15 Blue Star and Night Sky

The health check-up is scheduled at 9 am, on 21st July 3012. Please come to the main hall within the time scheduled.

“Health check-up? For what?”

In the club, they sat on the same old as if it was their asset. When the Thomas and the teens from San Bosa united together, they became closer and the group got bigger with six members.

“Probably, they’ll train us,” Wade revealed his opinion. “To be a super-soldier. Something like that.”

Alexis believed that it was not an opinion but also hope.

“You watch too many movies,” Oslo demurred.

“But I think he’s reasonable,” Noel supported Wade’s theory which was no surprise. It sounded more positive. “I prefer this.”

Another hopeful person.

“If it is, why do they leave us with many questions? Why don’t they tell us directly?” Alexis was still skeptical. She looked around observing the luxury. “I don’t feel right. They cover something…bad. If we have to be trained like that, why do they keep silent? And look around. We should be trained already if you’re right.”

“And what do you think they’re gonna do?” asked Tessa.

Alexis shook her head. “I don’t really know.” But it’s not good.

“You don’t know but Wade has his reason. You two, don’t be too serious! Please! Let it be.” Alexis and Oslo exchanged their eyes. Even though she and Tessa chatted a lot, the oldest sister of Thomas always took Wade’s side. They shared many similar thoughts and philosophies about life.

“Yeah, previously, you agree with me and now you take her side,” Wade uttered to Oslo with disappointment.

The boy with freckles smiled tiredly, “You know what? No sun, no sky, no star, I understand why Alexis is so depressed. We need natural air, not this fake air.”

“Depressed?” Alexis repeated his word. “I just don’t have the mood.” She felt her brows knotted tightly. No need to talk to them anymore, to avoid the attack, she decided to go.

“She’s always like this, upset, and leave.”

“I heard, Oslo!”

Alexis went to the water machine. She consumed too much alcohol like hell for a week; therefore, she needed the detox.

“Water?” Wade followed. “You’re really a doctor’s daughter.”

“What do you want?” asked she. His smile revealed all his white teeth. The bruises on his arms disappeared, and so did the scars and bruises on her body. Thanked Ben the Charming for giving the walkthrough to the magic elixir.

“I come to hear your answer.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you remember what I asked you yesterday?”

Alexis pretended that it just popped up in her head. I thought you were drunk. “Ah, yes…” He asked her to go steady with him. Wade was waiting eagerly. “Wade…I”

“…It was a few years ago. We were in June’s mansion. You were drunk because June pranked on you and Jesse scolded and made her cry. And you roared your laughter at them. You were crazy but from that day I can’t stop thinking about you.”

Alexis could not hide her smile. It sounds weird but nice to hear. “You make me flush, Wade…” His smile faded away, knowing that she was going to reject him. “Listen. You’re very nice to me and I feel really thankful. But…I’m sorry.”

“Why don’t we try?” He was apparently disappointed.

“Because I don’t feel that way…I’m sorry, really.” She stared into his eyes to confirm her answer and hoped he respected that.

But she was wrong.

“I should’ve told you before Dave. You know? He knows wholeheartedly that I like you and what had he done? And I still befriend him. Retarded I am. I should’ve done it. You might give me a chance and I wouldn’t have to get the girls I don’t really like. I didn’t have to watch you and Dave together and see you guys break up. I wouldn’t let you down and cheat on your best friend as he did.”

“Wade…not again. Please.” Her voice lowered, tired of his teasing.

“And if I get a new girl, don’t cry.”

“I love to see you happy…with the girl who is right for you.” He kept a long silence and the uneasiness stirred up the atmosphere. Alexis gradually touched his arms but he moved away, keeping a distance. Then, he showed his back.

Her eyes followed him. Later, Wade pretended as though nothing happened and enjoyed the party as he did regularly. In the next hour, he got a new girl, a beautiful blonde and a few years older than him, whom Alexis and Oslo usually saw her crying alone.

“Is it very complicated, or is it very simplistic?” Oslo murmured, eyed observing the two blonds. “I saw that girl with that man this afternoon.”

“Ben, right?” Tessa joined their conservation. Minnie turned her head immediately. Only Noel did not stay here. Tessa said he was bored of clubbing but they all knew he was still fed up with Tessa. However, they did not know what reason she made him angry.

“Brunet hair, amber eyes, looks fine and rich, he approached our Alex last time.”

“Yes, that Ben,” Tessa confirmed. “She’s in his group. There are three. All came from the capital but I mostly see Ben and her. Do you still talk to him?”

Alexis denied it. “Last time, from that day, I didn’t see him.” She watched Tessa drink heavier than the other days. “Are you okay? You and Noel? What happened?”

