txt) 📕

at the only boy in line. Since there were usually several kiosks available, I rarely paid much attention to those inside the dome as I wanted to get in and out as soon as possible. He was of pairing age. He had dark skin and was attractive with sharp, high cheekbones. My future could be standing a few feet away from me.

As much as I didn’t agree with the system of receiving the injections to change my physical appearance or boosting parts of my personality to raise my immunity score, getting paired was better than not. If it happened, I’d be an accepted part of our society. I couldn’t imagine coming to the kiosks for all these years and then getting rejected because of my immunity level. Dad would be disappointed that I hadn’t tried harder. I’d have failed him just like Mom had.

I shivered, and it wasn’t all because of Dad. The kiosks were always freezing inside.

The boy took forever at the kiosk, flipping through more of the entertainment levels of the mods. Television shows, digital superstars, and gamers were the top viewed, at least among those in my grade. I ingested the minimal amount of those types into my algorithm, both to boost my mood and my score. I leaned toward digital books versus the trendy makeup, clothing, and other products which most girls preferred.

When the boy finally left, the screen went blank.

The girl directly in front of me looked to be about fifteen. She bolted toward the docking station and clicked on the screen as she pressed the earbuds into her ears.

A brightly colored advertisement with a pretty girl turning in a slow circle with multiple colors of shadow on her eyelids appeared in front of her. The girl on the screen laughed with her “friends” and a number flashed on the screen to show how big of a boost getting this product would give someone.

Her finger darted out and pressed the screen to add the mod to her injection. Then, her information screen appeared. I turned away since her scores weren’t my business. The kiosks had barriers on either side of them to give a semblance of privacy. But since I was the only other person in the room, it was hard not to focus on what happened in front of me. I glanced over my shoulder and realized I was the only other person in the kiosk. The line across the street was gone, too. I bet their kiosks weren’t down. Time had passed quickly, and all I wanted to do was get this over with.

A chill rolled down my arms. I wished Jeremy had stayed, even if he didn’t want to test himself. I scanned the area for others. The only other people were outside passing by the station without a second look. No one hung around the kiosks unless they were waiting for their biomods. It was usually a quick errand, yet I dreaded each second inside.

Once the ImmunoAlgorithms screen flashed away, the list of applicable biomods appeared. As the girl checked the ones she wanted, a few of them grayed out. We were only allowed up to three mods a day. The girl barely flinched as she accepted her injection.

I almost wished I would have chosen my three per day regularly. Usually, I picked one. If I had worked harder in my past to boost myself with mods, maybe I wouldn’t feel so nervous about my score now. It seemed like the more entertainment value the mods had, the higher the score.

Dread pooled in my stomach. Was there enough time for me to boost my final score for the test tomorrow? I could push past what Jeremy might think and take the maximum suggestions, at least, as the girl had just done.

When she finished, she practically skipped toward the curb. I hoped, in the time she’d taken at the station, at least one other person would have come inside the dome, so I wasn’t completely alone.

No such luck.

The kiosk screen went blank again. A light within the earbuds illuminated red, waiting for me to take them. I submitted the cold and sterile pieces into my ears, and the world around me fell away as all sound disappeared from my surroundings. I expected music to come through, enticing me to smile, and boost my score.

Please get a good score. My fingernails pressed through the hem of my shirt and into my palm.

The screen went white. I waited for the levels to display before a final score showed up. A line blinked on the screen twice, but otherwise, it remained blank. Was this one broken, too? I glanced outside to see if the technician would come in to check what was happening.

I turned to the station again as an oozing red and black liquid poured out of the screen. I drew back as far as the earbuds would allow me. It looked like ink dripping downward. I reached out to touch it until my finger smashed against the glass. It wasn’t real. Could have fooled me. The ink started to move across the screen as if there was no gravity in the area.

The ink blended into letters. I found myself moving toward the words, trying to read them. Within seconds, the message was clear.

Be Yourself. Down With Mods

A breath caught in my throat as I stared at the words. They pulsed two times before glowing brightly. Then, the screen went black, replaced with a dialogue box holding the simple text of the machine.

Unauthorized access detected. System locked. Security has been summoned. Remain in place for an interview.

I pulled the earbuds out and backed away from the station. All I’d done was come into the kiosk as requested, yet I was in trouble for this message? Down with mods? It was against everything we were taught! We were supposed to get mods to save humanity from a resurgence of Zero. Who would have put such a thing on a kiosk screen?

The security teams weren’t people