The World is After Us

Chapter 10

After Veda leaves, I decide to take a shower. I had taken all the time I possibly could to explore the room I had been given and the balcony that comes with it. It is all so beautiful, and I wish more than anything that my mother could see it. She would love it.

After closing the glass doors, I walk to the bathroom door and push it open, due to the fact that it was already partially cracked. My mouth dropped at the sight; as it is almost half the size of the bedroom itself. The tiles are marbled and feel kind of chalky, and the shower door is made of foggy glass and lined with gold. 

I walk over to the tall cabinet that Lydia told me the towels are in, and I grab two of them; one for my hair, and one for my body. After that, I set the towels on the toilet and strip myself free of the uniform I had been forced to wear for the past few hours. 

I think about which I would rather do: bathe in the jacuzzi, or just take a normal shower. I decide to just take a shower; as I would be in here all night if I decided to take a bath. 

When I step into the shower, I notice the touchscreen panel, and see that there is also speakers and a song selection piece with it. The panel lets you choose the pressure and temperature of the water. And after choosing them to my specific liking, I choose a song, fix the volume, then get to showering. 

After my shower, I clean up the bathroom and take a look at my face in the mirror, and am quite satisfied with what I see. I then exit the bathroom and sit on the large bed that I had been granted. I think about putting clothes on right then and there, but I decide that I'm pretty comfortable the way I am. As long an no one walks in any time soon. 

I turn on the TV and surf all of the channels until I find one that is interesting enough for me to pay attention to for more than thirty seconds. Moments later, the intercom starts to make a static noise, and I quickly stand from the bed as Veda's voice says my name. I walk over to the intercom and place my hand on the sensor, just as Lydia had told me to, then speak.

"Yes, ma'am?"

There is a few moments of slight static and distant voices, but then Veda's voice comes back, so I keep my hand on the sensor. 

"Hey, we're having sundaes up here if you want one." she says, and I smile. I want to say yes and cheer, but I was told to not get too used to this kind of treatment. 

"Uh, are you sure?" I ask, chewing my lower lip and squeezing my eyes shut.

"Of course," Veda says happily. "Come on up." and with that, I release the sensor and it unlocks the door. I walk over to the dresser and put on the first pieces of clothing I see, then step out into the hallway. My feet become cold suddenly when I realize that I forgot to put socks on. 

When I am finally back upstairs, the family smiles at me, and I notice that Ander and Jexton are no longer here. My heart starts to pound as everyone's heads turn to face me. Lydia and Veda smile, and Robert turns his focus back to the TV. 

"We made yours right there." Veda points to the large bowl next to hers on the coffee table. I slowly walk over and Robert does not bother to move his feet, so I sit at the other end of the table. I stir the ice cream and wonder if anything was put in here to kill me. 

"What's the matter, Farrah?" Lydia asks, and I smile and shake my head. I release the spoon and let it hit the edge of the bowl with a clanking noise and wrap my arms around my stomach. 

"It's nothing, I'm just. . .I feel a little sick." I say quietly, and Veda looks at me sympathetically. 

"Oh," Lydia says, and Robert chuckles at the TV. "well if you don't want the ice cream now, we can just save it for you later." I nod, then stand up and walk back over to the basement stairs. 

"Hey, you don't have to go back down if you don't want." Robert says, making me flinch. "You can watch the rest of this movie with us if you want to."

"Oh, uh. . .okay." I say nervously. I really don't want to, but I don't want to take the risk of turning down the offer. I don't want them to think that I'm a stuck up person for not taking a kind offer as such. "Thank you." I say as I take my previous seat.

The movie finally ends as quickly as I had come in on it, and I am thankful that I finally get to go back down to my room. Sitting in the living room with this family had felt more awkward than any other, and all I wanted to do was go back downstairs and sleep. 

The ice cream had partially melted, and Lydia ended up just throwing it away, and I felt bad, but I didn't really trust it anyway. 

Back in my room, the moonlight shone through the glass doors that lead out to the balcony, and I decided to walk out and look at the night sky for a while. I know that I will probably be put to work tomorrow, so I want to witness this beauty now. 

The stars are almost as bright as the moon, and they are all mesmerizing. There is a full moon out tonight, and it appears to be so close that I can make out the little indents around the face of it. I smile up at it, and wonder if Jexton is looking up at it, too. I have a feeling that he—or somebody—is. 

I eventually decide to go back inside and lie down for a bit after changing into pajamas. The bed is awfully comfortable, and I feel as if I won't be able to wake up when I should tomorrow morning. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I fall into a deep slumber.