by Elsy Green
I stare intently at the inside of the locket, engrossed with who’s memento was inside of this. Angry with the person who took it out or lost it. For some reason I’m sentimental about this thing, emotional about the welfare of this locket and its owner. It’s like… I know this locket; like it’s somehow a part of me.
But that’s impossible. Terrified this might some sort of trigger, I hand it back to Jaxon quickly. Watching restlessly as I wait for him to place it back in his pocket. Breathing a sigh of relief when it’s out of sight. I don’t need to know any more about that thing, I’m pretty sure it has something to do with Riella and if that’s the case I want it as far away from me as possible.
“Anyway, fate kind of works in mysterious ways. I’m just trying to go with the flow here.”
I sit back and sigh, depressed with the thought that I might not be as out of the woods with these dreams as I thought. “That must be nice.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.” I wave him off. I don’t want to get into it.
“Really? Nothing? I just told you I moved here on fated whim, pulled out a locket I found on the street AND confessed to you how much I really like you. Surely you can tell me what you mean by ‘it must be nice.”
I scoff. “Nothing really. It’s just I…have some things going on.”
Her raises an eyebrow. “And?”
I roll my eyes and let out a defeated breath. “Fine, but only because I don’t want you to be embarrassed.”
“A gracious gesture.”
I bite down on my bottom lip and shake my head not sure why I’m about to tell him this, but for some reason I feel like I should. “It’s just…Okay, Sophie has this theory about fate, like a lot of theories. Anyways, she thinks that maybe I’m a participant in some sort of fate triangle.”
“Fate triangle?”
“Yeah. It’s weird okay. You can’t judge me.”
“You’re in luck, this is a judgement free zone.”
I chuckle and continue, “okay, so, I’ve been having some weird dreams lately and Sophie thinks that maybe I’m reincarnated and my dreams are somehow leading me to my fate.”
“Huh. Interesting.” His brows crowd his hairline as he blinks strangely at me.
“You said this was a no judgment zone.” I jab my finger into his chest. He laughs and rubs out his peck.
“I’m not judging, I’m thinking. Tell me more.”
I let out a sigh and shrug. “There isn’t really much more to tell. I have a weird dream about people I don’t know and then I wake up.”
“Were you having a dream that day in biology? When you called me Jaxon?”
I swallow down and avert my eyes to my fingers. I was having a dream, but not about him. That particular dream still haunts me. Images flash through my mind of dead bodies, a younger Ryss calling me a murderer, that man’s blood on my hands. A shiver runs down my spine and I blow out a breath to clear those thoughts from my mind. I can’t think about that. I need to stay in the moment. I’m over that now, I’m done with those dreams, they were all just a figment of my imagination.
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. Who is Jaxon?”
“He’s just a person in my dreams. You kind of look like him. Sophie has a theory that you are also reincarnated and we are somehow connected.”
Thankfully the waiter breaks up my awkward confession, setting the pizza and breadsticks down in front of us. I inhale the delicious aroma and look over at Ethan pleased with my psychic ordering skills. He shoots me a menacingly grin that causes my cheeks to burn on a whole different level.
“What?” I look away embarrassed grabbing a plate and distracting myself with some food.
“Oh nothing. It just seems like maybe you do believe in fate after all, Allie.”
“I don’t.” I shoot him a warning look.
“I think you do. I think that’s why you told me about your dreams. You believe in fate, a fate that involves me and you.”
“I didn’t say that.” I shake my head.
“Okay, then tell me, who does Sophie think you are in these dreams?” I take a bite of my pizza and mumble out an incoherent answer.
“I’m sorry what was that?” he holds his ear out and moves closer to me. I exhale and put down my pizza.
“She thinks I’m the descendant of the girl I keep dreaming about.”
“Huh. So, we are the descendants of those you are dreaming about. It’s fate. We’re supposed to meet. You are the reason I’m supposed to be in Greenville. Fate.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” I look down at my pizza suddenly overcome with harrowing sorrow. I shouldn’t have said anything. Now Ethan thinks we are somehow connected, but the truth is I might be simply be insane and these dreams are just the beginning.
He reaches over the table and place his hand over mine. I look up at him to find his turquoise eyes boring into me.
“I feel like I’ve known you my entire life, Allie. I feel like somehow; we are connected and I don’t take that lightly. I like you, and I want to keep getting to know you. Fate or no fate.”
I smile and tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “I like you too, Ethan.” He smiles satisfied and sits back into his seat, his free hand still clutching onto mine.
“Good. Now, I’m going to dig into this amazing pizza, because I’m dying to know if it tastes as good as it smells.” I laugh and nod agreeing with him, he definitely needs to taste this pizza. And we definitely need to move on from this fate topic, because if I’m being truly honest, everything he’s saying is resonating deeply with those parts of me that I hid away two weeks ago.
C.11
“That’s it? That’s it! Seriously? You share a pizza, talk a little and then he takes you home?” Sophie stares at me with a stunned.
“Was there supposed to be more? It was a nice first date.”
