The Program

Sloane tells Miller that Lacey has returned, since Lacey was Miller’s girlfriend before The Program. Miller tells Sloane that he wants to go to Sumpter High, the returner’s school, to see if Lacey remembers him. This scares Sloane because The Program does not allow students to go near the returners unless the Wellness Center monitors it.

James tells Sloane that they will cause a distraction at Sumpter High so that Miller can speak with Lacey. Later, James drives Miller and Sloane to Sumpter High. Sloane remembers seeing Lacey dragged away to The Program before the handlers shocked her with a Taser. Lacey’s parents turned her in because they found a bottle of poison called QuikDeath in her room.

They arrive at Sumpter High, and Sloane wonders how they will get Lacey away from her handler. Once returners integrate back into society, The Program assigns them a personal handler to help with the transition period. As they enter the grounds, a handler stops them. James explains that they are there on a field trip to do research for a project. Sloane sees Lacey walking toward the parking lot. As the handler talks with James and Sloane, Miller approaches Lacey. The handler tells James and Sloane to leave, and they reunite with Miller in the car. Miller tells them that Lacey does not remember anything about them. Miller does not want to talk about what happened, and he suggests that they go swimming instead.

James swims in the river, while Miller and Sloane sit on the bank. Later, James and Sloane drive home together, and Sloane breaks down over Lacey. James lets her cry with him because it is the only place The Program will not flag her. When Sloane arrives home, her mother asks her if she is okay, and Sloane says that she is happy. Her mother seems relieved by this, but Sloane hates that she must lie about her feelings to protect herself.

At dinner, Sloane tells her parents that Lacey has come back from The Program. Sloane’s mother says that Lacey must be feeling better about everything, which upsets Sloane. Sloane knows that her mother believes in The Program, especially after Brady’s death by suicide. The next morning, Sloane sleeps past her alarm for school. James comes into her room to wake her up. He tells her that her mom is worried about her and that she needs to pull herself together so that The Program will not take her away. He says that they must stay strong for each other because neither of them wants to be alone.

In the school parking lot, James tells Sloane that Miller broke into Lacey’s room the night before, trying to speak to her. James worries that the handler will come for Miller at school. In class, Miller says that he thinks that Lacey will never remember who he is and that she will not fall for him again because The Program changed her. Before lunch, James, Miller, and Sloane skip school and go to Miller’s house. Miller says that Lacey is only a shell of herself. Sloane believes that there is a part of Lacey that could still remember them, but Miller brushes this off. They watch a movie, but Sloane cannot help thinking that handlers could show up at any moment.

Over the next few days, James and Sloane decide to go camping. They invite Miller, but he says he wants to stay home. As they drive to the coast, Sloane thinks about how she used to go camping with James and Brady when they were younger. She first realized she had feelings for James when they were camping with Brady.

At night, James cries about Brady. Sloane knows that James, like herself, feels guilty about Brady’s death. As they drive home the next day, Miller calls Sloane. When she picks it up, she puts it on speaker because she can tell something is wrong. Miller tells them that the handlers are coming for him. James tells him that they are on their way, but Miller says that it is too late. He tells them that he saw Lacey at the Wellness Center and tried to kiss her, and she reported him. He says that he took QuikDeath because he does not want The Program to take him. Miller tells them that he loves them and then hangs up. James pulls over and calls 911.

When they get to Miller’s house, they can tell by the lack of activity from the ambulances that Miller is dead. James blames The Program for Miller’s suicide because he does not think Miller would have died by suicide if The Program did not exist. Sloane starts crying in the car, and James suddenly slaps her. Before Sloane can respond, James opens the door and runs down the street. Sloane sits in shock for a moment, then realizes how out of character James is acting and feels worried. She drives to his house and finds him in his room, covered in blood. Sloane sees that James scratched Miller’s name into his arm with a knife. Sloane takes the knife away from James and wraps up his arm. Sloane gets James into bed and comforts him. She realizes that she must be strong for James so that The Program does not take him away.