Chapter 2
Julian's pulse was up as he stepped through the doors. He tried to appear calm but the beeped he'd heard about a minute before indicated he was officially late for his duty shift.
"You're late Mr. Ice." Captain Robert Hunt said sternly without even turning to look to see who had entered.
Andrea "Andy" Kawolski's mouth curled up just a touch as she tried to keep from smiling at the look of sheer panic on Julian's face.
"Um..." Julian stammered as he rounded to his chair.
He came up in front of the captain and pushed back his shoulders, resolving not to show fear. "My apologies Captain." he said as calmly as possible while his heart hammered in his chest.
Captain Hunt spared him a look and then turned to the crewman at the helm. "Please inform Mr. Ice what he has missed since his duty shift began."
"Um..." The crewman looked at the captain confused and then at Julian. "Nothing really."
"Ah well, shame." Captain Hunt said. The ghost of a smile appeared on his face as Julian relieved the crewman and took his seat. Behind him Andy was grinning and trying hard not to laugh. Commander Hoshimi Katou - the ships' chief science officer looked less pleased.
A couple hours into his shift, the ship rocked roughly to the side jerking the bridge crew. Julian clutched his station and worked hard to regain balance. "Mr. Ice, I trust that you learned how to pilot before coming onto my bridge." Captain Hunt said.
"It's not his fault Captain." Andy spoke up from the engineering station. "Looks like there's a stabilizer malfunction." she explained and then opened up communications to Engineering. "Bridge to Engineering."
"Get your purple haired arse down here Kowalski!" came a gruff reply. "Sorry Cap." it added as an after thought.
Captain Hunt just held up his hand absently, whether to dismiss Andy from the bridge or in response to the chief engineer's language or both. "Now Mr. Ice, do you think you can get us righted?" he asked as the ship leveled out. "Ah, very good."
Kowalski was halfway to engineering by the time Julian compensated for the stabilizer. Walking down the hall at an angle was awkward but not something she was inexperienced at. She walked into the upper level of engineering and noticed a distinct lack of people. Leaning over the rail she heard the chaos below and made her way to the stairs. "Dex!" she called out for her boss and mentor.
"What you do to my ship Dex?" she called out. There was a flurry of activity in the lower level. Dex - Anthony Dexter and the chief engineer - was barking out orders as engineers zipped past him.
"Get your butt in gear Andy! Those stabilizers aren't gonna fix 'emselves and I ain't got no faith in that flyboy on the bridge to keep this ship steady!" Dex barked over the bustle of activity.
Andy grabbed a tool box and kicked off her boots, they were completely impractical for climbing into the innards of a starship. She was flat on her back, under a panel and covered in soot when several alarms went off. She heard a muffle of voices and a thunk followed by loud groans. She scrambled out from where she was and took in the scene. Dex was crumbled against the wall and a fire was raging on another panel. "Get that fire out!" she yelled and shoved a couple of nearby engineers in that direction. She knelt beside Dex and gave him a once over. "Dex, hey Dex!" She was answered by groans and curses. "Engineering to Medical - send us a medic!" she hollered over the noise around her. The fire was put out and the chaos died down slowly. "You!" she said pointing to an engineer. "Work on those stabilizers."
"I told you to work..." Dex said and then started coughing. "To work on them." he finished followed by more coughing.
"Can't say I really care what you want right now Dex." Andy said with a grin. "Just shut up and wait for a medic."
"Ugh, you called them? I'm fine!" Dex said starting to sit up. He groaned and cursed so much, Andy forced him to stay prone.
Freya walked in then and came over to them. "What happened here?" she asked kneeling down beside them.
"There, the blue coat is here - now go get the" Dex coughed several times, the coughs shaking his whole body. "damn stabilizers workin'!" he finished the sentence gruffly. Andy just smiled but she looked at Freya knowingly before leaving them to get back to the stabilizers.
Freya nodded. "I'll keep you posted Andy." she said before turning her attention back to Dex. "Come on, we have to get you to the ward."
