Marie's legs weren't working by the time she got into the car. She did not want to see President Arnold. Not with what she knew about Mr. Edison. Would President Arnold do something to her? Was Marie going to disappear and not be heard of again?

When they got to the S.E.A., Mr. Germain was there, his arms folded across his chest. To her horror, she saw her dad standing next to him. Why did they bring him? He looked so incredibly tired, and it broke Marie's heart.

When Marie walked out of the car, her dad started toward her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm-"

Mr. Germain grabbed Marie's wrist, cutting her off. "It's not wise to keep President Arnold waiting."

She, her dad, and Mr. Germain walked in the S.E.A. building. Mr. Germain still held her wrist in the elevator as though expecting her to escape. It was so long going up to the hundredth floor, and too quiet. Marie looked down, afraid to meet her dad's gaze.

Mr. Germain didn't bother talking to the secretary as they made it to the top floor. Marie was in tears by the time Mr. Germain opened the door to President Arnold's office and forced her in one of the two chairs there.

Pictures of President Arnold were mandatory in every public building in Musical Land, and they hadn't been updated in ten or so years. She knew he once had brown hair, but it had grayed considerably. Even his eyes seemed a dull grey color. He was at least sixty, close to the same age as Mr. Edison. Even though he was old, he still had an intimidating presence, and Marie didn't want to cross him.

You idiot, she realized with a drop in her stomach. You already have.

President Arnold sat behind his desk. He didn't look at Marie, and instead focused on her dad.

"You must be Vlad," President Arnold said.

"I am. It's an honor to meet you, sir. I wish it was under different circumstances." Her dad reached out and shook President Arnold's outstretched hand.

"Take a seat. I'd like to talk to you about your daughter," he said.

Her dad scooted the chair closer to Marie but didn't look at her as he sat down. "From what I hear she refused to sing today?"

President Arnold nodded. "You are correct. We have way too many eye witnesses say that when she was supposed to sing a duet, she instead covered the boy's mouth so he'd stop singing."

A wince crossed her dad's face. "I'm sorry, sir. I don't know what's gotten into her lately."

It was like Marie wasn't even there. Marie tried not to show how much that hurt.

"Teenagers are tough," Mr. Germain pipped up from the corner. "In a few years they'll come to their senses."

Marie's hands turned to fists and if she wasn't so scared, she'd stand up and punch Mr. Germain.

"She's already in the S.E.A. program, so we are concerned she made such a grievous step backwards." President Arnold turned and stared at Marie. His gaze burned her, but she couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes. "We're confident we can keep working with her, though. We'll let this time slide, but if this happens again, we will take it very seriously." He stood up, towering over Marie. "Because there won't be another chance."

Marie felt the appropriate response was to nod.

"I agree, sir. It won't happen again," her dad said.

President Arnold still stared at Marie. "I'm going to talk to your daughter for a few minutes alone. I'll see if I can weed out what's going on. She'll meet you in the foyer of the lobby and you may take her home. I don't want her participating in the program today. She will resume tomorrow."

Adrenaline screamed at her to run, but where could she go? Her dad nodded and stood up, heading for the door. President Arnold tore his gaze away from Marie to look at Mr. Germain.

"Alone, Ambrose."

Mr. Germain paused, confused, then nodded. He turned, and he and her dad left the office, closing the door. A bead of sweat ran down her forehead. President Arnold stood up and went to a metal filing cabinet in his office. He searched through them before bringing out a file with Marie's name on it. He set it on his desk and opened it, turning it so Marie couldn't see what was inside. He flipped through the pages before looking at her. He didn't bother to smile.

"You're an interesting person, Marie," he said.

Marie kept facing forward, still refusing to meet his gaze. "Am I?"

"Yes. You have such unfortunate hobbies, but you're doing well with the arts."

There was something in his tone. Something Marie couldn't trust.

"My question is why do you constantly find ways around the chip to keep yourself from singing?"

President Arnold watched her, and Marie looked down at her hands. "I don't mean to, sir. Honest. I just don't feel comfortable singing about my crushes."

His eyes darkened. "To the point where you'll break the law?"

Marie clamped her mouth shut.

