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Go to the REFERENCE GUIDE for detailed info on the greater world at large.
Apparently, we now have a COLLECTIONS INDEX page here on Tuhat, so that should make things easier, with organizing these posts.
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PREVIOUS SCENE (Present Setting, Pages 17-21)
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It was lunchtime. Everyone jumped up from their desks. Usually, they were determined to cram themselves into one noisy lunchroom. Chris wasn’t as determined to head to the lunchroom, no matter how hungry he was. By the time he’d arrive, the lunchroom would be jam-packed, leaving no room for him.
He was happy to discover there weren’t many people in the lunch line. He knew how customary it was for high-schoolers to go off and eat somewhere else, especially around the end of the school year. On the other hand, it was customary for kids to completely skip certain days altogether. Good grades weren’t a necessity. Not around here.
Neither were the ceilings. There were leaky pipes – and rats – in the ceilings of every classroom and hallway. The lunchroom was no different. Chris didn’t even want to think about where they cooked the food!
As Chris entered the lunchroom, he found himself elated of the fact that over half the school was gone. Their welcomed absence left plenty of room where he could eat in peace. Usually lunches included the constant throwing of food along with degrading comments aimed in his direction. For now, that reality was no more.
Still, Chris couldn’t shake off the feeling that he was being followed. He’d been stuck with this feeling all day.
Perhaps it was nothing. A bully or the average tattoo-ridden street thug would had moved in on him by now.
Shaking off the thought, Chris sat his lunch tray in the far corner of the lunchroom. He commenced eating his bland slab of mystery meat between two burger buns.
He detected from the corner of his eye someone approaching him. Chris sunk his head down low.
“Hello again!” a familiar voice spoke.
It was her! The girl Chris knocked over that morning! The one with the British accent.
Of all people he wanted to speak to, she had to have been at the bottom of that list.
Was she pretending to like him just so she could run off to her real friends and tell them all kinds of false rumors about him?
She didn’t seem to be that kind of person. As Christopher turned himself around to face her, he noticed no hint of malice in her felicitous expression, no mischievous glint in her eyes. Her cheery presence was forced, but not fake.
Chris didn’t know what to do with himself. He didn’t know what to say to someone like her.
At the same time though, he noticed this crazed nervousness seeping out of her like she was drowning in it! She was trying her best to look confident, calm and relaxed, but the truth was obvious. This was a strange sight, to say the least.
“Um...hey.”
“You don’t mind if I sit here?” she pressed.
“Sure – I mean, uh... no. Don’t mind.”
She took a seat next to Chris and exhaled loudly. “Well! Wonder where everyone went today.”
“Don’t know. Um... you new here?”
The girl gave him a big smile. “Let’s say I’m passing through,” she responded.
She extended her hand out towards Chris. “Name’s Michelle Auzolle! If you’re wondering, yes! I am on the wrong side of the pond. Well aware of that. Thank you very much!”
Chris hesitantly shook her hand.
“I’m... Chris.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Chris. The meat they serve in this school couldn’t pass for grade F quality, yes?”
“Guess so.”
After that, an awkward silence sat in. In that time, she did seem to calm herself down, at least momentarily. Either way, her state was a pivotal turn from her enraged reaction that morning, right after he knocked her over. For a split second, it looked as if she was about to tear him apart after that run in. Once she laid eyes on him, her mood changed. Like a flip of a switch. Chris had no idea why that was. He was still debating it in his mind over and over again.
Now that he had a moment to analyze this girl, Chris was struck by how cute and short she was. He wondered how he didn’t notice it before. Michelle’s body appeared to be fragile like a porcelain doll. Despite her size, there was an intensity to her. Perhaps she was one of those people who demanded attention, approval or admiration. It likely forced upon her this feigned sense of confidence. Chris assumed as much.
The existence of this girl left Chris feeling dumbfounded and passably infatuated. In comparison to himself, Chris had some definable muscle strength. When it came to self confidence, he lacked it. Or rather, it was better to say it didn’t exist.
Chris brought himself to ask the girl a question. He spoke in his usual hushed stutter.
