The Bar Code Tattoo Read Online Free PDF Page A

uniforms. She knew he was a member of the Techno Club, which brought equipment into the classrooms.
    Then Kayla focused on the one student she had never seen before. Her eyes widened as she surveyed his golden-brown eyes, thick brown hair,and high cheekbones. He was some exotic mix of ethnicities that she couldn’t place. He smiled when he spoke to Nedra, and Kayla felt a sudden desperate desire to have him smile like that at her.
    “He’s out of this sphere, isn’t he?” Amber noted.
    “Totally final level,” Kayla agreed. “Where did he come from?”
    “Don’t know. His name is Zekeal something. He just got here three weeks ago. When he showed up, this little clique sprung up around him. He’s cute but I wouldn’t go near him. He’s involved with the same loser’s deal as the rest of them.”
    “What deal is that?” Kayla asked.
    “They’re involved with some kind of campaign to get rid of bar code tattoos,” Amber told her. “In fact, I think he’s the head loser. He was the one who got them all going about it in the first place.”
    Now Kayla was completely interested.
    She’d have to find out more about Zekeal….

Mfumbe turned and smiled when he noticed Kayla. “Will you sign our petition?” he asked.
    Amber whispered fiercely in Kayla’s ear, “No! Tell him no!”
    “What’s it about?” Kayla asked, pulling free of Amber’s grip. Mfumbe presented her with a handheld computer notebook with a short list of names that had been signed with the special pen attached to it.
    “We’re working with a senator named David Young on a campaign called Decode,” Zekeal said, coming alongside Mfumbe. “Young wants serious curbs put on the bar code. He’s working to pass laws that control where and when it can be used.”
    “Like on highways,” Mfumbe added. “He’s trying to pass a law prohibiting states from making bar codes a requirement at all tolls.”
    Amber came up behind Kayla. “What’s wrong with that?” she challenged.
    “Because the government could track your every move,” Zekeal replied.
    “If you haven’t done anything wrong, who cares?”
    “It’s the principle of it,” Mfumbe argued. “Our civil liberties have been shrinking ever since theturn of the last century. We lost a lot of civil rights because people became convinced it was the only way to stay safe. We’ve been losing more freedoms and rights ever since.”
    “I don’t feel like that. I can do whatever I want,” Amber argued back. “There are no freedoms I miss having. I haven’t broken any laws, so I don’t care who knows what about me. I have nothing to hide.”
    “You should have the freedom to travel without having your every move monitored by the government,” Mfumbe replied. “Don’t you agree to that?”
    “I still say that if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about,” Amber insisted. “Only criminals and terrorists need to worry about that.”
    “What if the British had been able to track George Washington during the revolution?” Mfumbe said. “Or what if slavers knew where runaways were on the Underground Railroad?”
    “That’s so over,” Amber scoffed. “This is the twenty-first century.”
    “Maybe, but maybe it still applies. Besides, wouldn’t you like to know what’s in the bar code?” Mfumbe insisted. “What if there’s stuff coded in there that isn’t true?”
    Amber waved him off dismissively. “You’re so paranoid. I’m sure if something like that happened, you could find someone to call and have it fixed.” She turned to Kayla. “We have to get to class.”
    “You go ahead,” Kayla replied. “I want to hear more about this.”
    Amber shot Kayla an insistent look. “Kayla!” she urged.
    “I’ll be right there.”
    Amber rolled her eyes and hurried off down the hall.
    “Your friend thinks you’re making a big mistake,” Mfumbe commented.
    “Yeah, she’s pretty banged out that I’m talking to you,” Kayla said with a quick laugh.