Aren't you scared of becoming a slave to freedom?
As a 17 year old girl whose mother abused her, Naomi has never known what freedom is, only dreamt of it. But now it's her only constant thought. For her, freedom slowly becomes a drug, something she...
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“Naomi, wake up. It's almost our turn to head out of the hall.” Raphael's rich voice flows into my head, sending tingles and sparkles through me, causing me to shiver. I open my eyes slowly, blinking to help them adjust to the bright lighting of the hall.
Once my eyes open fully they land on the now black screen in the table in front of me. The dream I had floats back into my head, as I stare blankly at it. A dream in which I'm laughing and smiling even while the world around me crumbles.
After a few beats I blink and look away. Adjusting myself in my seat and turning to look ahead of me. I'm not even sure if I should call it a nightmare or a good dream, but my world has always been crumbling. At least this time I was laughing and smiling so for that, I guess it's a good dream.
After the two boys who had fought were detained and taken away. The women wearing black blazers and pencil skirts had started escorting people out the hall. I started to fall asleep and Raphael told me to just sleep, he'll wake me up when it's nearly our turn. Who knew that I'd end up having such an … interesting dream.
I look around the hall and see that only a third of us are still here. The other teenagers must've already been transported to the Terra Sectors.
I look down at my lap once I'm done surveying the hall. My hands start stringing together and fidgeting nervously. It's something I do out of habit, whenever I don't know what to do with myself.
I turn to look at Raphael and take in his appearance. Although his hair looks a bit disheveled, the rest of him still looks good and handsome. Whereas I'm probably sitting here looking like I'm infected by a parasitic fungus.
I give him a questioning look, and ignore the unfairness of how handsome he looks and how infected I might look. I mean who even manages to still look good after being taken away from their homes and thrown on a flight to Antarctica. Is he even human? Or does he know the secret to always looking good? If he does, why isn't he sharing? Give it to those who really need it.
He frowns lightly at me and tilts his head to the side. I unconsciously copy his actions, confused by the change in his facial expression.
“Why are you looking at me as if I'm scheming something evil?” He asks, his voice curious and wary at the same time. He lets out a nervous chuckle. “Did I do something wrong?”
My frown deepens. He's definitely holding out on me.
“Naomi, why are you-” I cut him off and straighten my posture, looking him dead in the eye.
“How do you do it, Raphael? How do you manage to remain handsome while in this whole mess. Tell me what the secret is and I might not hurt you.” I say in a serious and flat tone.
Raphael frowns and narrows his eyes in confusion. “Secret?” He asks. “Yes Raphael, secret.” I respond. He scratches his head while frowning at me, as if he's making sure all my screws are still screwed in.
“I don't have a secret, if I did I'd tell you since you asked me directly.” he answers me casually.
“I don't see the need for secrets. If I choose to get to know a person then I'd rather they also know me, no secrets involved. So, I'm sorry but I don't have any secrets to share. But thank you for calling me handsome.” He says the last part in an amused tone.
Momentarily forgetting my side mission. I mumble out a whatever and sink back into my seat. His response swims around in my head and I pack it away, to fully digest later. My current predicament is the fact that I'll forever be an infected fungus.
He chuckles and pokes my cheek. “Don't pout. Shouldn't you be happy? This means that you'll get to know me fully.” He says in a mix of amusement and cheeriness.
“Huh?” The response slips out of me before I can contain it. “You heard me.” He replies. I look over at him with a small frown on my forehead. Now it's my turn to narrow my eyes in confusion.
“Why would we get to know each other?” I ask, confused. It might seem a bit harsh but nobody has ever wanted to get to know me and considering the situation we're in, I'm sure everyone just wants to get through it and come out in one piece.
And while everyone is trying to get through all of this in one piece, here's Raphael joking around and seeming unbothered and relaxed. An image of him gripping the armrest tightly during the presentation, flashes through my mind. Well, at least partially unbothered.
“I don't mean it in a harsh way, it's just confusing because right now the only thing that should be on our minds is getting through all of this in one piece. Why would you try to form a lifelong friendship, when you're not even sure of how long your life will be?” I internally sigh at my own words. That's Naomi for you, ever the negative fungus.
“I didn't make that sound any better did I?” I ask in a low voice, while softly chewing on my lower lip. I see Raphael open his mouth to respond but is cut off by the clipped tone of a woman in a black blazer and pencil skirt. “Number 142s please follow me out of the hall and to your transportation vehicle.”
Before we can respond, she turns around and starts walking away at a brisk pace. We quickly get out of our seats and jog a bit in order to catch up to her. For a woman in high heels, she sure moves quickly.
We quickly close the distance between ourselves and her, and walk at a quick pace behind her. Well now that I think about it Raphael is tall enough to be walking at a normal pace. I glance down at his feet and confirm my suspicions.
Suddenly, I feel a warm breath tickle my ear as I continue to look down. “I'll answer your questions once we're able to talk comfortably, for now just keep your guard up.” His hushed voice whispers into my ear.
I lift my head and he gives me a serious look before turning to look ahead of us, his whole demeanor seeming tense. I guess I was wrong. He’s not relaxed and unbothered by this whole situation. He's just…calm. I turn my eyes away from him and look ahead of us as well.
My body tenses as well. Preparing for whatever crumbling world we may be walking into.
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Short, I know, but I thought this chpt should represent me n my height 😂💔 still I hope u liked it n pls drop them votes😤🚮
