"Enough Lil, you'll miss your flight, if we continue like this.." The resigned voice of a woman filled my ears - far too loud. But instead of letting go, I tighten my arms around her.
"Mm… that would be very nice." I murmured in quiet protest. The slight intake of her breath told me she heard me.
"We already talked about this." She gently pulled me off her chest ending my cosy snuggle sooner than I liked.
"No, we haven't. That was mostly you emotionally blackmailing me, if I remember correctly." My words came out sharper than intended, heat barely contained beneath them.
The exhausted lines along her pale cheekbones quells the anger in my chest– leaving behind something worse.
Guilt
"Still I'm here because you wanted me to.." I trail off, my eyes going everywhere but her. The ache in my chest dulling a bit.
"No," She said softly, placing her hands on my cheeks. "You're here because it's your dream."
"One that doesn't need me travelling half the world." I shot back, voice tight against my throat.
"Tell me, what kind of mother I will be if I hold you back." She continues pulling me closer.
"You need to go. More than you need to stay."
"Don't worry," Whispering, she gently wipes away a stray tear from my cheek.
"I'll be fine."
I tighten my hold around her waist, burying my face in the warmth of her chest. –her scent of chamomile and orchid filled my nostrils.
It was calming.
Home
I inhale deeply, greedily taking as much of her scent as I could, leaning into the softness of her fingers in my hair.
"It's time" A crisp voice calls out, the slight tinge of irritation unmistakeable.
Across the lounge, stood towering like a sentinel was Jack Alsono–my guardian watching with thinning patience.
To my horror, scholarship kids like me needed a physical guardian to supervise our academic life, hormonal sprees and social catastrophes our otherwise virtual guardians couldn't manage…
Fifteen paragraphs of bureaucratic nonsense–I didn't entertaain more than a glance.
"You heard him.." Slowly, I slid off her chest, my emerald eye locking on her brown orbs.
There she went again.
Supporting him.
Again.
She was never going to stop.
As much as I disliked Jack, Mum trusted him completely–the first time we'd had conflicting opinions that couldn't be compromised.
By the check-in counters, he stands straight watching our exchange with narrowed eyes. The outline of the woollen suit, snagged too well against his tall, sturdy build. Shoulders tight and upright, like everything around him was orbiting wrongly.
He held my gaze for a second, his shoe clinking against the marble floor.
He acted more like a bodyguard than a parental figure.
"Okay!" I reply smiling, my voice coming out more sarcastic than I intended.
But who cared? She didn't –not anymore.
Too focused on having things go her way to notice. I tightened my hold on my luggage, turning sharply.
We already said our goodbyes.
She must've tagged along to make sure I didn't run off.
"See you when I do" The rolls of my luggage skidding slightly against the floors behind me. I fixed my gaze on Jack, fighting the urge to look behind me.
The weight in my hand barely kept me grounded, as I stride towards the check-in point with shaky steps.
Why did she put my dreams before us? My chest heavy, as if someone had reach in and was slowly restricting my heart.
I was so pissed off. At Mum and the whole damn situation! Why the hell was I made to choose between my dreams and my only family..
Why did she make me choose?
Not quite right, she freaking made the choice.
My Choice, the one she took away.
Still, here I was…. unable to hate her.
I really wanted to. Because, deep down, I understood. Understood why she'd put me first. Why, she was sending me away.
She loves me, she's doing this for me….
But knowing that didn't make the ache in my chest any less.
I swallow, the sound the loud in my ears ignoring the sharp sting of unshed tears that glazed my vision.
I'm not as strong as she thinks –I will break without her.
My feet carries me closer to the check-in counter, where Jack waits quietly. My jaw clenched, almost bruising under his gaze.
Steady and nonchalant to my anguish.
I shook under the weight of the silence between us, sharp in way that felt like mockery.
"Good morning, Mr. Alsono." I greeted between gritted teeth. The clacking of my luggage against the marbled floor loud in the silence. My barely contained anger spike seeing him up close.
"Good morning, Ms. Halecrest." Smiling, his lips arches stretching too thin into something that didn't quite feel like a smile.
No depth
Polite and detached
My name on his lips felt odd–a trip of reverence that had nothing to do with me and everything to do with the name itself. Who addressed someone like that in this day and age?
First a bodyguard, now a butler –something I'd only ever seen in TV. Hands tucked behind, still in a quiet confidence, as he turned sharply in a fluid motion toward the counter like it was rehearsed to impress…
"Let's begin." Snapping me out of my thoughts, he turns to the counter placing a suitcase I hadn't noticed till now.
"Welcome to Peak X International Airlines!" The enthusiastic voice of a feminine robot resounds sharply in the empty space.
"Welcome Guardian Alsono and Cadet Halecrest." It greets once again, this time more sentient and familiar.