“A nice first date? A nice first date?” Sophie groans and flops back onto my bed. Obviously intent on repeating herself twice tonight, just to make sure I hear her very vocal protests about what I thought was a very lovely first date.
I mean it’s not like I have a ton to compare it to. I can count on one hand how many guys have asked me out in my high school years and use even less fingers to count how many have actually gone past the first date. Dating has always been more of Sophie’s thing.
“The man said he had been dying to take you out for weeks and, may I remind you, you completely ditched me in order to go on said date. The least you could have done was make it a little juicier than pizza and a nice chat! I’m dying here!” She hugs my pillow and lets out a disappointed exhale. I laugh and flop down next to her.
“I’m sorry, I promise to add some juiciness to the next date.”
Sophie eagerly props herself up on one elbow, her eyes wide with intrigue as she smiles creepily at me.
“A second date?”
“That’s what I said.”
“AHHH!!!” She jumps up on my bed screaming and jumping around me like a maniac. “I need details, when, where, what will you be wearing, what will he be wearing? Setting, dinner options, his car or yours—”
“Slow your roll, antsy pants.” I throw a pillow at her to shut her up long enough to take in a breath. “All he said was he wanted to do it again this Saturday.”
“This SATURDAY? Are you kidding? You are just telling me this now! It’s already Monday! We have so much work to do.” She races from my room and into my bathroom trifling through my drawers and making what sounds like a huge mess I’m going to have to clean up later.
“Work to do? Is there something I’m missing? It’s just a second date.” She pokes her head out of my bathroom and slaps a palm to her forehead.
“How have you learned nothing from my tutelage? The second date is monumental. Especially for a couple like you and Ethan.”
“A couple? Wait, hold on. We are just going to hang o
ut again, get to know each other. I can assure you this isn’t anything monumental.” I follow her into the bathroom trying to calm down her manic trifling.
“No. A second date means he likes you enough to ask you out again, which usually means he wants to see where the relationship will go. But in your and Ethan’s case it’s like you’ve already been on a string of dates. All the flirting, secret looks in the hallway, biology class. This second date guarantees the first kiss.”
“What? No. That’s ridiculous. That’s like a third date thing.”
Sophie raises an eyebrow at me critiquing my knowledge on the subject. She’s right I’m no expert, but I watch movies and I know things. I’m pretty sure kissing doesn’t come until later. I scrunch up my nose mocking her serious face in the mirror. She responds by throwing a towel in my face.
“Wash,” she demands pointing to my face.
“I already did. I was ready for bed before you came over.”
“Oh, I’m not prepping you for bed.” I stare at her puzzled.
“Sophie, I just want to go to sleep. I’m finally sleeping now and there is no way I’m letting anything get in the way of it, including prepping for whatever it is you are prepping for.”
“I’ve already told you. The kiss.”
I roll my eyes and put the towel down on the counter. “I’m good there. Thanks.” I turn to head back into my room.
“Huh, okay. I mean if you are sure you are ready for him to get up close and personally with your upper lip and pores then I guess my work here is done.” She shrugs and moves past me into my bedroom.
I cringe at her visual and grab onto her arm before she can escape. “Fine, but I want to get to bed at a reasonable time. We still have school in the morning and not to brag or anything, but I’ve been on a pretty nice streak of staying awake in class.”
Sophie nudges me playfully. “Okay nerd. You know we are graduating in like two months; we basically have a get out of class free card for the rest of the year.”
“That’s not true at all. Where do you get these ideations?” I shake my head at her.
“They aren’t ideations. It’s the truth, besides you should be more concerned about who is going to be waxing your face in two seconds.”
I laugh and take a seat at the counter. “Don’t hurt me.”
“Beauty is pain, my dear. Beauty is pain.” And with that she precedes to pluck, wax, and primp me long into the school night.
***
“Okay, stop it guys, it’s not that big of a deal.” I pull away from the woman who’s unnecessarily fussing with the alterations on my new uniform. My heart drops when her face comes into view and I instantly recognize her. It’s the same woman whose lifeless body was sprawled out on the ground in that horrifying dream that still haunts me. The woman I tried desperately to revive. Beautiful silver hair, bright blue eyes, perfect matching dimples. And now she’s standing in front of me, tears springing from her eyes as she covers her mouth with a trembling hand and looks upon me adoringly.
“It IS a big deal. A huge, gigantic, deal actually. You are going off to Academy. The first class to live on Capital and learn from some of the greatest minds of my generation. There are only a few of us left and soon you will all be replacing us; you are all already so much smarter than all of us put together. We are simply a bunch of fogies who had an ideal.”
“That’s not true.” I shake my head. “Things may click faster for us, but you guys know so much. I mean look at what you’ve already accomplished. This beautiful new world where Genesis, Nori and Ori can live together, building a better tomorrow.”
“Nadia? Do we have company?” A great booming voice from the next room asks. “Because I’m pretty sure those wise words cannot be coming from our twelve-year-old Riella.” Theo, the burley dark haired man that whispered his last words to me comes over to my side and pulls me into a gigantic bear hug. I breath in his scent trying to lock it away in the deepest part of my brain before he lets me go.
