zoya

The candles, serving as our light source in the darkening, gave the lobby a whole different feeling. Modern turned antique, sort of. That's why I liked to be here during the darkenings. It was an escape from the modern life of Delicatum, from The Famoux. It's not like regret getting involved. No, I love seeing my works walking around, adored by the public, and knowing that I created them. It's the most wonderful feeling in the world. I just need an escape sometimes.

The ivory X glittered when the glass door opened, reflecting the candlelight, and I jumped. I looked up to see Norax Geddes walking in with a little girl, maybe 16, with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. A 16 year old shouldn't look like that, not in Eldae at least. That means she's a glitch.

And that means she'll be Famoux soon.

I smile at Norax. "Good day, Zoya," she says.

"Well, good day to you as well." I set down my pencil. "Haven't seen you here for quite a long while, Norax." Is this Bree's replacement? "What brings you here in the middle of a Darkening?"

She looks over at the girl. "Zoya, meet Em."

"Em. Hmm. Em." 'Em' can't be the girl's real name can it? No, it's probably Emma or something and Norax is going to have the new name start with Em. "Em. And she's the successor, I presume?"

"You presume correctly," Norax said, her voice filled with excitement.

"Lovely. How do you feel about all of this?" I asked the girl-- Em.

She shakes a bit. "Okay, I guess."

"Excited?" I asked. "This is a huge opportunity."

"Well, I'm mostly..."

"Nervous," Norax said. "She's nervous. And for good reason. This is a serious decision."

I whistled. That girl probably didn't know half of what she was getting into. "I'll say. Even if I was a fanatic for the Famoux, I don't think I'd be waiting in line to take the place of a girl who got shot in front of everyone."

Em looked more than nervous after I said that. Norax quickly recovered from that though, saying, "Our security centers under immensely revamping, as you are well aware of, Zoya. Em is not going to be in the same kind of danger Bree was."

Yeah, right, I thought. They'll always be in danger. "Good idea. Anyway, what can I do for you today?"

"You can start by telling me if there is any possible way to start the reformation process for Em right now. Must we really have to wait for the Darkening to conclude?" she asked.

No, there isn't, but I chose to give Norax an answer that's not quite a no. "I'm afraid the Fissarex needs power to work, and there's quite a lack of that here at the moment."

"I see. What do you think we should do about this, Em?"

She look surprised she was asked. "I-I don't know. I'm okay with waiting."

Norax looks severely disappointed. She was probably hoping for Em to beg for it, so she would have a reason to demand it. "No, no, we can't wait, Zoya." She sounded a bit like a whiney kid. "The moment the light comes back on we're going to have dozens of reporters and fans watching our every move to see what happens next. If they notice Em here tagging along before we get her reformed--we'd be in trouble. We need to get this done during the Darkening."

"And how do you think we get that done, boss, seeing that it's virtually unattainable?"

She rested her elbows on the desk, thinking. "Oh! Say I had the authority to take some of the electrical power from our little glass house and convert its path to your outlets. Then do you think we could start the reformation process?"

"You can actually do that?"

We both looked down at Em, and Norax smiled. "I run the Famoux, my darling. I can make anything happen if I say it will happen."

She's really determined to make this happen. "Well, if that's really possible, and you're not just hoping it is, we could definitely start reformation today."

"Then it's settled," Norax responded.

Norax goes to talk to the driver, taking Em with her. I pick up the creamy white pencil and start writing down some details about Em's new life, making her real. Em walks to the desk, and I notice her eyes for the first time. We're keeping those eyes. They're famoux. My own murky brown eyes widen, but I disguise it with an eye roll. "It's not as fun as you'd think it would be, especially when we're in the middle of a full fledged darkening," I said.

She looks interested. I'm going to have to keep talking. "How do you do it normally?"

"We usually have all the computers with the options saved. Everything takes a little longer when we have to input the information manually."

"I'm sorry I had to come during a darkening."

Wow. She really needs to get used to the celebrity lifestyle.

"What is it?" Em asks. I must've been giving her a weird look.

"You're the star of the show. We'd find a way to cater to you in any condition. With minimal complaints."

xxx

Em is in the Fissarex. Twirling my paintbrush in my hand, I get ready to create yet another Famoux.

Just another day in paradise.

"Is it w-warmed up yet?" comes from inside the machine.

"Just about," I respond. "Just stand still and close your eyes."

I position my hand just above the outline of Em's body. I place the tip of the brush down, and start remaking her. When I get to the head, I hear a scream. "We're almost done, I promise," Norax said soothingly.

"This is the worst part up next. The head is always the worst part. It's almost over, Em, just a little bit more and you'll be good to go."

She starts saying facts about Delicatum, probably to distract her from the pain as I give her new hair. She stops suddenly. I'm sure she fainted. I keep going, but my hand pauses, a disturbing thought surfacing.

I am a killer. That thing is a killing machine. And I just stuck an innocent girl in it.

