The Edge of Honour

Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

Gorran's POV:

I stared at the wall in front of me, and continued to marvel at the technology that ultimately transformed it. My new room was a thing of true beauty, a vision into the world of the future. The entire room was technologically driven and up to the point, I had only witnessed a very small proportion of its capabilities.

I looked beside me towards the clock, if you could even call it that. It was a concave red circular disc. The time floated just above it rising up into the air, a hologram that you could break with a single touch. It was almost ten in the morning, I had rarely slept in so late; I had always been an early riser, I felt that it was important to make the most of my day and I had always been far more energetic in the morning time.

I tossed the contents of my bag onto my new bed as I searched for my toothbrush and toothpaste. Once I had finished shining them to a pearly white gleam, I decided to change out of my pyjamas, knowing that April and Matt could arrive at any moment.

I pulled on my dark denim jeans and dropped two pens into the large pockets in case I would need to take notes. Then I slipped on my red and white checked shirt and tied up every button of it except for the top one. I rolled up the sleeves to an equal height, just below my elbow. I wanted to make a good first impression; it was my first day in the training centre and I knew that I was likely to meet a lot of new people.

I made my way to the sitting room in my apartment to wait. The television remote was nowhere to be seen and I spent a long time searching for it, but to no avail.

There was a strange crackling sound for a brief second; it sounded as if the television was perhaps beginning to get reception. I looked around me dubiously as I searched for the source of the unexpected noise. There was a large white box with a speaker protruding from it and several buttons underneath.

“Good morning Gorran. I hope that we haven’t woken you up,” April’s said in a voice that was almost too cherry for the morning. “Would you mind leaving us in?” I had no idea what to do or how to respond, but as I studied the buttons, I realised that one allowed my voice to be heard by those outside the door.

“I'm not sure how to!” I exclaimed. I could not help but laugh at myself as I realised that I was talking to an inanimate object. As I scanned the rest of the buttons, it only caused me to become more dumbfounded as I awaited a respond. The room was silent apart me from a soft hum. It took me at least two minutes to realise that my finger was still on the button. I quickly lifted my finger off of it and hoped that I hadn't missed April's reply.

“... the blue button at the bottom of it,” Matt shouted, a slight hint of frustration in his voice which was the last thing I wanted to cause him. It was clear that their previous explanations had not reached my ears. All this technology was so new and confusing to me, I had not been prepared for it. However, it would soon become normality for me.

I pressed the button hastily and watched as the door retracted back into the wall, revealing my two mentors. April had a soft smile on her face, but Matt's face was contorted in fury as I stared me down. I was terrified, I lowered my eyes to the ground, trying to avoid eye contact with him when I heard quiet laughter.

“I guess I should demonstrate some of this technology for you or I might never get back into this room again,” Matt exclaimed as I looked cautiously at him. Despite the friendly expression that had replaced his irritated one, I still remained uncomfortable in his company. It had been a joke, but it had seemed serious to me. It had always been difficult for me to trust new people. I needed to get to know them before I let them in or opened it to them. If I felt that they had an explosive personality, I tended to steer clear of them at all costs.