Being Amber. Sylvia Ryan

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      “Do you want me to kick him out?”

      “No, it’s his apartment too.”

      “He’s going to want to sleep here tonight. Are you ready for that?”

      Jaci was silent for a while. “He’s not weird or dangerous or anything is he?”

      “Ha! Xander? No way. He’s just a whiny baby who can’t stand not being in control.”

      Jaci smiled. She couldn’t imagine that man having a whiny bone in his body. “I think it will be okay.”

      “It’s nice to see you smile.” Caroline caught her eye, obviously trying to read her, and then nodded. “Okay.”

      “I’ll be out in a minute.” Jaci raised her eyebrows expectantly, waiting for the woman to leave her alone.

      Caroline nodded and smiled at her. “Okay.” She grabbed the box of surge patches on the way out the bathroom door. “I’ll have to take a look when you’re done in there,” she said, holding up the box.

      When she exited the bathroom, Caroline was waiting. “Let’s take a look. I’ll spray the areas with the antibiotic spray and put new patches on.”

      Xander leaned against the wall by the window. His arms were crossed over his chest. It looked as if it didn’t even occur to him that she may want some privacy. He wasn’t going anywhere.

      “Oh you don’t have to do that. I can do it this time.” She looked down. “It’s kind of–yuck.”

      “I’m a nurse. I’ve seen a lot worse than this.”

      Jaci‘s head snapped down to where Caroline knelt in front of her. “A nurse? I thought Ambers couldn’t have professional jobs.”

      “Sometimes I think the Gov spreads that disinformation on purpose because you aren’t the first fallow to say that to me. So, it’s understandable why you’re confused. Plus, only the Ambers that don’t have higher education work outside the Amber Zone, so there was no reason to think any differently. You can go to college online here as long as you do your twenty hours of work assignment every week. All of our professionals are Ambers. Everything here is done by us, for us. There are no other class designations that work in the Amber Zone.

      “There, you’re all set.” She threw the wrapper from the new patches away, and led Jaci back to bed.

      “My work assignment is painter. It’s only twenty hours a week? And I can go to college for anything I want?” She looked back and forth between Caroline and Xander.

      “Yeah, everybody works twenty hours a week. No exceptions,” Caroline said.

      “I don’t get it, how do you earn enough money to live?”

      “We don’t earn money, we earn credits. It’s illegal to have currency in Amber,” Xander stated.

      “Pretty much everything, you know, the basics, are provided by the Gov at the commissary. The credits are for extras like clothes and luxury items like scented soap, stuff like that,” Caroline added. “That’s one of the things the code on your palm is for.”

      Jaci must have looked lost because Xander added, “Your credits are deposited to your code. Whenever you need to pay for something you scan your hand and the credits will be deducted from your total.”

      Jaci looked at Xander with disbelief, then at Caroline waiting for her to contradict him, or start laughing or something. “You’re kidding right?”

      “No.” Xander shook his head. “From teachers to trash collectors, nobody is paid with money, and everybody earns the same amount of credits every week. If somebody chooses to go to school to be a nurse, it's because that's how they want to spend their twenty hours of work per week, not because nurses earn more credits.”

      “Our quality of life here is probably as good, or better even, than those who are Sapphires. Of course, the sacrifices that are made are the price we pay. Some more than others,” Caroline said absently scratching Jaci’s thigh.

      “What’s your job?” Jaci asked Xander.

      “I’m a police officer.”

      Jaci saw it in him immediately. He carried himself with authority. She scanned his face and body, taking everything in. He was handsome with his short cut, brown hair and intense, almost black eyes. His features were rugged, especially with the growth of whiskers darkening his jaw. His face could easily be intimidating. He also possessed an essence of danger.

      Their gazes locked. He’d seen her taking him in, assessing him, and it looked like he’d been doing the same.

      He wore an intoxicating look on his face that contained a promise of…Jaci sighed and the muscles of her neck and shoulders relaxed. His eyes promised refuge and security.

      Caroline cleared her throat and then rolled her eyes. “Don’t mind him, he knows he’s good looking and it’s gone to his head. He thinks he’s God’s gift to the female of the species.” She misinterpreted the moment they’d just shared. It’s about time for another dose,” Caroline said over her shoulder as she shook out another painkiller for Jaci.

      Xander’s СКАЧАТЬ