Her instruction was met with groaning and more cursing from Dex but she eventually convinced him to go.
Dr. Finn insisted on keeping Dex for observation after treating his burns but first shift was ending so Freya left Dex, unhappy as he was about it, in Dr. Finn's grumpy care. She gave Dex and weak smile and shrugged. "I'm on call tonight so I'll probably be back to rescue you soon." she said with a wink. She saw Dr. Finn eying her and grimaced. She made a quick retreat over to the bar where she was meeting Andy and Julian.
She was the last to arrive and sat between the two of them. Julian looked annoyed and she hoped his first shift with the captain had gone better than his expression suggested. "So?" she asked looking between them. She knew that Andy had been on the bridge for at least part of the shift. "Come on! How did it go?"
Andy grinned and then started recounting the details over Julian's late arrival and the side roll the ship had done. "He looked so nervous!" Andy said laughing. "Captain Hunt could see it all over his face and I know he was laughing on the outside as he antagonized him."
"I was not nervous!" Julian said, but he was smiling so he had taken the captain's ribbing well after he realized the humor.
"Right! Not at all!" Andy said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and ordered up three drinks. She handed one to Freya, placed one in front of Julian and held her own glass up. "To Julian's first shift with the captain! A few bumps but otherwise not too bad I'd say."
"To Julian" Freya repeated, raising her own glass. Julian didn't say anything and barely touched his glass, let alone raised it in the toast.
"How's Dex?" Andy said after a long drink from her glass. "Ooh good stuff!" she said admiring the contents of the glass.
"Pissed that he's stuck in the ward with Dr. Finn." Freya said with a laugh taking a drink from her own glass - non-alcoholic in content. "But otherwise fine I think."
"Well I'd be pissed too. Dr. Finn is a grumpy old jerk." Andy said.
"Andy!" Freya hissed glancing around. She saw Commander Katou sitting at a table nearby.
"What?" Andy said looking around as well. She saw the commander and shrugged. "I'm sure Katou knows." she said a little lower. "It's a universally acknowledged fact." she paused and leaned in closer to them. "Besides - Commander Katou's not exactly winning any personality awards either."
Freya chuckled and finished her drink just as her comm beeped. She was being called into the ward. "Duty calls." she said. She gave Julian a quick kiss on the cheek and wove her way through the crowded passages back to the ward.
Finn tossed her surgery garb as soon as she entered the bay. "Scrub." he said. "And get dressed. Mr. Dexter needs surgery."
Freya's eyes went wide as she looked around for Dex. She scrambled into her scrubs and tied her cap before approaching the sink with Dr. Finn. "What happened?" she asked.
"The blast threw him into a wall. He's bleeding into his brain." Dr. Finn said matter of factly. For all his faults, when it came to his job - Dr. Finn was all business.
Freya finished scrubbing and the nurse helped them don gloves and a mask before they went into the attached surgical bay. This was the first surgery Freya had been called in on since she had been assigned to the ward. Her stomach was fluttering and her heart was pounding. She noticed her hands trembling slightly as she stood by the table.
"Get it together Ryan!" Dr. Finn snapped. "You're no good to me like that!"
Freya took several steadying breaths and watched her hands slowly stop. "I'm ready doctor." she said.
"About time." Dr. Finn muttered and made the first cut.
End Chapter
Chapter 1
"Why are you so nervous?" Freya Ryan asked her boyfriend. He'd been tapping his fingers on the table all though breakfast and now was looking around the deck.
"Why am I nervous? Oh I don't know Freya - maybe because this will be the first shift on the bridge at the same time as the captain!" Julian Ice replied drumming his fingers against the side of his mug.
"You've been on the bridge and piloting this ship since your ascension six months ago!" Freya countered. "And you are a descendant of THE Alexander Ice. You were born to pilot this ship!."
"Yes but the captain Freya! I've always been second or third shift - barely caught sight of him. And as for my ancestry - it was three hundred years ago. You shouldn't put so much stock into it." he said looking toward the cafeteria, still unable to settle himself.
