x
Hearing Mark instruct Bernard to follow me, I increased my speed, quickly sliding into a nearby foreign room. Once inside, I found that it was, in fact, a laboratory. Not a collection of laboratories, but just one single room dedicated to one single laboratory, probably for one single scientist.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAluWatiWTrp
It was well kept and organised; white counters stretched out against every wall, biurets and whatnot on one side, and compounds and elements on the other. Every inch of the lab boasted state of the art technology; nanotechnology here, some energy-efficient water purifiers there.
515Please respect copyright.PENANA9vaqn0yDDe
But what interested me the most was a small vial that sat alone on one of the counters, right against the wall as if whoever put it there was completely cautious enough to protect it from breaking at all costs. It was about the size of my index finger, almost fully made of glass, except for its golden lid and tiny square plate (also golden) in which the name of the contents of the vial was skilfully engraved into. I knelt down, observing every detail of it with pure appreciation.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAwyKg1wObhb
"What–" a voice hissed – and momentarily stopped when I screamed, ducking down, "are you doing?" it finshed.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAPqiy82ysFK
The voice belonged to a female, no doubt. It was rough, but not quite as rough as it was snappy and demanding, as if each word after the initial "what" was arrowed out her mouth by some invisible assistance of a bow.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAg5U9ZtpNiZ
I rose, slowly from my half-crouched position, just about identifying the constricted pupils of her dark eyes. She looked about my age. Her eyebrows were drawn towards each other, illustrating a frown, and her glare just missed being homicidal. Although bizarre for a short moment, I would have thought it was Gemma herself, had it not been for the microscopic raven hair, which was razored so short that it stood only about half a centimeter off her scalp. She looked the opposite of Gemma.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAr0d88GwasH
I placed a hand on my chest. "Don't do that!"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAwjTkMWGcoh
She didn't miss a beat before replying, "how about you don't invade other people's private laboratories? There are chemicals in here that could burn right through your eyes and into your brain, you know?" It sounded more like a threat than a caution – especially with her finger prodding my shoulder like that and her chin titled high, dominance written all over the posture.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAhPpUmFmGbk
In a weird way, I admired her attitude; she was the first person in any of the two Reynolds buildings who didn't approach me as if I were a bomb ready to explode at any given moment.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAydu5ISi4sj
"You're right. I shouldn't be in here," I admitted. One small step for man,—
515Please respect copyright.PENANAFt3xqltHxe
"And judging by the way you were ogling that copper ii benzoate dehydrate," she went on, "it doesn't seem like you know the last thing about quantum chemistry, so I'd be careful where I put my foot, the next time."
515Please respect copyright.PENANASoFluElqcB
I had actually memorised the entire syllabus on quantum chemistry when I first entered the wonderful and thrilling world of teenhood. That, and quantum physics. Nonetheless, I apologised, smiling, "I'm sorry," —one giant leap for mankind, "but it wasn't the copper ii benzoate dehydrate I was interested in – the vial it's inside looks very pretty."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAZItkhk8aGY
She let out one of those one-breath laughs. "The vial?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAWTixCvBhCi
I nodded.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAf69Vi0vobv
"If it accounts for anything, it is from the Reynolds' alchemy unit. Limited edition. They stopped making them a few years back, when the smart and talented Miss Gemma Reynolds realised that gold was a limited resource."
515Please respect copyright.PENANACCw0tgBtGZ
"That's too bad," I was still smiling, although I didn't know why. Maybe it was because of the way she referred to Gemma in such a sardonic manner, which I didn't think was possible of any Reynolds' employees, seeing as they seemed to worship the girl – or perhaps, this girl was just being herself.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAExqEyviDWI
"What's so funny?" she inquired.
515Please respect copyright.PENANA25RUh6Dywi
"Nothing." I wiped the stupid smile off my face. "You're just..."
515Please respect copyright.PENANADj1XHUqn9L
"I'm just what?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAQW2zKdEoGW
Confident? Fearless? A role model to all feminists out there?
