Paul woke with the sniffles. That wasn't an uncommon thing; it was allergy season after all. Paul wasn't a usual sufferer, but he guessed it was just worse this year than usual. Maybe he was coming down with something; possibly a cold. He was slightly jealous of Katelyn in this regard; because of the smaller size of their cells Smalls didn't get viruses, though they could still be afflicted with other maladies.

  It was a school day so it was the customary pattern of shower, breakfast, and walk to school. Gettysburg Academy was the most elite school in all of Gordana and was housed in several buildings of what used to be a college pre-Duality. Most of the students were the children of prominent people in Gettysburg life, although there were a number of boarding students from other cities across Gordana—even as far away as Dakota Territory—as well as some less-privileged students admitted as charity cases. The school was fancy but the teachers were strict and the work was hard.

  Paul's first class was math. Jen was in this particular class; he sat by the front while she sat by the back, and he could swear he felt her eyes on him throughout the class. His sniffles didn't go away, and in fact he was starting to feel a bit light-headed. It wasn't anything worth worrying about, he figured, and he'd probably just take a nap when he got home, maybe after a nice massage from Katelyn.

  The rest of the morning dragged on; it was lunch Paul was looking forward to. Paul shared the same lunch period with Hannah and this was his chance to talk with her. They only shared one class together and their teacher had assigned them seats fairly far apart, so talking then was impractical, and the two of them hadn't been able to see each other outside of school very much recently.

  Paul had great memories of their younger years; two preteens wandering the streets of Gettysburg looking for secrets, and the old town had many. One day they had found a bit of foundation left over from a long-demolished building, and it was degrading in such a way that there was a little alcove just big enough for the two of them to sit. Hannah had taken a book from her bag and they took turns reading with each other while a light rain fell around them. Hannah had rested her head on his shoulder and while he was reading she fell asleep, only waking again when he stopped. It was one of Paul's favorite memories; they had to have been no older than 12 or 13 at the time.

  Another time they had been walking when Hannah had discovered a tiny wandering down a side street. It was unusual to see tinies outdoors unaccompanied by a Big so she raced over and scooped him up. They huddled in an ally to gawk at him curiously; the only Tiny either of them had had experience with up until that point was their respective companions. The tiny refused to tell them who he was or who he belonged to. They didn't know what to do so Hannah decided to turn him over to the authorities. It turned out he was a runaway and his owner had been looking for him. When she showed up at the police station to collect her tiny she bought both of them candy as a reward. Paul ate his candy but Hannah couldn't eat hers, she was upset about the whole situation and felt she had done the wrong thing. They couldn't have been older than 11 at the time.

  It was finally lunchtime. Paul bought his lunch and sat down at the usual table, feeling oddly lacking in appetite, probably because of his cold. Hannah came in a couple minutes later. She was as tall as Paul with long reddish blonde hair and a slim build. “Hey,” She said as she sat down. “Feeling all right? You look a little flush.”

  “I think I'm coming down with a cold,” Paul said, shrugging. “Did I miss anything while I was at Parliament yesterday?”

  “Not really.” Hannah said. “I can give you a copy of my biology notes later if you want.”

  “Sure.” Paul said.

  “So how did Parliament go?” Hannah asked.

  “It was really boring,” Paul said. “I only had to go because my mom was proposing major legislation and she wanted all of us to be there for it.”

  “Oh, is that the Small Rights thing I've heard about?” Hannah asked with interest.

  “Yeah,” Paul said.

  “Think anything is going to come of it?” Hannah asked. She seemed to be genuinely interested, far more than Paul was.

  “I don't think so,” Paul said.

  “It's still a noble effort.” Hannah said. “I've always thought it's a shame the way Smalls are treated, even here in Gordana.

  Paul shrugged noncommittally. “I don't really have a strong opinion one way or the other.” He said. “The only tiny I have is Katelyn and I know she wouldn't leave if she had the choice.”

  “Same thing with Darren.” Hannah said, mentioning her own companion. “So how is Katelyn?”

  “She's...doing well.” Paul said. A person's companion was a very intimate thing and asking about one was always awkward, though Hannah and Paul were close enough that he didn't feel too weird about it.

  “That's good.” Hannah said. “I really liked her when I met her. She seems like she's really good to you. She even hit it off well with Darren when I brought him over, even though she was shy at first.”

  Paul nodded. “Yeah, she is really good.” He said. Hannah took a deep breath; she was getting ready to let something major out.

  “You know, I was thinking...” Hannah said. “I know they don't let you take companions into the army. So I was thinking—if that's what you decided to do—I could take care of Katelyn until you got back. If you let me.” She added hurriedly.

  Paul was stunned. A companion was such an intimate thing; she knew all your secrets and all your habbits, and letting someone else borrow one was like lending them a journal where you wrote down all your deepest fears. It was just never done—usually when companions were no longer needed or wanted they were sent to live among the Pixies way out in the country, or at the very least sold to a breeder. Though companions were told never to divulge anything their owners said slip ups and deliberate betrayals were known to happen, and the result was very often euthanization. Normal tours of duty were four years, and Paul would never want to subject Katelyn to four years of silence about the one thing—him—that occupied 90% of her existence. But with Hannah...

  “Yes, I would trust Katelyn to you.” Paul said at last. There was so much unsaid in that sentence; by saying that to Hannah he was basically saying he trusted her with his book of secrets, with his most prized possession, and in addition to that the promise he would return to Hannah for Katelyn; and he would owe her big for those four years.

