The Body Institute by Carol Riggs

Author:Carol Riggs
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Jennifer L. Armentrout;Lux series;Marissa Meyer;Beth Revis;Rick Yancey;body image;futuristic society
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Published: 2015-07-08T04:00:00+00:00

The rest of the week marches by. On Friday I’m still in penance mode. I board the MT for the park early, planning to put in a concentrated dose of exercise before Vonn shows up. Brushing a stray coil of hair from my face, I catch sight of my fingernails. Nice. At least my nails have grown out beyond the stubby nublets Jodine bit them into.

My phone blings as I’m getting off the MT.

How’s my favorite brain clone? Granddad asks.

I burst into a startled laugh.

I’m okay. I’m out jogging, or trying to. Do you really want to talk to a brainwashed copy of your granddaughter?

I’ll take what I can get. The real Morgan isn’t available.

Okay. I won’t push it.

What’s up?

Got some good news. Danged government retirement home emailed me yesterday. Tons more forms to fill out, but they might have an opening in a few weeks. Cross your fingers, and your toes too. Soon I’ll be out of your mom’s and dad’s hair, and into a place of my own.

That’s great!

My smile fades as the next logical thought stabs me in the heart. If Granddad moves into the retirement home while I’m being Jodine, he’ll be long gone by the time I return in April. His bushy-haired self won’t be sitting in the recliner, smelling of cigarette smoke and aftershave. The spare room will be cleared of his strewn-about shirts and socks and old-fashioned printed books, the guest bed empty.

But I won’t get to say good-bye to you in person.

There’s a long pause before Granddad answers.

That’s why I’m calling, even though it’s not actually you. I wanted to feel like you knew I was leaving. Better than nothing.

I don’t bother to tell him that when I finish my Reducer job and wake up without these memories, it’s still going to be a shock to see his room vacant. My old brainmap won’t have any preparation for this news—unless I manage to read six months’ worth of text messages before I arrive home.

I’ll come see you in April, I promise. You know I will.

The place is way out on the edge of the Yellow Zone.

It’s in the Blue Zone. Has he forgotten, or is he confused?

Doesn’t matter. I’ll visit you no matter what.

I bet your real self would say that, too. You know how Gramma always said you were my devoted little buddy. She said your arms were exactly the right length to wrap around my neck. Ah, well. Get back to your jogging and lose that weight so I can have my granddaughter back.

I will. Love ya.

I tap off and stare at my phone. Having Granddad live with us puts a strain on our budget, and sometimes he’s crabby, but in a few weeks he’ll be gone. I already feel lost without him. I don’t blame him for being grumpy. He misses Gramma a ton, and there’s not much for him to do all day except read books and watch TV. When Gramma was alive, he cracked more jokes. He tickled me until I shrieked, and he played catch with Dad and me in the Yellow Zone park.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.