It’s eight in the morning and I feel enervate. I push myself to get up before I am late for the breakfast. I don’t like going in the dining room. Every time I enter I see people standing on the tables and talking with their relatives and friends, having fun together…it makes me feel devastated.
“Oh, Teyreen hellо!” it’s Rico running and waving towards me. Now I can see how beautiful he is. Around fifteen years old. Tall and elegant with shaggy blond hair and aqua blue eyes. He has some interesting charm for his age.
“Hi Rico.” I catch myself staring at him but it seems he doesn’t notice and continues talking:
“I saw you coming and thought you could join us for a meal.” He says and I can see him blushing.
“But... Rolly wanted to stop me. She thought you would prefer to be with your friends not with us.”
“Honestly I don’t have friends here.” I say with cold face.
“Oh, alright. It means you can come and join us! “ he looks excited.
“I don’t want to disturb you but thank you for the invitation.”
“Of course you wouldn’t disturb us!” he says over excited and starts pulling my hand. And there they are Moira, Rolly and some other people standing together around the table joking and laughing. Everything I hate gathered together. I’m not much of a social person. The peace of the loneliness comforts me. And now I am being pulled into the vortex of society. This is something which I carefully tried to escape for years.
“So you were right and she came with you.” Rolly laughs and pokes Rico in the arm.
“So this is the girl you have spoken so much about?” says a muscular guy left of him with bronze skin and bright green eyes. Quite charming one.
“And she’s a beauty! Now I see why you were so excited about her. You had to tell us Rico!” another muscular guy starts to tease him and he is standing there without a shirt like some sort of deity. I wonder why are they all looking so strong. Have they all joined the ‘’Fitness maniac “sports club? It makes me feel small and weak.
“Isn’t she old for you Rico!” says a girl with shrill voice but beautiful smile.
“It’s not like this Nashira and you know it!”
Obviously I look frightened because Moira starts to talk calmly to me:
“Don’t worry they are always like this when they see someone new. Fortunately they will stop soon.”
“I’m not worried. Just not used to this.” I answer with a small smile.
“Guys let me introduce Teyreen to you! The girl who was wandering where she’s not allowed to and passed out after realizing she’s not at the right place in the right moment!” Moira says to the small crowd loudly.
“The shirtless young guy is Ory, next to him is Amun and last but not least of course our lady Nashira. You know the others.”
“Don’t be afraid of us Teyreen we don’t bite… usually!” says Amun aloud.
“But we might blind you with our awesomeness!” Ory starts to tease me.
“You have already blinded me guys, especially you Ory!” I wink at them and wonder if their behavior is contagious. The whole company feels so cheerful. I have never liked big groups but here is so relaxing like they are all floating freely.
“You know Teyreen, after breakfast we will go to the lawn. Usually we train there at our free time if you like you can come with us.” Rolly offers me in a while.
“I’ve heard you can travel. If you come with us you might collect some more information about this by the people who go there.” Amun lowers his voice, almost whispers.
“What do you train?” the first question to pop in my mind. Couldn’t I think of something smarter to ask.
“To fight of course. How else to protect yourself outside of the Campus if you can’t fight? And those who can travel – they train how to control it.” Says Nashira so quietly representing it like some great news with a big smile on her face like she forecasts wonderful weather.
“Brilliant! It sounds like my sort of thing!” My heart starts beating quickly I can almost hear my pulse in my ears. The thought of going outside again and being trained how to protect myself inspires me.
The time passes by quickly and soon I marvel how the hell I brought myself here where people are being trained how to shoot and fight when I have to be working at the lab. I escaped my hardly earned workplace to join a bunch of weird muscular people who are punching at each other’s faces. Am I so addicted to my little walks outside? Is my curiosity so widely spread so I have to surpass my own principles and join those people? Something is pulling me strongly this way and I can’t resist it.
“Are you going to stay there forever and just observe or you will take a part?” Moira pushes me.
“I don’t see you training either.”
“I have done my training already. I’m too old for this don’t you think sweetie.” Moira sends me a devilish smile and prompts me to go and join them.
Preciously I step ahead in hope that they won’t be too harsh on me. Amun sees my uncertainty and asks:
“Is there something you are good at? We can start with it.”
“Knives.” I am almost mumbling under my nose.
“I can throw knives.”
“Great show me!” he points at a target hung on a tree not far from us.
In a flash of a moment I grab the knife in my boot and throw it with incredible speed right in the center of the target. Suddenly everyone the lawn is staring at me. Feels like I have achieved something great.
“Where has this came from?! It was amazing Teyreen!” Rico looks like he is going to applaud me any minute.
“Great you are very accurate sweetie. Good for you! “says Moira like she didn’t expect it.
The fortune of my great throwing soon fades away and it’s again just me and Amun who is committed to teach me how to shoot as good as I throw knives.
After a long morning of shooting lessons we head to the dining room again for lunch. Then I remember I have work which is still waiting for me and I haven’t attended for a day and half. Absolutely disappointed I tell them I have to leave immediately and on my way to my workplace I feel surprised of the initiation that I have showen today. But my feelings are circling around the fear of what my boss is going to do with me when I show up and the excitement of the experience I have just had.