  In saying that she would take Katelyn for four years, Hannah was saying she'd wait for him. And in agreeing, Paul promised to come back for her. Even with the gender balance as uneven as it was a girl like Hannah didn't usually stay single for four years. She was giving up a lot for him...and there was every chance he wouldn't come back. The border with Virginia was calm now but flair-ups have happened before and would happen again, plus the Free's traps were getting better each year...

  “If I decided to go.” Paul said at last. Hannah looked at him.

  “If you decided to go.” Hannah said. They looked each other in the eye. It was a long moment full of meaning, as if they were staring into one-anothers' souls. Then the moment was broken when Paul let out a hacking cough.

  “That really doesn't sound good.” Hannah said. “Maybe you should see the nurse.”

  “I'll be fine,” Paul said, putting on a tough face. “I just need a rest and some fluids, that's all.”

  “Are you sure?” Hannah asked, a sly grin forming on her face. “I bet Jen would be really upset if you had to miss a week of school.”

  Paul rolled his eyes. “Don't remind me about her.” Paul said. “I had to endure an entire tram ride with her yesterday.”

  “Ouch,” Hannah said. “Let me guess. She kept trying to put her hands on you and get you ask her out.”

  “Even worse, she told me she wanted to start a Breeding Op with me.” Paul said. Hannah was hit with a fit of giggles so hard that it took her a minute to compose herself.

  “She's a ditz.” Hannah said finally. Now it was Paul's turn to break into laughter.

  “I knew you were going to say that!” Paul retorted, and they had a good laugh for a few more moments.

  Finally calming down, Hannah said: “So: Joining the military or a Breeding Op with Jen, what's it going to be?”

  Paul took a deep breath, his anxiety over his future returning. “To be honest, I don't really know.” Paul said. “I don't know what I want to do.”

  Hannah sighed, nodding empathetically. “It's hard, I know.” Hannah said. “But we'll figure it out together.”

  Paul looked Hannah in the eyes. “Thank you.” He said.

  “And hey,” Hannah cracked a smile. “If nothing else works out maybe we can steal Jen's idea and start a Breeding Op.” Paul started to laugh but it turned into a wheezing cough. Hannah's look turned from amusement to concern quickly.

  “You really ought to get that looked at.” Hannah said. “That doesn't sound good.”

  “It's just a cold, it'll be gone in a couple days at most.” Paul said.

  “There's other things it could be.” Hannah said, her voice now deadly serious. The color drained out of Paul's face as a horrible thought occurred to him.

  “You mean—” Paul started hoarsely.

  “I don't mean that....” Hannah said quickly, though Paul had the distinct impression that is exactly what Hannah meant.

  “Look, if I'm still feeling sick tomorrow I'll go to a doctor, I promise.” Paul said.

  Hannah seemed to accept that, though she still looked worried. Lunch period was ending; they made vague plans to meet later in the week to get some ice cream and work on biology homework before going their separate ways. Paul went on to his next class feeling a bit dizzy and more full of thoughts than before.

  First of all, Hannah had just pretty much flat out said that she wanted to be with him. Whether it was right after graduation or in four years she was willing to do it, she was just waiting for him to ask. He didn't know what to think; he cared for Hannah very much but didn't know if being a couple would destroy their beautiful friendship, especially if it didn't work out.

  And then there was that other thing. The thing that was too horrifying for him to even think about. The one illness that had once ravaged the globe, taking almost everyone with it and sparing a thin few; his ancestors being among those spared. But this couldn't be happening to him, could it? Surely there was no way...

  Paul tried to keep his mind off of it but his dizziness kept increasing throughout the day. He started sweating and by his last class he felt as though he had a fever. After dismissal he went home as quickly as he could. As Parliament was not in session his mother was home, and her expression turned to one of concern the moment he walked in the door.

  “Oh dear!” Doris exclaimed, running over to her son. “Look at you? You're burning up!” She put her hand to his head.

  “I thought it was just a cold...” Paul began.

  “Oh no, oh no...” His mother said, a cold fear seeming to seep into her, a fear that drove icicles straight into Paul's heart.

  “I think it's the flu...” Paul said uneasily.

  “When did this start?” Doris asked.

  “I felt a little off this morning and it just kept getting worse throughout the day.” Paul said.

  “Paul, I think you might be...” Doris began, but Paul cut her off.

  “It's the flu!” Paul exclaimed. “I...I just need to sleep it off...”

  “Paul, listen to me,” Doris said. “You're showing every sign of...”

  “The flu! I have the flu!” Paul exclaimed desperately. His mother looked nervous, angry, and sad all a the same time. She looked like she wanted to yell at Paul or even slap him, but she took a deep breath and composed herself.

  “Fine, you have the flu,” Doris said in a forcefully calm tone. “What you need to do is drink a cup of water and go lay down. I'll come and check on you in a couple hours around dinnertime.”

  Doris got Paul his drink of water which he gulped down shakily. Paul then walked up the stairs to his bedroom, his hand on the rail to steady himself as his dizziness made it hard for him to stand. His vision was starting to get swimmy; he couldn't see let alone acknowledge Katelyn. He dropped down onto his bed; he was hot so he took off all his clothes. Then he was cold so he dove under his covers. Then he was hot again so he pushed them off.

  Laying down was uncomfortable somehow so he sat up, head tucked against his knees as he felt his consciousness start to wane. He tried to stay awake—whatever was happening to him he was going to fight it, he had to—but reality was slipping away from him, and he soon found himself drifting into unconsciousness...