515Please respect copyright.PENANAIH6TDLTkVM
"You're—"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAxclLUJUTYv
She gasped suddenly, her eyes widening and immediately narrowing, all within a fraction of a second. "You're her!"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAb6O2DOULMB
On a normal basis, I liked the usual "oh my lizards! You're 202!" that people reflexively gave off. Others took a safe step back, which was also satisfying. But, this girl's reaction, I loved. And what made it better was what she said, next.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAARlq97ZZ21
"You're the chick Gemma's been obsessed with!" She sounded accusatory, the pressure on the finger that met my shoulder increasing with every word.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAIJB1xJqPpc
"Gemma, you say?" I leaned forward, all interested.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAoDFh5DSeBm
"Yeah. She can't stand you," she stated it so simply, so respectably honestly.
515Please respect copyright.PENANA9oh86ARg8E
I scoffed. "Then, tell her to sit."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAM05u2fIRnt
A muscle twitched a little at her mouth, causing a corner of her lips to arch up. Strangely, the tiny shift seemed to light up her whole face. "I'll be out of my job if I so much as ordered her to take an extra breath. I've got a mouth to feed at home, so I'll leave the commanding to you."
515Please respect copyright.PENANALJpGo5GMjh
I tilted my head. "You've got a child?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAXcJkFvDhqb
"Reproduction; one of the seven life processes."
515Please respect copyright.PENANA6BEvDVM6kt
"But... you look so young."
515Please respect copyright.PENANANwZGk8KBXN
"Ever heard of teenage pregnancy? What boring society do you live?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANARR7x5AdDUf
"Well, Director rarely ever let me leave the gates of the Front without authorisation, if that explains anything."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAzqCpFyNhmP
"The Front!" Her eyes glistened. "That name is thrown around at least twice every hour in this place!"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAOikKYLrM2c
"Same thing happens with Reynolds Corporation over there."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAUe3UH2WSK4
"Really?" She was now wearing the same smirk I had on.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAJBxjrgQl2G
"Uh-huh."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAkBCeuGm81d
We lapsed into silence for a few seconds. I took in her unmissable almost-bald head for a second time. It seemed to take all the customary attention that hair, in general, gets, and concentrated it all into her facial features instead. The result made them look even more beautiful.
515Please respect copyright.PENANA1X6mrkNZvr
"What's your name?" I asked.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAJ9Q0DiCNgM
"Arya. With a 'y'."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAEwPdvSv0AJ
"Nice name. I'm Emerald."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAUVH2TL3TnJ
"Is it? I can't be sure, I've only seem your face and name on the front page of a newspaper fourteen times, in the past two weeks."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAT5aJz5vLCc
"Wow. That's precise," I deliberately focused on the wrong part, just to see how far I could tick her off.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAUGSrg3JX17
"If you're trying to annoy me," she responded, reading my thoughts, "it's working."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAEAaajx3Tqr
"Annoying people is second nature to me," I replied, proud of this useless quality.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAt6nnkEfIcn
"How charming," she stated flatly. "I took the hint when you came in here without permission."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAVgVI5HxTYt
I shrugged. "I get curious."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAcRHU3yNoi7
She smiled a proper smile now. "Me too."
515Please respect copyright.PENANA42GjORQrRk
"So how come you had a child so early?" Again, it was curiosity provoking that question. As soon as it left my mouth, I expected a scowl from her or an even rudely phrased "mind your own business" comment. But instead, her face lit up, as if she felt genuinely enthusiastic when on the topic of her child.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAF9dR1qiGa9
"Well, I don't know if I've mentioned this but I am quite the prodigy when it comes to quantum chemistry,"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAKWtpX8e0bG
You have.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAXBeRqy4A20
"So, it was no surprise when I'd gotten into Harvard three years prior to standard college applicants. Guess who else got into Harvard three years prior?" She asked with a knowing smirk.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAjHaZEVlKLE
How could I forget? It was all they ever blabbered on about at the Front, for a whole week without end.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAe1nPsqZCAH
"You had a child with Gemma?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAjO7XQLnCtR
"No. I attended Harvard with her. There, I was introduced to the fabulous wonderland of college parties."