Freya rolled her eyes but smiled at him. "Whatever happens - you should eat a good breakfast first. Doctor's orders." she said as she got up to grab a breakfast plate for him.
"You're not a doctor yet." Julian said laughing. It was the first sign of the anxiety leaving him. His watched beeped twice and he jumped to his feet. "No time for breakfast, I've got to go love!" he said in a rush. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and was moving to leave when Freya grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back for a better kiss.
"Good luck." she said smiling as he left. Her smile faded a bit when the door closed behind him. She scooped up their mugs and put them in the bin to be washed. She waved to Ash Swanson, who was washing the breakfast dishes and made her way toward the medical ward to start her own duty shift.
"The children need vaccinations" Dr. Harry Finn grumbled as Freya walked in to the ward. He motioned to the front desk where a case with files and supplies waited for me.
"Good morning to you too." I muttered at his back and scooped up the case.
It was a well known fact that Dr. Finn hated children and almost every child on board was terrified of him. So I flipped through the files in the case as I walked back out of the ward. Dr. Finn didn't acknowledge my departure in anyway. It was also a well know fact that Dr. Finn hated me - particularly my being in HIS medical ward.
I slipped into the first classroom quietly. The lights were dimmed as the children were watching a recording. Lydia Holloway - the teacher and one my friends smiled at me as I entered and motioned for me to sit. I took an empty seat and turned my attention to the recording. The narrator's voice was that of a female and I instantly recognized the recording from my own childhood history lessons.
After the dust settled from the great world war, Project Unity was put forth as a means to reunite the world governments and to create a lasting peace. Unity, the original ship that now contains Primary Bridge Operations and the Engineering Bay, began being built in 2082 - just one year after the end of the war. Project Leader James Hunt oversaw construction of the entire ship and was instrumental in selecting the various scientists and engineers for the crew. The Project was supposed to unit twenty-five representatives from around the world for a year long space exploration mission.
Three years later the ship was only weeks from launch. The Quuvari, the first alien species to make contact with the people of Earth, invaded with a large force. The war-beaten population of Earth was easily overtaken and decimated by the Quuvari. Half the population was slaughtered, most of the remaining were enslaved. Small pockets in less populated areas were able to run and hide.
The location of Project Unity was far from any major city, allowing it to remain undetected by the Quuvari in the early days of the invasion. James Hunt took the opportunity to scrape together the nearest survivors of the invasion. Hunt took everything he could from the project headquarters for supplies and loaded up the ship with their only means of survival. He and twenty-four other souls consisting of scientists, engineers, assorted staff from Headquarters and an Ambassador who had been visiting at the time of the invasion boarded Unity and launched. The Unity became a life boat for a small band of the human race.
Whether the Quuvari ships didn't detect Unity or simply ignored it, we will never know but we must forever be thankful for efforts of James Hunt, the first Captain of Unity as well as the other crew members who worked together in order to survive.
The lights slowly came up in the classroom and Lydia stepped forward. "Three hundred years has passed since Unity left Earth with only twenty-five passengers. Who can tell me how many people live aboard Unity now?"
A girl next to me raised her hand and Lydia pointed to her. "None." she said with a smile. "Everyone lives aboard the Ark now." she added.
Lydia laughed. "Very true Tessa. The Unity crew realized they could not thrive on the small vessel so they started to expand. In time they collected space debris, parts of derelict ships and eventually they encountered other species in their travels. They were very crowded of course for some time because it took years for the first segment of the Ark. Those original twenty-five people grew...and grew - as did the ship. With passing generations, new segments were added. Now, Tessa, how many people live on board the Ark?" she said looking at the girl who had answered earlier.
"Fifteen hundred." Tessa said confidently. "Give or take a few." she added.
