Page 21 of Coldwire
“Yay.Can’t wait to die in war before I get to open my orphan file.”
“Don’tsaythat.”
Rayna’s been obsessed with her orphan file for years. All wards of the state are issued one to catalog their basic information: date of birth if known, country of origin if known, date of handover to the government, birth parents. Mine was always unlocked—there’s nothing substantial in the file. Both of my parent sections are blank, information unknown. But Rayna’s is locked until her eighteenth birthday, which probably means there are identifying details about her birth parents that she’s not allowed to see until she’s mature enough to know hunting them down would be a bad idea. If her parents are alive, there’s got to be some reason why she was raised as a ward instead.
“You’re right, you’re right,” Rayna says sagely. “I put in a request to have the file opened publicly on my birthday anyway. Hopefully I turn eighteen andthenwe declare war.”
“Rayna.”
A pop-up appears in the corner of my vision. I have a message.
KIEREN: Hey.
“All right, I have to finish packing,” I declare. “Are you coming to see me off tomorrow?”
Rayna hops up from my bed, taking the cue. “I don’t think I’m allowed. Cadet privacy and all that.”
Annoying. But I don’t want to make a fuss with the headmaster any more than I already might have, and I suppose he’s going to be overseeing our posting personally. We’re an early start,andit’s his own son being sent off.
“Fine,” I say. I open my arms for a hug. “Then I’ll see you in Medaluo. We can meet up once you get there. Message me when you’re in the server.”
“Can do.” Rayna squeezes hard. She’s short, but her arms have the strength of steel. It’s all that weightlifting she does when she’s training downcountry. “If you’re spending so much time with Kieren, do you think you can ask if—”
“Absolutely not,” I interrupt. “Do your flirting yourself.”
Rayna snickers, letting go. “Love you! See you in enemy territory.”
I blow an air kiss. She closes my door. A hollow sort of quiet sets in, the dormitories empty of activity. My display opens before me with a blink, my eyes already swiveling while I wander toward my window. The sill is ice cold on my hands when I place them down.
LIA: hi
Kieren views my reply immediately, but two minutes pass before a new message appears.
KIEREN: Instant response… It’s as if you like me or something.
LIA: i see that we’re in a joking mood now
KIEREN:
KIEREN: I want to apologize for earlier. I shouldn’t have accused you of plotting this.
LIA:…
LIA: ok i’m waiting for the apology
KIEREN: [Sent a voice message.]
It’s three seconds of silence. Half a second of a very loud sigh. Then: “Sorry.”
LIA: you’re so annoying
LIA: anyway did your dad say anything useful when he briefed you? as much as I love ( ) spending time with you, this is so weird
I have to manually scroll the list of emojis that are triggered as suggestions by the word “love” to see what’s available before making my selection. Every few months new obscure ones are added into the system, and it takes me a while to capture my exact level of drivel before sending my text. Kieren waits equally long before his reply comes back.
KIEREN: Nope. I know as much as you do.
LIA: sigh
