Chapter 8
The golden chair and the trophies caught my attention. Why was he getting rewarded when his promotion was put for the view for all to see? Small letters showed that his promotion was six months ago. Even though how weird this all was it was unlikely to be what I fear, my mind must be playing games with me I thought. After all, this is the University that the country cherishes more than anything.
The suspicion and doubets clouding over me made the emotions I buried deep inside me rose to the surface whenever I stared at his promotion. A brand new principal made for my arrival. With enough force my suspicion gave me the strength me to ask the principal the question I have replayed in my head for years.
‘’ If I may ask why have all my effort into being accepted into this University been dismissed?’’ I said with a calm voice afraid I would sound too upset.
‘’ You may, but please do not take my answer too harshly on yourself, the reason you have been dismissed before it's because you lacked the creativity this University needs. Your old work was merely not enough for us to give it the guidance and support in order to harvest its potential. Said the principal and continued speaking.
"You did it all by yourself which one again shows that this University do not need to guidance the dim lights to the light.’’ Said the principal with a monotone voice almost as if he expected me to ask him that question.
‘’ I don’t agree there was a time that I lost the faith in myself and all I needed was guidance from the university. It is true that I did it by myself but all the time I put in. You and the University could have spared me from waiting for an eternity when you could have easily spared me from shedding my own blood and sweat into perfection my creations. ‘’ I said, raising my voice a little almost losing control of my emotions.
‘’ I suppose we could have spared you from that agony that you inflicted on yourself. But that is all in the past. You have a new chance in this life that comes after the University. I know you are going to change this world.’’Said the principal with a different tone in his voice.
A relief washed on me when I sat with the principal for hours pouring my heart out. Now I did not have to carry the crushing weight of failure. It vanished when the principal said that they had seen my work but believed that only I could give myself the guidance and support my work needed.
Every single rejection and failure was the path to that special night, the night the meteor was coming and the androids came to me like a gift from the heavens. It all made sense now and let my mind focus on the more important things such as if the principal was taking bribes from the Williams family and why Bortums was now running his radar to the direction that Thomas was last seen.
Every time Bortums lifted his arm up it pointed to the hallway and out from the principal office where he was standing. Was Thomas a danger to us or was his desire to create artificial intelligence going to be my downfall?
Whatever the case was, I could not risk letting Thomas out of my sight. He was stressing out my androids until our next encounter. I will make sure he will stick like glue. The sound of students chattering was cut deadly silent off when I opened the principal's door and stood in the hallway. The attention of being the new girl grew quickly old on me and I simply let out a breath that I was holding and was about to walk on with my day.
But my curiosity got the best of me when I heard the footsteps of the students picking their pace up and leaving me alone with someone that seemed to patiently wait for me to turn around. I slightly turned my head to the direction behind me and took a quick glance when I saw blonde hair sticking out like a pearl hidden in the sea. I turned my whole body around in his direction and closed my hands into a fist.
My eyes fell on his clutching hand. He was holding a white paper between his fingers and his jaw was tightly shut with anger. Adrenaline rushed into my body. I have been waiting on this day for six months patiently and ever since I saw his name on the list of the students of year 2045.
Now he was right in front of me and the script I had trained in my room was rushing like blood on my brain and lips. Not wanting to give him the opportunity to have full control of the conversation I walked over to him and closed our distance. Heavy footsteps came quickly behind me and I looked at them from the corner of my eye and it was my androids standing close by. I couldn’t help but to let out a satisfied smile across my face when I stared down at him. He gave me the same expression back and held the paper close to my face.
It was at that moment my smile dropped and his smile grew slightly wider. I felt afraid, the same fear I endured each time he would try to provoke me until I shattered. The emotions that I hid deep beneath myself were coming to the surface. I studied his face and saw him waiting for my true reaction. I was not able to hide my fear anymore.
I read the letter until I gave in and admitted to myself that this was in fact the original letter that was sent to me by the university. From the small coffee stain and the faint scent of smoke was the proof that he brought this letter from my home. The grip I had onto the letter became weak when I blamed myself for not finishing up burning the letter. My stomach flipped because of the fear that consumed me. He was in my house and my poor grandma probably did not even notice that a stranger was inside her home. Anger and fear mixed trough me I was not able to decide how I would react I wondered if this was another effort by John to provoke me.
