Origin by Jessica Khoury

Author:Jessica Khoury
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: Romance, Fantasy, Young Adult, Adventure, Science Fiction
ISBN: 9781595145956
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2012-09-04T04:00:00+00:00

TWENTY

From under the luggage, I can hear the groan of the gates as we pass into Little Cam, followed by shouts as everyone gathers to greet the visitors. I imagine the smiling faces of the scientists masking their nervousness and the curious eyes of the maintenance workers peering from the back of the crowd. I was supposed to be there. Supposed to be in front, with Uncle Paolo, the first one Corpus saw as they entered the gates of our little compound. I feel like pressing my face into the polka dots of the valise and screaming with frustration. Why are they here two days early? No one whispered a word of this to me this morning. My only conclusion is that no one else knew either.

Perhaps these Corpus people meant to surprise us. Catch us off guard. Like the trick questions Uncle Antonio sometimes throws at me in my studies, designed to make me stumble and backtrack, to reevaluate my hypotheses and even discard them altogether. I hate those questions; they’re the only ones that throw me offbeat and mar my otherwise spotless record.

I realize that instead of anticipating the Corpus visitors with excitement, as I have been, maybe I ought to have had more dread. I regarded Uncle Paolo’s nervousness with amusement. Perhaps I should have taken it as a warning.

The engines of the Jeeps shut off.

I’m trapped. If I jump out now, everyone will see. If I stay here, they’ll find me when they unload the suitcases. That is, if Uncle Paolo hasn’t already noticed me missing. What will I say? That this was my first time sneaking out? That I didn’t go far? Ai’oans? What Ai’oans? Never heard of them. I imagine myself shifting from foot to foot as I say the words, my eyes darting anywhere but to Uncle Paolo’s face. Not for the first time, I curse my lousy lying skills.

Just when I resign myself to my doom, I hear a loud, whooping laugh that can only be Aunt Harriet’s. It comes from nearby and gets louder; she’s walking toward my Jeep.

“I’ll help with the luggage!” she says. “No, no, I’ve got it! I’m sturdier than I look!”

Suddenly the valise is lifted from my face, and there she is. Her expression barely flickers at the sight of me packed under the suitcases. “I’ll distract them,” she whispers. “You better be quick.”

She hauls the valise over the side of the Jeep, chattering on about the humidity and the mosquitoes and the other trials of the jungle, and then I hear a thump. Aunt Harriet swears, and I hear the pounding of feet running to her. Drawing a deep breath, as if I could suck courage into my lungs, I peek over the luggage to scope the scene.

The valise is lying open at Aunt Harriet’s feet, its contents—consisting of women’s clothes—spread across the dirt. The brunette woman from Corpus, wearing a white pantsuit totally unsuited to the jungle, is glaring at Aunt Harriet as her colleague tries not to notice the frilly underwear scattered around Aunt Harriet’s feet.

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.