by Mark Lingane
“Calm down,” Sebastian said. He took some deep breaths as an example. “Okay, come here and let me do up your buttons.”
Isaac looked forlorn as Sebastian, with a concentrated expression etched on his face, worked his way around the sleeves and tightened up the collar. He stood back to admire his handiwork. The shirt seemed to be longer on one side than the other, and the collar was bunched up due to its excessive size, but Isaac looked pretty good to him.
“Are you ready?” he said.
“No. Are you?”
“No. Okay, let’s do this.”
They turned in unison and headed out into the uncertain world of awkward relationships.
*
The boys were assembled in the antechamber in front of the banquet room in the town hall. It was a magnificent building full of polished brass and plush carpets. The high-domed roof was inlaid with fine white filigree carvings, which offset the deep purples and blues that lined the ceiling. The boys milled about uncertainly awaiting the instructions that would never be delivered on how to deal with the fairer sex. It was worse than algebra. Some of the boys with sisters joked and cajoled the others, but Isaac was sure they were just as terrified. This was different than punching your sister then blaming it on the goat.
“All right!” Sebastian said.
“What?” Isaac wheeled around, looking for the approaching danger.
“Food, glorious food. I’m starving.”
A waiter walked past and Sebastian grabbed an apple off the plate. He noted that Gavin was standing close to him. Eventually a gong sounded and all eyes turned to the sweeping staircase that descended from the ladies’ waiting area.
A group of huddled, timid-looking girls of all shapes and sizes assembled on the mezzanine floor, whispering behind their hands and glancing down at the boys, some ready to flush, some ready to vomit. With the conflicting emotions of being disgusted yet being unable to look away, both parties braced for impact.
But at the head of the collection of young girls stood Melanie, tall and strong, full of confidence, beauty and grace. She smiled, and several of the older men whispered among themselves. She tentatively stepped forward, temporarily losing her balance until she grasped the brass handrail, maintaining her flawless smile. She easily coasted down the wide stairs and joined the mere mortals.
“Oh wow, look at her. She looks amazing. So regal,” said Gavin as he stared at her. His voice was quiet and almost lost among the general hubbub of the crowd.
Sebastian still heard it as he munched on his apple. He glanced up. “She finally looks clean. I don’t like the frilly dress. My mother hated stuff like that. Got in the way of cleaning.” He continued to chew.
“Hey, you in the white jacket with the apple juice, over here,” Isaac shouted. Everyone turned to look at him. “What? That’s how my dad does it.”
Melanie smiled gracefully as she floated through the crowd. Everyone turned to stare as she passed by.
Mr. Stephenson whispered to Nikola, “It looks like she was born for it.”
“Hmm, I have thoughts about that,” Nikola replied.
Melanie glided up to Sebastian, tripping on her last step and catching him to stabilize herself.
“Good evening, young sir,” she said. She half turned her head and gave Gavin a small nod.
Gavin went bright red and ran away to be among his friends.
“Nice dress,” Sebastian mumbled through a mouthful of food.
“It’s a gown, but thank you very much.” She cooled herself with a delicate silk fan.
“Whatever. It shows how much fat you’ve lost.”
She continued to smile. “I’ll let that comment go. And do you know why?”
Sebastian took another bite of his apple and a loud slurp from his apple juice, then looked up into her eyes and shrugged.
“You may not know how important this is, so I’ll tell you so you can be amazed and supportive. This gown is a size two. Two.” She did a little skipping dance until her calves began to cramp and then turned her attention to him.
“You’ve cleaned up all right. Have you even washed your hair?” She leaned over and sniffed his hair.
“Get off!” He pushed her away. “It wasn’t my choice. Nikola said it was important and had some specialist come around and make me take a bath and pour water over my head.”
“The clothes are good. Very regal.”
“They’re from Albert. He said he wore them in his homeland when he met his king. But then he was chased out of his home when he came up with his ideas. It’s one of the few possessions of his that survived.”
“And he lent it to you? You must be special.”
“No, awesome.”
The gong rang again and the guests started to enter the banquet room.
“In your dreams. Let me show you how to be awesome.” She held out her arm and waited for Sebastian to engage. “Well?” she said, after he did nothing.
“Well what?”
“Take my arm.”
“Where?”
She sighed and looked heavenward. “Put your arm out like mine. No, the other arm. Now link it around mine … no … just stay there.”
She stepped forward and was instantly yanked back by an immobile and terrified Sebastian. “What are you doing?” Melanie hissed.
“You said stay here.”
“It’s obvious you’re never going to become a gentleman. We move to the doorway and they announce our arrival.” She waited for several seconds as the waiter on the door ignored her. “Or not. What table are we on?”
Sebastian explained that they were on Nikola’s table. Sebastian spotted him and waved. The two made their way over through the tightly packed tables.
“I was born for things like this,” Melanie said.
“Knocking over chairs with your frilly dress? I thought you were born to be angry and shout a lot.”
“I can multitask.”