515Please respect copyright.PENANA49SHGfT54P
"And that's when contraception was ignored, and ta-da a child is born! I finished. It was the typical story of accidental pregnancy. Easy.
515Please respect copyright.PENANA7BBJDVQL8O
"No."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAfWDE4dHe1z
"Oh."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAi1GKeW7E3r
"Gemma and I got really close, thanks to those exciting strings of parties, and half way through the course, she to talk to her father about getting me a job at Reynolds. Amazing pay cheque. It was irresistible. You should have seen those digits—"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAOlFfm96uT7
"Are you promoting Gemma's wealth?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAyhXup6Lsam
"Right. What was I saying? Oh yeah! And then I met Noah, and bam! Now I have a daughter."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAumgSV54BNa
Not that I've ever been to school but from what I've heard, you know when teachers explain the most important part of the lesson real fast? That was what just happened. I shifted on the spot. "Um, I think I just missed something. Slowly, now. Who's Noah?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAuMGq0SI7Xh
"Oh, he's my boyfriend. He works here too."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAeqq51JqweZ
I liked the way she simply stated things, as if reading facts out of flash cards. If there was anyone I'd trust to tell the truth, it would have been her. I smiled at this. "What's your daughter's name?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAPAf7dq20MQ
"Arya the Second," she replied with a straight face.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAZSIrqclpaj
I gave her a blank stare.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAauKjbTexoO
"Put that face away. I'm just messing with you."
515Please respect copyright.PENANADfTReV48NH
"What is it, then?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAPFndKwcjeo
She ran a hand over her head. "It's—swear you won't laugh?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAooYjWqgG1g
"I would never," I promised. "Besides, I get called by a medical drug's name, so who am I to judge?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANA9EEaiboOZK
"Alright then," she took a breath. "It's... Fluorine."
515Please respect copyright.PENANADrZOxQCW2A
There was silence.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAN2o2m4IxZK
My laugh broke that silence.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAFjpElpZpiG
"You said you wouldn't laugh!" she yelled.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAcCEMsiLDAj
I laughed harder. "Oh my god!" I wheezed, tears brimming over my lower eyelids. "Fluorine! Like the element?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANA9s9bpf305M
"Shut up! It was his idea! The name was supposed to be poetic. Fluorine is one of the most reactive metals, consisting the highest attraction of—stop laughing!" She shoved me.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAll4ijL8XYJ
"Hey! Dangerous chemicals behind me! I can't believe you! What did the poor child ever do to you? Do you know how much bullying little Fluorie's going to encounter? I mean, not that I've ever been to school myself," I explained, "but I've heard horrible things."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAq7dXuYOdE4
"You've never been to school?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANATce2mV3ehH
"No."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAhY0TSLLkvc
"Explains a lot."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAMHxDMPbyHT
"Hey! You're mean!"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAIfRR92xCrJ
"And you're childish. When I saw the broadcast of you at the launch evening, I don't know, you just seemed so serious, so solemn," she made a face. "But you're the opposite! You looked so boring on that camera."
515Please respect copyright.PENANA2jPIqkhghH
"I wasn't boring. I was bored."
515Please respect copyright.PENANA9ykG17sEOW
"Yeah... you honestly looked like you were about to pass out in the first minute of Director's speech."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAflFS1UfeAZ
That deceitful lying traitor.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAiEYwWV5YsT
"Between you and me, I chugged down two litres of energy drink before that evening began."
515Please respect copyright.PENANA01yTTStiKh
"And even that barely kept you awake."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAcFMxl083UU
"I fell asleep just before he called me up."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAZPl1GCMnUt
"No way!"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAY0d3WtN4e0
"Yes way! Amanda lost her mind."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAJg3JtX98Tf
"Manager, right?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAhf5v7rcZ62
I nodded. "And part-time Emerald-sitter."
515Please respect copyright.PENANADNjA2rLM3a
"Cool."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAThI1kMHiGx
"Not cool. The woman doesn't let me utter a minor swear word without scolding me."
