My mother, Dr. Marino, is a well-known geneticist at MIT. She designed her own gene-grading system. She used it to label my sister Annabelle as “S-Class.” According to my mother, Annabelle has the highest potential. She needs a lot of “environmental energy” to grow properly. I, Cecily, was classified as “C-level.” An “energy absorber,” she called me, someone who dragged down everyone around her. So I got ninety-nine dollars a month. That was my “basic nutrition allowance.”Just enough to survive. That kept the "energy balance" intact, she explained. Kept me from hurting Annabelle. I didn't know what I really was to her. Not until the celebration dinner. That was the night Annabelle got early admission to Harvard. I overheard my mother talking to her investor, Mr. Carter. “Cecily has been a remarkably successful C-level control group.” “After long-term nutrient restriction, the advantages of the S-class genes become crystal clear.” “Just look at her......
