Sign up for free to use this document yourself.

  • Under a Microscope by Lara Clare

  • “A guardian is the scientist that observes you daily, makes reports, and tweaks you as necessary.”
    The vehicle was silent for ten seconds or more. The satellite radio even seemed to mute for a few seconds at least. There was no dictionary anywhere that had ever defined guardian that way.
    YA science fiction.

  •         Published by Freedom Dawn Press
            Copyright 2017 Lara Clare

    This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  •         ”Wait, you call your mother madam?”
            The vehicle bounced, jumped and jerked as the inexperienced driver, Jass, seemed to aim for every bump in the road without slowing down. The newish Land Rover with all leather tan interior was a nice chariot to carry teen girls around, even if the driver’s lack of skill was a threat to their lives.
            There were four girls in the car. Jass was the extrovert, the loud-mouth, the hotblooded go-getter with a mouth full of braces. Noelle was the soft-hearted and soft-spoken beauty with wavy brown hair, dark brown eyes and full, round cheeks that never needed blush. She sat behind Jass. Reece was the genius of the group—not that she was book smart. She wasn’t. Maybe she would have been if she ever put her mind to it, but she cared more about figuring out the easy routes through every maze. She was usually their ticket to anything they wanted. With her dark bangs, cut straight across her forehead, her large eyes, her pointed chin—an overall adorable little face—no one ever suspected her for the crafty one she was.
            Last, there was Kida. She sat in the front passenger seat, and all eyes were on her. She was the one to whom the question had been asked, “You call your mother madam?” Kida, with her smooth brown skin and Asian eyes watched the view outside of the front windshield. She barely blinked at the question.
            Kida was a new addition to their group, only because she’d been assigned to them. They had a project to complete. She seemed alright for working on another waste-of-time high school project, but there were strange things about her. Number one, why couldn’t her parents manage to get her into school on time? Starting four and a half weeks after the first day of school? Who does that?
            Kida answered matter-of-factly. “She isn’t my mother.”
            Eyes shifted upon hearing this statement—all eyes, except Kida’s.
            ”Oh,” Reece said from the backseat. “Who is she then?”
            Without hesitation, Kida said, “My guardian.”
            The girls nodded or made some other show of acceptance. There was nothing odd about that. Not every child is raised by his or her parents. The three girls relaxed back into the seats they’d been perched on, so to speak, and went back to playing with their hair, gazing at the phone, or fiddling with the air condition vent. Kida was strange, but she’d be okay to work with for a day or two.
            ”Are you adopted?” Noelle asked suddenly.
    The three girls waited patiently for the answer.
            ”Um, adopted?” was Kida’s reply. “No. Madame is my guardian.”
            The eyes began moving again. Reece was super-skilled at cutting to the heart of that matter. She is the one who asked, “What is a guardian again?”
    Reece, you are a little off of your game today, the other two could have said. Don’t you know what a guardian is? Reece did know what the word guardian meant, but she had no clue what Kida meant when she used the word. Because Reece figured that the definition of that word was the source of their problem, she asked Kida to define it. Kida’s definition was nothing like theirs.
            ”A guardian is the scientist that observes you daily, makes reports, and tweaks you as necessary.”
    The vehicle was silent for ten seconds or more. The satellite radio even seemed to mute for a few seconds at least. There was no dictionary anywhere that had ever defined guardian that way.
            ”I’m scared to even ask you what you mean by tweak,” Jass said.
            Luckily, they were just pulling into the driveway of Noelle’s house. When Jass and Reece saw the car that was already parked there, they immediately reached for a mirror anything that would brighten their faces, sweeten their scents, elevate their level of attractiveness. Noelle’s older brother, Joel, was probably at home.
            ”I thought you said the house would be empty,” Reece said, specifically trying to sound annoyed. Actually, she wanted to make sure that she wasn’t wasting her energy, that Joel really was at home.
    Noelle shrugged. “He won’t get in our way.”
            Jass and Reece both giggled. They were both hoping that he would get in the way as often as possible.
    Each girl got out of the vehicle and shut their doors. As Noelle dug around in her bag for her keys and listened as Jass whispered something into her ear, Reece stepped close to Kida.
            ”What does a scientist want with you?” she asked.
            ”They say there is something special about my brain.”
            Reece stepped back. She hadn’t expected to hear anything like that. She was inclined to think that Kida was joking, or stupid, or crazy, but the new girl had looked into her eyes. Reece knew that she was dead serious and, not only that, she believed what she said.
            ”How do they know that?”

  • More to come.

