"Time" After Time

Chapter 7: Trepidation

FIRSTLY, I APPOLIGIZE FOR NOT UPLOADING SOONER, I'M STILL EDITING THIS STORY. WE GOT UP TO #50 SCIENCE FICTION!!!

 I <3 ALL MY READERS! PLEASE VOTE | READ | FAN | HELP ME GET TO THE TOP... BY THE WAY? DO YOU THINK NIC AND JUNI SHOULD GET TOGETHER?, OR IS THAT TOO PREDICTABLE?

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Juni watched in trepidation as Mrs. Beal gathered a couple of items from her desk area, then placed them in a tray and put them on the top of the desk. There was a rounded object that consisted of a bent metal piece and a circular device with numbers around it, the center containing a spinner. A lock, her memory supplied remembering her research-- minimal though it was.

The tray also contained the school Gym uniform: a green T-shirt and black shorts. On top of those items laid her class schedule. Reading the "print" was a trial for Juni, but she managed; discovering that her 5 classes usually occurred with Math 30 first then Art, Creative Writing, an hour long lunch break, then Biology 30, and French 20-- she'd been put back a year because she had limited knowledge of French. 

Each of her classes was an hour long, and she would finish school at 3:30PM every day. Doubting herself Juni quietly grabbed her tray, then walked out the office door. She wouldn't be able to do this!!! Who was she trying to kid, she'd just fail at this like she'd done at so many other things? 

"Juniper?, Juniper?, Excuse me Juniper?" she heard Mrs. Beal calling her name, "This is Jessy, she pointed at a dark-headed guy standing by the office door, his schedule is very similar to yours. Today he'll be showing you around."

Juniper looked up at Jessy, who looked like he didn't give a flying f*ck if she came with him or not. Those words honestly described him; he looked like he was definitely of African descent with skin a rich chocolatey color, he had a gangster hat pulled low over his eyes, and baggy pants and sweater. Jessy also seemed to have a permanently board expression on his face that seemed to say, "Who gives a crap?"

Cheery Mrs. Beal closed the door to her office with a smile, presumubly to get back to work.

Trying to put on her best face, Juniper spoke to Jessy, "Sooo.. she paused awkwardly, where to we go for Math 30?"

Jessy just looked at her in the annoyed way a a dog looks at a fly on its back, "Why do I have to always help the new people?" he muttered out-loud to himself. "Right this way...uhh, what's your name?"

In a possitive way, Juiper looked at Jessy cheerfully, "My name is Juniper, Juniper Leigh."

Looking board, Jessy looked a Juniper carefully, "It suits you, he said, the name I mean."

Completely changing the direction of her thoughts, Jessy began purposefully striding toward the far end of the hallway they were in.

He looked at her impatiently, "Hurry up." They walked towards a set of lockers around 50 strong, "You have to get your locker ready to go before you can go to class." He pointed at the bundle Juniper held in her arms, "Your Gym clothes too."

They walked quickly towards the lockers, which up close looked like banged-up, mangled wrecks at least 30 years old.

"These will keep my stuff safe?" Juniper asked Jessy skeptically.

"Yep." Jessy said, popping the 'p'. "Just don't keep anything valuable inside, then you have nothing to loose."

Nodding in agreement Juniper turned to her lock and attempted to open it, after only 10 tries she managed to get her three number combination lock open. Jumping up and down with pure glee, Juniper's excitement dimmed slightly after seeing the annoyed look on Jessy's face.

"Have you never done this before?" he asked angrily.

"No, Juniper answered in a sickly sweet tone, How fast were you the first time you did it?"

Deliberately talking the comment the wrong way Jessy laughed, "The first time, well, I tried to drag it out nice and slow but the way things ended up.."

Cutting him off, Juniper gave him a disgusted look, "What is wrong with you? I just need you to show where to go in this place, after today  you'll never have to talk to me again."

He shrugged his shoulders and walked towards another corridor, he led her down a narrow hallway with white brick wall until they reached a smallish room. With benches on either side and showers facing the wall at the back of the room; Juniper knew it had to be a Gym locker room.

She giggled silently inside, Yes, I finally get to go to a LOCKER ROOM!, In her time they didn't have locker rooms... only people with preselected traits were allowed to take part in competitive events, so there was no need, no pressure their parents had said.

But that was just another thing that Juniper and her father didn't agree on... Her mind flashed back to one of her earlier memories...

       Jumping into her own personal Heelo-Jet Juniper checked her Plasma suit to make sure the air-pressure was safe for transport. Today she'd turned 13, it was her first day of classes at the secondary school Juniper couldn't wait for her father to get there. Squirming in her seat she punched in the correct codes to take her to transport central; were all the parents awaited to give their children the personal clearance and activation to area 5: Semi-adult privileges.

Each parent had been sent a small gold key through the post to their homes, which would unlock those options in their child's new vehicle. Arriving at transport central, all Juniper could think of was who her father would finally be proud of her, the past... it didn't matter. This day would be all hers.

The plexi-glass roof of her vehicle opened and she stepped out onto the landing pad. Below her, she saw the far out roads and the poor people who couldn't afford Heelo-Jets driving on them, looking at them she felt only pity.

Juniper saw everyone's parents walking towards them, smiles on their faces, keys in hand. Yet their was not her father among them. She hunched into herself and began to cry, he'd forgotten her again.

A hand tapped her shoulder and Juniper looked up with a glimmer of hope, only to have it dashed once again when she saw the face of her father's Butler, George.

"There, there dear, it can't be helped, he took out a gold key from his pocket and slid it into the required slot, One day you'll see, his job is so very important..." he drew off. Quickly, he patted her head and walked away leaving Juniper in a stunned silence. She really was all alone.

Drying her tears and facing curious faces of people her own age, she hung her head in shame. She'd make him proud enough to come see her eventually.

Shaking her head to clear the memory from it, she nearly shed a silent tear. To the sound of Jessy's impatient foot tapping she shoved her gym clothes into one of the unmarked cubbies, then turned.

"So, where's Math?" she asked impatiently. Her mask firmly back in place.

Once again looking board, Jessy motioned for her to follow. Glancing at her watch she saw they only had 5 minutes to get to class, "Can't you hurry!" she nearly moaned in frustration.

"Nope."

With only 30 seconds to spare Juniper found her Math classroom, rushing inside she found a seat very near the back and hopped in, hoping the teacher wouldn't take note of her close shave.

As she leaned back in her chair, the teacher remaining blissfully unaware of it. She sighed happily and looked around, yet again she felt another sense of belonging. Revelling in the feeling of it, she smiled and though about her new life. Nic wasn't the only thing she was beginning to think was better in the past...

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