Fallout 3: Radiation

Surprise Part 2

The cafeteria door opened to admit a bundle of excited energy and smiles. Andromeda couldn't be more thrilled. Her very own BB gun! She couldn't wait to tell Amata!

Right on cue, Amata appeared beside her.

"Where did you go?" she demanded.

"Oh, nowhere," Andromeda said, unable to keep the happy grin off her face as they headed together towards the cake. Ruined as it was, she would still gladly eat it. "I'll tell you about it later," she whispered her promise, mindful of all the adults and undesirable people around who would tattle on her if they only knew.

Amata nodded and made a zipped lips motion. She too knew that there were something's you didn't want overheard in the vault.

Before either one of them could reach the cake though, the Overseer stopped them.

"Andromeda. I hope you appreciate the effort Amata put into this party," he said, sounding as stern and pompous as ever. "She really seems to like you, for some reason."

"Dad!" Amata complained. Both of them were used to the Overseer's attitude towards Andromeda and her father, but it still stung, and the warmth of joy in her heart was slightly extinguished by his words. Amata was the only person who wanted to be her friend, yet her own father couldn't even understand why.

"I'm just saying I don't see why you hang out with her, Amata," he continued, as though Andromeda wasn't standing right in front of him. "Still," he continued, pausing to actually address her directly. "Perhaps she'll set a good example for you. There's still plenty of time for you to make something of yourself."

The coldness of the Vault had snuck back into her heart as she was reminded once again that she was worthless in the eyes of others. She never understood what they saw in her that made them say that, what she could possibly have done in her 10 years to make them hate her. Nothing came to mind. She wouldn't know until she was older what sorts of problems she had caused for the Vault, and how many of those were actually her fault.

"Argh! Dad! What is wrong with you?" Amata groaned in frustration, grabbing Andromeda's arm and dragging her away from him. "God, my dad can be so... so... so annoying sometimes!"

Once they were on the opposite side of the room from him, she turned back to Andromeda.

"I'm sorry about what he said. He just doesn't understand. I mean, we're best friends. Right?"

"Best friends," Andromeda assured with a soft nod.

Amata beamed at her. "Alright. You wait here. I'll see if I can salvage any cake from Andy," she said, rolling her eyes good-humoredly and raced back past her dad towards the service robot.

Andromeda smiled as she watched her friend leave. She didn't know what she would do without Amata. Her best and only friend was one of the only reason she hadn't been bored to death already.

Or dead at the hands of someone else...

"Hey, butt-head!"

Andromeda froze. She turned, unsurprised, to find Butch and his cronies standing behind her. She gulped.

Even on her birthday, he couldn't leave her alone.

"Old Lady Palmer gave you one of her sweetrolls, didn't she?' he demanded. "I'm hungry and that stupid robot destroyed the cake. I want it. Give it to me."

Andromeda took a step back in fear, her hand moving unconsciously to the sweetroll in her pocket. No, she didn't want to share. Not today. Not this. Not with him.