Dark Parties by Sara Grant

computer thinks
     for a few seconds. I can’t believe it’s taking so long.
    NO MATCHES FOUND .
    The words seem to twinkle on the screen.
    She isn’t dead. She isn’t inactive.
    But she is still missing. I scoot my chair closer. I position myself right in front of the screen to block the view in case
     my dad opens the door behind me.
    I switch to ACTIVE . I type in my grandma’s name again. The screen goes black. Red letters flash into the center of the screen: CLASSIFIED .
    What does
classified
mean? Already a dead end.
    The monitor flickers and returns to the main GovNet screen. My hands freeze on the keyboard. If they can tap people’s phones
     and track people’s physical movements, then they could be monitoring computers. I move the cursor to the GovNet icon and close
     the program.
    But I can’t stop. Not now. I’m too close. It’s the chance I’ve been waiting for. I’ll have to risk it. This is Effie’s computer
     anyway. She must search for people all the time. I want to research someone else, but who? The red numbers on Effie’s digital
     clock seem to flash as if counting down to Effie’s return. Red reminds me of Nicoline’s star. I click on the GovNet icon again,
     select the ACTIVE button and quickly type in Nicoline’s name. The file has a series of subheadings, including Education, Family, Heritage,
     Address, Reproductive Status, Employment History, Identifiers,Associations, etc. It lists her address. I never knew she lived four blocks from my house. Her file notes the date she was
     interrogated. I recall the look in her eyes and the way her red star glimmered as if the ink was still wet.
    Under Reproductive Status, there’s a date a week after our interrogation and the word PENDING . What does Reproductive Status pending mean? There are a series of capital letters that don’t spell any words I know: WEC
     and IVF.
    I hear a rattle of the doorknob behind me. I quickly close down GovNet. I hold my breath.
    “Where’s Effie?” my dad asks.
    I slowly turn to face him, but everything inside me is racing: my blood, my heart, my thoughts. He’s wearing the white lab
     coat he always wears in his office. It makes him look like a mad scientist. Did he see what I was doing? I search his eyes
     but see nothing except his typical disapproving stare. Maybe he didn’t notice. But my body feels jumpy, as if I’ve been caught.
     Remain calm, I tell myself.
    “Neva, what’s the matter with you?” He narrows his eyes as if he’s trying to decipher a code. “Where’s Effie?”
    I force the words out of my mouth. “Um, some emergency. She’ll be back soon.” For some reason I laugh. Not a real-sounding
     laugh but a fake laugh, as if someone has told a bad joke.
    He stares at me for a moment as if he’s forgotten what he was going to say. He walks back into his office and then stops and
     turns around. He scratches his scalp and his unruly hair quivers. “Um, Ef—I mean, Neva.” He shakes his head. I wonder what’s
     distracting him. His lab coat isunbuttoned, and he’s only wearing one of his protective white cotton gloves. “Tell her I need those copies for this afternoon’s
     meeting.”
    “Yes, sir.” I promised him I’d be more professional at the office. I messed up and called him Dad in front of Effie yesterday.
     He backs into his office but forgets to close the door. I pull it closed and collapse into the cold metal chair. I try not
     to think about what could have happened. I’ve got to be more careful. But I can’t stop thinking about Nicoline and her “Reproductive
     Status pending.” I’ve got to keep searching.
    Instead of picking a name from The Missing, I type in my own name. The file notes that I’m Dr. George Adams’s daughter. I
     review the standard categories: Education, Family, Heritage, Address, Reproductive Status, Employment History, Identifiers,
     Associations, etc. Most of my boxes are blank. I haven’t lived enough. Under Heritage, I’m a + +.