Elusion(23)

But today, something is different. Hardly anyone is paying attention to their food. Instead, everyone is frantically typing away at their tabs and talking excitedly among themselves.

“Regan!” I hear someone call out from the center of the room.

My eyes shift around, trying to locate the source of the voice, and land on Zoe Morgan, who is waving both her arms at me. Her black hair is pulled back in a tight, side-swept braid and she’s wearing a snug gray cardigan and tiny blue cargo skirt with ruched knee-high black boots—actually, if those heels were any higher, she’d definitely be on the verge of a dress code violation. I look down at my choice of shoes and remember that since I was running late this morning I grabbed the first pair of shoes I could find, which just happened to be my mom’s gray rubber clogs.

Great, just great.

I pull my hair into a low ponytail as I walk over to Zoe’s table, which is occupied by a crew of popular seniors. I take a seat in between her and Jane Gonzales, one of the best-known student-council representatives at Hills Sector High, who manages to squeak out a hello without taking her eyes off her tablet. Zoe doesn’t even bother doing either.

“Have you heard from Patrick today?” she asks.

I hesitate, wondering if he told her what happened between us in Elusion last night. I hope not. I’ve been avoiding all of Patrick’s calls and texts for a reason. I’m still not sure what to say to him, so how can I explain anything to her?

“No, I haven’t. Why?”

“It’s Avery,” Zoe announces, narrowing her dark eyes. “Did you see her latest vlog?”


“No.” In fact, I make it a point to avoid Avery in all forms whenever I can.

“You wouldn’t believe what she said about Orexis and Elusion.”

I reach toward my pocket to grab my tablet, when Zoe places a hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t bother. Her whole site is shut down,” she explains. “Everyone is trying to locate the video, but all record of it has been wiped out, including the sites that were streaming it.”

I let out a groan. “What swill is she dishing now?”

“Avery claimed that Orexis was involved in some sort of massive consumer deception. And then she said something about how the people responsible for harming the public wouldn’t ‘escape’ retribution or ‘elude’ justice, which isn’t even clever if you ask me.”

“As if anyone with half a brain would believe her,” I say. At least, that’s what I’m hoping.

“There’s more,” Zoe adds.

“What else?”

Zoe clears her throat. “She said that there’s an object or something inside the program that’s threatening users’ lives.”

“Oh God,” I murmur.

“Patrick had her site disabled,” she adds.

“Wait, did he tell you that?”

Zoe raises her eyebrows, as if surprised by the sharp tone of my voice. I’m not mad at her, but I am feeling like a jerk for avoiding all of Patrick’s attempts to contact me. What if he was trying to alert me about this? What if he needed a friend and I wasn’t there for him because I was too busy acting like an idiot?

“No. That’s what people are saying, though.”

“Right,” I say, taking a deep breath.

“Listen, Regan,” Zoe says. “Avery is in my comm class, and I know for a fact she’s determined to get into the journalism program at Northwestern. She probably figures if she makes a name for herself with a high-profile, controversial story, she’ll be totally unrejectable. I’ve been watching her numbers, and she’s gained over a million followers since she started posting vlogs relating to Elusion.”

Suddenly, I see Avery standing at the end of the lunch line, her tray in her hands. She’s wearing her trademark horn-rimmed glasses and vintage army jacket over her uniform. Her freckled face is free of makeup, contorted into an obnoxious holier-than-thou expression as she scans the cafeteria. Our eyes meet, and she smirks as if challenging me.

If she thinks she can slander my dad, she’s in for a rude awakening. “Someone has to stop her,” I say.

In one swift motion, I leap off my seat and advance through the cafeteria. Ignoring Zoe’s pleas to stop, I make my way toward Avery with purposeful strides. She sets her tray down at a table of drooling groupies and crosses her arms, defiant.

“Look who it is,” she says smugly as I step in front of her. “One half of the Orexis dog-and-pony show.”

“What’s your problem?” I ask angrily. “It’s not enough for you to try and ruin Patrick’s news conference? This time you’ve gone too far.”

“I’ve gone too far? Elusion is about to go live to the whole country, and your little boyfriend doesn’t give two craps that he’s hurting people with his lies!”

“You are the liar, Avery,” I say, clenching my hands into fists. “I’m sick of your snide comments, and so is everyone else.”

“I don’t think anyone gets sick of the truth. Just ask the millions of people who tried to download that video.”

“You are full of shit, you know that?”

“If that’s the case, then why did Patrick shut me down?” she snaps. “Is he worried that his precious CIT approval will get revoked when they find out Elusion is addictive?”