President Arnold closed her folder. Her mind reeled. She was stuck in a deadly corner. President Arnold watched her closely.

"No more lies between us, Marie. What did Mr. Edison tell you about me?"

The chair squeaked from Marie's trembling frame. "That he knew you. A long time ago."

President Arnold shook his head, then stood up. "Not good enough." He walked over and leaned down. "Don't fight it. Sing to me, tell me what you know."

Marie gripped the chair as music filled the room. She closed her eyes, again trying to force herself to calm down.

"No, Marie. None of that." He snapped his fingers in front of her face until she opened her eyes. "You will sing to me, or I will have your father arrested."

Her panic spiked at his threat and the chip activated. It began sorting through her feelings and placed them in lyrical form.

"Yes, sing to me, Marie."

Marie closed her eyes and opened her mouth. There was nothing to do but to sing everything.

"I'm in a dilemma

"In this here agenda.

"It's driving me out of my mind.

"I hate that I've stumbled

"And tumbled and crumbled

"Upon this unsavory mystery.

"Mr. Edison has told me so many

"Things. And also kept

"So much from me.

"He's told me there's blackmail

"Against this here fella,

"But refuses to tell me much more.

"Mr. Edison's adamant I'm too young

"To fight in the underground.

"He may be right,

"Though one day I might,

"But for now I'm too nervous and scared.

"He himself isn't in it.

"He wants them to win it,

"So he's staying homebound.

"I wish I never knew him.

"My future turned quite dim

"The moment he stepped through the door.

"I wish I could say

"I'd throw science away,

"but it's too important to me.

"In my heart of hearts

"I wish I loved the arts,

"but it's not how my story will go.

"I'm in a dilemma

"In this here agenda.

"It's driving me out of my mind.

"I hate that I've stumbled

"And tumbled and crumbled

"Upon this unsavory mystery."

Marie was quietly crying, covering her face in her hands as the song ended. President Arnold didn't say a word until Marie stopped crying. He glared darkly at her before returning to his desk and sat down.

"Do you want to know what the world was like before I saved it?" President Arnold asked.

Marie had no energy to answer. He got what he wanted. Why was he prolonging this?

President Arnold answered anyway. "We were all going to die. All of us. And you know who brought about the chaos? Mad scientists who ended up killing an insane amount of people with their invented weapons, all in the name of protecting us. I was the one who suggested a way for law enforcement to root out the evil ones. They would sing their feelings, and we would know who to stop. You should be thanking me for what I did. What I'm still doing. You can step out of your house with the knowledge it won't blow up when you get back at the end of the day. You don't have to fear for your life like I did at your age. You can do all these things because of me. All I ask, is you stop fighting the chip. You know why?"

Marie glanced up at him. Her heart pounded wildly in her rib cage. She didn't know what he was getting at.

President Arnold closed the file with her name on it. "If you sang this same song to the Germain's when they talked to you, we wouldn't be having this conversation. You are wasting my time, and you are giving yourself too much stress."

Marie paused, not quite sure how to process this information. Was her worry unfounded? A thought struck her.

"What if I sang it to my friends?" Marie asked, barely a whisper.

President Arnold looked at her. "What?"

Marie met his gaze. "What if I sang this same song to my friends? Or my dad? What if I tell him everything?"

Marie realized what true paranoia looked like, and it was all wrapped up in the withering look President Arnold gave her. "Okay, let's play your game, Marie. Let's say you spill everything to your dad, to that boy you have a crush on. They may stay safe, as long as they do nothing with the information. Maybe. However, if they decide to spill everything to their family, then they spill everything to their friends and family, then next thing you know Mr. Edison is a myth of a man who doesn't sing. It could be troubling for me, for my officials, the agents, for this perfect society we've built. We might need to make an example of old Tom Edison. He might find his name blackened on every list, might not have such an easy life, for however long he lives. Or something worse might happen." President Arnold gave a shrug. "Who knows. I guess it's up to you. You are no longer taking math and science and therefore no longer associating with Mr. Edison. I would suggest you wrap everything up, pack it away in that robotic brain of yours, and forget Mr. Edison ever existed."

