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"We just tell them," Astrid said

"But we don’t know if it’s real or not," Edilio argued

Astrid shrugged She stared at nothing and kept her features very still "We tell them it’s all fake Kids hate this place, but they don’t want to die"

"Hoe tell theenuinely puzzled

Howard laughed "Deely-O, Deely-O, you are such a doof sometimes" He put his feet down and leaned toward Edilio as if sharing a secret with him "She means: We lie Astrid means that we lie to everyone and tell them we do know for sure"

Edilio stared at Astrid like he was expecting her to deny it

"It’s for people’s own good," Astrid said in a low voice, still looking at nothing

"You knohat’s funny?" Howard said, grinning "I was pretty sure ere co so Astrid could rank on Sa us the whole truth And now, it turns out we’re really here so Astrid can talk us all into beco?" Dekka snarked with a cynical look at Howard "Wouldn’t exactly be a transformation for you, Howard"

Astrid said, "Look, if we let Orsay go on with this craziness, we could not only have kids stepping out on their fifteenth We could have kids not wanting to wait that long Kids deciding to end it right away and thinking they’d wake up on the other side with their parents"

Everyone at the table leaned back at once, taking that in

"I can’t lie," John said simply He shook his head, and his red curls shook, too

"You’re a member of the council," Astrid snapped "You have to abide by our decisions That’s the deal That’s the only way it works" Then, in a cal up on her fifteenth before long?"

Sale most necessary person in Perdido Beach From the start she had stepped up and run the day care She’d become a mother to the littles

But Mary had her own problems She was anorexic and bulimic She ate antidepressants by the handful, but the supply was rapidly running out

Dahra Baidoo, who controlled the medicines in Perdido Beach, came to Sam secretly and told hi for whatever DahraProzac and Zoloft and Lexapro, and these aren’t just nothing little s carefully, according to the book You don’t just grab whatever and mix them all up"

Sam hadn’t told anyone but Astrid about it And he’d warned Dahra to keep it to herself Then he’d otten to ever follow up

Now, frouess that he was far froive in to the poof and step out

They took a vote Astrid, Alberto, and Howard shot their hands up i his head "I’d have to lie to my own people, my soldiers Kids who trust me"

"No," John voted "I…I’m just a kid and all, but I would have to lie to Mary"