515Please respect copyright.PENANA1lVh6KVhWu
"Well, by the looks of those pictures, you seemed to love her." Ah, the press pictures.
515Please respect copyright.PENANA6WjB4C0ilh
"I never said I don't love her," I muttered.
515Please respect copyright.PENANA5JmvMt33gJ
"Is this the part where the audience "aww"s?" She clasped her hands holding it to her chest, acting out her words. It caused heat to rise to my face.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAZuFCPZ9el1
"Shut up." I swatted her.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAG5dVxOYAtR
"But, do you know what I'm wondering?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAiIUIZDrhWL
"What?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAwuP2lvv7m4
"Why did the director guy call you up, and then proceeded to continue talking for a good half an hour before actually introducing the poor girl he forced to get up on stage?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANA8TpqYgmf25
I gasped. "I. Know. Right?!" It was like Arya's actual soul was attached to mine. "For a smart guy, that traitorous man has no logic."
515Please respect copyright.PENANApUZ44RC2Lf
"Traitorous because he forced you to get up on stage even though you clearly didn't want to, or traitorous because he lied to you and then tried to kill you for it?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAzSckyP8xMu
I blinked.
515Please respect copyright.PENANA9RbTBdY6Pt
Well, this conversation escalated quickly.
515Please respect copyright.PENANApk6a76f9j8
"You know?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAwPRFEvFVSz
"Everyone here knows!"
515Please respect copyright.PENANA4OzcNYuEYG
"They do?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANA4uFHq2B6Jv
She sighed, as if giving up on me. "Are you actually dense?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANATEqCKEbLYh
"You're doing it again."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAhGfhHw0Gh2
"Doing what?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANA9QDBkSogj2
"Being mean," I huffed like a child.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAq6MgvLkt6U
"I'm sorry, but I would have thought you knew."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAqUxFCIYYaW
"How would I know?" I mocked.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAlVrcjEIwNs
"How do you think Gemma created the cure for 202 without the employees at Reynolds knowing? Who do you think manufactures it?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAygjIESI8Mf
I scratched my ear. Alright, I was dense. But... "But, the whole reason why Director wanted me dead is so that nobody else found out about his grand failure!"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAgurPyqJQvP
"Your point being?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAPNyXYrOPBf
"My point being, Director feared anyone –Reynolds Inc, included – discovering the truth so much, he was prepared to kill me for it – because he knew that all it would take was one good bribery and one good news story for it to be all over the media. So my question is, if everyone here knows the truth, how comes it hasn't gotten out to the media yet?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAN7FDufuasU
Arya tilted her head. "You know what the Anti-202 Squad is, right?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANA6ntm4prIbm
"Yes. They were embracing themselves for attack when I first got here."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAe6f0sU8ppe
"Right. Well, Gemma has an even stronger squad to ensure nothing – and may I repeat, nothing – she wants to be kept confidential, leaks out. It's called the media-foxfire."
515Please respect copyright.PENANACKapS4qFfd
I cocked my head. "Hold on. Gemma fears the media more than she fears me?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANALSGVAPqGUO
"I guess."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAHqbFsNCeZg
I shrugged. "Likewise," I paused. "Wait, so Gemma doesn't want anyone to find out about 202?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAqJtaKtXIkv
"Nope."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAOQAIlGXjEk
I was baffled. "W-w-well, why not?" I thought she'd leap at the chance to expose the Front.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAyD5sTQ94aU
"I don't know."
515Please respect copyright.PENANApXz5Pp8zBV
"You don't?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAIJGvN9HMHG
"She's planning something big. That part, she's kept hidden, even from her employees."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAvdDXIbaNym
My eyes glittered.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAQihmx67b8b
"I need her cure," I told Arya.
