rearranged.”
“So they set you up with one bloke and then move you on to another?”
“Yes, it would be pointless having fifteen children with the same partner. It’s our duty to breed stronger members of the Community.”
“And you get no choice at all in the men?”
She gave a bitter laugh.
“None. Usually we get paired up with the Elders as they are the first in line to have descendents. Later wemight get one of the younger ones, but that’s quite rare. We accept what we’re given. Well, the others do anyway.”
“But not you.”
Aria looked down at the table, tracing a knot in the wood with her finger.
“Everything there is wrong,” she said quietly, not lifting her head. “Especially the way they treat us women. I knew rebelling against the Farmer was right, but the fight is so much bigger than that. It’s only since I’ve come up here and seen how you live that it has become so clear.”
“Don’t any of the women protest?”
This time the laugh was more of a snort.
“No! Never. Everyone knows their place. I would never even have thought about trying to change anything until Dane talked me into it.”
Dane. Should I tell her that I saw him, even though he had begged me not to?
“So what was his plan?” I asked.
Aria looked up at me, then her eyes slid back down to the table. She looked as if she was about to start talking then stopped. Finally she took a deep breath. “I was supposed to find someone – someone special – down on the Tube platform. The idea was to take them back to the Community. Dane had a plan, but I didn’t really know the rest of it. I knew he had a map of the old Crop tunnels, and we used them to find a secret way up. Iwaited until I knew that the Crop was busy and I took the risk, but then of course I got lost, and you found me.”
Was now the time to tell her? If I mentioned Dane wouldn’t that make things easier for her? I was about to say something when Aria continued, almost talking to herself.
“I’m beginning to wonder if Dane didn’t have a rather different plan in mind. Maybe I was supposed to fail. He lies so well – how can I be sure that he wasn’t lying to me?”
I shut my mouth. Had he lied to me too? I couldn’t know. I reached over and took one of her hands.
“Don’t get upset. You can’t change that now. What’s important is that you got away, and you found me too, which was a bonus. We’ve been doing OK, haven’t we?”
She nodded and looked up, and I could see that her eyes were moist.
“Come on then,” I said. “Tell me a bit more about today, not about things that are going to worry you. What else did you get up to?”
“I walked around a bit, trying to make sense of the area in my head. It’s how we learn the tunnels when we’re little.”
Lily laughs. “How did you get on with that then?”
“Not bad, I think.”
“You’re better than me then. I’m rubbish at knowing which way I’m going.”
“We have to be good at it,” I tell her. “There’s a test when we reach six. We need to be able to find our way from one end of the Community to the other.”
“Sounds tough for a six-year-old.” Lily laughs again, clearly trying to cheer me up. “I hope you didn’t fail.”
“No one fails. The Breeders make sure of it. If they raised kids with no sense of direction it’s not good news.”
Lily raises her eyebrows but asks no more questions.
“Your school – was that good today?” I ask.
“You know, for a change it was OK. I managed to get the better of Jenny in an argument, which was awesome.”
I remember Lily mentioning a Jenny, but not why.
“Is she one of your friends?”
“Ha, no! She’s the one who’s constantly making things miserable for me, sending me the mean text messages. I got one just after we met, remember?”
“Oh yes, I remember the one. She’s horrible to you.”
“But not today!” Lily beams, holding up her mobile. “Not a peep out of her.”
“And that is
“So they set you up with one bloke and then move you on to another?”
“Yes, it would be pointless having fifteen children with the same partner. It’s our duty to breed stronger members of the Community.”
“And you get no choice at all in the men?”
She gave a bitter laugh.
“None. Usually we get paired up with the Elders as they are the first in line to have descendents. Later wemight get one of the younger ones, but that’s quite rare. We accept what we’re given. Well, the others do anyway.”
“But not you.”
Aria looked down at the table, tracing a knot in the wood with her finger.
“Everything there is wrong,” she said quietly, not lifting her head. “Especially the way they treat us women. I knew rebelling against the Farmer was right, but the fight is so much bigger than that. It’s only since I’ve come up here and seen how you live that it has become so clear.”
“Don’t any of the women protest?”
This time the laugh was more of a snort.
“No! Never. Everyone knows their place. I would never even have thought about trying to change anything until Dane talked me into it.”
Dane. Should I tell her that I saw him, even though he had begged me not to?
“So what was his plan?” I asked.
Aria looked up at me, then her eyes slid back down to the table. She looked as if she was about to start talking then stopped. Finally she took a deep breath. “I was supposed to find someone – someone special – down on the Tube platform. The idea was to take them back to the Community. Dane had a plan, but I didn’t really know the rest of it. I knew he had a map of the old Crop tunnels, and we used them to find a secret way up. Iwaited until I knew that the Crop was busy and I took the risk, but then of course I got lost, and you found me.”
Was now the time to tell her? If I mentioned Dane wouldn’t that make things easier for her? I was about to say something when Aria continued, almost talking to herself.
“I’m beginning to wonder if Dane didn’t have a rather different plan in mind. Maybe I was supposed to fail. He lies so well – how can I be sure that he wasn’t lying to me?”
I shut my mouth. Had he lied to me too? I couldn’t know. I reached over and took one of her hands.
“Don’t get upset. You can’t change that now. What’s important is that you got away, and you found me too, which was a bonus. We’ve been doing OK, haven’t we?”
She nodded and looked up, and I could see that her eyes were moist.
“Come on then,” I said. “Tell me a bit more about today, not about things that are going to worry you. What else did you get up to?”
“I walked around a bit, trying to make sense of the area in my head. It’s how we learn the tunnels when we’re little.”
Lily laughs. “How did you get on with that then?”
“Not bad, I think.”
“You’re better than me then. I’m rubbish at knowing which way I’m going.”
“We have to be good at it,” I tell her. “There’s a test when we reach six. We need to be able to find our way from one end of the Community to the other.”
“Sounds tough for a six-year-old.” Lily laughs again, clearly trying to cheer me up. “I hope you didn’t fail.”
“No one fails. The Breeders make sure of it. If they raised kids with no sense of direction it’s not good news.”
Lily raises her eyebrows but asks no more questions.
“Your school – was that good today?” I ask.
“You know, for a change it was OK. I managed to get the better of Jenny in an argument, which was awesome.”
I remember Lily mentioning a Jenny, but not why.
“Is she one of your friends?”
“Ha, no! She’s the one who’s constantly making things miserable for me, sending me the mean text messages. I got one just after we met, remember?”
“Oh yes, I remember the one. She’s horrible to you.”
“But not today!” Lily beams, holding up her mobile. “Not a peep out of her.”
“And that is
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