President Arnold got up and put her file back in its spot. He walked over to her and forced her to her feet, keeping a tight grip on her elbow. "You already have two strikes against you. Believe me when I say you don't want a third. Now get out of here."

He released her elbow. Marie was all too happy to walk out of his office. Her legs felt like jelly, but she forced them forward. There needed to be as much distance from her and President Arnold as possible. She walked out of the office and closed the door. The secretary was busy on her computer as Marie hit the down button on the elevator. She closed her eyes and took a deep, lung cleansing breath. The elevator would take a while to come, so she needed to use this time to make herself presentable before she saw her dad.

Marie winced. She wasn't ready to face her dad. President Arnold threatened to destroy Mr. Edison's life if she told anyone else about what she knew. Stress, her common companion the past few months, returned with full force as well as anxiety and fear. Would she be able to brush this off? Could she still have a good relationship with her dad while hiding something like this? Possibly.

Hopefully.

Marie waited as the elevator took its time. Despite no windows in President Arnold's office, the waiting room was practically all windows. It gave her vertigo to see how high up she was. Out in the distance she could see the wall protecting Musical Land from whatever was out there. Even from this height, she could see a heavily forested area outside the wall. With the thick trees, it was impossible to see what was hiding in there.

A shiver washed over her again and she turned away from the dizzying height. She saw a framed, yellowed newspaper hanging next to the elevator. With nothing better to do she read through the newspaper article. The date was Freedom Day. The Freedom Day. The moment President Arnold took power and saved the world, almost forty years ago now. It had cut off half way through, saying the rest of the article was on a different page. It was weird the rest of the article wasn't framed, but she didn't think too much of it.

The black and white picture was fading, but she noticed President Arnold right off. He looked different back then, younger. If he hadn't threatened her, she might have been willing to say he was a good-looking man. He stood at a podium, the fire in his eyes frozen forever.

Marie almost turned away when she noticed someone else in the picture. She squinted. Behind the younger President Arnold were a group of people. More importantly, one of the guys was unmistakably Mr. Edison, forty years younger. What was Mr. Edison doing at...

Adrenaline returned, and since she had nowhere to run, it pumped right into her heart. President Arnold talked about saving the world by creating the chip, but President Arnold never seemed like a man who invented things. Mr. Edison on the other hand was rarely without something to tinker with.

Marie's breathing became unsteady. President Arnold stole the chip and passed it off as his own. Or manipulated Mr. Edison into taking it from him. Something, but Mr. Edison was directly involved with the invention of the chip. It must be the blackmail Mr. Edison was talking about.

"You'll need my ID to get to the bottom floor," the secretary said.

Marie shrieked and spun around, the secretary right behind her. Marie didn't realize the elevator had appeared. The secretary swiped her card and hit the main lobby button as Marie stumbled into the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, Marie collapsed in the corner, trying desperately to calm her breathing.

It couldn't possibly be true, but it made too much sense for it not to be true. Questions tumbled into her mind, though she forced them away as she focused on calming her emotions. She couldn't sing. True, she'd sung once already today, but this spike of panic might get out of control and trigger her chip again. She couldn't clue President Arnold in on her discovery. Whether she liked it or not, she now had a big red target on her back. President Arnold saw nothing wrong with threatening to arrest her dad when she tried to stop the song. What would he do if he found out she knew? Everyone around her was in danger. They'd get arrested, or worse.

Blinding terror washed over her like a wave. Music filled the elevator. Marie screamed in panic. She curled into a ball, holding her head, tearing her mind apart to find a calming memory, but the panic was real. Her chip activated. The lyrics sounded familiar. She didn't fight the song. She had to sing.

"I'm in a dilemma

"In this here agenda.

"It's driving me out of my mind.

"I hate that I've stumbled

"And tumbled and crumbled

"Upon this unsavory mystery."

The music closed, and she was left panting in the elevator as tears poured down her cheeks. She hugged her body as she let herself cry. She was saved by a reprise. The people checking the lyrics would gain no further suspicion by this. It would be considered after-interview jitters.

Marie closed her eyes. She had sung a song now, so her chip wouldn't be super sensitive to peeks of emotions for at least the rest of the day. Or so she hoped.

The elevator came to a halt and she still felt like a mess. She struggled to her feet right as the doors opened and took faltering steps out of the elevator.

