Ma

Dawson lowered his tone as he continued.

“The truth is I can’t bear the thought of you being sent to any of those places just so your identity is kept hidden. I won’t be there to protect you, as I can hear,”

V saw Dawson eyes watery with the last sentence. Her anger suddenly left.

“I didn’t know,” she mouth softly.

“But why didn’t you just tell me. It could be our little secret,”

Dawson stared at the dimly lit torch. He didn’t reply her answer but told her something else.

“I had a little sister before. Around your age. Red hair and everything. You remind me just of her,”

“Oh. What happen?,”

Dawson seem quite in thought. Then he look at V.

“Bus accident, a school trip tragedy on the way to Briggard Waterfall,”

“Sorry to hear that,” There was a moment of silence between the two.

V tried to think of something encouraging.

“Why do bad things always happen to the good people,”

Dawson just smile and shook his head.

“We cannot just assume bad things happen to good people. I prefer to look at it this way. I suppose tragedy builds character. If that never happened, how can you be sure I would turn up good? If I hadn’t lost my little sis I might have just turn up into another Bates,” he said.

“I see. That’s very deep,” said V half joking, half impress. Opening up felt very awkward.

“By the way tonight is our little secret. I don’t one the other guys to think I gone soft or anything. Just tell them we had ice-cream an arm wrestled or something,” Dawson suddenly changed the subject.

They look at each other and laughed. The situation began to loosen up.

“So you going to open your present ?,” Dawson once again smiled at V.

V shyly open her present and gasped. It was a ticket. A ticket to board a space shuttle to a space colony inside an ArkOrb called Cornelius.

“What’s an ArkOrb,” V asked in surprise.

Dawson stood straight up as he began his long winded explanation.

“Alright, an Ark Orbs, ark for big ship and orb for something spherical or ball shape in simple language. From the pictures, they are like giant snow globes with a ring around the centre where the spaceships can go in and out. From the inside is just like looking into a snow globe except instead of a Christmas tree, it is a whole city surrounded by water,”

“His kind of smart too,” V thought to herself as her cheeks began to heat up, imagining him on an island with her.

“Best of all, the Ark Orbs is linked by rings through special huge connection tubes to form a huge cluster like a Bucky ball atom structure,”

“A what….?” V’s voice trailed off with blank look on her face.

“Never mind. Just imagine a perfectly round raspberry or soccer ball,” Dawson shrugged.

“Ohh, I like raspberries,” V said, still in an euphoric daze.

Dawson chuckled again, and V quickly shook her head.

“But why go through all this trouble to get this ticket for me. Isn’t too expensive even for me?,”

“Well that’s the thing. It’s free. You know why? Cause I got a summer job there. The best part is there was another opening, so I recommended you,” he pointed to her enthusiastically.

“Thanks. That’s really sweet. But why me?,” V said overwhelmed.

“Birthday surprise?.” Dawson replied sounding rather unsure.

V laughed, as she look at Dawson in the eye. They were so doe like, and they were staring back at her. Somehow V felt it was like one of the scenes of a romance film.

“If it’s ok with you,” Dawson said suddenly moving towards her. Her heart began to beat a little faster. Feeling braver, she closed her eyes. She heard a slight chuckle. Then instead of the kiss she expected she received a great big hug.

“Oh,” V thought to herself rather embarrassed and disappointed, although she did guiltily hide the fact she enjoyed the warmth of Dawson’s body.

“Sorry but not now,” Dawson said to V but still did not let her go.

“It’s Tanya right?,” V said dejectedly.

Of course beautiful Tanya.

“Of course not. Don’t believe what everyone says. I just want to get to know you better first that’s all,”

“Oh ho, so it more birthday surprise then. Take your time then Mr Dawson. We got three months anyway,” V grinned as she hugged him tighter.

They stood like that for a while ignoring the grunt of an elder patron who stared rudely. He did not notice V was a girl.

Chapter 14

“Hey, someone is over the clouds today,” Devon remarked as V skipped into the house humming away.

"Hey Ma, I've got something to ask you?"

"What's that?" her mother eyed V, suspiciously. It seemed like she was very against any unexpected questions.

"Well, aren't we going to go anywhere this holiday?"

There was a sigh, as her mother shook her head.

"With been through this before. There are too many things that we need to take care here in the school. My job here is too important to leave this place. Who will take care of all the animals if I'm gone," Ma said firmly.

She expected her daughter to get into a fit like last year.

“That’s great!” said V happily.

“Well okay. I didn’t know you like cleaning the octopus tanks that much,” Devon said pleasantly surprise with her daughters positive response.

“No, that’s not it. I am going on a holiday with somebody?,” V said spinning around in euphoria.

"With who?," Ma said curiously.

"Dawson Riggs,"

"The Technoprat who gave us Zeebo? Well I guess that would be fine,"

V couldn't believe her ears.

"Thanks!," she said giving her a hug.

"So where will you two be going,"

"The ArkOrb Cornelius. Isn't that great? I'll be there for a whole moth,"

V wasn't sure what she said, was it the mention of the ArkOrb Cornelius, or the time spent away, but there was a sudden change in her mother's descision. A very drastic one.

"Absolutely not!," her mother screamed almost hysterically.

V was taken aback. She had agreed just now.

"What?! But, but you said yes just now,"

"Well I change my mind. My answer is no! You aren't going there, Dawson or no Dawson,"

"You can't do this!,"

"Yes I can. You're staying home with and helping me with the school errands, and that's final,"

"I've had enough of your erratic mood swings and mysterious behaviour," V cried as she stormed out from the house.

Ma wanted to call out to V, but changed her mind at the last second returning to her janitorial each.