Lydia nodded. "Correct. Each generation adds to the population of the ship and everyone works together so that we continue to thrive." she smiled. "But for your generation to get to add to the population - you have to stay healthy. Which is why Ms. Ryan is here today. Everyone stay in your seats." she said as the children turned to look at Freya. "Turn on your computers and begin reading chapter 3 which talks about genetic diversity and the special significance to our people. When it's your turn, you'll be called."
The kids turned away from me and I could hear the thrum of the computers as they powered up and they began reading. It took Freya two hours to work though all the classrooms and administer the vaccines. She was a little sorry to return to the coldness of the medical ward and Dr. Finn after the happiness of the children.
Chapter 2: Back to School Blues
Todd was sitting on my bed trying not to look annoyed. "Ginny come on!" he exclaimed as I reached for the dresser drawer again. I had changed my shirt three times and it was clearly grating on him.
I closed the drawer with a sigh and tried to convince myself that he was right to be annoyed with me. Without turning to him, I spoke, "What if he doesn't come back Todd?"
"Then he doesn't come back Ginny. We've been over this already." Todd said trying to sound tender.
I turned and walked toward him. "I know and I'm sorry - I'm just...." I sighed again. "I'm crazy aren't I?"
"Crazy? No...a little unstable? Maybe." Todd said with a smile. I laughed and flopped on the bed next to him.
"How did things get so complicated Todd?" I asked looking at him.
He laid back on the bed next to me and grinned a boyish grin. "Something about being a teenager." he said. "At least yours might come back." he said, his smile fading. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it.
He returned to squeeze and then sat up quickly and pulled me to my feet. "Come on, if we don't leave now we'll have to take the bus."
Our path to the school took us right by the graveyard. Todd noticed my feet falter as we approached it but didn't say anything.
He put his arm around my shoulders and I instinctively leaned into him as we walked. There was a time when passing the graveyard didn't bother me or make me falter, in fact most of the time I was perfectly fine but my thoughts were troubled lately by things other than Erik. I'd seen the date on the school calendar as I looked it over and since then I couldn't stop thinking about that night. I shuddered and tried to push her tortured face from my head. Not today....
When we got to school, I found myself looking for him. Our school wasn't huge but it wasn't small either. I'm sure there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for why I didn't see him. Right....
Todd and I found our new lockers and were soon joined by Veronica. She was the queen of the rumor mill so I turned to her in order to question her. If anyone knew anything, she would know. Before I could say anything she held out her hands to stop me. "Before you ask, I haven't heard anything." she said. I frowned.
"Nothing?!" I asked frustrated.
She just shook her head and shrugged. "The only talk about Erik is about you two breaking up." she said. As we were talking, Timothy joined us. I noticed Veronica looking his way, looking surprised. I glanced over and grinned - he hadn't cut his hair.
I took a moment to look him over as Veronica filled me in on the summer gossip. He was more tan, had new glasses in addition to the new hair. He was looking good after a summer of manual labor in in the Egyptian sun. I caught Veronica looking over at him several times during her gossiping. Her surprised melted into general approval of his new appearance. Finally she finished her recap of all the gossip she'd gathered since returning from California and turned to Timothy.
"I love the hair Timothy!" she said with a flirty smile. Todd and I share a look and tried not to laugh. "And this tan....suits you." she added.
The warning bell rang through the school, sending all the lingering students running to their first period classes. I didn't have any classes before lunch with my friends and I didn't see or hear anything about Erik except gossip about our mid-flight break up. I caught a few people looking my way and then turning to snicker when they saw me watching them.
My first class after lunch was science, which I shared with Veronica and Timothy. When I saw them already in the room, I grinned. Finally! A class with friends! I took a seat next to Veronica and looked over at her but didn't say anything. She knew what I wanted to know.
"Mary, who is an office aide this year, told me he transferred." she said sadly. "I don't know how true it is...but that's what she said..." she was cut off and as Coach Williams - the baseball coach and science teacher - came in the room.
