Enter The Grid by Nicholas Gwendolyn

Author:Nicholas, Gwendolyn [Nicholas, Gwendolyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2016-11-15T23:00:00+00:00

* * *

Ada emerged from Riikka's rooms dressed in a simple, very bright blue dress, fitted at the top, flared at the waist, and hiding her legs to just above the knees, which were covered by dark red stockings and matching red shoes, each with a ridiculously large heel to boost her height. Though she had been expecting something much more outlandish, even to the point of fearing for her modesty, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat disappointed—and a little relieved—at the outfit’s simplicity. Sure, she had protested the short skirt at first, having never shown her knees to anyone, stockings or not, but even that protest was half-hearted, done out of some prudish loyalty to a girl whose skin had already been shed. When Riikka insisted that the shorter skirt would make Ada seem taller, she relented, and felt pleased enough with herself for attempting to preserve her innocence. In truth, when Ada saw her new reflection, she had never been surer of herself. She felt as if she could stand in front of that mirror and preen for hours, marveling at her own beauty.

“Vanity be damned,” she murmured to her reflection, and smiled.

Tovi glanced up when she wobbled into the room on her tall red shoes, and nodded. “Okay,” he said to Riikka, “I see what you were going for. At least she won’t stand out too much.” He stood and said to Ada, “Let's go back to my compartment and figure out your next step. I had some ideas while you were getting ready.”

“No!” The wail came from Riikka. “You don't dare hide her away after how hard I worked! Look at her!” Riikka took Ada's hand and whirled her around, making the blue skirt puff up and making Ada nearly fall in a twist of ankles and towered shoes. “She may be my greatest achievement, Tovi. You can't put her away—you must come out tonight! Both of you!”

Tovi shook his head. “It’s not safe. Despite your efforts, people will know something’s not normal about her.”

Riikka was nonchalant. “Nonsense,” she said with a wave of her hand. “The only thing more abnormal than walking around with a strange girl is hiding away in your compartment with a strange girl. Besides, people are expecting you to come out tonight. It isn't normal for people to stay in when they could attend an outing. It's not natural. If you want to draw the wrong kind of attention, that's the way to do it.”

Tovi was silent, thinking. Ada did not know what to say, for she did not know exactly what Riikka meant by an “outing.” She had many questions for Tovi, and certainly did not wish to put anyone in danger, but being with Riikka was, well... fun.

“No,” Tovi said. “It won't work. We can't pass her off as one of us at an outing; everyone will see her as a dark spot on the Grid. She'll stand out anyway.”

“What is a dark spot?” Ada asked.

“No, she won't,” Riikka said.

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.