“Well, I’m only wise because I have the best teachers in the world. I mean how lucky was I to get you guys.”
“Oh, pish posh, it wasn’t luck at all. It was fate. You practically walked out of the womb and into our arms.” Nadia squeezes my cheeks admiringly, her loving smile warming me to my very core.
“You guys have to stop telling that story, some of the Nori’s are actually going to believe you.”
“Well they should. It’s true.”
“Yeah, yeah. You two, you’re dreamers. That’s not even possible.” I step down from the stool Nadia had me on so she could alter my uniform and follow her into the kitchen to get dinner ready.
“Dreamers? No. Scientists.” Theo follows behind.
“Sorry. Scientists. Brilliant Scientists who saved the world and me.”
“Yes, because you wouldn’t have survived on your own. Poor little Riella, girl wonder would have never made it anywhere else in the world. Genesis’ own creators had to take her in.” A leggy blonde with the same eyes as Nadia stomps into the kitchen heading straight for the table without even greeting us.
“Nice to see you too, Ryss.” Nadia goes over to her side and gives her an awkward side hug. “How was your day?”
“Do you really care? Seems like you guys have your hands full getting Riella ready for the coveted academy. The one that so nicely rejected me, even though my parents practically created it.”
“You weren’t rejected. It’s just the originals didn’t think you would benefit from the curriculum, it’s much higher paced than what you are used to.”
“That’s because I’m in a school for idiots.”
“Oh, Ryss. They aren’t idiots, they are simply starting over. Adaption takes years to restart after something as tragic as the melt down.”
“Yeah well it didn’t happen to me. I’m smarter than them. I’m more advanced. I came from the two of you, two originals yet I’m treated like a Nori.”
“It’s nothing against you honey, you are simply one of a kind. A pioneer in the new world.”
“Except I’m not. When are you going to see I’m one of you? I’m original and should be treated like one. Except you’ve created a world where the only two races that are seen are Nori and Genesis. I don’t belong because of you and your stupid buddies.”
“Ryss, that’s not true. The originals all went to the same school you did. It’s an honor really to be submerged in Nori culture, especially now. Think of what you can learn from them and what you can in turn teach them. You are an asset to them and they an asset to you.”
“She’s right, I would love to go to school with you. The Academy is kind of daunting. I mean just thinking about being stuck in a school of clones is intimidating. What if we are all the same?” I try to lighten to mood with a clone joke. Something Nadia, Theo and I laugh about all the time.
“I’m sorry did I ask for your opinion, girl wonder?”
“Ryss!” Nadia’s nostrils flare with outrage.
“What? I didn’t ask for it.”
“She is only trying to help,” Theo adds.
“I don’t need her help! I don’t need any of their help. Unlike you and the pathetic Noir, I can manage on my own! And maybe if you hadn’t meddled, more people would be able to function without them instead of relying on them like helpless idiots!”
“RYSS! THAT IS ENOUGH!” Theo slams his hand down on the table, silencing the entire room. “Go to your room and think about this rage that is consuming you. Find a way to control it or you’ll be just as needy and helpless as those you so liberally call idiots!” Theo points his finger to the stairs, his chest puffed out and face red with anger. There is no negotiating with him, he’s settled the matter, Ryss is to leave immediately.
Ryss lets out a low growl as she scraps her chair across the floor and stomps away, her icy cold eyes boring deep into my soul sending me a message loud and clear. This is all my fault; everything is all my fault. I hang m
y head, flopping down into the chair next to me with a desperate sigh.
“Why does she hate me so much?” I whisper.
“It is not your fault.” Nadia comes and kneels in front of me taking my hands in hers. “She was born into a world she does not understand. One that doesn’t really accept her. She is only lashing out because she doesn’t know how to manage her feelings. She is not like you, she is smart yes, brilliant even, but she’s plagued with emotions that we have not had to deal with in ages. Emotions that were weeded out of us as a people. She’ll figure it out. Just as her ancestors did before her.” Nadia cups my face in her hands and gives me a small smile.
“Now, this is a happy time, no more talk of sadness.” She stands up and goes to the kitchen bringing in the most delicious smelling dishes. We take our places at the table, quickly forgetting about Ryss and her outburst.
I spring up in bed gasping for breath as I look frantically around my room. I’m in my bed, my own bed, in my own room, in my own house, in Greenville. I sigh and lay back down putting a hand over my face as I try to calm my facing heart. It was just a dream. Just another stupid dream. Something lightly touches my shoulder and I scream, frantically scooting away from it.
“Hey, it’s just me.” Sophie puts up her hands in surrender. I forgot she stayed over. I didn’t see her lying on the mattress next to my bed when I frantically scanned my room. She gives me a sad smile and climbs onto the bed next to me.
“So, they’re back?”
I nod and swallow down the horrified lump of realization that is forming in my throat. “Yeah, they’re back.”
“Did you see Jaxon again?”
“No.” I shake my head staring off into the distance as I remember every vivid detail about the dream. “I saw someone else. Someone I think I really cared about.” I turn to her with uneasiness. “I mean she cared about. People Riella cared about. It was really…well…nice…to feel that way.”