R.O.N.A.

Chapter 1

Hmm… Zachary Quinto as Spock and Chris Pine as Captain Kirk… could there be a better combination? I thought as I daydreamed through the movie’s credits. I turned off the T.V. and instantly the room was filled with darkness, lit only by the dim moonlight. I could barely see the outline of Aris, my best friend and roommate. She fell asleep as usual; her snores filled the room. She could never watch a movie at night and stay awake.

It was late now, nearly one in the morning. I stretched, feeling comfortable in the unique solitude that only came from being awake at night. To others it seemed eerie, but late night was my favorite time of day. I ducked into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were baggy and had dark circles around them from staying up too late finishing my college assignments the past week. I slipped out the door of the bathroom and yawned as I crept to the other side of the hall. As soon as I got into my room, I headed to my bed and drew the covers up close around my neck where I could smell the lavender detergent.

***

Just as the sun started to come up, my alarm yelled at me. Still tired, I groaned at the clock, flicked off the alarm, and reluctantly pushed the covers aside. My body felt heavy. I stepped onto the hard wood floor which felt cold on my bare feet, sending goose bumps up my arms and legs. I shivered at the sensation. I walked into the living room area, and found that at some point, Aris must have gotten up and gone to her own room. I heard the water from the shower running and thought, “Good she’s up.”

I walked into the living room to fold a blanket lying on the couch. When I was finished I yawned, pulling my hand up to cover my mouth. Just after, Aris walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. “Morning!” she exclaimed with hyper alertness for so early in the morning. Sometimes I envied her energy. “Dang it! I fell asleep during the movie again!”

“Good morning,” I replied, “Well, we have seen that movie just about 100 times, so it’s not like you missed anything… except of course hot actors!” We both laughed. It was one of our favorite movies.

“True, true… I’m done with the shower now, so you can go ahead.”

“Okay thanks. What should we have for breakfast?”

“I don’t know… how about waffles?”

“I love waffles! Sounds good,” I said with a grin. I pattered down the hall to the shower and quickly slipped out of my pajamas. I wrapped my arms across my chest as the cold air made me shudder. I hastily tested the temperature of the water before I stepped into the shower and closed the glass sliding door behind me.

As I relaxed and washed my hair in the warm water, I began my usual routine of going through my college assignments in my head. The only assignments I had that week to complete were a project for drafting class and a program to write for computer programming. My fairly busy schedule, although not packed, required a lot of determination and focus, which I was good at. 

No matter how much I loved my classes, there were days when I wondered what the purpose was. What did I want out of life? The question haunted me; sometimes I felt like I knew, and other times not. My dream was to change the world with one of my inventions, but the realistic side of my brain told me that my daydream was highly unlikely. How many people’s ideas or inventions really changed the world? Not many.

I finished my shower and stepped out into the cool air once again. I dried off and went into my room to find clothes for school. I paid a bit of attention to my dress, but for the most part I didn’t really care about my appearance. My thick, wavy, and somewhat frizzy black hair was frustrating, but I did like the fact that I had blue eyes to go with it, even if they were usually hidden behind my glasses. Contacts irritated my eyes and it was weird for me to go without my glasses.