The rest of class and my next class were a blur. I saw nothing of Erik so I could only assume Veronica's report was true. I was sad, then angry, then annoyed - I knew I shouldn't be angry, I'd told him to go. I knew there was a chance he wouldn't come back. And yet - there it was, anger. It was mostly the lack of communication from him that upset me I think.
"Gah!" I exclaimed to my friends outside our last class of the day. Veronica, Todd and I were all in Life Studies together 6th period and were loitering in the hall together before going in. I saw Veronica roll her eyes and I saw Todd holding back something; although whether it was a laugh or a yell of frustration - I'm not sure.
Todd saw him first but I was already rambling about something so he didn't interrupt me. Then Veronica caught sight of him as he got closer and approached the door. "Um Gin..." she said softly and pointed.
I turned around and locked eyes with him. He wasn't smiling. He didn't look angry but he didn't look happy either. He paused only briefly and then walked by us, looking past me to Todd and Veronica. "Reports of my transfer are greatly exaggerated." he said and then walked into the classroom....the same classroom Veronica, Todd and I were headed for.
The four of us had signed up for Life Studies at the end of the year last year when it was still taught by Mr. Franklin. Mr. Franklin was about 90 years old and had a tendency to ramble more about his own life than the coursework. As a result it was supposed to be a pretty easy class. Sadly, Mr. Franklin had passed away over the summer and now the class was being taught by Ms. Moore....as if I hadn't seen enough of her last year. Todd, Veronica and I followed Erik into the classroom and found the few remaining seats. I ended up next to Erik and felt an odd sense of deja vu - we were in the same seats as we sat in last year when we had first period together.
He didn't look my way the entire class period and left when it was over without saying anything. I watched him leave the classroom with a frown. "Oh Erik..." I said softly to myself as I gathered my stuff up.
End Chapter
Chapter 1: Summer Vacation
I stared at my computer screen. The document was totally blank and the words simply wouldn't come to me. I reached for the "Esc" button - this was stupid. I didn't even have this assignment yet, I hadn't even gone back to school yet! But I wanted to put it all down in words so I pulled my hand back and started typing.
What I Did on Summer Vacation
By Genevieve Bartlett
This is supposed to be about my summer I suppose but I'll get around to that less interesting topic later. While I stayed home, my friends went off to have their own adventures this summer and sent back stories and pictures about them.
Mei-Ling, now settled back with her family in China, returned to the hill she'd taken Todd on our trip. She wasn't sure why she came back to this place but she was drawn there and every time she reached the top she felt the urge to cry.
She wondered how Todd was doing but hadn't mustered up the courage to call. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear his voice yet so she stuck to emails. Trying to regain some focus, she returned to training with her old martial arts Master. It took her most of the summer to keep her emotions in check while training and sparring - much to the disappointment of her Master.
As the summer progressed, her emails started to sounds a little better. Meanwhile Timothy hopped on a plane only a week after we'd returned from China. This time bound for Egypt! An uncle of his was working on a large excavation and had invited Timothy to come join him. Timothy, of course, was thrilled at the prospect of digging up ancient relics. He arrived at base camp and felt the first warm rays of the sun on his skin. Being in Egypt, ready to dig up history, was enough the make him grin as he cross the camp for the first time.
His uncle had a few pointers and instructions for him before assigning him an area to dig in. Over the months he lost his glasses twice, spent many hours lugging supplies from camp to the excavation site and of course spent much of his time under the Egyptian sun. As a result he got the first hints of a tan and new glasses by the time summer was winding up. He also collected a few relics both for the institution sponsoring the dig and for himself.
I wonder if he's going to cut his hair before school goes back. Veronica's parents, anxious to go on some world tour - alone - sent her to California to spend the summer with her great aunt. Veronica was upset about it, picturing her great aunt as some wrinkled, wheelchair bound woman who would stop her from doing anything fun in California. As it turned out her great aunt wasn't wheelchair bound at all and owned one of the largest vineyards in California. And while she expected Veronica to contribute some to household chores - she had her own social calendar that didn't involve a teenage girl.
