Daven looked at Tiera with a confused expression on his face, and just then the tone sounded again. “Oh! Sorry.” He pulled his smart glass out of his jacket pocket, messed with it, then put it back.
Tiera went back to thinking about her essay. She was pretty sure of what she wanted to say at this point; she just didn’t quite know how she was going to say it. But then Daven’s smart glass started making that noise again. Tiera wasn’t sure if it was an alarm or a ringtone, but Daven’s next comment answered her question before she could ask.
“I can’t talk right now,” Daven said, agitated. Tiera turned around again, and this time Daven was looking at his smart glass. The back of it had gone frosty so that Tiera couldn’t clearly see what was on the front, but it looked like it might be a face.
The sound of an angry woman emanated from Daven’s smart glass, and Tiera whipped her head around to face the front of the car once more. “Of course not! You haven’t been able to talk since you made that transfer yesterday, and now you want me to—”
“I’ll message you.”
The car went silent, and Tiera guessed Daven had hung up on whoever that was. She waited a few seconds, then peeked back to see him scowling down at his smart glass, typing out each character like he wished he could break the thing in half.
What was that about? Tiera figured she shouldn’t pry, but even if she wanted to Daven would probably need to calm down first. With a mental shrug, Tiera went back to figuring out her essay.
Within about 15 minutes, their car slowed to a stop in a quieter part of the city—but there was still plenty of pedestrian traffic. Tiera noticed that most of the people she saw were about her age or a bit younger, so she figured they were all university students. Tiera made for the door, then noticed that Daven was still frowning at his smart glass.
“Daven? We’re here.”
He looked up and blinked a few times, then smiled. “Sorry—I was talking to my—to someone. Ready to meet Xana?” Daven asked, and they both climbed out of the car.
“You bet. Everything okay?” Tiera was a bit concerned by all of the frowning.
“Sure.” He shrugged, then pointed at the building in front of them. “Anyway, Xana’s on the fourth floor.”
Tiera looked up at Dawning Court through the dark green foliage of the trees that separated the building from the street. It looked like the apartment complex was about seven or eight stories high, but it was hard for Tiera to tell, standing so close. Are those balconies? Nice! Tiera was excited to see what she hoped would be her new home—but she was still nervous to meet her potential new roommate.
As soon as she and Daven had found one of the four tunnel-like entrances to the complex, Tiera realized why they called it a court. The rectangular building had a courtyard the size of a small park, complete with a meandering path, flowering gardens, and the pool Tiera had read about. She couldn’t help but smile, taking it all in as they climbed the stairs to the fourth floor. And Daven said subsidized housing wasn’t very high quality.
Every apartment’s entrance faced the courtyard, and each white door was etched with a rising sun that bore an apartment number. Once they had reached number 11, Daven placed his hand on the door, and Tiera thought she heard a distant chime. In almost the same instant, the door slid open.
“Hello!” Xana said as the door opened. Tiera figured Xana was either the Faroan equivalent of an Olympic sprinter, or she must have been waiting right by the door, because that was the fastest she had ever seen anyone answer their door in her life. Xana looked nearly the same as she did in the photo Daven had shown Tiera at his apartment. She had the same curly black hair, the same judgmental and heavy-lidded eyes—she even seemed to be wearing the same blue shirt.
“Hi, Xana,” Daven responded, then pointed at Tiera. “This is Tiera—the one I mentioned in our message. Do you mind if we come in?”
Xana looked at Tiera for just a moment longer than was comfortable. “I like your hair, but your clothes are weird. Come on in!” Xana stepped to the side, allowing them to enter.
Tiera laughed. “Thank you. And I like your hair too.” She and Daven walked into what looked like the living room. It was mostly white, like Daven’s apartment, but without the fancy carpet and wall carvings, and more cramped. A plain-looking red couch faced a wall-mounted smart glass display, showing what Tiera guessed was some sort of programming homework assignment. An assortment of dirty dishes and a several smart glass tablets—they were thick enough that Tiera could tell they weren’t just expanded portable smart glasses—were piled on the side tables, and natural light filtered through the windows at the front and back of the apartment. The living room was open to the kitchen, and Tiera saw a doorway in the kitchen that she assumed led to the bedrooms.