“He thought he’s my father.” And she made a groan.

Alexis and Oslo had eye contact. The Thomas siblings had fought again as predicted.

“Noel gets furious. He’s afraid Tessa will become promiscuous and two-faced,” Minnie revealed it all.

“When will you stop selling my story?” The big sister was truly angry now. “Are you my sister? Go to bed!”

“If I don’t tell your story, then who?” Minnie smiled broadly and ran away. Alexis laughed softly but when she met Tessa’s fierce eyes, her laugh died away.

“Sorry…” The girl checked her watch; it was nine o’clock. “Okay, I’m about to leave.”

Tessa turned her face to Oslo and then back to Alexis. “No, no, no way. It’s too early.” She closed her mouth to watch Wade exchanging a deep kiss with that blonde. “You act like an old lady. Alexis.” Her eyes did not leave the new couple.

“Perhaps, I am.”

“Is it because of Wade?”

Alexis laughed. “No, I’m fine. I’m glad he finds someone nice. Look at her, so beautiful and lively. It’s not about him, Tessa. It’s about me, me only.”

The young woman with the golden blonde hair caught most male eyes. She wore some makeup and her baby blue eyes were shining like diamonds. Alexis loved her dance steps. Every move of her captivated all attention around the room. Seeing the beautiful golden hair, she also missed her Little Charlie and his golden locks.

“It’s about me,” Alexis repeated.

“You spend time sleeping more and more,” Oslo spoke. “Don’t dream too much. It’s just a dream, Alex.” It was obvious he noticed that she slept earlier every day.

Alexis avoided Oslo’s and Tessa’s eyes. “Well, see you tomorrow.”

Dreaming was the only way she could meet them again. Some night she sat talking with Caleb about everything, eating Bianna’s apple pie. Or she was reading while Bryce played guitar and Jesse lay on the floor reading his textbook. June was still her friend and Davy was her boyfriend. Even Blacky, the dead dog became alive, ticking its tail and running around them.

This was another night she met Davy. He was sitting on the couch watching a soccer match while she laid her head down on his lap.

“You’re not real,” she said to him and she meant the Davy she longed for. Behind those hazel eyes, there was pure love that the real Davy had not, the sweet illusion, the image of him she loved and missed so bad.

“I’m real.” He gave a short snigger and an affectionate kiss. In this dream, she still felt his warm breath, full lips, and hot body. The girl rose to sit on his lap and embraced Davy’s figure created from her yearning. She was conscious even in the dream stage. In this illusion, Alexis enjoyed temporary contentment.

“You hug me so tight,” he told her. “Is anything okay?”

“I just miss you,” she said. And she saw the same old ceiling. Alexis tried to focus her mind on the dream but she woke up eventually.

The over-white room with a single bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and a digital clock. It was only three and thirty in the morning. She closed her eyes longing to return to the living room and Davy again. But she could not go back to sleep.

Alexis began to be uncertain if the decision of rejecting Wade was a good idea. She desperately needed someone to hold her in his arms and Wade surely could warm her up, with his strong arms and large chest. But if she allowed herself to let Wade stand beside her, how was their kiss would be? Recalling Wade and the blonde beauty, Alexis hardly denied that she needed that kind of kiss, hot and sensual. Unfortunately, except in the dream, every time she recalled the kiss between her and Davy, June’s radiant face appeared. It was not hurt like the first time but she hardly continued her sleep.

Another weird thing that happened to her was the recent dreams she dreamed. Oddly enough, she was aware of the dreaming stage. For this reason, it was not her full escape from reality when Alexis could not fully enjoy the dream because of this self-awareness. In every dream, she was scared to wake up.

The girl got up and went to the mirror. She watched herself in it. Regardless, she hardly recognized the one in the mirror. Alexis did not like the way she was now. Her father once said her smile was the loveliest but it was impossible to smile from her heart like in the past.

Impossible to continue due to early sleeping, her mind could not rest so she washed her face, changed her clothes, and exited the room. She headed to the large screen just to check if anything changed. The old message was still displayed, unaltered. Even though there was no window to see the sky, the difference between night and day had been notified through senses. Alexis was walking alone while the others probably got to bed or still partying.

Then, the girl thought of the planetarium room which smelt like weeds all the time. Perhaps, in this hour, the smell might disappear and no one disturbed her observation.

It was situated a little bit far from the cafeteria. Around one or two-minute walks, she stood in front of the black door. Lucky as she wished, no one was there but the smell of weeds lightly lingered inside. She saw virtual stars sparkling. Although it was not the real sky, it impressed her no matter what because she had not seen it for a long time.

