Fixed by Beth Goobie Read Free Book Online Page B

“It is the month of Lulunar, we all have our moments. Besides, you’re supposed to use the Mind Cleanser once a day. Advanced gets really stressful, no wonder you’re overloaded. Too many thoughts. Something’s bound to go weird.”
    Nellie sat, not moving, not breathing. Why was Lierin responding like this? She’d simply dismissed the subject without asking for a single detail. Did she really think Nellie was losing it? If she did, it could mean trouble, big trouble. Cadets were supposed to report odd behavior in their peers to their superiors. Would Lierin report this conversation?
    For a moment Nellie considered breaking her privacy policy and scanning her friend’s vibes to see what she could pick up, then rejected the idea. Lierin hadn’t said she thought Nellie was going crazy, she’d said it was stress. She wouldn’t report something like stress. And anyway, it was possible Westcott wasn’t reading anyone’s mind. A person could easily jump to conclusions about something like a Relaxer helmet. And like Lierin said, it was the month of Lulunar, the only time during the year that the Twin Moons dominated the night sky. Myth had it that a secret second self drew close to the surface during this period, causing troubled dreams and moments of disorientation. Maybe Lierin was right and Nellie’s mind was playing tricks. How in the Goddess’s name could Room Fourteen be a secret mind-reading lab?
    “I’ll be right back.” Standing up, Nellie slipped out of the room. At the end of the hall she turned to the left, away from the main corridor and into a small alcove. Here she found the Mind Cleanser, a one-seater booth with a burgundy barrier curtain. Fortunately the curtain was open, the booth unoccupied. Stepping inside, Nellie slid the curtain closed. Then she sat down in the chair and laid her head into the headset. A whirring noise told her the scanner in the left arm of the chair was reading the ID chip in her wrist.
    “Close your eyes, Nellie Joanne Kinnan, and let the Mind Cleanser clear your mind,” a recorded voice said soothingly through the headphones. “You have come to the Mind Cleanser because your brain is overloaded with thoughts and distractions. You know you need to keep it clean and prepared for service to the stars. Code MK12, cadet, MK12. Take a moment now and file everything that is directly related to program activities in the appropriate folder. When you have completed this task, say, ‘I am prepared.’ “
    Various filing cabinets appeared in Nellie’s mind, and she placed her memories from today’s classes in the proper files. “I am prepared,” she said.
    “It is essential that everything be cleansed so that your mind can be dedicated completely to the stars,” said the soothing voice. “You havemade the right choice and it has been noted. Nellie Joanne Kinnan, you are a valued and appreciated cadet.”
    The voice paused, and then the inside of Nellie’s head lit up as two brilliant jolts of electricity shot from the headset into her brain. Nellie grunted and her body lifted slightly, convulsing twice.
    “There there,” said the recorded voice as her body slumped back into the chair. “Remember, you are a valued and appreciated Advanced cadet, Nellie Joanne Kinnan. Make sure you use the Mind Cleanser once a day to keep your mind clean and prepared for service to the stars.”
    The voice clicked off, and a loud beeping noise told Nellie her time was up. Cautiously she slid to the edge of the seat and got to her feet. She’d learned to be careful standing up after one of these sessions. Sometimes she swooned and once she’d even peed herself, but today she seemed to have gotten off all right. There was just the usual headache and an achy stiffness in her muscles that would fade in about twenty minutes. What was most important was that her mind was now cleansed, freed of any junk that could poison her thinking.
    With a deep breath, Nellie pushed aside the barrier curtain