“I figured I wouldn’t clean up so you’d have a better idea of what it’s like to live with me,” Xana explained, gesturing vaguely toward the messes in both the living room and the kitchen.
“That’s very thoughtful of you.” Tiera smiled and wondered if this was why Daven said people didn’t get along well with Xana. She was very blunt, but Tiera couldn’t detect any hint of malice in what she said.
“I’ll show you the bedrooms,” Xana said as she led them toward the back of the apartment. “So Daven said you’re not from around here. Where are you from?”
“Another galaxy,” Tiera said simply, and Daven laughed. She figured she would match bluntness with bluntness.
“Was that a joke?” Xana asked, eyeing Daven.
“No—sorry. It was just the way she said it,” he tried to explain. “You know how I was doing wormhole research with Yematoro before he . . . left? We kind of picked Tiera up in another galaxy.”
“You found intelligent life in another galaxy? That must mean the Origin Right is wrong,” Xana said nonchalantly as she opened a door to a messy room. “This one is my bedroom.”
“Xana! You can’t just say things like that,” Daven hissed.
“But it’s my bedroom.”
“No—about the Origin Right! If you must know they’re searching the histories of the failed colonization attempts right now. They’re almost certain that C2406—I mean, Earth—was a lost colony.”
Tiera was surprised at how flustered Daven was acting. “So which one is my bedroom?” she asked, hoping to distract both of them.
“It’s the next door,” Xana said, pointing. “So you want to move in? You said ‘my’ bedroom.”
“Well, I still need to get accepted to the Faroa University of Humanities, but yeah! This apartment is nice!” Tiera walked down the hall and opened the door Xana had pointed at. Inside it was a large, empty bedroom. Its stillness evoked a sort of reverence in Tiera, and she held her breath as she entered. She looked around at the open closet, the private bathroom, and the long, white drapes that fluttered gently inward, perfectly framing the open glass door that led to a shallow balcony outside. “It’s perfect.”
“Really?” Xana asked from behind her. “I hoped you’d like it! I used to sleep in here but I moved all of my stuff to the other room because I thought you might like the one with the balcony more.”
Tiera turned around to look at Xana, who was positively beaming. “I don’t know what to say,” Tiera began. “That’s so kind of you—you really didn’t have to—” She stopped herself before her voice betrayed her emotion. Tiera did a good job of acting composed around Daven, but Xana’s surprise act of kindness brought up some of the things she was trying not to feel. It reminded her of people she didn’t want to think about.
“You said you didn’t know what to say, but then you said something,” Xana said, frowning. “That doesn’t make a lot of sense. So when do you want to move in?”
Tiera laughed, grateful to be distracted again. “I guess it depends on when I hear back from the university about my application. Daven says that will be soon though.”
“Yeah,” Daven said simply.
“Where’s your smart glass? I’ll give you my c
ontact information so you can tell me as soon as you find out,” Xana said, pulling her own smart glass out of her pants pocket.
Tiera took her smart glass out of her purse, digging past Daven’s jacket to find it, and Xana tapped her own gently against Tiera’s. As soon as she had done this, Xana’s photo and contact info appeared on Tiera’s smart glass, and Tiera tapped “save.”
“Oh! I guess I should do that too,” Daven said, and Tiera repeated the process with him as well. “Are you ready for dinner?” he asked her, clearly ready to leave.
As soon as she thought about it, Tiera realized how hungry she was. “Sure,” she told him, then turned to Xana. “Alright, well we need to get going. It was great meeting you! I’ll get back to you as soon as I know that I’ve been accepted.”
“Sounds good,” Xana said, and she walked them back to the living room.
