“Okay, step one, we located the tea, step two is we find out what hours this place is open so we know when we can come and get tea or food.”
Just as Weston spoke, a man in a uniform with the letters CM above the word Staff stitched on his uniform asked, “Is this your first day in the mountain?”
Hope and Weston nearly jumped, followed by an awkward silence as they were not quite sure how to respond. The rules had clearly been spelled out for the group; they were not to speak with anyone else in the mountain.
He smiled at their hesitant silence and spoke up. “You see what they stitch on my uniform?” He pointed to his chest. “I am not a scientist. I live in this mountain and work to ensure all the important people like you get fed properly.” He winked at them. “You are free to ask me any questions that may help you get better acquainted with your new home. To answer your question about this cafeteria, it is open around the clock. There isn’t always a complete hot meal available, but this space never shuts down, it never locks, the lights are always on, and there will always be someone here to assist. Even if you come here at 3 o’clock in the morning, you will find snacks and tea. This space will always be open to everyone who lives inside the mountain.”
They nodded and thanked him for the information. He smiled warmly and cleaned the empty table beside them, giving it a thorough spray and wipe down.
Hope had been so uncomfortable being trapped in that tiny box of an apartment with a complete stranger. Now that they were out in the open, she could relax, which made it much easier for her to read her tablet. Every now and then they would share something they had seen on their tablets that they found interesting or useful to know. Once the line died down, they went for their own meal. Thus far, they saw none of their colleagues venture into the cafeteria. She wondered if they were too intimidated to leave their apartment without a schedule, or if the other couples were simply getting on better than her and Weston were.
***
Hope sat awkwardly on the sofa once again. Studying in the cafeteria had helped ease the tension between them and made them relax around each other. She hoped that higher comfort level would have followed them back to their apartment, but it was just as uncomfortable, if not more so, than it had been when they first arrived.
Weston timidly moved to the other side of the sofa. If their goal had been to occupy the same piece of furniture while keeping the largest distance possible between them, then they flourished in this task. Both of their bodies bent towards the arm of the sofa as they leaned away from each other.
They once again retrieved their tablets and went through more of the materials.
“Should we quiz each other?” Weston asked.
Hope looked at him confused, her eyebrows furled together as she squinted at him. “On what? We haven’t been taught anything yet.”
He laughed with a high-pitched awkwardness. “Yeah, I know. But they told us to get familiar with our tablets. I thought maybe we could test each other on the different categories and what type of information is contained in each section or something. Never mind.”
Hope shrugged. “I think we learn more from just reading different sections.”
Weston nodded and looked back down at his own tablet. “Okay, we can just read then.”
Hope continued scrolling through the sections and noting how to navigate through the different forms of material. After some time passed, Weston rose from the sofa and put his tablet on its docking station.
“I think I will go for a walk.”
“Really? I think it’s either bedtime now or it will be soon, don’t you?”
Weston shrugged. “I don’t get the feeling we have bedtimes around here.” He took a few steps towards the door placing his hand on the doorknob and turned back to her. “Maybe you can use this time and privacy to get ready for bed.”
At the mere mention of going to bed, all the color drained from Hope’s face. She couldn’t look at him to acknowledge his remark. She gave a small nod while keeping her eyes cast on the tablet.
Without another word, Weston left their apartment. She decided he had made a valid point; now would be the best time for her to get ready for bed. She went to the wardrobe, found her sleeping wear, and made quick work of changing in the bathroom. She didn’t know how much time she would have until Weston returned from his walk.
Once she thought about the concept of privacy, she wondered if that was Weston’s sole motivation for taking his walk. There was one simple question on her mind: is he as uncomfortable as I am?
After she changed and was ready for bed, she opened the door to their apartment just a crack to signal to Weston she was ready for his return. There was no way to be certain if his reason for the walk had been simply for her privacy or if he had motivations of his own.
She grabbed her tablet and arranged the pillows so she was sitting up with her back propped against the headboard. It was best to accept sleep would not befall her and get work done with the time she was certain to have available.
It appeared Weston’s walk was a lengthy one as she had been reading for some time before his return. He cautiously knocked on the door and slowly peeked his head inside. As soon as he saw her in the bed, he came inside.
“How was your walk?”
He shrugged. “Fine. I got lost for a bit, but I made my way back.”
There was a melancholy gloom in his aura. This boy who normally seemed so happy and full of energy was now showing a different side. She realized his moods had dipped when she didn’t want to do a quiz with him.
“I’m glad you can find your way around. I might need you to help me tomorrow.”