‘’ Is this letter from my house, the same one that was given to me.’’ I said with a wary voice soon to break. The small confidence I had was shattered by the flick of his wrist when he gave me that letter.
I studied his face and the corner of his lips rose a little. He was taunting me, making me feel that he could get me at any time like he used to. He always wanted to make sure that I never felt safe and on that dreadful day he succeeded. It was a little over an afternoon and I was invited by the guy I adored the most. A hidden location where he would confess his feelings for him was written on that pale blue letter I hurried and made it in time.
A farm house painted with bold red colors should have been the warning I needed and to not walk inside. But I was stubborn and wanted to return the feelings I had for him. For several hours I was forced to lay with the pigs until my skin and clothes were dried with mud as John stood over me with his friends. The guy I adored was nowhere to be seen.
The warm stinging tears in my eyes brought me out from my thoughts and I started to think that he must have sent one of his household staff to my house like he used to do when we were classmates.
‘’ Calm down before you pop that vein on your forehead, I have as any rights as the staff of this university to look at the letters sent out to the students after all my family has been the founders of this university generations down.’’ He said with an odd calm voice. He was not the type to conceal or control his anger and the outbursts that followed after.
Any questions that came at him always was a path for him to boost his family’s wealth. He enjoyed nothing more than to ignore my questions, the ones that would calm my mind down. I looked at the corner of my eye and noticed that the androids were gone. I did not know if I should feel betrayed or relieved that they would not harm John. I watched them as I saw them take a sharp turn and Bortums focused on his radar going to the direction it was pointing at.
I collected myself and my emotions and wore the same mask that would shield me from his outburst. To not cave in his provokings and not show any feelings he feeds off.
‘’ And who granted you that right? Was it the principal or your father.’’ I said with an unwavering voice not sure how present my words were. Torn between threatening him or remaining calm.
I wanted to know who was quick to endanger my safety and my grandma's if it were to be his father. I was defenseless by the endless amount of money and power his father possessed. The chief in this town had erased the records on John Williams; both his violent ones were vanished and my reports that I filed towards him.
‘’ You are still mannerless like I remembered you. A calm nice breeze at the farm house should jog up your memories.’’ He said with a passionate voice as if he was talking about his vacation in the summer.
The way his eyes flickered away from mine when he was talking about the farm house shows that he was remembering it as yesterday.
‘’ And you are still struggling to lose control over the people you look down at. I won’t let you get under my skin anymore. This time I am not empty handed or not protected like I used to be.’’ I said with a firm voice and deep hatred towards him.
I expected him to react and push me to the floor but all I was meet with was a taunting laugh as he looked at me with an expression I was not familiar with.
‘’ A bucket of water would cleanse your succession from this earth. If I can take away your sense of safety then how easy do you think it would be for me to disable your androids. In a way your androids are a comfort and your comfort has always been easy to shatter.’’ He said with empty eyes staring at me with no remorse or even a sign of taunt. He was more than determined to take it away from me. He craved for it.
‘’ You will never be able to cleanse my hard work and evidence of it that will be published across the world. Can you even say anything that you have succeeded on your own without the help of your father?’’ I said wanting to wreck his sense of reality.
I wanted for him to stay up at night and be tormented that he would never succeed at anything in life without his father but I was stopped abruptly when I heard the bathroom doors slam wide open on each side of John’s direction. Three girls and a boy were standing close to John’s side and they were watching me like a hawk.
I figure this must be his clique that he always uses to make my life more miserable than it was. He always picked three girls and a boy because he knew if he only picked guys it would be more noticeable. Meanwhile the girls would be brushed aside as we don’t get along or i don’t fit their standards. If he calculated his moves to make me leave this university then he must be terrified that his classmates will find out that he bought his way in and he has never achieved something and that the truth will come out because I am a walking proof.
The last thing I need is to relive the most gruesome memories of my life that I clawed out of. Seeing his clique made me relive all the anxiety and terror he caused me. I felt small again even though I have my androids. Their presence triggered the bad memories and my body reacted quickly. I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans and felt lungs closing in. I could faintly see when he used to lift me up with his hands wrapped around my throat and his face becoming red each time he strangled me harder.