After they left Xana’s apartment, Tiera and Daven stopped by a Thai curry restaurant (except it wasn’t really Thai since they were on Faroa), and then headed back to Daven’s place. By the time they stepped out of the car and onto the sidewalk in front of Daven’s apartment, Tiera knew exactly what she wanted to say in her application video.
“I’m ready to film it,” Tiera told Daven, stooping down to grab one of the heavy packages of her new clothes from the doorstep. “Except it’s more than just introducing myself—kind of.”
“That’s alright.” He opened the door, then picked up the other two packages. “I was actually thinking it might be best if I introduce you and you do most of the talking.” Daven smiled. “It’s your essay, after all.”
“No big spiel about your family’s influence then?”
Daven shrugged. “They know who I am,” he said, looking down at his smart glass. “Do you want to change into any of your new clothes?”
“No, I think my ‘weird’ Earth clothes will have a better effect.” Tiera smiled.
“Alright.” Daven held out his hand. “Here, let me link your smart glass to the wall camera.”
“Okay,” Tiera said, handing it over. Daven fiddled with her smart glass, then walked across the room to turn the window wall clear, giving them a view of the night outside.
“Stand here,” Daven said, positioning Tiera so that the window was behind her. “The camera is just above that screen.” A small rectangle appeared on the wall she was facing, and Tiera saw that it displayed her face with the glowing white city in the background. Daven then stood a few paces to her right and made the invisible wall camera point toward him instead.
“Are you ready?” he said, looking over at Tiera.
“Actually, I just remembered I have a couple questions. What do your researchers call my galaxy? And Earth is C24 . . . ?”
“Earth is C2406, and it’s in the Milky Galaxy.”
“Just ‘Milky’? Not Milky Way?” Tiera was surprised that the people here called her galaxy nearly the same thing that they had named it themselves. Maybe we are a lost colony after all.
“Just Milky,” Daven confirmed. “Why?”
“We call it the Milky Way,” Tiera explained. “What is this galaxy called?”
“Andromeda.”
The word Daven really said was fairly different in Original, but apparently Kert had made sure it translated directly to “Andromeda” in his language software, because that’s the connection Tiera’s mind made.
“Wow. I’ve actually heard of it before,” she said. Then she realized she was getting sidetracked. “Anyway, we should probably get started.”
“Alright.” Daven looked at the screen. “Begin filming in five, four, three . . . Hello, respected admissions board members! My name is Daven Theo of Fugon, and I’d like to introduce you to my friend, applicant Tiera Lorraine Jasperson.”
Tiera watched as the screen suddenly switched its focus from Daven to herself. She gave the camera a gentle smile. “Hello, I’m Tiera Lorraine Jasperson and I’m applying to study political science at the Faroa University of Humanities.” She took a deep breath. “I’m also a foreigner; I come from the planet Earth, which you know as C2406, in the Milky Galaxy. You may recognize me from a message you received from Kert Yematoro—the man responsible for my stay in your galaxy, in your city. Thanks to Kert, my unconscious mind holds information that could undermine your government—or, if treated properly, that could undermine the insurrectionists themselves.
“I believe the more I learn here, the closer I will get to helping the police discover the secret Kert hid in my mind. As of now I know next to nothing about your culture, your politics, or your history—but I want to change that. I need to change that. And so do you, for Origin’s sake.
“I received a degree in political science from Earth’s Utah State University five years ago. My passion lies in politics, and I want to further my education at your prestigious university. In this you have the unique opportunity to foster a liaison from a foreign world. You have the opportunity to learn from me as I learn from you—to benefit from my unique and alien perspective as I benefit from yours.
“You have the power to forge my future, and my mind contains a secret that could very well forge yours. Now let’s learn together.”
Tiera looked at the wall camera for a moment longer, then turned to Daven. “You can end it there,” she told him.
“Uh—right! I’ll edit that last part out, then it’ll be ready to send.” Daven started doing just that on Tiera’s smart glass. “That was really good, by the way. I didn’t know you were into public speaking.”