The girl headed towards the projector. Once she touched it, the synthesis sound emitted. “Do you want to play the documentary movie?”

“Give me the details,” she said to the device, starting to be accustomed to how the system ran.

“There are three documentary movies, the Origin of Universe, the Death of Stars, and Our Earth.”

“The Death of Stars,” she said without hesitation.

Thousands of stars around her turned dimmer and dimmer until the room was completely dark and she saw nothing except the dark and the emptiness. Suddenly, the cosmic shapes began to glow again. Watching the birth of a white dwarf star, supernova, neutron star, and a black hole with the best graphic she had ever seen before, it fantasized her. Everything was born and dies because, in the end, they turn to dust. The stellar collision paralyzed her thoughts. She let her mind go to the stream of this artificial outer space, and then the pictures of her life appeared, the first day to become Alexis Davis, the time with her family, and the time she departed from them. Never had a single thought in her mind that she was an orphan. Never had a mind to searching for the real parents who had abandoned her. Never thought Caleb and Bianna were just adoptive parents but the real ones. Despite this, she was a small little thing in the universe with a shorter lifespan than the supernova.

How would it be if she had not recognized the love from them? Would she accept the reality better than this? If there was God, why did the great lord let her experience that kind of love and warmth before taking it back? Because when they were gone, the pain from losing was entirely horrible.

What is the purpose of this? What is the purpose of God and the government? Alexis thought once the consciousness resumed, hoping the stars could give her the answer. What happened after the apocalypse? What more the government keeps hidden?

“Do you have any other documentary movies?”

“It requires time to download.”

“I can wait.”

“Please give the keyword.”

“The post-apocalypse.”

“No item found in the data.”

Too quick. Alexis gave a suppressed laugh to herself. She tried to search for the answer from the projector, a useless tactic. And then she smelled the strong scent of weeds spread around the room.

Shit.

She turned to face the one who expelled everyone with this smell. He was a very tall man, lean but well-built, wearing a long sleeve shirt, jeans, and boots (due to the light, she was not sure about the color). He stared back as she stared at his messy dark hair which reminded her of Jesse’s hair. This guy looked devilish but still handsome. When the brightness of the stellar explosion reflected on his visage, it revealed his drowsy face but after a few seconds, it seemed he was mocking her in a way.

Could you please stop smoking?” The girl politely asked.

The young man moved closer and closer, with the cigarette in his mouth. “Why? Is there any rule?” he drawled.

A corner of his mouth lifted when he saw she was stunned when he refused, the tall man gazed at her. He was not unemotional but irritating. The anger rose inside. Alexis tried so hard to calm her little temper down.

The girl moved away and spoke to the device to play ‘the Origin of Universe’. At that moment, she heard a ticking sound.

“Stop making that annoying noise!”

“I don’t!” He raised both hands to show his innocence and followed her. “If you select ‘Our Earth’, you will see that the graphics are incredibly fantastic. This room is small but the quality is majestic! Forget the planetariums in our world.”

“Wait until this movie ends. Then you can watch and smoke as you like.”

He emitted the smoke and pointed at it. “It’s the mystic midst. How beautiful! Don’t you see?”

How could I deal with this insane man?

“It’s not good for your lung.”

“That’s very kind of you.” Even though he did not smile, his eyes mocked her. “But it’ll never ruin my health. Don’t worry.”

“It ruins mines. That’s my worry,” she snapped back. “But I know you don’t care because you don’t even know how to share and respect people. If you think smoking will help you own the room, you’re wrong. I come first and you must stop smoking and wait.”

Definitely, she remembered that Mary Stephen had recorded false information about her allergy to dust. But the smoke from the cigarette was another issue that did not relate to her fear of dust. In contrast, it related to her irritation towards this man.

“Oh, you see my trick.” He laughed but the laughter obviously reflected that he just pretended. “You’re funny. Try one? I teach you.” He offered a cigarette. “It clears your mind.”

Alexis glowered at him. The girl knew how the weeds affected people but she did not know how to cope with this man. In her own conclusion, the girl kept her distance from him because she wanted to win his stubbornness and because she came first. On the contrary, if he would not stop, the best solution was to surrender and leave this room. As she had thought, he still approached to bother her and emitted the smoke to her face. Moreover, the ticking sound still existed but the young man next to her did not make it, except to create more fume. Then, where was the source of the sound?

“What’s that sound?” asked her, fanning her hand to clear all the smoke.

“Huh? What sound?”

He carefully listened to the mysterious sound she mentioned and, “Oh, no, no, no, no!”

