Chapter 10

Opening the door to her shared room, Rain paused in the doorway as Mist turned and looked at her over her shoulder, her tablet propped on the pillow at the head of her bed. “Hey,” Rain said, not sure whether or not Mist was still angry at her.
Mist clicked her tablet off and set it aside before rolling over and sliding off of the side of the bed so she could face her. “Hi.”
Relieved that at least her best friend was speaking to her again, Rain hung her backpack up on a hook, not bothering to take her tablet out, and kicked off her sneakers, moving them over to the spot by her dresser where she kept them. She walked over to her bed and sat down across from Mist. “How was your day?”
“Fine.” Mist attempted to smile, but it was so forced, it looked more like a snarl. “Yours?”
“Ugh,” Rain groaned, lowering her head and shaking it slowly. “I was almost late to labs, which sucked. But class was pretty cool. Cloud and I didn’t kill any fetuses.” She decided not to bother to mention the weird look from the Military Mother. It was probably just her imagination anyway.
“That’s good.” This smile was more genuine. “Did you just get back from IW?”
Rain’s head rocked back and forth as she met Mist’s eyes. “At least that’s over with until Monday.” She ran a hand along her braid and pulled aimlessly at the end. “Did you do anything interesting in class?”
“No, not really. Just more mammal anatomy.”
“You like that, though.”
“I do. It’s just… we didn’t talk about anything I didn’t already know.”
A fond grin pulled up the corner of Rain’s mouth. “That’s because you’re always working ahead.” She gestured toward the tablet with her head, assuming that Mist had been watching more nature films.
“True.” She didn’t seem to want to talk about her studies, which was typical. Mist was probably the smartest woman Rain knew, but she was very humble about it.
Scooting back on to the bed so she was propped on her elbows, Mist asked, “Who did you pick?”
The last thing in the world Rain wanted to talk about was IW. But it wasn’t often Mist actually asked her questions about her day, since Mist didn’t really like to talk, so she decided to take advantage of the opportunity to actually carry on a conversation with her friend, which was a huge change from yesterday when Mist seemed like she never wanted to speak to her again. “I chose 24C again,” she said, trying to seem nonchalant. “He’s pretty predictable.”
A soft giggle escaped Mist’s lips. “You pick him a lot. Do you like him?”
Her forehead puckering, Rain swung her legs around and lay down on her elbow. “Like him?” she echoed. “What are you talking about? He’s a man. An Inseminator at that. What do you mean?” She hoped her tone wasn’t too accusatory, but the question had caught her off guard. What in the world was Mist getting at? How could someone like a man?
Mist shifted around so that her position mirrored Rain’s. “I know he’s a man, but so what? He’s still a person, isn’t he? I’m sure there are men you’ve encountered in IW that you’d quickly say you don’t like. So… why can’t you like one?”
Rain had never considered whether or not she liked or disliked any of the men in IW. She hated IW in general, and there were some Inseminators she’d never request again. But she hadn’t chalked that up to mean she disliked the men, only that she’d been more uncomfortable than usual when she was with them. “I guess… I hadn’t thought about it that way. I don’t dislike him. He seems like a… perfectly capable Inseminator, I guess.”
This time when Mist chuckled at her, it was louder. “It’s okay to tell me you like him, Rain. I’m your best friend. Aren’t I?”
“Yes, of course,” Rain said, rolling her eyes. Some noisy girls walked by in the hallway, and for a moment, Rain thought it might be the other girls who shared their room, but the noise continued down the hall, which meant the conversation could go on. “Of the men I’ve selected… he is the one I most prefer.”
“Very well,” Mist said, as if that answer was satisfactory to her. She laid down on her back and picked up her tablet.
Rain felt challenged. “What about you? Do you like any of the Inseminators?”
“I do have a favorite as well,” Mist said, setting her tablet back down and turning to face Rain again. “I like 37W. He always makes me feel like I’m flying. And he smells good, too.” She shrugged, like nothing she’d said was a big deal, and started to reach for her tablet again.
Sitting up and putting her feet on the floor, Rain reminded herself to keep her voice down. “Makes you feel like you’re flying?” she echoed. “You sound like those goofy girls who always walk into IW in packs, laughing and carrying on like they’re going to one of those amusement parks we read about in history class. IW is not Nisdeyland.”
“I believe it was called Disneyland, Rain, and I don’t think there’s anything goofy about enjoying ourselves when we are IW. That’s the whole point of it right now. It’s not as if we are capable of becoming Mothers.”
Not able to believe what her friend was saying--yet again--Rain stared at her for a moment. “No, it’s not. The purpose is to get used to it so when we are required to do it for real, it’s not so foreign to us.”
Shaking her head, Mist said, “I disagree. But it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to enjoy it just because I do. Are you sure you’re not….”
Rain narrowed her eyes, her eyebrows knitting together as she tried to guess where Mist was going with the question. “Not… what?”
Mist studied her for a moment. “A Samey,” she said, her tone gentle and not at all accusatory. Rain’s eyes widened but no words came to her lips. “I’m just asking because you aren’t interested in men at all, and most of the girls our age at least like IW a little. You don’t seem to like it one bit, and I don’t think it has anything to do with not having found a man capable of making you enjoy it--if you wanted to. If you were capable of doing so. Maybe you don’t like IW because you prefer women.”
As soon as Rain’s brain began to function again, she shook her head. “No, I’m not a Samey, Mist. Sometimes I wish I were. But I don’t find women attractive. I don’t want to kiss them the way that the Marrieds do.” Kissing had seemed interesting the first time Rain saw it, but she couldn’t imagine sticking her tongue in another woman’s mouth. “It’s not that.”
“Okay.” Mist didn’t seem to quite mean that. “Because if it was, that would be cool with me, you know. It’s just… I’m definitely not a Samey. So… we couldn’t get married or anything.”
“Darn,” Rain said, rolling her eyes and falling back onto her pillow again. “You’ve figured me out.”
Chuckling erupted from the other bed, and Rain assumed part of that was her friend’s relief that she didn’t secretly want to marry her. “Well, if you decide you do want to be a Married, I’ll help you find a wife.”
“Thanks, but trust me, Mist, there’s no way in the world I could keep something like that from you.” She sat up. “Even though you and I sometimes argue, you’re still my best friend. I don’t keep secrets from you. Just like you don’t keep them from me.” Rain thought about the item Mist had smuggled into their room the evening before, hoping this was the perfect opening for Mist to confess. “Right?”
“Right.” Mist gave her a tight smile and picked up her tablet, turning the on the video she’d been watching before Rain came in.
Watching her friend for a few seconds in disbelief, Rain contemplated telling Mist she’d seen that she’d taken something from that cellar and demand that she tell her right now. But she didn’t want to have to be ugly to get Mist to tell her what it was--she wanted her best friend to trust her.
Staring up at the ceiling, Rain went over a few of their most recent conversations and realized the two of them had divergent thoughts on many topics, and if Mist had found something that could potentially be problematic for either of them, Rain had given her no reason lately to believe she could be trusted. Swallowing hard, Rain contemplated the possibility that perhaps her friend was right not to trust her.