Her dad sat on one of the couches, back hunched, staring at the floor while he rubbed his chin, his hair not as smooth as when he came. He stood up when the elevator doors closed. Marie wished more than ever she could confide in him. He looked at her again with those tired eyes. There was a spark of concern, and she knew she couldn't hide the puffiness of her eyes. She tried to dry her cheeks as he walked over to her. He said nothing, only gave her a hug. Marie tried to sense the security of being with her dad, but he seemed reserved.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah."

He placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled her away, leaning down to look her square in the eye. "Don't you lie to me, Marie Curie. Are you okay?" The tone in his voice carried a deep love and concern, which made the correction cut deeper than Marie anticipated.

Marie looked away, a fresh wave of tears drowning her. Her father hugged her as she cried quietly.

When her small bout of crying was done, her dad placed a hand on her shoulder and lead her toward the door. "Let's go home and talk."

They left the lobby and headed for the metro station. Marie's mind whirled, still trying to understand the blackmail while figuring out how to keep her dad safe. She had to lie, and it made her sick to think about it. Lies didn't have a long shelf life.

It was a long, quiet ride home. Marie stared out the window as the city rushed by. She watched as the richness of the city began to bleed into poor. The part of the city they belonged.

They entered their apartment. Marie felt drawn to her room, even though she knew her dad would stop her.

"Marie, I..." His face contorted before he rubbed his forehead with the back of his thumb. "Why? Why did you do this?"

It hurt to hear how scared her dad sounded.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking," Marie said.

There was silence as her dad stared at her. She couldn't bring herself to look at him, and instead looked at the last picture of her mom hanging on the wall.

"You...you weren't thinking?" There was a current of rage hiding behind his attempted calm demeanor. "This is something you were taught the moment you knew how to sing, Marie." He placed a hand on her shoulder, but she still refused to turn and look at him. "I know it might be embarrassing to reveal your feelings to a boy, but it's better to get it all out there rather than breaking the law. There is nothing more important than following the chip. Understand?" Marie still refused to look at her dad. "Understand?"

Marie gave a little nod.

"Why won't you look at me?" he asked.

Marie gave him the barest of glances before turning away and tugging at a lock of her hair.

"Come on, Marie. Talk to me," he said.

Marie closed her eyes. She took in a deep breath.

"President Arnold gave me a lecture already. I'll be a model citizen from now on. You won't have to worry about me." Her voice went monotone as it always did when she was acting.

Her dad withdrew his hand from her shoulder. Marie could see the pain in his eyes.

"I'm glad you listen to President Arnold."

They had returned to their old ways of pretending things were okay. Marie's stomach felt full of knots again.

"Are you sure there's nothing you want to talk about?"

Marie quietly shook her head, still not looking at him. Her dad was in danger by being near her. She wouldn't put him in any more. Her dad paused, his emotions difficult to read on his face. Her fingernails dug into the flesh of her arms. She'd never been in this deep of trouble before. She'd rather be a criminal on the run from the S.E.A. and be able to tell her dad the truth than to lie to her dad and be in good standing with the S.E.A.

The silence between them turned sour. The longer the silence lasted, the more she felt an invisible knife twisting inside her dad's heart.

"I... I have homework." Her hand tightened around the strap of her backpack. "I'll be in my room."

She turned around and headed down the hall.

"Marie?" Marie froze, her hand on the doorknob. She turned her head slightly to look at her dad, who was at the entrance of the hallway. "I love you," he said.

Marie curled her fingers over the knob to keep the tears from falling. She loved her dad, and she knew this was killing him. But she knew things, and she didn't want to put him in the same danger. It took every ounce of strength inside her to give a small nod and enter her room, quietly closing the door.

She heard music and gasped in panic. She'd already sung, her chip shouldn't be this sensitive. After a breath of calm air, she realized the music emanated from the living room. It was for her dad. Marie closed her eyes and placed her head against the door. Her dad began to sing a song. The lyrics weaved a sad portrait of a man who felt like he failed his daughter. Marie covered her mouth and backed away from the door. She went to her bed and covered her ears with her pillow to give her dad the privacy he needed to sing his feelings out.