{"cards":[{"_id":"74f3e5d7e98c4ebbea000019","treeId":"74f3e158e98c4ebbea000017","seq":9350463,"position":1,"parentId":null,"content":"![](https://www.filepicker.io/api/file/fBui8txRPWjQ2p4W8i6x)\n\n**Under a Microscope** by Lara Clare"},{"_id":"750e9a2e1444c30320000015","treeId":"74f3e158e98c4ebbea000017","seq":9699174,"position":1.5,"parentId":null,"content":"*\"A guardian is the scientist that observes you daily, makes reports, and tweaks you as necessary.\"*\n*The vehicle was silent for ten seconds or more. The satellite radio even seemed to mute for a few seconds at least. There was no dictionary anywhere that had ever defined guardian that way.\nYA science fiction.*\n"},{"_id":"74f3ea64e98c4ebbea00001a","treeId":"74f3e158e98c4ebbea000017","seq":9350464,"position":2,"parentId":null,"content":"        Published by Freedom Dawn Press\n        Copyright 2017 Lara Clare\n\nThis book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental."},{"_id":"772923258511bc31c400001a","treeId":"74f3e158e98c4ebbea000017","seq":9699183,"position":0.5,"parentId":"74f3ea64e98c4ebbea00001a","content":"        \"Wait, you call your mother madam?\"\n        The vehicle bounced, jumped and jerked as the inexperienced driver, Jass, seemed to aim for every bump in the road without slowing down. The newish Land Rover with all leather tan interior was a nice chariot to carry teen girls around, even if the driver's lack of skill was a threat to their lives.\n        There were four girls in the car. Jass was the extrovert, the loud-mouth, the hotblooded go-getter with a mouth full of braces. Noelle was the soft-hearted and soft-spoken beauty with wavy brown hair, dark brown eyes and full, round cheeks that never needed blush. She sat behind Jass. Reece was the genius of the group--not that she was book smart. She wasn't. Maybe she would have been if she ever put her mind to it, but she cared more about figuring out the easy routes through every maze. She was usually their ticket to anything they wanted. With her dark bangs, cut straight across her forehead, her large eyes, her pointed chin--an overall adorable little face--no one ever suspected her for the crafty one she was.\n        Last, there was Kida. She sat in the front passenger seat, and all eyes were on her. She was the one to whom the question had been asked, \"You call your mother madam?\" Kida, with her smooth brown skin and Asian eyes watched the view outside of the front windshield. She barely blinked at the question.\n        Kida was a new addition to their group, only because she'd been assigned to them. They had a project to complete. She seemed alright for working on another waste-of-time high school project, but there were strange things about her. Number one, why couldn't her parents manage to get her into school on time? Starting four and a half weeks after the first day of school? Who does that?\n        Kida answered matter-of-factly. \"She isn't my mother.\"\n        Eyes shifted upon hearing this statement--all eyes, except Kida's.\n        \"Oh,\" Reece said from the backseat. \"Who is she then?\"\n        Without hesitation, Kida said, \"My guardian.\"\n        The girls nodded or made some other show of acceptance. There was nothing odd about that. Not every child is raised by his or her parents. The three girls relaxed back into the seats they'd been perched on, so to speak, and went back to playing with their hair, gazing at the phone, or fiddling with the air condition vent. Kida was strange, but she'd be okay to work with for a day or two.\n        \"Are you adopted?\" Noelle asked suddenly.\nThe three girls waited patiently for the answer.\n        \"Um, adopted?\" was Kida's reply. \"No. Madame is my guardian.\"\n        The eyes began moving again. Reece was super-skilled at cutting to the heart of that matter. She is the one who asked, \"What is a guardian again?\"\nReece, you are a little off of your game today, the other two could have said. Don't you know what a guardian is? Reece did know what the word guardian meant, but she had no clue what Kida meant when she used the word. Because Reece figured that the definition of that word was the source of their problem, she asked Kida to define it. Kida's definition was nothing like theirs.\n        \"A guardian is the scientist that observes you daily, makes reports, and tweaks you as necessary.\"\nThe vehicle was silent for ten seconds or more. The satellite radio even seemed to mute for a few seconds at least. There was no dictionary anywhere that had ever defined guardian that way.\n        \"I'm scared to even ask you what you mean by tweak,\" Jass said.\n        Luckily, they were just pulling into the driveway of Noelle's house. When Jass and Reece saw the car that was already parked there, they immediately reached for a mirror anything that would brighten their faces, sweeten their scents, elevate their level of attractiveness. Noelle's older brother, Joel, was probably at home.\n        \"I thought you said the house would be empty,\" Reece said, specifically trying to sound annoyed. Actually, she wanted to make sure that she wasn't wasting her energy, that Joel really was at home.\nNoelle shrugged. \"He won't get in our way.\"\n        Jass and Reece both giggled. They were both hoping that he would get in the way as often as possible.\nEach girl got out of the vehicle and shut their doors. As Noelle dug around in her bag for her keys and listened as Jass whispered something into her ear, Reece stepped close to Kida.\n        \"What does a scientist want with you?\" she asked.\n        \"They say there is something special about my brain.\"\n        Reece stepped back. She hadn't expected to hear anything like that. She was inclined to think that Kida was joking, or stupid, or crazy, but the new girl had looked into her eyes. Reece knew that she was dead serious and, not only that, she believed what she said.\n        \"How do they know that?\"\n"},{"_id":"75284cf7a2dc06c274000019","treeId":"74f3e158e98c4ebbea000017","seq":9699171,"position":1,"parentId":"74f3ea64e98c4ebbea00001a","content":"---\n*More to come.*\n\n---"},{"_id":"77292d878511bc31c400001b","treeId":"74f3e158e98c4ebbea000017","seq":10037754,"position":1,"parentId":"75284cf7a2dc06c274000019","content":"~About the Author~\n\nLara Clare: writer, watcher, victim of society.\n\n*Please support this story. Clicking the links below will take you to PayPal's secure payment site.*\n\n    **Give $1 or give in multiples of $1 ($2, $3 ...)**\n\nhttps://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=SVSGE8HLGQSW2\n\n    **Give $5 or give in multiples of $5 ($2, $3 ...)**\n\nhttps://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=3A7QCDNZCW6CE"}],"tree":{"_id":"74f3e158e98c4ebbea000017","name":"Under a Microscope","publicUrl":"under-a-microscope"}}