I've killed Odette, Colt, Roman, Delta, Tiffany, Scott, and now Em. This machine makes these poor kids new people, both physically and mentally. They all seemed fine with it, and I did too, at the time. None of them wanted to leave their former selves behind, so he they took the memories with him. But that's all they are-- a memory. Like you would remember your grandmother when she died, making yourself believe she was still with you, even though she wasn't. They believe the pre-Famoux them is still in there, somewhere, but they aren't. All except Roman, who Chapter bends over backwards for to keep him around, for Callan, maybe.

xxx

"Zoya? Zoya, this is Bree Arch. I don't know why, but I feel like I need to tell you something. I just know I won't get another chance."

"Sure Bree, what can I do for you?"

"We have all been having strange dreams. All of us. Me, Chapter, Kaytee, Race, Till, Foster."

"Nightmares? I don't think we can do anything."

"Not nightmares, Zoya. Something else. It's like peaceful, mellow dreams. But that's not all. After a wile, the dreams come true. A little after I was reformed, I dreamed of Foster writing something, but I couldn't see what. Then he told me he had been writing letters as Scott to Finley. About a month ago, I  dreamed of Chapter at the Ace club with a girl A girl who looked Famoux, but one I don't know. She must be a replacement for one of us. He called her Emeray."

"And why are you telling me this, again?" Not to be rude, Bree, but--"

"The point is, last night I had a dream, not peaceful, not mellow. I saw a bullet going through the fishbowl glass, straight towards me. That girl could be my replacement, and I'm scared for my life. You made our bodies, so that's why I'm asking you this; can we, the Famoux who cannot be touched, be killed with a bullet?"

xxx

I press the button that opens the Fissarex door, and Em- or, whoever she is now- stumbles out and falls to her knees. I extend a hand to help her up. "Careful! I just remade you. I don't want you getting that new body of yours dirty already. How do you feel?"

"I . . . I feel different."

"What was the pain like?" I ask. "Was it to much to bear?" The guilt resurfaces for a moment.

"It was more than you could ever imagine."

For the record, it looks pretty worth it to me. Don't you think so too?" I ask Norax, who is tearing up.

"Uh, is everything okay?" asks Em.

"Everything is absolutely okay Em. It's more than okay. You look remarkable." The new Em seemed surprised by the compliment.

"I-I do?" she said, smiling wide with her perfect teeth.

"Of course you do. I only create remarkable things. Anything less is unsubstantial and redundant," I said, even though her reaction brought a tear to my eye too, but for a different reason.

Norax is almost jumping for joy. "You have to see yourself," she said, ushering Em to the restroom. "You're going to love it. I know you will." I follow close behind.

When we get to a mirror, Em stops short, staring at herself. She examines her entire body, touching her hair. She seems mesmerized, and everything is silent, at least until Norax squeals. "I just love it! Just look at yourself! You look so famoux, Em!"

Since they had been worried about making her look too much like Bree, like a replacement, I point out the differences. "Bree's hair was a little lighter a blonde than yours, and a little longer too. I made Em's hair over here a little more flaxen on the bottom, a little darker snaking up near the top. Just a little deviation from the usual famoux platinum blonde most our girls don. Plus, Bree's entire structure was completely different. Rounder face, a little more buxom in overall body shape." Norax seemed to relax as I said this.

So I'm not like her at all?" a disoriented Em asked.

"You're completely different, dear. No worrying that the public will think we're just trying to make a replacement anymore," I said.

"They couldn't possible think that, what with how damn adorable you look. Oh, they're going to just love her, Zoya. She's just got this whole different essence, don't you think?"

I sigh. "She really does."

Norax was so happy with it-- her. "I can't quite find the words to describe it. It's an essence of rebirth . . . of new adventure, of youth. Our youngest member is Kaytee, and she's turning nineteen in a couple of months. Em here is only sixteen."

I tap the pencil on my clipboard, glancing down at it. "Right you are. It looks like Em's going to bring an entire new atmosphere to our little group."

"An entire new essence," she insisted. Again, like a whining little kid, though I would never say that. I shouldn't even think that.

"Yes, a new essence," I responded.

"She will. She will. I'm telling you, the entire world is going to fall in love this girl, with . . . Emeray. Emeray Essence."

My heart raced. Emeray was the name in one of Bree's dreams. Bree knew. These dreams, if monitored, could be a big warning sign for things in the future. "Emeray Essence?" I said.

"That's the name. Write it down."

Em, or Emeray, seemed to be zoned out. Norax put her hands on her shoulders, saying, "Emeray!"

"Yes?" she responded, grinning.

"What do you think of yourself?"

"I look..."

It's something Norax does every time. "How do you think you look, Emeray?" Go ahead, force it out of her.

"I look..."

here it comes.

"...famoux."

You have no idea, Emeray Essence. There's a lot more to it than you can ever imagine.

xxx

Thoughts?

I realize I got a little deeper into the plot of The Famoux, and I know I might be completely wrong about what happens. Remember, Zoya's point of view in this came from my brain, not Kassandra's. I'm just like any other reader, waiting to see what happens in The Classix and the next book, making up theories as I go. I just decided to write some of mine down.

Thank you so much for reading!