He would tell me that he was in control if he wanted me to continue breathing and existing was a reminder everyday. Nobody knew how deranged he would become when I was in his way of achieving something and how hard it was to escape free from his torments and the stamina he has to cause it every minute of my life.
Even if I reported him to the police his dad would always get him out and erase any reports of his wrongful acts and the proof of that was when John assaulted one of his classmates Madison he won the trial and a few years later all the files on him were erased. Heck he could even commit murder and get off easy that is how powerful his family is.
My grandma filed a report on him for me when I came home on almost dead like state and my clothes in dried mud he decided that the strangling were not working on me like it used to I were naive to believe I could outrun his wrath. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and blinked the tears away, I could only stare at him as he taunted me and spoke the words that chilled me to my bones.
‘’ Was your dreadful life and memories flashing before your eyes? The way you are glued to the floor now reminds me how struck I left you in that farmhouse. You existing is the reminder that I allow you to breathe." He taunted me and made me relive the horrible memories of the pig house and how I had no more strength in me to wash off the mud of my clothes and fight back.
‘’ The only one way you can out of this dreadful situation is to not speak of the reason behind my recommendation letter no matter who asks you and do not accept that professor's private tutoring I have been trying for months to get in contact with him and I can’t let him waste his time on you.’’ He continued speaking.
‘’ That choice is mine even if you wake the old feelings I buried inside with your tauntings and presence. I am not the old person you mistreated and let you get away with anything. I haven’t gotten any offers from any proferes it must be your own insecurities that are quick to believe I have an offer. ‘’I said with anger in my voice.
‘’ When you do get that offer, reject it and it will be the easiest way to never see me again or any of my crew’’ He said with a calm voice
‘’ I wouldn’t give up the chance to never see your face again. I don’t need that offer I have come this way all by myself and I will continue to do so.’’ I said before I walked away.
With the last word being mine I remove myself from his path before my androids especially Bortums would pick on my stress levels with the radar. When I reached the door that is the way out of the building I walked across the small park in the campus and headed for the dorm. I was lucky enough that my roommates would only be my androids. The last thing I needed was a roommate that would not clean its own mess.
The dorm was bigger than I thought and I saw two directions in front of me, one that was leading to the boys room and the other one for the girls. I saw Thomas coming out and sent him a quick wave which he returned and I felt how eased I became when I saw him. Not wanting to crash into someone else and get stuck into a new problem I picked my pace up and walked to the end of the dorm hall some doors were open and I heard giggles coming out from it and the further down I walked it got more quieter when I finally reached the door with golden plates with the number one.
I couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction. My androids and hard work brought me to the number one of this university. The more I stared at the golden number it dawned upon me that in the boys dorm John was the number one also. That made my smile drop and I tried my best to not think about him. I reached for the door handle just as I was about to walk into my room. I heard something fall and I looked in its direction.
It came from the end of the hall and some girls were looking at me holding the number one door. Their expressions grew sour and some gave me thumbs up. It didn't matter to me if they were happy or mad. All that matters is that I am here and not in my living room staring at the rejection letters. I closed the door after me and stepped into my room. It was quite large and a small white sofa with a queen size bed was waiting for me to lay on.
The thing that caught my attention was the white space for the androids. It was tall and covered up to the roof with its clear glass surrounding the area divided into three spaces. Each with its own glass door, the door opened behind me and Bortums large frame walked in front of me with Ekvtron and Talus on his side. Bortums reached his arm up and scanned me with his radar. He stared at his radar results and waited for me to explain.
‘’What’s the matter now? You have been staring at your radar for the whole day, especially after meeting Thomas. Is he a danger to us? ‘’ I asked him with concern.
I was anxious that a another issue coming to surface would be a breakdown for me after all I went through today, the last thing I needed was to worry if Bortums would wait for me to fall asleep and murder someone.
‘’ He is not a danger to you, the reason I pointed my radar at him was because of your emotions getting spiked whenever he was around.’’ Said Bortums, I became confused did he not know the real reason behind my emotions like I believed he did?
‘’ That doesn’t mean anything and even if it did I don’t think you would understand, nor do I have to explain to you we have bigger things to worry about’’. I said trying to take his mind off Thomas, it seemed to work when he finally swiped the screen on his radar to another slide.
