Chapter 14 Babysitting

Time Passing

Zeda and Quincy went on a date seven times a week for the next month. Half the dates they sat next to each other on the student study benches while he wrote, and she drew pictures, eating sandwiches, salad, or chicken nuggets for dinner.

Their hearts hung in-between love and attraction, but their beats collided. They hadn't pressed their lips to each other, but they loved each other more than they ever loved before.

*

The Library

Zeda and Quincy finished reading the Christmas Carol to children on a couple of their dates.

This time, Alana-Hope recorded and wrote notes for her articles.

The message of their date is, don't be a scrooge and give of yourselves. The old Earth classic, The Muppet Christmas Carol, is my favorite movie, and listening to the original story is a delight.

Quincy and Zeda give to the community and each other.

It'll be only a matter of time before they marry. Several Board Marked Members have crushes on Quincy, and who can blame them. He has a job, showers regularly, and is a best-selling author.

Alana-Hope stopped writing. "I need to leave." She walked to the door.

Ella picked her, but Alana-Hope took over driving.

"Go over my notes. There are plenty of underground blogs, and print zines that want to carry it, and the school wants to syndicate it, despite Zeda being Marked."

Ella glanced over them. "I love this. Quincy and I might need to use underground blogs because I heard the Mark Board purchased the major papers, and they are trying to bribe the editors because they don't know who we are."

*

At the Library

Quincy touched Zeda's hand as they walked out of the library. "Zeda, I have to babysit tonight, but do you want to come with me since you're off? I usually babysit for a family member when you work the night shift."

"Sure, why not." Zeda grasped his fingers.

They skipped hand in hand by a plastic surgery booth.

Identical women dressed in beige or gray uniforms waited for their faces molded to society's norms if they were lucky. Sometimes their faces resembled abstract art after they exited the green steel booths.

A man in a suit and tie sold Beauty Drugs on the street.

Zeda and Quincy approached his self-driving car, and he yanked off tracking devices from under the hood.

"Are you being spied on because of me?" Zeda held on to his arm.

They climbed inside his self-driving car.

"It didn't help, but no. I might have written anti-Mark articles under pen names." Quincy looked blankly ahead.

"Are you Josh Mort? I know Ella is Lisa, but she refused to tell me who Josh is."

"Yes, Ella and I have nine other pen names. We authored the articles to throw the Mark Board off our trail. I created a fake feud with myself," Quincy said.

Zeda buckled her seat belt. "What else do I not know about you?"

He stared at the road. "I'm a teacher and a writer, but the board is spying on my family, but not me."

"Quincy, I'm not a threat to the board, but they think I am. I'm not in command of the Ugly Rebels."

"Can I trust you?" he asked.

"I'm trustworthy. Quincy, you could turn me in."

"Zeda, I won't, but we need to pull this off," Quincy said.

The car sped over a winding brick service road.

"I know this neighborhood. This is where the board members live. Where are you taking me?" Zeda's fingers clawed the seat, trying to yank her seat belt off.

"Cavalier Low is the father of my niece Babette, and today is my turn to watch her. He loves Mina. Their marriage was never recognized or permitted for Mark Badge removal because of his job. The leaders are voted in by the other Mark Board members, but they inherit their positions. He tried to resign twice, but the other members rejected his request. The board kidnapped my sister to keep him from fleeing."

"I heard gossip that your sister chose to be Marked because she was having an affair with a married guard working at Mark Houses, and you didn't get along with her," Zeda said.

"It is a false narrative. My sister had terrible plastic surgery before she married. Cavalier blames himself." The car stopped in front of a cottage.

"Have you seen her?" Zeda placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Yolanda moves my sister from Mark House to Mark House. I haven't spoken to her in a year. Zeda, I miss her." Tears fell from his eyes.

She embraced Quincy and wanted to press her soft lips against his. Zeda wondered why she kept restraining herself. He wasn't like her last boyfriend, who sold her out. Did that man ever love her? She wasted her kisses on him.