Although the machine nearest the field was mostly for show for the visitors, it still worked and Veronica was encouraged by her aunt and many of the field workers to give it a shot. So she picked a few varieties of the fruits fresh from their branches and tossed them in. She had a small audience of workers leaning against their tools but Veronica was never one to shy from an audience - even if she fell on her butt.
She laughed it off while hiding her flaming cheeks from view. In spite of that embarrassing incident and in spite of having to do some actual chores, her emails and calls were happy and upbeat. She spoke highly of her great aunt and animatedly about the view from the fields at sunset.
Erik went back to Virginia as I expected. As conflicted as I was over our break up, I knew he needed to be there this summer with his mom. Most of what happened to him I had to piece together from other sources as he didn't email or call me except once to announce his brother's birth. Lydia, his mom, was put on hospital bed rest toward the end of her pregnancy due to complications. Ultimately, she ended up having a cesarean section with Erik by here side. I'm not entirely sure why her fiance wasn't there at the time.
John Lynch, her fiance, showed up later while Lydia was napping after the surgery.
When she woke up, Erik left to give them some time together and to give John some time with his son. That is when he found a computer in order to send out a quick birth announcement to all of us and called a few people. The baby, named Gavin, was a cute baby.
Only Todd and I stayed here for the summer out of our friends from last year. At least one was gone for good, possibly two. No one knew if Erik was coming back. Even his dad, who I'd seen a few times around town, said he didn't know. He mentioned having talked a few times with Erik and his ex-wife over the summer but he really didn't know what Erik's plans were.
Todd and I spent most of the summer hanging out together. We were both pretty pitiful. He was missing Mei-Ling but varied between determination to put her behind him and a lonely mess. Meanwhile, I was questioning myself over the breakup. I still cared a great deal about Erik and despite our break up, I wanted him to come back in hopes of at least restoring our friendship. His almost total silence over the summer hurt me, I suspected he was upset with me and that made me feel retched. Taking a page from Todd's book, I decided the best thing I could do would be to put him behind me in case he didn't come back.
"What did you do?!" Todd asked looking at my new hair cut. I'd chopped off several inches that morning, thinking change would be good - like it would help in my drive to move on.
"You don't like it?" I asked fingering the short strands distressed.
"It's not that....I'm just surprised!" Todd said. He ran his fingers through it as well. "It's very cute....just different." he said trying to recover from his outburst.
I laughed and nudged him to the sofa. We had plans to vedge all day playing video games and watching movies. "Come on, you owe me a rematch" I said.
"Ya know, you're not really one to talk about differences" I said glancing over at him mid-game. "You with the gel and the little patch on your chin."
"What's wrong with my 'little patch'?" he asked distracted long enough for me to swoop in a kick his character's butt.
"Well it's just..." I trailed off trying to find the words. "I hate it." I said with a laugh.
Todd just hmphed at me and kept playing but I could see him grinning. We'd had this discussion before, probably doing the same thing. It had been a pretty boring summer with our joint pity parties.
After we were all played out on the games, we switched to movies and the first one that caught Todd's eyes was a vampire movie. It played for about three minutes before I flipped the channel.
"What'd ya do that for?" Todd asked.
I shrugged. "That was the movie playing when I went to the Castle with Erik." I said simply.
Todd nodded and put his arm around me. After several minutes of silence from both of us, Todd squeezed my shoulder. "We'll be okay." he said simply. "School goes back next week and we will both be okay...."
"Right." I said. "Of course we will." I didn't believe myself so I'm sure he didn't either but he didn't say anything.
End Chapter.
The Freshman Year of the School Days crew is officially over. This doesn't mean the story is over, just that they are now Sophomores. More fun and drama to be had by all.
For new readers, you could probably pick up at the start of the Sophomore year without too much trouble (once I start it of course) but if you want to read the entire Freshman year in all it's goodness, they are on the blog or you can follow these links. There are 22 chapters in all.
