Star by Eliza Witte - HTML preview

22

‘I am sorry,’ she was whispering, ‘I think I did it all wrong. I didn’t sleep during the night as per the prescriptions in the Purpose of Meaning. I worked. I drank Martian water as if I didn’t know you froze it for a reason and… I don’t have ‘breakfast’. I searched for it but it is so difficult to search for something that you don’t have any idea of. You have the full right to punish me for I feel strange already. I have something here and here and it is bad.’ And she pointed at her belly and her head. ‘Please, don’t be too angry with me. I also don’t have anybody here. I already wish that Electra was here. You promised to take care of me... I guess that this is only your way to show me I was wrong about Stuart from the very beginning. I have not even met him yet… Well, not officially. And with this face…

Oh, yes I forgot that I yelled at you about this, too.’

Annie felt a lump in her throat and while she was rambling on a tear fell off from her face on to her knee. In the quiet and peace in the chapel she slowly realized that… she was crying! The most common, the most natural of all human reactions. She took a moment for the tears to run. Then through them she began, little by little, to smile.

‘I… I am crying! This means that I am sad! I wanted so much to experience all those Earthly feelings like sadness and fear but I thought I would never be able to! And now –

here I am, and I’ve got it! Thank you so much!’

XIV

The bell rang and the students got out of the rooms. Mr. Mnatsakan dismissed the class, and by the door materialized a sheer manifestation of young spirits craving for freedom and eager to leave this place. Jessie managed to leave amongst the first.

However, she was not fast enough to prevent Annie, who was walking straight towards her from the other end of the corridor, being captured by the professor.

‘Oh, well, look who’s here!’ Mr. Mnatsakan said, demonically amused, when he laid his hand on Annie’s shoulder. With his other hand he managed to grab Jessie who had just tried to sneak out. ‘I thought she was sick. Anna Godart, this is for the third time this week! If you keep missing lectures, I’ll kick you out!’ After that, he turned to Jessie, ‘As for you, young lady! I guess you’d be better off at the Drama department. I’ll make sure you quit this one for certain!’

He left them chuckling to himself, which was a creepy thing in itself anyway. The bell rang again and the corridors got empty little by little. Jessie turned to Annie, ‘Hey, you really look sick.’

‘Sick? I feel strange. Something is wrong.’

‘Did you have breakfast?’