“What, um... brings you here?”
“Well, to be partially honest with you, I am here to meet someone who’s related to a dear friend I’ve known nearly half my life. Up until today, finding this individual has been absolute hell for me – but I think I can rest for the moment!”
“They go to this school?”
Michelle displayed an amused grin. “Uh, yep! Yep! Yes, indeed! Quite certain they do! More than certain! My aim in finding this person is two-fold! To pay my condolences for the recent passing of their close relative and to show them a, uh...”
Michelle trailed off as she glanced away, as if in careful thought.
“Well, I suppose the best way to phrase this is to say that I am here to show them an ‘opportunity of a lifetime’ – as cliché as that phrase may sound. Question of whether this opportunity is for better or worse is beyond me, however! My conclusion of the matter is that it’s for the determination of the party for which I am here to meet.”
“Pay condolences?” Chris asked.
“Yes, indeed,” the girl sighed, turning away in an awkward motion.
Already, Chris was on to the notion she was here to meet him – but any chance for an ‘opportunity of a lifetime’ was wishful thinking. He wasn’t that lucky.
“Excuse me, Miss. Auzolle. Your AROS car notification system has intercepted an incoming call from Tobias Harrington.”
Startled by the sudden interruption, Michelle turned around. She saw her two assistants standing behind her. A strange feeling struck Chris the moment he laid eyes on them. Michelle may had been built similar to a porcelain doll, but these two defined the term in every sense! Perhaps not so much in their body structure, but in their nature. They had blank, glassy stares. Every motion and muscle twitch was unnatural.
Michelle appeared to break like a twig! Her eyes were bulging and her hands were shaking.
“I apologize for the disruption, Christopher. I must take care of something! I promise I will be right back. Be right back! Stay right there!”
Michelle pushed back the other two as she stomped over to the other side of the lunchroom. She didn’t seem all too happy.
The discussion was brief. After she cut it short, Michelle headed back to Chris. Her face was red.
“Who are they?” asked Chris.
“Oh! What? Them? Shambolic bunch, those two! Ha!” she exclaimed, attempting to laugh it off carelessly. “They’ve been helping me find my person of interest, but it’s, eh... well! Long story, I suppose. Don’t pay no mind to ‘em! Not important!”
“Oh. Okay,” muttered Chris. He felt put off by the entire moment.
Michelle sat down again next to Chris. “Yes! So, tell me Christopher – you, uh… an only child, like me?”
“No.”
“’Being the only child is not fun! A close shoulder to look over fancies as a means of protection against the barren wasteland that is this world! Never had luck to hold such a thing. I make absolutely no remorse for myself! Some may enjoy having no repose from such. Some see having such a thing as a blessing! I am of the latter. You should be honored to be the first. Brothers and sisters still make up who you are. Sisters especially, as I’ve been told.”
This kind of talk was the last thing Chris wanted to hear. Nevertheless, he forced himself to sustain this almost non-existent conservation.
“No remorse?”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Michelle rambled on. “Old friend of mine once said that people like me survive by our think skin! Being subjected to all the bad this world has to offer is what makes a strong person, see? So I rejoice in being the underdog that I’ve come to see myself as, someone who will take their dispute to the forefront! That being said – I really don’t know if I’d wanna be in such a torn-down place like this school, if you even wanna call this horrid dump a school! There’s graffiti all over the lockers! All over the walls!”
“Dead rats also.” Chris mumbled. He casually reached over to the other side of the table, picked up a dead rat by the tail and threw it to the floor. Much to Michelle’s horror.
She snapped up her lunch tray and stood up. Michelle looked as if she was about to fling the whole tray across the room.
“As I was walking around here this morning, I saw students tearing apart school property! There was a girl my age, using a blow torch on the lockers! She was taking off the locker doors! What is that? Why’d you even want the locker doors?”
“Don’t know,” Chris mumbled with a slight shrug of his shoulders.
You’re not shocked by that?”
“Don’t know? Should I be?”
Michelle shook her head. “Any other place on this planet is better than this sanctuary city! This entire city stinks! Beneath you! Beneath us both, honestly.”
