She would really be much happier with the closely cropped cut she had seen on many of the most fashionable city girls, but she couldn’t bring herself to chop off her hair. Her father had always admired it, that was one reason; but Jex had always adored it, had loved to bury his face in the rioting black curls and wrap them around his fingers. She could not forgo those memories, so she lived with the inconvenience. She pulled her hair back and sauntered from the house.

After a short wait, she hopped onto the nearest shuttle to the Centrifuge. It was crowded, as it was every morning, but nothing like the way it had been yesterday upon Chay’s arrival. She caught a ringcar within ten minutes, and took off fast.

She loved the Centrifuge. Loved it. She knew she was exactly the type of driver who shouldn’t be allowed in the tunnels, but she couldn’t help herself. Every time she climbed into one of the ringcars, she felt a rising, guilty sense of excitement that she could not resist. She would slip instantly into the upper lane and accelerate as fast as the traffic would permit, and she would swoop into the middle and even the slow, lower lanes if it would allow her to zip by someone in the upper level who was moving too slowly. Other times, she would merely ride as close as she dared to whatever slowpoke was blocking her way, and more often than not the driver would dip into the center lane to let her pass. They weren’t all gracious about this; more than once she saw angry faces turned her way from the windows of the other cars, and just as often a furiously gesturing hand. She didn’t care. She knew she was rude, and she didn’t care. She knew she was dangerous, and she didn’t care. She loved the Centrifuge, and she craved its speed.

Once in the city, of course, she was more sedate. She could either take the trolley or go on foot to her destination, and either way, the pace was slow. Once she exited the Centrifuge at the West Zero gate, the distance was not far, and she often elected to walk it, though even she was a little nervous from time to time in this neighborhood.