Fearfully I enter the lab and head for the master’s office. And there he is standing with his most ugly face looking bloodthirsty at me. Feels like I am lamb hunted by a wild tiger.
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“Teyreen Moore! How kind of her majesty to grant us her presence in this wonderful evening! Where have you been yesterday? This will cost you your work place, you fool!” he is shouting at me and I am sure that even on the lawn he can be heard.
“I apologize for my disappearance Mr. Aviorn but I was very sick yesterday and I couldn’t get up of the bed.” I count the dirty spots on the tips of my boots and try to avoid his eyes.
“And her majesty has no mobile to call us and say she is sick today?”
“As I said I had no power even to get up of the bed and I sincerely apologize for my unthoughtful action.” I try to hide myself but there just nowhere to do it.
“You will have to work overtime for the discharged hours. These are ten hours for yesterday and four for today because you are late! This means seven extra hours today and seven more tomorrow! Those researches are not going to do themselves! Now leave!”
“But Mr. Aviorn! This means I should leave work at two in the morning!”
“Now you wish you haven’t been sick don’t you? Leave now if you don’t want one extra hour for the little chat we are having!”
I hate him. I can’t even depict the horrible scenes in my head in which I torture him. Disgusting little old man disappointed from his own life trying to ruin the lives of the others. Although I am grumpy of what have just happened I proceed with the work I had left.
“There she is Dr. Teyreen Moore! Head of the genetics researches. She will guide you through the work process here.” My colleague Suky.
“Teyreen, this is the new promising frame in our lab, Janny O’Hara. He will be you assistant for the next two years.” She almost throws him in my arms and leaves the lab.
“Great…” I say but she’s already gone.
“So… Janny right?”
“Yes, ma’am .” he looks frightened.
“Please don’t call me like this. My name is Teyreen and I would love if you use it... or if you don’t like it Dr. Moore would do too.” I say as I try to look as kind as I can although I am in vary bad mood.
“Yes, of course Dr. Moore.”
“What we do here are genetic researches as you already know. My specialty is restoration and modification of long gone organisms or simply said artificial recreation of nature. But of course you wouldn’t do that until I say you are ready.” I look at him from head to toe though his appearance could tell me if he will be good at this or not.
“I will be only your assistant.” Disappointed he answers me.
“Yes, exactly.” Now I see he has the typical nerdy look – round glasses, shaggy and dirty hair like he had no shower for days. His body is so weak and I have the feeling that it’s almost gone under the apron he is wearing.
“Now go and make me a Latte because we are working until two am today.” My mood must be really bad since I am so rude to him but he seems to be executive.
It’s already five o’clock and I feel tired but I can’t leave now although I really want to. The whole day Janny is silent and only follows my orders strictly. Surprisingly I start to like him and in a brief moment of wonder a question comes out in my mind. I don’t know if I should ask it or not but suddenly it just jumps out of my mouth:
“Janny have you ever thought of going outside of the Campus?” Long silence. Now I feel sorry for asking. Looks like this questions bothers him.
“I have never thought of such thing Dr. Moore, it is forbidden and dangerous.” He doesn’t even look me in the eyes and this makes me think he is lying.
“You lie. I can feel it.”
“Dr. Moore if someone hear us talking about this we will be both arrested, it’s forbidden!” he looks scared.
“You have never been interested in what’s outside? Not even a bit?” I put my cutest smile and look straight at him. Finally almost unheard he answers me:
“Constantly.” He looks like a little child who have done a lot of mischief.
“I knew it!” Strangely I am not surprised, after all he is a scientist. Now I know that he has the spirit.
My shift is over and I am so tired and I really want to go to sleep but something tickles me. I have to go to the lawn and check if they are still there it will be weird if they are but I have to see.
The streets are never dark during the nights although they are empty but the air is always strange and it gives you the feeling that someone is stalking you. Even the slight sound gives you the chills. The lawn is deep in the forest and the road seems endless to me. The streets might be bright during the nights but the only thing that lights up the forest is the artificial moon and it makes it scary as hell.
Finally I am there and I am surprised to see many people fighting with each other. My eyes are gliding through the crowd and try to find someone familiar. And there they are. Moira and Amun sitting together on a bench and laughing. As I go their way one by one the unknown people start to stare at me. Then Amun spots me.
“Teyreen! Come, come! Don’t worry guys she’s with us!” he says aloud to the people gathered around us. It seems that they are relived because they all start to disperse.
“You stupid girl! What do you think you are doing?” Moira grabs me for the arm.
“What’s the problem?” I can’t understand them at first they are welcoming and now they are not.
“What do you think will happen if an outsider finds out what we are doing here?” Amun looks badly at me but his eyes have that cheerful spark.
“You will be all arrested I guess.” And I am trying to hide myself again, I must be truly stupid to appear like this - uninvited.
“That’s why they were all going to eat you up to the bones if we weren’t here, sweetie!” now Moira is calmer and I feel a little better. I almost though that I have done something really, really bad.
“What are you doing here so late?” suddenly Amun asks me out of curiosity.
“I had a late shift at work. Actually my boss punished me for missing work yesterday and today.”