SILVER EYES (GXG)

Chapter 4: Awakening

Time is cruel, maybe the cruelest thing on the list of human inventions. It slips away against your will. It doesn't matter if you're pleading to stop it or just need a little more to process whatever shit life throws at you. It just escapes without excuse, no exceptions, no compassion. All you can do is drag yourself and carry your wounds and pain along before time finally catches up with you again. Time is a thirsty, merciless beast, ready to devour everything you hold dear.

One month without Michael, and still couldn't believe it. I missed his quirky jokes, his irrational fears, even his never-ending and exhausting reminders to stay safe. I missed talking to him; he was a great listener. I missed teasing him too, he was always a great target. I couldn't stop thinking about him, not for a single day, no matter how quickly the days slipped by.

Kate was right when she said I'd be swamped during Narval Officer training. I felt like I was being abducted by nonstop duties and classes. It was hard to break out of the routine, but honestly, that's what helped keep my mind serene. Otherwise, I probably would've torched my entire bedroom with my roommates, Laura and Mark, inside.

Poor folks, they turned out not to be so bad after all. Mark was a timid guy with a massive, quirky personality that didn't take long to show once he thought there was enough trust, which, in my case, was by day three. One night, he gave a ten-minute speech trying to convince me to help him steal peanut butter from the serving area.

"Have you seen me?" he said, pointing to himself. "I'm practically skin and bones." Not true. Not even close. "If I keep getting like this, I'll be dead before Commissioning Day."

I remained silent, trying to come up with a polite way to tell him he was full of shit. But my gaze gave me away.

"Don't give me that look, Grace." He turned to Laura who was lying on her bed, with a book on her hands. "Hey. You. Help."

She didn't even raise her eyes from the page.

"I'm talking to you." He walked over and snatched the book from her hands. Uh-oh. Never touch Laura's books.

"What the hell are you doing?!" She jumped off the bed. "Give that back right now!"

Mark hopped from bed to bed as Laura chased after him, knocking over everything in her path.

"Mark, you're a child." I said observing the scene.

As Mark ran past me, I quickly swiped the book out of his hands.

"I'll help you." I said. "But just if you leave Laura and her books alone."

A satisfied smile crossed Mark's face as Laura gasped and kicked him in the stomach, making that smile vanish.

"I think that wasn't necessary." I said to Laura watching Mark folding himself on the floor and letting out a loud groan.

"I think it was."

Laura was... just Laura. It was hard to describe her with a single type of personality because she had the most ups and downs of the three. One day, you could see her happily socializing with everyone in the dining area, offering to help with the cleaning in the training yard, or playing night games in the living room. Then, as if soaked by a dark spell, she would lock herself in our room and stay there for days. No talking. No laughter. Nothing. Just books. And you'd better not disturb her during that time, because you could easily get one kick or two, as Mark got that day. Did I mention she was one of the best in combat class? Scary as hell.

However, I found some kind of balance with her—thanks to the rivalry, I guess. I was good at combat too, and Kate usually paired us together, which might seem like a bad idea. But after a month, our sparring in class significantly reduced our arguments in the room. And when you have to spend a lot of time with someone in a small space, that can actually be quite handy.