‘’ I’m not finished, after I left to get more samples for Thomas your stress levels spiked through at a dangerous level such as if you were caused by a heart attack.’’Said Bortums with a monotone voice but I could tell he was almost concerned.
I finished up making my bed and gave my pillow one last pat to make it more soft before I carefully answered back in order to not make Bortums go on a hunt.
‘’ That situation is resolved it. We came to a deal and I won’t be bothered anymore’’ I tried to convince him and tried my best to belittle the dreadful situation I was put in by John.
‘’ Who would bother you in our presence? What is the name of that person?’'. Said Bortums with arrogance that made me more anxious.
He turned his focus away from the radar and wanted a name but for what reason would it benefit him? I wondered.
‘’ You are going to make it worse, violence won’t solve anything, it will only add more fuel to the fire.’’ I said with a stern voice hoping it would convince him to put an end to his behavior.
‘’ I am responsible for eliminating any threat to us and that person you are hiding can’t hide from me. Either you give me a name or I will hunt that person down with Talus. You know well how Talus responds to threats.’’He said with determination lingering in his voice. I knew I had no choice but to reveal.
‘’ Fine, His name is John Williams he is a brat that believes he can use his wealth to have authority over me but we came to a deal as long as I don’t accept any offer from a well known professor he won’t bother me’’. I said with a calm voice trying to act I was not bothered by John’s attempts.
It was better that Bortums heard it from me rather than to terrorize the students about what happened. Now that he has the name it would be easier for me to know that an innocent person would not fall at Bortums hands. If I was going to responsible of anybody's death I would like it to be John’s than a innocent person that was in Bortums path at the wrong time.
‘’ That is not a deal, it is only a tactic to use fear to manipulate your victim into listening to your commands, what do you think will happen when he knows he can control you with empty promises?’’. He responded back too quickly for my taste and with a topic that I could not argue back on.
I mentally groaned when I realized Bortums was right. John was manipulating me to pick one of his choices with his empty threats. Sending my andriods to John simply becauseI could not stop him on my own was out of the question knowing how it would sprial out of control. I was in a good space now all I needed to do was to convince Bortums that going after John would only be running in a corn field.
‘’ If you hurt him or eliminate him, know that his family and all authority will come after us and dig for any information that leads to us. Everybody knows I have the motives to murder him so please do not make this anymore difficult.’’ I said with another stern voice and frustration.
I had to inform Bortums that his actions would only lead to me getting a lifetime sentence because if the court were to find evidence that I used my androids to take out my greatest enemy that would fall into third degree offense.
‘’ He is just a man made out of flesh and blood, he will injure easily even with my weakest force of strength. He will never stand on his own legs if there would be even any bones left’’. Said Bortums with a tone that made me rethink if this was all worth it.
In an odd way it brought me a ease on my soul because John is only made out of flesh and bones like me while the androids have a build so strong no knife would puncture.
‘’ I don’t want to discuss with you anymore after putting that disgusting image in my head, I need sleep to function in order to go to class tomorrow and your threats are making it difficult.’’ I said feeling disgusted by mentally seeing John’s limbs being ripped apart.
I became anxious when I felt a headace close by like a storm followed by a thunder. It was not there yet but I could feel it on its way.
‘’ I don’t think you will have any time for classes, you have us androids to present and the principal has a close eye on you. Class is for the students that needs to succeed and get a diploma but you have already succeeded and your precious diploma is sealed.’’ Said Bortums, leaving him with the last words.
I revinded what Bortums said several times in my head and it made too much sense. It is true that my diploma is sealed because of the androids.There is no way for me to fail my courses because I started a whole new revolution in artificial lives. It's like Albert Einstein failing physics. His argument was far too good to be true and all my efforts to get into this university would go to waste if I fled from all my classes.
Taking off my jeans and tossing on the ground I got weird stares from my androids. It was no question why sleeping in t-shirts brought me the comfort any other pajamas could. I quickly got under the covers and savored this moment of success. A faint image of my door with the golden plates number one came to me when I closed my eyes. The feeling of laying in a queen side bed in my dream university was raw and more fierce than I have ever felt in my lifetime.
Throwing my empty water bottle in the right direction I managed to turn off the lights. I have mastered this wonderful talent for the past three years.