The Pretenders by Rebecca Hanover

Author:Rebecca Hanover
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2019-10-18T20:06:59+00:00

Confrontations

I walk into the dining hall the next morning like nothing’s different. Like I haven’t dropped the biggest bombshell this school’s seen since the Similars’ arrival. I went to bed last night without talking to anyone. Not Pru, not Ollie, and certainly not Levi or the other Similars. I have no idea how my friends will react to my admission, my confession that I’m one of them. Will they welcome me with open arms? Or will this mean nothing to them, because—like I said in my essay—the name “clone” doesn’t change anything about me, fundamentally? I still didn’t grow up with them. To them, I’m the girl who had a vastly different chance at childhood than they did. I know Ollie won’t believe it changes anything for us, even though I’ve worried all this time that it will. It’s hard for me to know what it means, really. It’s such a cosmic shift of my world. One I haven’t sufficiently processed yet. It could take me years to fully digest and to fully accept.

When I walk through the double doors of the dining hall, all eyes are on me. I’m used to this; I’ve given the student body a lot of reasons to stare at me over the last year. Still, today feels different. I’ve put myself out there in the most vulnerable way. I’ve officially stood up to Harlowe and her group of clone haters. I’m not proud of myself as much as I am relieved. Keeping this secret was eating me up inside. Now I feel lighter. Freer. Kids whisper as I move past: “That’s the girl who wrote the essay.” “That’s the girl who’s a Similar.” I don’t look directly at Harlowe’s table, but I feel her eyes on me. I know my essay is going to piss her off. She likely took it as a direct attack on her. Good. It was.

Pru hugs me as soon as I reach the table. I’m grateful for her, now more than ever. I scoot in next to her, making room for my tray, which I’ve filled with food I have no intention of eating. Not when my stomach is tied up in knots.

The other Similars are here, but not Ollie. Good. I can’t face them all at once. I don’t look at Levi, but I don’t need to. I force myself to look up at my friends. At Maude, Ansel, Theodora, Jago, and Pippa.

Heart hammering so hard and fast it feels like it will break my rib cage, I do the only thing I know how. I make a joke. “What? Did something happen last night? What did I miss?”

No one speaks. They all stare at me, silently.

“For the love of God, would someone say something?” I finally explode. “Yes! I’m a Similar. Gravelle told me at the end of last year, but I didn’t believe him. Not until I’d tested…certain hypotheses.”

Still, no one’s talking.

“Didn’t my essay for The Daily Darkwood cover it? That’s why I wrote it. And to put Harlowe and everyone else who keeps leaving you those threats in their place.

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