Julia Karr - XVI

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Table of Contents

The NonCon

Panic clutched at my throat; I glanced around, looking for anyone out of the ordinary, but everyone appeared normalexcept for their confused looks. The homeless guy slipping into the alley behind the Media station barely registered in my brain.

A mans voice spoke through the vert system. This moment of silence has been brought to you by the Resistance. In quietness, people can think for themselves. Which is just what the Governing

A loud electronic screeching cut off the words, causing half of the people on the street, Sandy and me included, to slap their hands over their ears.

Just when I thought I couldnt take the piercing tone any longer, there was a crackle, and then, ... the End-of-Wars extravaganza sale ends at midnight tonight. Dont battle for bargains, shop Sale-o-rama, where every deal is a good deal.

Several police had arrived on the scene. Some were conferring with the Media repairmen while others questioned the drivers involved in the accident.

Traffic picked back up and Sandy and I clicked our PAVs back on. Passing by the cops, I dipped my head down. Pretending to examine a spot on my jeans, I glanced down the alley where the homeless guy had disappeared. It was empty.

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To Chicago, where I turned sixteen.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I do not want to be the Oscar winner whos dragged offstage still reciting names of every person they ever thought had anything to do with their accomplishment. In the spirit of not being that person, this will, hopefully, be brief.

I have to thank my sister, Sarah, for teaching me to read when I was three. It was probably self-preservation on her part, so she wasnt stuck reading to me all the time. But, thanks to her, I have been a voracious reader and ardent lover of books ever since. In the present, shes been my constant cheerleader and support. My co-worker, Betty Myers, deserves much thanks, too, for countering every muttered word of doubt and discouragement with keep the faith. Of course, she did get to hear me SQUEE!!! when XVI sold.

Through the Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), I found my critique partner, Marybeth Kelsey (also an author), and through her, my other critique partner, Marcy Skelton. Without their friendship and amazingly kind ways of saying, This part sucks, XVI would never have been agent-ready.

Which brings me to my fabulous agent, Kate Schafer Testerman of kt literary. Wow! Oh! Wow! She is one hundred kinds of awesome! Her industry savvy, perseverance, and confidence are what got XVI to exactly the right editorthe amazing and insightful Jennifer Bonnell. The very first time I talked with Jen I knew she got my story. Her spot-on editing had me arranging, cutting, adding, and tweaking what Id written in the very best of ways.

Much gratitude goes out to my personal and online friends who were there for me in all my angsty-ness. And I am indebted to all the associates at Puffin/ Speak whose support, talent, and expertise brought about this amazing finished product.

The powers-that-be are tugging on my sleeve to wrap it up, but ... there are two more people (the most important ones) who had more to do with me writing than anyone except myselfmy daughters. When I started out, Amy said, If you write a page a day, in 365 days youll have 365 pages. And, Melissa said, Dont stop, Mom. So, I didnt.

A huge Thank You! and a heart full of gratitude to each and every one of you that helped make this dream of mine a reality. I love you all!

I

Nina, look. Sandy jabbed me in the ribs.

I glanced up at the AV screen expecting to see the latest vert of back-to-school fashion for sixteens.

No, there. Sandy jerked my arm, bringing my attention to the doorway.

Four guys approached us, lurching and swaying through the moving express. They sat across the aisle, immediately crowding together in a knot. A low buzz of unintelligible words, accompanied by the occasional rowdy snort, rose from their cluster.

Theyre eighteen, she whispered. I bet its that one in the middles birthday. Hes cute! She wriggled in her seat.

By the way he kept admiring the tattoo on his wrist and fingering the Band-Aid behind his ear, where his GPS had been, I knew she was right. I involuntarily touched my own tracker. The tiny grain-sized pellet embedded beneath the skin barely registered on my fingertips. What would it be like to be able to go someplace where you were untraceable?

Before my thoughts went any further down that path, Sandy said, Theyre going into the city to celebrate. I wish

No, you dont. My stomach turned at the thought of eighteenth celebrations. Wed heard all about them, particularly the Angel affair. I quickly blocked the images from my mind.

Sandy humphed back into the seat, crossing her arms over her chest. Those stories cant be true. Guys wouldnt do stuff like that. I mean, look at them... She leaned toward me conspiratorially, but I saw her peeking at the boys from under her bangs. Someone that cute could never do those kinds of things. Listen... She fished around in her bag and handed me a rapido. Youre the one who took all those art lessons. Draw the tattoo. Okay? She stuck her wrist in front of me.

Sandy! I pushed her hand away. We could get arrested!

One of the guys, not the birthday boy, mustve heard us and looked over. He ogled Sandy the way Id seen her stepdad do when he thought no one was watching. I grabbed her wrist and thrust it toward him, showing the absence of the obligatory XVI tattoo. He shrugged and turned back to his friends.

Hey! She pulled her arm away from me. He was going to talk to me.

Its not talk he wants, Sandy. Those stories arent all made up. Ginnie said that ever since they started the tattooing twenty years ago, girls arent safe. She thinks that

Shes your mom. What do you expect?

I dunno. I shrugged, letting it drop. Sandy was so caught up in all things sixteen that there was no reasoning with her. Her mother and mine were galaxies apart in just about every way possible. Mrs. Eskew not only allowed, but encouraged Sandys sex-teen ways. She was even prepping her for FeLS. My mother, Ginnie, on the other hand, was doing everything she could to keep me from applying for the program, even though it was about the only way out of our tier-two status. When I tried talking about it with her, shed say not to worry. I wouldnt be a low-tier forever. But she never told me how Id move up. It wasnt like I wanted to join FeLS, but outside of marrying some upper-tier guy, I didnt have many options.

Sandy snatched a retractable zine chip from the rack on the back of the seat in front of her. She let go and it snapped back in place. She grabbed another, doing the same thing. I sighed. If shed reached for a third, I wouldve stopped her. Sometimes I felt more like Sandys mother than her best friend.

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