Nikola stood as they approached the table. Melanie suddenly realized the table was located right at the front. She scanned the room, searching for Gavin. He was several tables over, which wouldn’t normally be a problem, but the shoes could make it a challenge. She returned her focus to the table and noted the little nametags at each place.
Melanie said, “Nikola, you’re a commander?”
Nikola looked a little uncomfortable. He thought of it as a frivolous title with no real bearing in the real world.
Sebastian and Melanie unlinked arms and prepared to sit down in their allocated seats.
“My button thing is caught in your frills,” Sebastian said.
“Do you mean your cufflink is tangled in my lace?”
“Whatever.”
She examined the entanglement, subtly twisted her wrist and the cufflink was released. She gave him a small smile. “Awesome-est.”
He gave his sleeve a quizzical look. “How did you know how to do that?”
“It’s one of those things you have to learn when dealing with dimwitted, inbred oafs.”
“You seemed taller when we walked over, apart from when you were falling over.”
“I’m wearing fancy shoes. They make me six inches taller. You should see them. They’re somewhere under my dress. I’m not sure where. I’m only vaguely aware of their location due to the immense pain.”
“You girls are weird.” He remembered something that Nikola told him to recite. “But you do look very nice tonight.”
She smiled at him. “Thank you, sir. You do me the favor proudly.”
The banquet room was a large, square room decorated with large tapestries on the walls. The skirting and cornices were gold, and several large crystal chandeliers glittered brightly. Disturbingly, the stage was very close, and on it was the collective might of No Bearing ready to unleash its pheromone-laced dance moves and pop-laden harmonies on listeners incapable of anything other than turning pink.
“Oh no. Do you think we’re within fifty feet of the performing area?” Melanie said.
“We’re about ten feet. There they are. I can reach the one on the end. Look.”
Melanie yanked Sebastian’s arm back. “That’s Zane,” she said, looking toward the dim-looking singer. “At least he isn’t limping. This is very bad.”
“Don’t worry, he won’t know it’s you. Even I hardly recognize you. You’ve changed so much over the last months. There’s color in your face, you stand up straighter, you’re less flabby, and you’re wearing a dress.”
“It’s a gown, and are you saying I was fat?”
“No,” he replied, so fast the word ended up in another dimension. “Not what I would call fat. And it doesn’t matter what other people said.”
She gave him a dangerous look and raised her fist to punch him.
“Did you ever wear a dress before?” he squeaked.
“Not if I could help it,” she said through clenched teeth. She hesitated then ended with a light tap on his shoulder.
Sebastian rubbed it in dramatic fashion, seeking some errant sympathy from the other guests at the table. “See, I’m sure it’ll all be for the best.”
“What will be?” Nikola said as he leaned over and joined them in conversation. He didn’t look happy, but he rarely had over the last weeks.
“She’s wearing a dress. It’s not like her.”
“Yes, where did you get the money to buy that?” Nikola asked.
“I have funds available to me,” she replied defiantly.
Nikola gave her a disbelieving look, only to be interrupted by the arrival of food. It was fish. Without hesitation, Sebastian and Melanie both picked up their fish knives and tucked into the food.
“How refreshing that the two of you know how to use the correct knife,” Nikola said.
Sebastian dabbed his mouth with a napkin. “My mother was very particular about manners.”
“Mine too,” said Melanie.
“How interesting,” Nikola replied.
No Bearing started singing their fan favorites to the delighted squeals of the young girls and some of the older men, and Melanie made sure she had a clear view of Gavin across the room. She smiled.
25
THE EVENING WORE on and people smiled. Furtive looks were exchanged, glasses were clinked, and Sebastian talked a lot about himself to everyone at the table. He was in mid-recount of his escape through the forests with Dr. Filbert when Melanie started prodding him. He eventually became quiet as an elderly man in military uniform stepped up behind a large podium on the stage.
The man placed a large fob watch on the podium and coughed. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I’m Captain Hawk.” His watch ticked away loudly in the silence of the room, the wood of the stand amplifying the sound.
“Many of you know about our troubles in the west. For years the cyborgs have been consistently attacking us, but we’re no still nearer to finding out where they are. Well, today we do something about it. We’ve been training you young teslas for a year, some even longer. We have word that the cyborgs will be launching a major offensive against us in the summer. We won’t wait any longer, cowering in fear. Today we’ve made the decision to strike first. You’ve all been training for the moment where you can track them and lead us into their own fortress, when we will unleash the zeppelins on them. It will be our time.”
General cheering erupted from the crowd. Oliver and Nikola looked concerned.
“Gosh. A war. I’ve never been in a war.” Sebastian was filled with a mixture of absolute fear and excitement.
“Not you, Sebastian. Both of you will be staying here,” said Nikola.
“What? Why?”
“Number Two has said so. And that is simply it.”
“They can’t be serious. These guys aren’t ready. They couldn’t find their way into the class if there wasn’t only one stairway. They’ll be slaughtered.”
“No, Sebastian,” Nikola said. “And that’s final.”
“But why? It’s not fair.” Sebastian prodded Melanie, who was looking across at Gavin. “Did you hear that?”
“Huh?”