This request seemed to perk him up slightly. “Yeah, I usually have a pretty good sense of direction. I can help you.”
Weston looked around for a while and then sat down on the sofa. He retrieved his tablet and started reading.
After a few minutes Hope looked up at him. “Did you want me to give you some privacy to get ready for bed?”
Weston shook his head. “No, thank you. I’ll just change in the bathroom, that’s fine.”
Hope shrugged. “Well, I thought I’d offer since you left the room for me to get ready for bed.”
Weston nodded and kept his eyes glued on his tablet. She saw his face flush a few different colors and suspected she was missing something.
“Did you go for a walk to give me privacy?”
Weston shrugged but kept his eyes on his tablet. “I thought you might like some space.” His face remained flush.
She watched him for a moment longer. “Is there something the matter?”
Weston let out a deep sigh. “Part of me just wants to say it’s nothing, or nerves, but I’m afraid it’s more than that. I don’t think you like me very much. I’ve been trying to be friendly and talk to you since the train ride this morning and you just don’t seem interested. Now that we know we are coupled, I thought you would make an effort to get to know me, or at least be willing to study together.”
It was now Hope’s turn to have her coloring flush several shades of pink and scarlet. “I didn’t mean anything by it. This has been all very surprising, I think I’m just trying to wrap my head around it. I am sorry if I have seemed unkind.”
Weston nodded but remained tense. “I guess I should get ready for bed.”
Hope got up and looked in the wardrobe. She passed Weston a set of sleeping wear as he stepped into the bathroom. She grabbed the extra pillows and blankets from the top shelf of the wardrobe and placed them on the sofa. She changed it into a bed and fit it with sheets. If she got the better bed, the least she could do was help make his.
She crawled back into bed and put her tablet away. Soon after, he climbed into his bed and turned off the lamp. The moment the room darkened, Hope’s eyes flew wide open. She had never experienced such complete and utter darkness before. She wondered if the lights were switched out in the hallway or if the door had been built in a way to keep any light from penetrati
ng through the cracks. As there were no windows and no other light source in the room, the darkness was so complete it felt heavy and as though it was pressing against her chest. She held her hand in front of her face and saw only darkness. Her breathing increased involuntarily until Weston sat up and turned the lamp back on.
“You okay?”
“It’s just so dark in here.”
Weston jumped up and walked over to the bathroom, switched on the light and closed the door. He went back to the sofa and turned off the lamp once again. There was a light shining through the entire outline of the door, a bright rectangle now broadcasting through their room.
“Is that better?”
“Yes, thank you. I know it is silly—”
“No. It isn’t silly. This entire situation is messed up. We are 13 years old. We shouldn’t be coupled. We shouldn’t be segregated into a group of eight which are the only people we are allowed to associate with. We shouldn’t have been taken away from our families and everyone we know. This will not be easy.”
“I know.” Hope sighed and worked to repress a few tears threatening to escape. “That is why they coupled us. This will be extremely hard and I am sure they feel it will give us some kind of emotional support to have a partner in all things.”
“Do you think we were matched like normal people? I mean, there are only eight of us, and how many people our age can be as smart as us? Do you think they tested us for compatibility? Or do you think we were placed together at random? I mean, I don’t think I would be your first pick. If we were more alike, then maybe you would have taken to me right away.”
“I have no idea. I’ve never even liked a guy before. How am I supposed to know what traits a male should have to be a good match for me?”
Weston was either content with her answer or had run out of things to say. Maybe he also needed time to sort out his thoughts and feelings about this monumental life change they had experienced today. It didn’t happen quickly, but eventually his breathing changed and she could tell he was asleep. She just wished the same would happen for her, or she would be no good in her studies tomorrow.
Chapter 7
Six Months Later
Weston leaned back stretching. Hope could hear his back cracking from across the table. It was then she realized she had been hunched over staring at her tablet for hours; maybe she needed to do some stretching as well.
“What time do you think it is?” Weston asked with a yawn.
“Does it matter? I don’t think we will get any sleep until after this examination is complete.”
She sat back with tea in hand and realized just how exhausted Weston appeared to be. She wondered if she had the same dark circles forming under her eyes, the same dull, lifeless reflection.
She was grateful their program wasn’t graded on the curve as their grades up to this point hadn’t been spectacular. They weren’t at the bottom of the class, at least not yet, but the fear of being taken off this project was constantly running through the forefront of their minds every single day.
Weston lifted the mug of tea to his lips with no regard to the boiling hot water.
“Careful there, you’ll burn your mouth.”
