Override (Glitch) by Heather Anastasiu Page A

first. We all stayed in Rez camps till enough of the Foundation was finished a couple months ago, and then we moved in here to study and train.”
    “So what classes do we have?” I asked.
    “Well,” Ginni lit up again. I had a feeling nothing made her happier than being asked questions. “First is physical training with Xona’s brother. He’s so handsome.”
    Xona finally turned her eyes away from the ex-Regs. “Ugh, you did not just say that. Besides, Tyryn’s twenty-two.”
    “Well in four short months I’ll be seventeen.” Ginni leaned in. “And it’s not like there’s a lot of other options around here, you know?”
    Xona rolled her eyes, then went back to watching the ex-Regs. At least she wasn’t being outright hostile toward us anymore. I had a feeling Ginni was partially responsible for that. You couldn’t be around the bubbly girl for too long and keep thinking that all glitchers were dangerous or inhuman.
    “Anyway,” Ginni went on, “in his class we work out and have weapons and combat training. The next class in the morning is Humanities with Professor Henry.”
    “That’s the class we’ve been reading stories for, right?” I looked at Adrien.
    He nodded. “We read literature and study art and history.”
    Xona scoffed. “I agree with the General. What use is art when you’re in a firefight?”
    “It’s important,” Adrien said. “It reminds us what we’re fighting for—the ability to think and feel and create.”
    Xona just stared at him. “We’re fighting to stay alive. Plain and simple.”
    I looked down at the cup of goop on the table in front of me. I took another couple of slurps from the straw, then pulled back with a grimace. “Ugh, it’s even worse when it’s cooled off.”
    “I can help.” I looked up to see Rand standing over me, Juan by his side.
    Before I could respond, Rand put his hand on the outside of my cup and the protein concoction bubbled. But then the whole cup started to melt and become misshapen.
    “Crackin’ hell, Rand” Adrien jumped and pushed the cup away from me with a napkin. “Be careful. You’re gonna burn her.”
    Rand removed his finger. “Oops,” he said. He flashed a grin at Ginni and me and sat down. “Hard to turn it down sometimes. Can’t contain the Rand, after all.”
    Ginni smiled and tossed a napkin at his face.
    “So wait, your power,” I asked, watching with fascination as the bubbling finally stopped, “it doesn’t work only with metal?”
    Rand leaned in and smiled conspiratorially. “I can heat up just about anything.”
    Ginni giggled. Xona rolled her eyes.
    “Let’s not forget the incident where you melted the central truss in the west tunnel and trapped us for three hours until they dug us out,” Adrien said.
    “Aw, man, why you gotta bring that up?”
    “That’s why we have glitcher training every afternoon,” Ginni said. “To help us learn to control our powers. And speaking of,” she nodded to the clock on the wall. “We gotta go.” She ate a few more quick bites and then stood up with her tray. I’d gotten enough of the protein mix down before Rand melted the cup that I was full, too.
    “Who teaches it?” I asked, standing up.
    “Now that Jilia’s here, she and my mom take turns teaching,” Adrien said. “But I think it’s Jilia today.”
    Ginni clapped her hands together. “Oh good, I’ve missed training with Jilia! She used to train us when we were at the camps before the Foundation was finished.”
    “Aww,” Rand said mournfully, “I thought I was done with that meditation junk for good.”
    We headed down the hallway past the Med Center to a small room. Cushions were set up in a circle on the ground. I looked around in confusion.
    “Where are the desks and chairs?” I whispered to Adrien.
    He laughed. “That’s not Jilia’s style. We sit on the ground. You’ll see.”
    Adrien settled on a pillow and gestured for me to do the same. Molla came in a few minutes later and sat