Freshman Year
(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), (15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (20), (21), (22)
Thanks for reading guys!
Chapter 21: Cloudy Skies
I laid in bed staring at my phone after Erik and Todd left. The first time I reached for it, I put it down with a "hmph". He was being moody and was always quick to jump to being jealous but I'd been nothing but faithful!
The second time I picked it up I managed to dial the first three numbers before clicking end and putting it down with a sigh. But it could have looked bad to him I suppose - not that we'd done anything wrong but still, I could understand....sort of.
The third time I picked it up and punched in his whole number. It rang once before I clicked it off and tossed the phone across the room so I wouldn't be tempted. It landed with a small crash but didn't break. I'd see him at school I decided and pulled a pillow over my head.
I did see him at school but there was a deathly silence coming from his corner of first period and he managed to miss lunch all week. I was still alternating between sadness and annoyance so I didn't try to push him. After a week of stony silence and a week of me having to get my own locker open or lug around all my books, he approached me before school one day. He brushed my hand aside on my locker and popped it open for me and then just watched me as I swapped books. I eyed him curiously but waited for him to break the silence.
"I'm sorry." he said quietly. "For leaving like that, for not talking to you - I'm just sorry. I've had a lot on my mind."
"Okay." I said lamely. "Nothing happened you know." I said quickly. "I wouldn't..."
"Yeah. Look, I gotta go get ready for a final - can we talk later? Meet me in the gym after school?" he asked
"Sure." I said looking confused. He had seemed ready to talk and he was back to rushing off. I watched him walk away and slumped against my locker.
Todd watched him leaving as he walked up beside me. "Talking again?" he asked.
"Sort of....I guess." I said annoyed. "He looked like he was ready to talk and then rushed off."
The rest of my day was miserable. It was finals week so we had a special schedule to allow for finals in the morning and afternoon. Three hours in my computer final was miserable. I think I passed but I may scrap by with a C. Timothy tried to reassure me after but seeing as he was done an hour into the test and played computer games the rest of the time, I didn't put much stock in his assurances about MY performance.
By the end of my afternoon final, theater, I felt better. I was confident and hopeful that Erik and I would survive everything going on around us. He would realize nothing had happened or would happen between Todd and I; his mom would completely relent and agree to let him stay; the China trip would be over and everything would be great.
I told myself all these things as I crossed the school, as I cursed my locker and then headed down to the gym. I told myself this as I made a packing list in my mind. We left for China in just a couple days and I hadn't even started packing my suitcases. Veronica said she had six packed already earlier. I was calm and ready to talk with Erik when I walked into the gym.
And saw him in Mei-Ling's arms. It looked like more than just friendly hug. In a matter of seconds a dozen explanations flashed through my mind but I settled on the worst. After all his moodiness, all his jealousies...
I narrowed my eyes and cleared my throat to get their attention. They broke apart and didn't look the least bit guilty or concerned when they saw me. Odd.
Erik came towards me smiling, seemingly happy to see me but stopped as my looked over my face. He looked confused and then caught sight of Mei-Ling and understanding swept over him. "Gin...nothing...."
I didn't let him finish as I threw my hands up. "Gah!" I said loudly and turned on my heal to run out.
"Gin!" Erik called at the same time Mei-Ling called out as well. "Ginny!"
I didn't listen and kept going.
Somewhere in my head, buried under a lot of heat and rage, I knew there were a lot of reasons for what I just saw - none of which equaled Erik cheating but I ignored that slightly more rational thought and ran all the way home.
When I got home I stomped up to my room and pulled my suitcases out of the closet with several loud crashes, curses and bangs. I set them on the floor and collapsed next to them. Staring at them, tears stung my eyes and the anger dissipated replaced by sadness - overwhelming sadness.
I'm not sure how long I sat there staring at the empty suitcases. Eventually I heard a knock on my door. My face felt tight and my eyes were dry. My dad stepped into the room and stood at the doorway looking at me. He hadn't been home when I came in or during my fight with the suitcases. I'm not sure he knew anything was wrong but he seemed understanding. Maybe Todd had told him something. Maybe he assumed I was still sulking.