“I’m into writing, so that’s pretty close. But that wasn’t public speaking—there wasn’t any visible public to speak to.” Tiera lifted her arms above her head, stretching. “And it’s not like there’s a lot of pressure, right? Your family will take care of it.”
“It’s ready!” Daven announced, looking up from Tiera’s smart glass and walking toward her. “I’ll let you send it.”
Was he even listening? Oh well. Tiera took her smart glass from Daven and saw a thumbnail of her face in the newly completed application form. “Here goes!” She held her breath, then hit send.
Chapter 11
A cold gust of wind tousled Tiera’s hair and she reflexively put a hand on top of her head to keep it from ruining her part. She dug her fingers and toes into the sun-warmed and powdery crystal sand surrounding the pond she had found while roaming Daven’s neighborhood. Tiera assumed this was a park and not somebody’s yard, but she couldn’t be sure given the obvious wealth of the area. Nobody’s yelled at me yet, so I’m probably good. That thought made her remember the reason she had gone exploring.
It had been three days since she submitted her application to the Faroa University of Humanities, and she still hadn’t heard back from them yet. Normally this sort of thing wouldn’t bother Tiera, but Daven had assured her it would only take them a day. Daven had been showing her more of the city while they waited, but it seemed like they were both just getting more and more anxious. Tiera was feeling anxious about whether or not the university would accept her application, but Daven’s anxiety was of a completely different nature.
Tiera stood up, brushing the sand off of her hands and her loose white pants, then wiped her feet off in the grass before slipping her shoes back on. They might be done arguing by now. Tiera started walking in the direction of Daven’s apartment. She had left because that woman had called Daven again, and as soon as she started yelling about “squandering his family’s money” Tiera headed for the door. Tiera couldn’t help but wonder if they were talking about her bail, but she didn’t want to insert herself into anyone’s drama unsolicited.
Another cold breeze threw Tiera’s hair around, but instead of worrying about her part she hugged her chest. I’m glad long sleeves are in style here, Tiera thought, looking down at the pointed sleeves of her watermelon pink shirt. It was still pretty warm when she left the apartment, but the temperature was going down with the sun.
As Tiera walked back to Daven’s place, she struggled not
to think about what she’d do if the university didn’t admit her. It’s alright—I’ll still get home eventually, even if I can’t be more useful while I’m here. Tiera couldn’t explain exactly why she had a desire to make something of herself here. Maybe it was the condescending way Leon spoke to her, or maybe it was the need to be independent of Daven’s hospitality—maybe it was even Tiera’s curiosity about this place, this world. Tiera had never had such a heavy sense of her own ignorance before, and she wanted to change that.
Tiera recognized a large house on the street corner with spiraling columns and a large peach tree in its yard—she needed to turn left here. Then she only had two more blocks to walk before she reached Daven’s apartment building. She tried to stop thinking about her distant future for those two blocks, choosing instead to focus on her immediate future. Where will we eat dinner tonight?
After climbing the stairs to his apartment, Tiera placed her hand on Daven’s front door, expecting a doorbell-like chime like she had heard at Xana’s. Instead, the door opened immediately. He programmed my hand print into his house’s security already? Is that like the equivalent of giving me a key? Tiera stepped inside. It was quiet, so she figured the coast was clear.
“Hi Tiera—sorry about that,” Daven said. He was sitting on a chair in the far right corner of the living room, so Tiera didn’t see him right away.
“It’s alright. I just figured you needed a few minutes alone,” she said, walking over to sit on the couch across from him.
“Yeah. I—” Daven frowned. “I should probably tell you what’s been going on.”
“Only if you want to,” Tiera said carefully.
“I do. That woman who keeps calling me—that’s my mother. She’s sort of mad that I dipped into my savings to get you out of jail.”
“I was wondering about that. And I’m sorry.” Tiera realized her shoulders were getting tense and tried to relax them. “Um. Why was she mad if it was your money?”
“Well that’s the thing—it’s actually their money; it’s just designated for my use while I’m here on Faroa.”
Tiera's Earth (Andromeda 9 Book 1) Page 11