515Please respect copyright.PENANA6dS4A7d8G6
"I know. She won't give it to you."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAkHEqmQ9z17
"You think I don't know that?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAkYU8gekWfU
"Well, I'm just saving you the time and energy." She shrugged.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAMtBp9j0Pnb
"There's really no way she'd give it to me, huh?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAay8ITlEM0q
"Like I said, she's planning something big. She'll look at you like an obstacle in her way."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAih6POwpjru
"Then, I guess I'd have to fight it off her, then."
515Please respect copyright.PENANARNv1oY0Mx8
"Ooh, I'd pay good money to see that."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAmk1L2jgSZR
"It wouldn't be long. Probably about a second or two to snap her neck, perpendicular to her shoulder."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAucRAXHspoI
Arya took a step back.
515Please respect copyright.PENANATQtCzuBBdW
"I'm joking."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAzduc2SrLGg
I think.
515Please respect copyright.PENANA1ugyW5ykP3
"Is it true? What they say about the – well it sounds like a childish way to refer to it but, – the powers?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAnMr8tgjoV4
"The superpowers." I winked.
515Please respect copyright.PENANA7MQS27oFXs
"They say you can bend steel under your fingers."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAz00BEsDHyB
"Huh. Never really tried it. I can shatter things telepathically, though."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAoVeIxYGkX7
"That. Is. Awesome! I read about it in article 7.1. in Robert Reynold's study of The Fabrication of 202."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAuzcUr1zNyJ
"The man was a pedophile, as well as a killer," I replied looking around. "You haven't got a scrap piece of steel by any chance, have you?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAXOfLUBFzpG
"That third drawer labelled Transitions." She pointed in its direction.
515Please respect copyright.PENANADsJqu4EeUX
Once I opened it, I noticed immediately how the drawer resembled the Tardis from Doctor Who. Small on the outside, big on the inside. There were rows upon rows of sample-like pieces of metals. Although separated and neatly categorized, there was no telling which type of metal was which. One had to simply be well educated enough to look at a scrap piece of metal and go "ah, this must be zinc."
515Please respect copyright.PENANABXcpiDXjY2
I picked out the steel piece. It was about the size of a small pencil.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAIbWr7erJxR
"I hear you're incredibly smart too, despite what I said earlier," Arya said, with both elbows resting on the counter, now.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAiqcsVxH5S9
I turned the steel over in my knuckles, as if it were a drumstick and walked back over to her. "When I want to be."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAUZ5LYBUOWC
Which is never.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAtGpkoxEB9o
I looked up. "You seem to be hearing a lot. But the question is, who's saying these things?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAcletNFzDVp
She shrugged. "Sentences just get thrown around in here. I pick up on them."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAGidjbbrIAF
Interesting.
515Please respect copyright.PENANADagnY1iKTI
"Do they talk about my potential death?" I winced a little, awaiting her answer.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAmdnwKqcRq2
Her face dropped a little. "You don't want the answer to that."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAocB0KFrF6k
I gave sad smile for reasons I didn't know. I didn't care about what these people thought of me. But, this was more than reputation. It was death. My actual death. My potential death. These people were celebrating it even though I had never done anything to them. It was a laugh behind my back, even though they were the ones who wronged me, and my parents, and the whole of the Front. It was like they were talking about my upcoming birthday, except it was the opposite. It felt weird. Maddening.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAsw3b6t29sr
The steel bent into a 'U' shape under my hand.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAp7wqkQNBpQ
Arya smiled at it, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "You know, I'm really beginning to wish I hadn't met you. Because if what happens, happens," she deliberately failed to mention the words. "I don't think I'd be as stony about it, as I once thought I'd be."
515Please respect copyright.PENANABOy8jkDhd1
I wish we never met, because before I knew you, I wouldn't have cared whether you lived or died. But now, I just might, was basically what she was saying.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAzXD2sc5EGb
"Hey!" She now had a happy smile on. "If you know when you're going die, aren't you a bit like Jesus?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAXLaOslW18z
I laughed at the absurdity of her sentence. "I'm not Jesus!"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAJ2gohOwI0x
"You're like him. You know when you're going to die, and you make subtle references to your death like it's no big deal. Besides you're kind to the world, as Jesus once was."