"Thank you, Aira." The words leave my mouth before I could stop myself.
No matter how many times we met I couldn't bring myself to treat her like a mere service bot.
Not when she looked really human and was very nice.
'Professional.' I corrected.
She gives me a knowing smile. I look away, my cheeks warming up in embarrassment.
I bet she was assessing my emotional and mental state as we speak.
"I will proceed with the departure procedures formally." She says referring to Jack. I jolt awake from on hearing her words.
Departure. I was leaving for Geneva soon.
I spun so fast I nearly lost my footing. The hall stretches as far as my eyes could see. Silent, cold as usual.
But this time, empty–the faint scent of orchid and chamomile fading without a trace.
It had only been two minutes and thirty-seconds.
But, she was already gone.
The sting behind my eyes sharpens. Turning away from the counter, Jack glances at me…
Then, follows my line of sight, a faint glimmer of recognition shining in his otherwise emotionless eyes. I feel his gaze on me briefly, after which he faces the counter choosing not to comment.
Something, I was grateful for. My impression of him improving for a moment. At the very least, he wasn't trying to bond over my straining relationship.
I inhale sharply, the cold air filling my lungs barely keeping me grounded.
There was no point mulling over what I no control over.
I turn, wincing quietly at the bluish light of the holograph.
Aira was focused on the interface projecting from the core pulsating in her chest. It made sense she didn't need a computer.
She was one.
"Documents" Still concentrating on the screen, she asks. Disrupting the awful silence that enveloped us.
Jack inputs some symbols into the touchscreen that appears after the case did a biometric scan of his palm.
He passes some familiar looking documents, a visa….
My passports. Those were the documents we had acquired in the last month to process my migration.
Of course, they were with him.
I scoff.
Well, I was still legally a minor and an adult was required to carry out this process. That, however, didn't make the fact, a stranger had access to such sensitive documents about me less annoying.
Aira quickly scans through them with her Omnivision, eyes blazing white. In mere seconds, she was over everything, and Jack placed them back in the case, locking it with a click.
"Ms. Halecrest, you are cleared for international transit. Verification Complete."
Thirty seconds and she was done.
Wow.
I will never get used to this.
"Proceed to boarding." She concludes, voice firm in finality. Going silent, her eyes goes lifeless, no static afterwards.
I now understand why Peak X Airlines went with these service bots. I let my eyes trail the long counter occupied with other similarly static service bots. Their efficiency was staggering. In two minutes, what took over two hours at other five-star International Airports was finished.
Then, again, Peak X was never enlisted in any of the publicly known five-star airports. I guess a reclusive airport was normal since I was now a student of a hidden, elitist school.
Nothing about any of this was normal but mum won't hear of it. Dousing logic to all of this madness. This was outright suspicious except I got the scholarship from a National Scholarship Scheme.
I look around the empty hall once again, tightening my grip on the handle of my luggage as the cold silence hits me in mockery.
"You've much bigger matters at hand as opposed to venting at a ghost." Jack walks past me in unhurried steps, voice sharp across the sterile emptiness of these walls.
Those words, cold and amused underneath his breath, unleashed a wave of fury I never knew I had in me.
I move without thinking.
I reach him breathless. "Cat's away and the mouse's out to play." Matching his stride, I mocked–smug about how right I'd always been.
A glance –simple and dismissive was all I got.
The harshest jab I'd ever throw wasn't enough to make him blink.
Just great
And here, I was infuriated by just his silence.
I swallow my defeat bitterly in silence falling behind. The boarding gate drew nearer, so did the automated scans. The security protocols are insane.
Way overboard.
Aira had mentioned once that Peak X had access to places the rest of the world didn't know existed —Jack had cut her off before she could say more.
"One wrong muscle alignment–your Visa revoked." Aira's words come back clear as day, a chill immediately after.
That I wouldn't mind but the possibility of a crime investigation–was a different matter altogether. I didn't dare think too much about it.
I straighten under the radar of the bots, preparing for cellular level identity verification.
Define crazy.
A blade of light passes through my body with every step, green markers lighting the screens in sequence checking corresponding security detail. Just like in practice–except nothing about practice feels like this. I halt briefly, adjusting my posture for the next series of security checks, which Jack passes with ease.
It made me wonder how many times he did this before now. I had only done virtual stimulations in my past month here. Nothing really came close to the real deal.
I pass the checks meeting Jack at the gate. Then–the airfields, myriads of colored airplanes sprawl, gleaming reflectively under the sun.
Over a hundred airplanes of different colors line the ramp, my lips part open in awe at the sight beneath the sun.
"Keep walking." Jack's calls calmly.
"Ughhh" I groan in annoyance, glancing around one last time in resignation, before stomping after him.