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“Why not? What’s the big secret?” Sampson asked as Jenner narrowed his gaze.

He didn’t look happy. She hated when Jenner wasn’t happy. So she had to bite her lip against blurting out exactly what had happened.

“There’s no secret. We just went out to have a drink,” Immy told them.

“But you can’t drink,” Jenner said.

“I can have soda.”

“Soda isn’t good for you,” Jenner told her.

“You drink it,” Abe pointed out.

“Yeah, but I’m not Immy. She should be drinking fruit juice, at least it has vitamins in it. Have you taken your vitamins and medication today?”

Immy sighed. “Yes, of course I have.”

She hoped she had.

Sampson stomped over to pick up the pill dispenser, opening it. Then he shot her a look.

Cupcakes!

“I’ve still got time to take them,” she said defensively.

Jenner held out his hand and Sampson handed him the pill box. Jenner had bought it for her to help her remember to take her medication and vitamins.

So helpful.

“Open,” he said.

“I can put them in my own mouth,” she protested as he held the pills to her mouth.

“Open,” he commanded.

Do not blush. Do not blush.

She opened her mouth and he placed the pills on her tongue. Then Sampson handed him a glass of water. The two of them could operate like clockwork sometimes.

Jenner held the glass to her mouth. She could definitely feel herself blushing. As he drew the glass away from her mouth, Sampson sent Jenner a look that she wasn’t able to decipher.

She chewed her vitamin gummies. They were way more fun to take than the medication that helped her stop getting so ill all the time.

“Right. Now that’s sorted, maybe you can tell us where you both went,” Jenner demanded.

“Like Immy said, we were out for a drink,” Isaiah repeated as he swallowed the last of his sandwich down.

Not only did he eat a lot, but he ate quickly.

Sometimes, Immy worried about why that was. At the Camp, none of them had had much. All the money people earned had been given to the Deity, leaving them without much to live on.

Oh, the idea was that they Deity would provide them with whatever they needed and that everyone would be free from monetary worries. That they would all be equal.

What a crock of bull hickey that was.

There had definitely been a hierarchy.

At the top was the Deity, of course. He’d never gone hungry or cold. Then the Sentinels. So Jenner and Sampson had always been well fed and had a nice house.