"Erik's here." he said quietly.
"I don't want to talk to him." I said looking up at him for the first time.
"Okay." he said sitting next to me. "But the two of you are about to be stuck on a very long flight to China together - you might want to figure it out before then."
I didn't say anything.
"It's normal you know." he said after a few moments of silence.
"What?" I asked as I picked at the carpet fibers.
"Fighting....with someone you love." he said. "Not that you should do it regularly but it's not the end."
I leaned my head against his shoulder and he put his arm around me and just held me.
"I was wrong about him." he said. "I think he's a good kid."
"I thought so too." I muttered. I stayed in my dad's arms for awhile before making an excuse about packing. He gave me a tight hug and motioned to the window as he left. I walked over to it and looked out. There he was, waiting, hoping....he saw me in the window but didn't motion for me. He just watched me as I turned away and closed the curtain.
Since we were on a finals schedule, I didn't have to see him until the day we all met outside the school for the airport shuttle. Todd and Mei-Ling seemed perfectly happy and Mei-Ling caught my eye. She looked apologetic but not guilty. Veronica pulled me aside before Erik had arrived. "I don't think anything happened" she said quietly. I'd given her the details of that afternoon and apparently she'd done some snooping.
I saw Erik's dad's car arrive out of the corner of my eye but returned my gaze to Veronica before I caught his eye. "Mei-Ling told Todd about it and she was really distressed about you." Veronica added quickly.
I just shrugged. I had a few days to calm down and start hearing the more rational thoughts and I knew it was entirely possible the hug was platonic. I was even ready to accept that if Erik came over to me and told me so. But the hug wasn't out only problem lately so I wasn't ready to talk to Erik. I sat with Veronica on the shuttle and tried to stay with her as much as I could to avoid the inevitable. It was easy to ignore his calls and emails at home, it was even easy to avoid him at school but there were only seven of us total including Ms. Moore. I was going to run out of ways to hide soon.
We checked in at the airport and filed through security one at a time. I ended up behind Erik in the line but the security officers kept us too busy with shoes and bag checks to talk and once we were on the other side we had a gate to get to.
While we waited for the plane, I took up a position of solitude by the window, watching the planes come and go over the ocean. Our airport was situated in such a way that it almost felt like you land on water when you came in.
I heard soft footsteps approach me and saw Mei-Ling's faint reflection in the glass. I didn't acknowledge her. Behind me I could hear Todd's voice. "She's really upset man." he was saying.
"But nothing happened, she was just sad because of going home....she's my friend..." Erik explained.
"I understand that." Todd said with emphasis on the I. "And I'm sure Ginny is to the point that she does too....but after everything else...." he trailed off without specifying what 'everything else' was.
Erik didn't reply to that. He knew what everything else was without Todd saying. The moods, the jealousy, the silent treatment....mostly the jealousy. I tuned them out and continued to stare at the ocean and the planes. I was so focused on it that I didn't hear Mei-Ling leave and I didn't hear him approach me until he said my name.
"Gin." he said softly. I turned slowly to look at him. "It was just a hug..." he said. "Nothing happened. Please believe me."
I nodded and looked back at the ocean. "I believe you." I said.
"You...You do?" he asked sounding surprised.
''Should I not?" I asked not looking at him. "You haven't given me a reason not to trust you."
"But the other day and the calls...." he trailed off.
"I was upset and...slightly irrational. But I believe you. If you say nothing happened then nothing happened." I said.
"Okay then." he said still sounding unconvinced. "We never got a chance to ...." he was cut off by a call for our flight.
"Flight 1408 to China now boarding." An emotionless voice rang over the loud speakers.
"Time to board." I said grabbing my carry on.
Erik grabbed his own and walked along side me but neither of us spoke. Ms. Moore stood at the gate making sure we all boarded and then followed us onto the plane.
End Chapter