“Uh... like, okay. Can’t do anything ‘bout it, really-”
“Like hell you can’t! Learn to kick ass, or leave! Don’t give a bloody shit how desensitized you’ve become to the problems of this world! Fuckin’ hell! You know something is not correct with your dear, old planet Earth when there’s dead rats atop your high school lunchroom tables!”
Chris couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This felt like he stepped into a comedy skit. It was wild, hearing someone talk like this.
“Where do I go?” he asked.
Michelle paused herself. She was tightly clinching her lunch tray.
She had the response sitting on the tip of her tongue.
No. This was a failed effort.
She couldn’t win him over. Not like this, with her yelling at him like an lunatic. Michelle couldn’t bring herself to look at him.
She frowned down at Chris with a remorseful look.
“I-I’m sorry. I have to go.” Michelle swiped her red-orange hair away from her eyes, and flew out of the lunchroom.
Chris was frozen. He stared at the lunchroom entrance.
He was baffled by what just happened. She left as quickly as she came, so much so that it felt as if this encounter didn’t happen! It was hard to know where to start. It was like a hurricane had swept through the lunchroom.
Is it just wishful thinking, Chris wondered to himself.
*
“You two are going to put me in an early grave, I swear to god!” Michelle stomped into the empty school hall and up to her companions. “How’d you two even get in without security on your tail?”
“When will you contact Mr. Harrington?” the girl asked, unaffected by Michelle’s rage. “I will make a reminder for you on your AROS.”
“I’ll do it on my own time, Amac or Aman or whatever stupid, bullshit name GEDR or Kathryn gave you!”
“The name is Amoa-Ketu, named after the famous ancient priestess of Aplatis, who-”
“Don’t care! Shut up! I don’t care! I told you two to wait in the car! I don’t need the wrong kind of attention. Certainly don’t need half of the entire Earth military on my ass! May I repeat, this is not Nia! This is not Gearshift Eden! This is planet Earth!
“We were unable to determine whether Mr. Harrington was of great importance.”
“Excuse me? Tweek’s stupid shit can wait! Everybody’s stupid shit can wait! I am trying not to die out here! Oh, my god! The two of you are as functional as a broken toilet!”
“All system functions are working at sustainable capacity,” they both said at the same time. “Permission to manually improve system operations must be given by a Gearshift Eden R and D administrator. The lead administrator must be within the vicinity of twenty-five feet before any operations are-”
“Oh, my god! Shut up!” rasped Michelle. “Get your tin cans back in the car! Didn’t ask permission to mess with your systems! Didn’t ask for the both of you to interrupt me while I was talking to Christopher! Bloody fuck you two doing out here other than pissin’ me off?”
Michelle about to break out laughing. She would had done so if she wasn’t so furious.
“Oh, god. Oh, god. Why’d Hindler insist for you two to come along? See if I do my job properly? Is that it? Why’d I get tricked into doing this? I don’t even work for him! I’m a stockholder! He works for me, if anything!This is the most idiotic thing I’ve ever been talked into!”
You have made an agreement to conduct the business that was agreed upon.” said Amoa. “Failure to do so will result-”
“No! Shut up! That wasn’t it at all! You two saw it! You two were there! Kate was there! You guys saw the whole damn conservation! That’s not how it went down! Don’t give me that ‘failure to do so’ bullshit! You don’t think I already know? I know! Believe me! I know!”
Michelle stopped herself and sighed heavily, shaking her head. “Hell am I arguing with you two? Don’t know any more about what forced me here than what Kate knows or what Karen knows or what Duckett knows – or who-the-fuck-ever knows! I don’t know!”
“That is false. The one known as Christopher Blithe-Havins was what brought you here,” the boy stated.
Michelle glared at him. “I don’t want to do this. I am in over my head, whatever your name is!”
“The name is Amon-Ketu, named after-”
“Shut up! I hope you are aware, Amon! I have stated multiple times that going against Robert went beyond my willpower!”
“Logic does not compute.”
“Oh, my god. I’ve gone insane,” muttered Michelle, twisting away from them and slowly starting down the hall.