515Please respect copyright.PENANASihI3khm1V
"I am many things, Arya," many, many things. "But, I'm not God."
515Please respect copyright.PENANACwcju4j1gh
"Of course, not. But you're a giver. You give your all."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAOqm3VORDXj
"I'm selfish," I argued. "Yeah, I give my all to get the cure from Gemma. But I do it, because I need it."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAOCjedSnpXL
"Is that the only reason you do it?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANA70BrXxKego
"Yes."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAqb6lIrUtAK
"So you've never once thought about doing it for all the people who were promised a cure for cancer?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANArXhKGKN3Gv
I remained silent.
515Please respect copyright.PENANArbiCf35zfL
"Well?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANANWv4VXZ2qc
I sighed. "I have."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAQmdkBdOKKC
"You have. See? You're not selfish. Wanna know why?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAPMaCZ6tMaw
"Go ahead."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAjd7iwc6f67
"Because you have time! Death isn't going to come to you until you are at least twenty years old, and how long is it till your birthday?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAsUDX3kND5x
"Half a year."
515Please respect copyright.PENANAPt9CcxIDJi
"Half a goddamn year! That means you have at least 6 months until things start to get serious. You didn't have to travel a quarter of the way across the world to get the cure. But, you did. Why? Because you're selfish and wanted Gemma's cure all to yourself? No. It was because the rest of the world doesn't have 6 months," she stopped momentarily like people do just to make sure everything they just said actually goes into the other person's brain. "I have known about you for years. But I've only known you personally for—" she looked at her watch. "Twenty-five minutes, and I can say this: Yes, you are many things, Emerald. But, selfish is not one of them."
515Please respect copyright.PENANA6DsdWRz7qz
You will meet some people, very rarely, perhaps only once or twice if you're lucky, for they are very sparsely distributed around the world. And when you encounter them, you sort of just click – in a weird way maybe, or in a straightforward way possibly, but ultimately you will click just like the pen that drew this picturesque outline of a friendship for you.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAyQ6BB3vBJz
I had known Arya for not even a day, and she was already one of those people.
515Please respect copyright.PENANANzr7aRvWu7
"Nineteen years, I've been alive. Nineteen, " I iterated. "And, I only meet you now?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAw2O14AldDP
She flicked some imaginary hair back. "I'm irresistible, aren't I?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAYEweKNYdl2
I cracked a smile. "Did you really mean what you said?"
515Please respect copyright.PENANAimB3RtDUoW
"Hell yeah. That speech you gave here in LA at that protest? Well, we all watched it in the cafeteria. About twelve people welled up. I'm pretty sure Gemma fired all twelve of them."
515Please respect copyright.PENANA3qZ3qYzKvB
"Did they really?" A proper smile returned to my face.
515Please respect copyright.PENANA64xxHgF6He
"Yes! Gosh, after what you said, I'd bet my master's degree that every guy in that audience fell in love with you," she answered with iron certainty.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAoKu2pe5s6i
My heart pounded when she said that. It shouldn't have, but it did.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAW9Li3zkyge
***
515Please respect copyright.PENANAHyYLubs6Wh
Author's note:
515Please respect copyright.PENANA8y9lW9Msi6
Eesh, chapter titled was a little deceiving. I'd choose Arya over Everest anyday. Joke. I think.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAGl4k9SQqWm
What do you think of Arya?
515Please respect copyright.PENANAkcbDS6UNxf
I know there are many minor characters like Bernard, Brian, all those staffs, and even Heather, but Arya's actually a pretty important character, which is why I dedicated a whole chapter for her (p.s I think she's pretty cool). Fear not, there's more Arya in the next chapter.
515Please respect copyright.PENANAjW1sQY5b1k
Thank you for reading! Please comment and feedback if you liked it. And vote too if you want idm ;)
515Please respect copyright.PENANAkVHhkvG5v9
P.s. This chapter's called "Are we Soulmates Yet?" because it's the 21st chapter and Everest is 21. Okay, I lied again, it was just a coincidence.
-Ruth
ns 108.162.216.243da2