Generation 1, Chapter 16 - Ayla

“So what's the plan for Monday?”

“What makes you think that there's a plan?”

Carla gave her friend a look that said Really? “There's always a plan.”

Ayla grinned. “You got me. I want us to be the most popular people there.”

Carla frowned. “What if that's not what I want?”

“Why wouldn't it be? Think of all the good we could do with that influence! You could convince people to save your precious plants.”

Carla sighed. “Fine. But I'd better not have to talk to people any more than is absolutely necessary.”

Ayla was practically bouncing. “That's fine. You can be all aloof and mysterious.”

“Aloof and mysterious?”

“Yeah, it's intriguing. It draws people in.”

“Were you not listening? I don't want to draw people in!”

“No, you'll draw them in, then I'll take them from there. You don't have to talk to anyone you don't want to.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

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Ayla's plan worked. They almost always did. It helped, of course, that Ayla, at least, was already well liked. The only bad thing anyone ever had to say about Ayla was that she was a little bit full of herself. She was always charming, though, so people forgave her for it.

Carla was a different story.  She hated people, and never pretended otherwise. She was always saying things like, “If you have to kill the Earth, you could at least be quiet about it,” when people slurped from straws at lunch. She took pride in being a devil’s advocate in every classroom debate, and you could never tell whether or not she was serious. If she deigned to talk to someone at all, anything and everything she said was probably sarcastic. In short, she was probably the most obnoxious person in the universe. But somehow, she was best friends with Ayla Doe, who was impossibly charming.

The people who disliked Ayla usually insulted her by saying she and Carla were probably the same on the inside, but Carla was better because at least she never pretended to be nice. In some ways, they were right. Ayla certainly wasn’t the same person as the facade she presented at school, but neither was Carla.

Ayla wasn’t a bad person. She told herself that on a semi-regular basis. There was nothing wrong with wanting people to like you. Most teenagers wanted their peers to like them. If she had to pretend to be something she wasn’t to get people to like her, well, lots of kids her age did that, too. Hiding the way she really felt about things wasn’t unusual. Figuring out exactly what to say and do to make people like her… okay, so maybe that wasn’t really normal. She liked herself, she just wasn’t sure if other people would. She wasn’t willing to take that chance. Carla was really the only one she expressed her real opinions to. It meant a lot to know that Carla liked her. Carla didn’t like anyone, so she must be special. She must be likeable.

Carla was different. She believed that the only people worth being friends with were the people who liked you when you were completely honest, which in her mind meant saying absolutely everything that came into her head. The rare arguments that she and Ayla had were always about the fundamental differences between their worldviews. Ayla would accuse Carla of setting herself up for disappointment, then Carla would accuse Ayla of being a people-pleaser. They always forgave each other, though. They held each other accountable. They were the only ones who could.

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“Who are you texting?”

Carla had asked the question idly, but when Ayla blushed, she knew she was onto something.

“Nobody.”

“At least come up with a good lie next time. I didn’t really care, but now I’m curious.”

She peeked over Ayla’s shoulder. Ayla tried to hide her phone, but Carla still caught the name at the top. “Tony? Would that be Tony Langerak?”

“Maybe.”

Carla thought about it. On the one hand, she didn’t really know how to feel about Ayla dating anyone. On the other, she knew Tony Langerak. He was sweet, she admitted begrudgingly. Kind of awkward. Extremely non-threatening. Probably a good choice for Ayla’s first boyfriend, key word “first”. Ayla was the sort to have a lot of boyfriends before she figured out what she wanted. Carla knew that, even if Ayla didn’t yet.

“You two would be good together.”

Ayla looked shocked. “Who said I wanted us to be together?”

“It seemed pretty obvious. Are you going to tell me I’m wrong?”

“Well… maybe you’re right.” Ayla stared down at her phone. She had a lot to think about.

Author's Note: I desperately want to get Carla a cowplant. It really just feels like she needs one, but it would cost real money. But hey, maybe if Ayla wins heir.

Speaking of the heir vote, I have the remaining four chapters of this generation written. They just give you some more detail on Dylan and Ayla before the heir vote and set up some foreshadowing. I should get this generation done this weekend, in which case I will try to get the heir vote up on or before Sunday. I'm still not entirely sure how that's going to work. It might just be a poll on the sidebar, but I will definitely set up a post where I summarize your choices no matter what. Next time: an old character re-enters the story!