He raised an eyebrow. “That is highly unlikely as my mouth lost all feeling during our last examination.”
Hope would have laughed if she were not so exhausted. “If we get kicked off this project, let’s request to get moved to another division. I think it’s high time they figure out how to extract the caffeine from the tea and give it to us either in a pill form or intravenously.”
“Well, Hope, that would certainly help the scientific community advance. It would also significantly shorten their lifespans, but just think of how much more we could accomplish before we die.”
“Exactly. We would probably produce the exact same amount of work and die young than if we lived a long life. That is a lot of resources we could save the State by shortening people’s life spans while producing similar results.”
Weston’s lips curled. He fidgeted with his mug, swaying it back and forth swirling the tea to help it cool. “That makes far too much sense. So much sense, I feel someone must be working on it already.” Weston nodded and looked up at Hope. “Can you remind me again, why moving back inside the dome and having a ton of children would be a bad thing?”
Again, Hope couldn’t laugh at his jokes. She choked down some hot tea herself hoping it could create a miracle which only fifteen hours of sleep could bring.
Weston stood from the table. “I’m sorry Hope. I’m done. I’m so done, I don’t even care if I pass this test tomorrow. I need sleep.”
Hope nodded and packed up her things. She intended to stay up a little longer and cram in more studying, but she knew she was less likely to wake him if she was in bed with the light on when he fell asleep.
When they got back to their quarters, Weston didn’t bother to change into proper sleeping attire. He simply unbuttoned his jumpsuit and let it drop to the floor. He crawled into his bed wearing his T-shirt and underclothing. Once his sleeping mask was secured over his eyes, he tried to mutter some final communication to her before falling asleep as soon as his head rested on the pillow.
Hope took her pajamas into the bathroom with her and changed. Even though Weston had a tendency to lounge in his underclothing in front of her, she was not yet comfortable being anything but fully dressed. She changed, brushed her teeth and climbed under the covers of her bed, immediately retrieving her tablet.
She read a sentence and would mutter under her breath its meaning. She noticed it kept getting more and more challenging for her to summarize what she read.
Her vision kept going in and out of focus, making it difficult to read or comprehend. She couldn’t let herself stop though, there was still material she had never seen and didn’t want to walk into the test without having at least read all the subject materials.
As much as she tried to focus, she kept replaying Weston’s breeder commentary in her mind. As difficult as their education was, it still filled her with purpose each morning when she got out of bed. She looked forward to her day because, as a team, they would invent something that would change the course of humanity.
She was sure if she were to ever have a child, she would love that child with all her heart. Weston would make a good father, but spending the better part of her life giving birth every three to four years until her body gave out was the nightmare haunting her in her restless sleep. One child, maybe two, but not an entire herd. She wanted her career; she wanted to make an impact on the world, and she wanted to do well on this test, yet was struggling to get through even the most basic materials.
Suddenly, the blurring in her vision was less sporadic, and she realized she had tears streaming down her cheeks. Once she came out of denial and about her vision issues, she exploded into full-bodied racking sobs. It didn’t take long for her to wake up Weston from a dead sleep. She could tell he had risen from his bed but she couldn’t find the ability to apologize or stop crying.
She felt the weight shift on her bed and realized Weston had crawled in beside her. Even though they had never even sat on this bed together, he scooted over without hesitation and draped his arm around her. She continued to sob for a time and he eventually found her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. It was such a small trivial thing for him to do, yet she could hardly comprehend how it almost immediately brought her such a great deal of comfort.
For the first time since arriving in the mountain, Hope understood why they were coupled. They weren’t simply placed together to be lab partners or study partners; they were meant to be each other’s emotional support. The pressure continuously weighing on them was enough to make most people crack.
They didn’t get time with their families, free time in a common room, friends, or time to sit and play puzzles for leisure. They devoted their entire lives to their project. They were immersed every second of every day in their studies and in their laboratory work.
Weston was all she had. Now that she knew how much comfort could be drawn from him crawling into bed with her and squeezing her hand, she knew she wanted him to sleep next to her every night.
***
Hope stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in her robe, opening the door and venturing into the bedroom.
“All yours.”
Weston set down his tablet on the nightstand and headed into the bathroom. When he was ready, he came in and sat beside her on the sofa. They always got up early enough to review their notes before they went to breakfast. They worked together for a time until Hope abruptly put down her tablet.
“You know what would make this easier? Breakfast—tea.”
“You know what else would make it easier?” Weston threw his tablet carelessly onto the bed. “If we shared information between departments and with other students.”
Beyond: Book Four of the State Series Page 5