Zeda noticed Cavalier Low walking towards them with a five-year-old.

They let go, and she and Quincy jumped out of the car.

Cavalier handed the girl to Quincy. "If I'm not here by midnight, you take Babette and run."

"What are you doing?" Quincy asked.

"You need to stay out of it. I know that you're saving your money to save Mina, but that will flag you as a threat. The private detective you planned to hire fled with millions."

"I didn't meet with him," Quincy said.

"Quincy, you're now on their radar, especially since you're dating a known enemy of the board. They will discover your other stories and my involvement. I'm talking with the Unicorn government agents and guards." Cavalier stared into the distance.

"I need to buy Zeda a piece of jewelry," Quincy said.

"Well, I guess I can say congrats because of how you two were holding each other in the car." Cavalier slumped when he walked towards his Van.

They helped Babette with her coloring and baked whole-grain waffles. Babette watched ancient recordings of Mr. Rogers, and then she taught Zeda and Quincy the dancing waffle song that she learned from her great-grandmother.

"Zeda would make a fantastic wife, so why can't she be married to me?" he mumbled to himself.

He'd kiss at their make-believe engagement party because of Crystal Alpha customs. Quincy would try to use the dates to convince Zeda to fall in love with him and want to marry him or real.

"Zeda, this is the last week of school. I need you to come to my class on Wednesday if you can receive time off. If not, then meet me after class."

"I'll work overnight tomorrow for the time off, but I need to see you tomorrow during lunch," Zeda said.

"Are you two getting married?" Babette asked.

Zeda hugged her.

Quincy wasn't going to lie to his niece, but he couldn't tell the truth. "Any man who marries Zeda is blessed."

*

In front of Cavalier Low's Van

Cavalier checked his phone. The screen flashed. One new message, the call is still active.

The voice was Yolanda's, but she didn't identify herself. "I know Zeda is dating your stupid brother-in-law. If you help me kill or trick her into getting surgery, I'll tell you where Mina is. Zeda won't let me near her. She isn't as trusting as Brill. Tell Quincy, and your daughter will be mine to mold. Not that you can prove anything."

He answered the phone. "You're careless. Don't leave messages."

"The Prime Minister is nothing. I control the Mark Authority Squad, and I'm controlling the media as well. Guess who bought two dozen papers? I can't learn who Josh and Lisa are, but I can stop them from publishing."

"Where did you find the funding? We can end up in a Unicorn Prime prison. Your actions violate the treaties you signed for additional funding."

"You don't want to know. I own this planet. We're looking into Alana-Hope, she is beautiful and writes excellent romance articles. I'd half-believe Zeda and Quincy's love story, but I know how girls like Zeda lie. She is ugly and desperate, and Quincy feels sorry for her. Alana-Hope needs to be discerning, but she comes from Earth and doesn't understand our ways."

*

The Same Hour as Cavalier's Call

Alana-Hope crawled out of the driver's seat. She and Ella chatted as they pulled into the school's parking lot.

"Ella, trailing Zeda on their Christmas Carol date, was weird. It's not Christmas and I feel I'm invading their private life, but watching them is adorable."

"At least some good is coming out of it," Ella said.

"Maybe, she won't be a coward and tell Quincy she loves him, bye." Alana-Hope waved and walked up to the stairs. She reached her apartment.

Her door was smashed open. Mark Authority Squad members tossed her abstract, impressionist, and folk art into a pile. They threw her blender against the wall, and it shattered.

"We're taking your work gold passport," a man said.

She trembled. "I don't understand, I'm not a citizen, and I write romance columns."

"The Mark Board despises your writing romance articles that include Marked women. You can be Marked even if you are not a citizen, but you can fix it," another guard said.

"You mean by going back to my ex-boyfriend?" she asked.

The woman said nothing and tossed a painting of the night sky onto the ground, and crushed the frame with her boot.

Another guard tore her gold passport in front of her. "Sleep in the library tonight!"

Alana-Hope left.