The Remedy Files: Illusion by Lauren Eckhardt Read Free Book Online

once found a magazine stuffed in a tin during our Level 8 Annual Dig that showed people from The Before in outfits lined with jewels, sparkles, and vibrant colors. Ever since then, she likes to try to enhance our clothing with different items she finds in the market or around the Community.
    Jacqueline likes to pretend she is a famous designer and I am one of the celebrities that dons her creations. It is the only time Jacqueline has ever put her intelligence and logic aside to believe in any sort of Pretend game so I never mind playing along. We can only wear the outfits with her designs when we are in our rooms, though. Otherwise we could be punished for breaking Rule A201 which states that all clothing must be given by the Community; be the colors of white, hunter green, dark blue, and light blue; and cannot be altered, changed, or shared among members since the clothes are specifically made for each person each year.
    “You need to hurry up, though! We’re going to be late for breakfast!”
    I grab the clothes in a bundle, pull myself out of my tangled sheets, and stride to the bathroom that connects my room with Jacqueline’s. She immediately gets to work with making my bed for me.
    Once the door is closed, I lean my back up against it. I know we may be late, but I’m having trouble getting my body to move any faster. I shuffle to the sink, splash my face with water, and look in the mirror. My hair is an awful, wild, tousled mess.
    Taking a deep breath, I grab the hairbrush from the drawer and pull my hair back into a sleek ponytail, wrapping a tan band around it to keep it in place. I put the hairbrush down and once again examine my features in the mirror. I can’t stop staring at my face. I look different. Then I spot it.
    My eyes are strange. Typically they are a dark hazel color, tipping on the border of brown. Today, they are lighter, the green poking through a bit more. Everyone in Impetus has darker eyes, mostly brown, some even black. I’ve always been on the edge of the norm as it is with the hazel color which is a rarity in Impetus. Every time I’ve been to see a nurse or the Doctor, I get the “tsk-tsk” when they’re examining my eyes.
    Doctor Bordine once called it an extreme concern; that it could mean I’m sick. A few years ago he did a crazy amount of tests on me ranging from drawing blood to having wires hooked up to my head to monitor my brain waves. He never shared the results with me but apparently everything came back fine because on the last day of the tests, he leaned over to the nurse and whispered loudly enough for me to hear, “She’s safe.”
    I wanted so badly to ask what I’m safe from or what my results showed, but of course that would be breaking the Curiosity Ban. Knowing that I am so close to my health file at work is a constant temptation to take a look. Doctor Bordine made it clear that he keeps the files of all the Clinic employees locked up in his office. We don’t have the same access to those as we do to the files of the other community members.
    The tests had really peaked Gavin’s interest. During the couple of weeks that they were running all of them, he had asked me to try to visit him at least two times a day if I could manage to sneak out that much. “I just want to stay updated on what’s going on.” He would tell me. “It doesn’t make a lot sense, that’s all.”
    When I told him that the Doctor had declared me as safe, he asked, “They’re not planning any more tests? They’re dropping it?”
    “Sure sounds like it.” I responded.
    Then Gavin hugged me. As soon as he did it, he stepped back quickly, mumbled, “Sorry,” and talked randomly about the log in front of us that he thought would make a really good table if he could get the tools to carve it. I did take notice that he didn’t make any eye contact with me for a while afterwards as though everything else other than me was suddenly more interesting.
    No one other than Jacqueline had ever