“They’ll need me. I’m the only one who’s any good at sensing the magnetic fields.”
“The others have made significant improvements in their detection skills of late,” Nikola said. “They’ll be sufficient.”
Captain Hawk left the stage to a mixture of cheers and hesitant clapping. A chamber orchestra tuned their instruments and commenced playing popular classical tunes.
“I need to dance,” Melanie burst out.
Sebastian gave her a horrified look.
“Not with you.” She looked over at Gavin.
Nikola was watching her closely. For the first time that evening his face lost its dark demeanor. He leaned over to her. “I’ll help,” he said quietly.
Nikola went over to Gavin’s table and whispered something in the teen’s ear. Gavin looked up straightaway, and Sebastian and Melanie looked hurriedly away. Melanie went bright red. Gavin got up and shuffled over. Melanie went so red Sebastian thought she was going to catch fire. He could feel the heat pouring off her.
Gavin stooped over Melanie and mumbled something.
“What?” shouted Sebastian.
Melanie nudged him with her elbow. “He wasn’t mumbling to you,” she hissed. She looked up into Gavin’ young innocent face, which was full of uncertainty and embarrassment. “What did you say?”
“I said, do you want to, er …”
“I’d love to er. It’s what being a human is all about. And with you it could be a very big er.”
Gavin looked confused.
“Yes, I would,” she clarified. She stood up and led an uncertain Gavin to the dancing area. She presented her arms. “Lead away.”
He awkwardly led her around the floor, occasionally stepping on her feet. She smiled through it all. But in the end she had to say something.
“You’re not very good.”
“It would help if you stopped trying to lead.”
“It would help if you started trying to lead.”
“I’m sorry, it’s all new to me.”
“Never mind. Dancing was one of those things that was expected of me, along with other pointless tasks.”
“Like what?”
“Playing piano. Smiling and waving.”
“What a dull life.”
“You don’t need to tell me that. It drove me nuts. I had to leave. My sister was into all that stuff, stupid vain creature that she was.” She paused. Her mother wouldn’t have been impressed. She’d been trained in small talk, and this wasn’t it. “Are you looking forward to getting out … there?” She pointed in a westerly direction.
“Part of me is. But it’s war. I’m not sure I want to die.”
“I thought the teslas were going to be tracking, not attacking.”
“The teslas will be at the front, tracking the location of the cyborg base. The soldiers will be at the back, waiting to pounce. Who’s going to be attacked first? The ones at the front or the back?”
“I see your point, but I’m sure you’ll be all right. You could be home by Christmas. Maybe you’re destined to save us all. I hear women like that kind of thing.”
“Do they?”
“We’ll see.” She smiled coyly and looked away. Then trod heavily on his toes to distract him.
The music played and they twirled until she was ready to let him go, even though he’d tried to disengage several times before as the songs got steadily slower. Melanie floated back to her chair, barely noticing the chairs and glasses she knocked over.
“He’s just amazing,” she said as she sat down. She was so distracted she hadn’t even waited for someone to push in her chair.
“Who? Gavin?” said Sebastian.
“Oh, yes.”
“You haven’t met another Gavin, have you?”
“He’s such a gentleman. So courteous. And such a great dancer.”
“Gavin?”
“You’re just jealous because you don’t
understand him. He understands me.”
“Why? What did he say?”
“He doesn’t need to say anything. He just understands.”
“That’s it, you’ve seriously lost it. I’m out of here.”
Sebastian got up and stormed out of the ballroom. He took the stairs to the roof terrace and sat on the ledge with his legs dangling over the edge. He sighed. He felt upset, but he couldn’t have explained why.
A minute later he heard the door open. Melanie sat down next to him and looked out at the gas-lit fortress.
“I thought you’d want to be sitting with Gavin,” Sebastian said.
“He can wait. I wanted to make sure you were okay. You don’t run away very often.”
“I’ve been running ever since I lost my home. And my mother. My life. I don’t know what’s happening. Why is everything so messed up?”
She leaned over to him. “Want to know a secret?”
He nodded.
“I feel the same way.” She looked up at the forbidding horizon. “I think it’s part of growing up, part of life. If it makes you feel any better, it does get better. One day.”
“When?”
“About twenty minutes ago.” She laughed then stopped when he didn’t join in.
“I wish I was going with them.”
“So do I. I mean I wish I was going with them, not you. I don’t know why they won’t let us. They’re sending off younger ones than us.”
“I wish they’d tell us what’s going on.”
*
“Do you think we should tell them what’s going on?” said Oliver.
“I’d love to,” replied Nikola, “but now is not the time. You know we can’t send him. And she needs to stay with him until …”
“Yes, until! We all know the until. But we can’t wait forever. Time ticks down and leaves us with fewer and fewer choices. If we wait too long we’ll be nothing but forgotten footnotes in your decrepit, ancient books, of even less interest to people than they are now.”
“What’s the point of fighting a war for a future that isn’t worth saving?”
“Any future where we’re alive is worth fighting for.”
“You wouldn’t be saying that if you saw the assimilated ones.”