The ticking sound volumed up. “This one!” Alexis pointed out. In an instant, the projector stopped dead and the normal light shone and instantly blinded her eyes. Then she perceived a mysterious force that pushed her body away from where she was standing. Unexpectedly and over-imaginatively, Alexis fell and a few inches she would bump into the wall. A slight pain she felt. The girl blinked trying to see things. Then she heard, ‘Splash!’ The waterfall from the ceiling showered up all over that man, only him.

“What is that?” Shocking, certainly, the beeping sound echoed repeatedly. A short moment later, the sound of air ventilation did the job. The air perished all the water out of the room.

“Smoke detector!” he answered. His clothes were half dry.

“Are you alright?” She asked, still startled. He was younger, younger than Noel, might be around Ben. His skin was pale but his face now turned red.

He shook his head. “No, because they have installed the smoke detector in this room. No, I’m not alright, not at all.” His voice trembled. He sat on the floor but Alexis thought it was like he collapsed from heartbreaking. It was really ridiculous.

“There’s only this room without the smoke detector. Now, none!” He pulled a pack of cigarettes from the shirt’s pocket. It was still dry. She saw he breathed out in relief. Then he turned to face her.

“Karma is a bitch, right?” He said with the smile, now, to mock himself specifically and it brought a smile to her face.

“Yeah, serve you right.” Perhaps, he was not that bad but a troll. “And thanks for pushing me away…well, even it almost kills me. But did you push me away?”

Without the need for an answer, Alexis looked around and sighed. The light began to turn dimmer and dimmer until it was dark again. The projector started working and the stars came back to life.

“You seem to like this room so much. Alright, I let you have it.” The girl kindly gave up. She lost the feeling to search for the answer from these digital stars. And after seeing that heartbreaking face, she felt sympathized.

He looked up at her; the water from his hair dropped down on that devilishly beautiful face. “You can stay.”

“It’s alright. I don’t want to watch anymore.”

“No, no… stay. I know how to share the room now. You must respect my kind offer.”

Alexis shook her head but did not get her temper rising like earlier. She sat down on the floor and found it was completely dry.

“What kind of this science sorcery!” The girl was scarily amazed at the mechanism. The government possessed super high technology, higher than those in some science movies.

“Okay. You like this room, or stay in this room just for smoking?” she asked the young man.

“Both reasons.”

And he abruptly stood up. Alexis unintentionally stood up too. He walked around the room watching the stars as if it was his gallery, “It reminds me of how small I am. I am lost. I am a small piece of this universe. I am abandoned.”

It was strange that when he spoke, Alexis saw through him clearer than seeing him under the bright light. The tone of his voice implied the sarcastic thought toward the government.

“You really want to share the sky with me, right now?” She inquired when he acted friendlier but she was still uncertain.

“I did say it.”

“Whatever,” Alexis squeezed her front head, adjusting her emotion.

“I didn’t try to expel you…Okay, at first, yes,” he confessed with a laugh. “But when I saw you were standing watching the collision of stars…it’s like you’re one of them, the collision is in yours. The same way I see it’s in mine. You have some questions…like me…pain…as if this is the end of your life. Your mind is confusing whether you have to accept the truth or not. And…you’re trying to search for the answer.”

Alexis turned muted for a long time when someone could read her mind.

“Right. You’re right. I can’t make my mind in peace when it keeps being skeptical. Sometimes I wonder whether what we are now is real or virtual? Perhaps, this place is a spaceship for human research. And at midnight, something will change. One day, I’ll forget myself.”

A long silence rose between them.

She felt his stare but could not see which color of his eyes was, dark-brown or totally dark? And then, Alexis averted her eyes to follow the movement of the black hole. “They should paint a softer white color. It irritates my eyes. I don’t like it. It’s too white. I don’t know why.”

He snickered. “Agree with that. My best friend said they tried to paint themselves white.”

“Sound making sense but my friends didn’t see that. They don’t like nor like it. They just don’t care. I don’t like when my friends…are okay with it, accept reality or this hallucination so well.” She looked back at him but the view was not clear enough when they were under the night sky and sparkling stars. “I don’t know when you came in. You said you saw my reaction towards this. Really? I think it’s a little bit dark here.”

“Yes, our eyes are better than yours, even under the dim light. You didn’t notice my presence even I approach you until I lit the cigarette. It took some time to wait. So…when you woke up, I trolled at you.”

Alexis laughed. “You know what you did.”

When he shrugged, the corner of his mouth lifted.

This man was a strange person. Alexis lost her good observation skill when her physical senses were corrupted by the ambiance. It was strange too that his words sounded true to her.

