Read Online 6 Digit Passcode by Abigail Collins - Free Book Online Page A

mother. I think she was keeping something from me, and that… hurts.”
    Crissy nods like she understands, and I’m grateful that she doesn’t voice her disbelief. She knows that I’m not telling her the truth – at least, not all of it. I’ve decided to keep the latter half of my visit to Cyrus’s lab to myself. Those memories are mine alone.
    “I can talk to my mom later if you want,” Crissy offers, swinging her arms at her sides. “But for now I think you just need a break. To rest and… relax, or whatever. Come on, let’s go.”
    Though I’m immensely thankful that she’s not pressing the issue, when she reaches out to link her arm around mine I take a step back.
    “Thanks, but I can’t skip just because I’m a little tired.” She shoots me a smug look, and I add, “Which I’m not . Because I’ve been sleeping great .”
    “Okay, okay. You win. I guess it’s just me, then. I’ll just have to try and get enough sleep for the both of us.”
    She takes a step forward in the opposite direction, but I hook my arm around the crook of her elbow and spin her back around. She’s got a sour expression on her face, but her eyes are bright. Her eyes really are her best feature.
    “Nope, not today. You’ve got a Lit exam to make up, and I don’t think any amount of beauty sleep is going to fix that .” I point to the pimple on her forehead she’s been trying desperately to hide behind her hair since yesterday afternoon, and she throws her hand over it like I haven’t already seen it.
    “Hey, no fair! You were spacing out so badly, I didn’t think you were even listening to me.”
    “I can’t help it. That thing speaks for itself.”
    With me running and Crissy chasing me, we make it to school with just a few minutes to spare before the bell rings.
     
    ***
    “Can anyone tell me what they know about the nation’s Divisions of Power?”
    My ears perk up and my pencil pauses over a half-finished doodle of a loaf of bread in the margin of my notebook. We’re supposed to still be learning about the Digital War; the Divisions didn’t come until many years after the Digits won the battle. This is a completely new topic, and Miss L. is the last person I’d expect spontaneity from.
    Of course, Archie Carroll is the first to raise his hand. He’s been a know-it-all since we were kids, and it would be endearing if he wasn’t so stuck-up about it. There’s a pile of books and papers stacked as high on his desk as he is tall when seated, and it is from behind this mountain that a hand emerges and wags impatiently until Miss L. calls his name.
    I can hear the girl sitting next to me sigh and ruffle through the pages of her textbook, and I would be tempted to continue my drawing and tune out Archie’s voice as best I can if I weren’t so interested in what he has to say for once.
    “The Divisions,” Archie wheezes, and I flinch. His voice is like puberty in reverse – every day it gets higher and scratchier, like nails on a chalkboard, “were created as a way to split the power of the nation’s government into groups. So that there’s not just one group of people controlling the whole country.”
    “That’s right,” Miss L. says, and I think I almost see the corners of her lips twitch. Archie must really be her favorite student, because I’ve never seen her come that close to genuinely smiling. Or maybe she just enjoys the topic of conversation. “You see, in the past, before peace was established through the Digital War and its proceeding Acts and Laws, the entire country was ruled by a single person. There were many other factions of people involved in making decisions, of course, but the bulk of all chaos was due to the fact that entire country was ruled by a single division of power.”
    This is the first time I’ve ever heard a teacher talk about what life was like before the Digital War. Suddenly, I am wide awake and completely alert; I want to absorb every bit of information that I can,