She somehow managed to calm herself down. After a moment of pause, Michelle laughed bitterly to herself.
“Okay. Suppose you are correct. I didn’t have to do this if I didn’t want to. Fine! I gave in to Robert Hindler far too eaisly.
“Perhaps I just assumed he’d get his senses together. I’ve been lenient with him, especially after the whole gate malfunction fiasco. Remains unclear if he gives a rat’s ass about that, but whatever. Know what? After this, I am done, dealing with this bloke! I am washing my hands!”
Michelle sighed heavily as she looked up at the dim hallway lighting above her. The ceiling had graffiti on it with the phrase ‘Rut in a Stuck’ repeating over and over again, with layer upon layer. The water dripping out of the ceiling had all but faded these fragmented lines.
“Perhaps I’m trying too hard to see the point in all this,” she sighed. “Maybe there is no point. All one big circle jerk I got suckered into. Or suckered myself into. Where’s my head been lately?”
Michelle halted herself at the end of the hallway, where two rusted metal doors led to the cold and wet outdoors.
Amoa stopped herself next to Michelle. Amon stepped up from behind.
“The purpose is for the third-party universe gateway project,” Amoa said. “That is where your investment lies.”
“What does any of this have to do with the gateway project?” Michelle demanded. “Hell am I investing in if I’m out here, doing stupid shit?”
“An analysis of your body language and facial patterns suggest that you have an ulterior motive for accepting this mission,” Amon stated.
Michelle stated laughing to herself. “Ulterior motive! Oh! That’s a laugh riot! Okay! You know something? You are correct. If you would like to know, I’ve been thinking! I came up with three or four half-assed reasons as to why I’m doing this nonsense.
“I am curious to meet Ashlin’s younger offspring. Looks like Christopher is exactly as I’d imagined, going off what Ashlin used to say about him. Not sure if I like that. Breaks my heart to see someone like him, tossed between the cracks of a world gone to hell.
“Would like to see if I can help Christopher! Seems the only way to do that is to do what I’ve been sent here to do. Should have made myself clear with Hindler that I have no experience with this kind of thing! I overthink everything! This is not going to be a smooth transition for him! Hasn’t been a smooth transition for me. Feel like I’m still going at it.
“I have to get close to Christopher. Having someone tell you that you’re not crazy would help. It was better for me after I met Ashlin. That was weeks after my introduction to the abysmal muck we call Niamaterian.”
Michelle flung the double doors open and stepped outside. Amon and Amoa followed along with their expressions as stoic as ever.
“Are you going to complete the business that you have been assigned to?” Amoa asked Michelle.
“Can’t believe I’m saying this, but there doesn’t seem to be a reason not to. There just needs to be...”
Michelle trailed off briefly. Her brain locked up once again.
“I don’t know! Something!” she cried frantically. “We need to do something! Bloody fuckin’ stand in a circle! Sing Christmas songs, get along! Some nonsense like that! I don’t know! I don’t know what to do! I’m the smartest person I know, and for some reason, I don’t know shit! How does that work?”
Michelle calmed herself. She tried to collect her thoughts again.
“I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m not certain how to act with him or have him be at ease with me. It’s just – ya know! Whatever! I’m driving myself bonkers! Being back on planet Earth does that to me!”
“The humans who first came upon the ruins of Niamaterian did not suffer from the mental differences you are experiencing.”
Michelle was laughing to herself. She stepped up to her car.
“Well. I suppose so, Amoa,” she said. “Guessin’ they didn’t know what they were doing any more than I do. Least I know well enough to get a tetanus shot after walking out of that shithole!
“And yes. Been readin’ some of Athena’s history books. Thinkin’ bout how little I know ‘bout things. All I do know is that we’re still running from the problems of the adult world! Just like Mary! Rest of her lot. These days, children of Nia have been making their own mistakes – mistakes that Mary-Anne McGalland couldn’t have dreamt up some two-hundred years ago! Must had been simpler back in her time, I swear!”
* * *
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NEXT SCENE (Coming soon)
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