“I’m Alex. What’s your name?”

Alexis laughed at once, “Weird, I’m Alex too, from Alexis. Hey!” She thought of Ben-the-Charming. “You’re Ben’s friend. Right?”

“You know that jerk?” His voice sounded monotonous. “Hmm, maybe it’s not surprising at all. He must know the girl like you before me. That jerk’s always quick.”

Alexis did understand but not the whole meaning. “Yeah...He laughed when I told him my name. So…you are that Alex?”

“From Alexander,” replied he. “Yes, I am that Alex. Are you guys close?”

“It was short conservation, like hi! Nice to meet you but he’s really kind. He told me…” Stop being talkative, Alexis!. “Well…whatever.”

“Kind?” She could catch the sneering tone of his voice.

“You always sleep late?”

“Actually, I sleep here, don’t I?” Alex stopped his step and called her to come closer. “I just got out for a drink and when I returned, I saw you stole my room.”

“….”

“It’s a joke. You’re serious girl, are you? Want to play magic?” He sounded alert.

“I don’t know how to play the trick and I’m done with the trick.” Alexis thought of the magic trick that led Belinda to use to report the police.

“It’s ok. I do. Come here.” Alex did not wait for her to follow his command but jumped behind her back and inserted his arms around her waist trying to carry her.

“Hey!” Alexis tried to push his arms away. “This isn’t nice, not at all.”

“It’s alright. I don’t intend to do any…nasty things. Just believe me, okay? I promise it’s pure magic. Don’t restrain your body from me.”

“It sounds…scary and I don’t like your last sentence,” Her heart beat in a race. Cameron’s monstrous face emerged in her thought. Would this guy turn out to be that monster too? But he did not look like that.

And Bruce had not looked like that either.

She did not feel like being the victim again. “I can be an audience. Please.”

Alex did notice her discomfort and his voice softened. “It’s not dangerous. You’re safe with me. Let me hold you, okay? Come on! I need an assistant. You get the privilege ticket, you know?”

His face was just a few inches from her and that was how she could see his dark eyes. It was very dark but the stars were dazzling inside this pair. And she did not know why she began to trust him.

“You promise?”

“Yes, nothing to be scared of. I promise.” He showed his little finger.

“But why do you have to carry me?” The girl was still interrogated.

“Because it’s easy for me and safer for you. You’ll see. I did promise.”

Alexis thought for a while then nodded with approval. He lifted her as if she was just a little doll. Her arms wrapped around his neck automatically.

“I count one to three, okay?”

She nodded.

“One…” and he jumped.

Alexis screamed; her eyes closed and dared not to look down.

Shortly, she just realized they did not fall on the ground but levitated, embraced by millions of stars. Her body got closer to the Milky Way. And when Alex commanded the zoom option, it was like the stars moved closer to them.

At that moment, her body and soul were separated from each other. Alexis felt like she was weightless. The moment she forgot all the miserable thoughts that kept haunting her. When the soul was free, the perception also ceased its duty. When she perceived nothing, no pain, no yearning, and no doubt. They were no more. She became one of the stars, existed but was insensible. Losing control of all perception might be the introduction to self-liberation.

“Now you understand why I’m here?”

His resonant voice lingered in her ears but her brain worked slower. They gradually descended to the ground and succumbed to gravity at last. He let her feet touch the floor.

“I’ve never…Wow. It’s like we’re going outer space.” Her hands softly clapped at her mouth. “You can fly. That’s amazing.”

“I can’t fly,” he corrected her. Alexis just perceived that he kept watching her.

“What?”

He moved closer. His gaze mused at her eyes as though he was so curious about it. “I’ve never seen such blue eyes.”

“My eyes? They’re just blue.”

“Not just blue, deep blue. When we were above and we’re so close, I saw them clearly, very blue, deep blue but...there…something igniting…not by the starlight but inside of you.”

It was like the temperature rose; Alexis really felt it. Alex moved closer with his eyes fixed on hers, searching for something in her eyes. The girl started to be out of breath, her cheeks flushed, and she had to step back.

“We’re nocturnal animals, are we?” The young man asked.

“For me, just this day. I love sleeping.”

They looked at each other without speaking for a while and it was Alex who destroyed the silence. “Just me and you tonight, why don’t we try talking philosophy?” ended the sentence with a mischievous smile.

“…huh?”

“I really mean philosophy.” And that teasing smile again; his eyes gleamed to make fun of her dirty thought. She breathed out a sign of patience when he was the one who made her think like that. On the other hand, she had the mind to discuss it.

Of course, I mean philosophy.

“Perhaps, Descartes?”

“Therefore, we are.”