The Institute Read Online Free PDF Page A

ridiculous
report was the thing that made Ebb and I become friends and now we
are basically inseparable. She has taught me a lot about the things
I never used to care about, for example, how to dress to accentuate
what little curves I have, how to apply makeup and the
all-important how to walk in heels.
    I didn’t
believe a word of our assignment of course. I was raised to
distrust any information given to me by any government department
regarding the Institute and its history.
    Dad even doubts
the government is enforcing the international travel ban law given
how desperate we are for an increase in population, saying that we
don’t have the military capacity to monitor such a thing. He always
used to joke about government officials meeting people at the docks
with fake IDs, which would be ironic, considering before the
epidemic, they were turning boats of asylum seekers away because of
the ‘political issues’ attached to letting them in.
    Dad always used
to tell me stories of when he was a young boy, before the vigilante
executions started. Sure, he was only a child at the time but he
remembers never having to live in fear of being caught like we do
now. I think of one day being able to live that way but I just
can’t imagine it. We’ve been looking over our shoulders for so
long, it has become second nature.
    Some people
didn’t believe that these so called Defective incidents were
‘incidents’ at all. They believed that anyone with such defects
were villainous, evil to the core with the sole purpose to destroy
– like they were a robot or some kind of demon.
    My dad’s theory
is the government felt threatened by these adolescents because as
they grew, their abilities would too and they would end up being
more powerful than any normal human. They were scared that this
country would eventually be overrun by these monsters and they
could not allow that. Granted, this is just Dad’s opinion and his
words are those of bias. He has a Defective son, of course he is
going to hate the Institute.
    I often wonder
if my angst towards the Institute is that of bias, that I have been
told the same thing over and over from when I was a young child
that I can only see it the one way and am not open to the
possibility that it is what they claim to be; a refuge, a
rehabilitation centre and a safe haven for the Defective.
    “Allira!” I’m
brought out of my daze by Ebb’s voice. “I’ve been trying to get
your attention for the last five minutes, where was your head at?
Thinking about Drew I’m guessing.”
    She does that
annoying “Oooooh” sound which makes me both cringe and smile. If
only she knew what I was thinking about. Not a day goes by that I
don’t think or worry about the Institute coming for Shilah.
    “Oh now you’re
blushing,” she says.
    “Shut up!” I
exclaim and splash her with water from the pool. I like finally
having a friend I can be silly with. I think this is the closest I
will ever get to being my true self around someone other than my
family. I have to hide so much of me that it makes it hard to make
friends.
    It has been
good to get out and get my mind off things, although I can’t really
think about Drew without thinking about Jax and it’s really hard
not to think about Drew after that train ride. But I should be
getting home before Dad has a heart attack. I’ve lost track of time
and it has been dark outside for about an hour now, so my brilliant
plan to sneak in and out was definitely not so brilliant.
    I jump on the
train, hoping against all logic that Drew will still be riding back
and forth but no, I’m left to ponder just how much trouble I’ll be
in when I get home.
    I arrive home
to find Dad sitting on the front porch reading a newspaper. I
assume he has waited out here so that he can yell at me for being
gone for so long. I slowly approach the steps and pause at the
bottom.
    “Get into any
more trouble?” he asks without even lifting his head.
    “No. I just
went to