The Truth of Past and Present

Chapter 13: My new life and an old friend

And so my life as a fugitive, commoner, and all-around hoodlum began. In the daytime, I worked as a cook and waitress in Wadser's cantina, and at night, I trained with Daniel in the dark. It was about a week after the "Great Escape", as we called it , that I realized I was now 17 years old.

I was in the kitchen, making an Arentile fruit pie and brooding, when Wadser came in and turned on the netscreen on the wall. Images flooded the display, images of the detention facility. The announcer was outlining what had happened, but also told everyone that the investigators still had no clues as to what had happened or how the breakout had been pulled off. I grinned to myself, evilly pleased. 

Then the screen switched.

My face was suddenly covering the screen, zoomed in, showing every detail of my features.

My grin was no more.

"Governor Ganderion's teenage daughter, Nerida Ganderion, is still missing, and no one has found any trace of her. She had disappeared the same day the breakout took place at the main detention facility, and the authorities still have not ruled out the possibility of a kidnapping. The governor is very distraught at her disappearance and refused to say anything except to inform us that she is now seventeen. Apparently, she vanished on her birthday..." And on and on she droned.

I stared at the screen, even though it had already gone dark. 

"They're still blathering on about that one," Wadser remarked. "The crime of the century an enigma to puzzle all enigmas, so on and so forth. You'll have to keep your head down and your face covered until this cools off somewhat."

I nodded mutely. I was still registering everything that woman had said. "Seventeen..."

So much had happened, a birthday seemed so inconsequential, but for some reason, it hit me like a sledgehammer. Maybe because officially everything in my life was now changed for good, including my age. 

Life didn't give me much time to brood on this new topic because someone walked into the cantina. I was technically on duty as waitress, even though I was making a pie, so I dusted off my hands, grabbed the digi-pad, and walked out to take the order.

"Can I help you?"

"Is that all you have to say to your best friend, Nerida Ganderion?" I heard the coy whisper from under a pink hood.

I started, and I think I yelped a bit. "Marissa?!" 

"Sssshhhh!" she grinned at me. "Not here," she whispered. "I wish to speak to your manager," she announced to the entire room. 

I fought down my own grin as I beckoned for her to follow me to the back. There weren't that many occupants in the middle of the afternoon, but there were enough for us to put on a show for. Once we had closed the door to the kitchen behind us, we embraced each other in an ecstatic, girlish hug, jumping up and down and squealing softly. 

"Oh my Andromeda, Neri, are you alright? What happened to your beautiful face?!" she looked alarmed. I was startled, but then I remembered my transformation.

"Mari, I had to disguise my face somehow!" I told her. 

She gasped. "It looks so real!"

"Well, I learned from the best." I hugged her again.

"I almost didn't recognize you with that hair. How in the Galactica did you manage all that?" 

"I just used a dye and a curl solution. It will stay like this for 2 months, and I have more for after that--"

"Yeah, but it looks so good! I always knew raspberry was a good color on you, and how come I never thought of curls?!"

I laughed. "I'm glad you like my new 'look'."

"Girl, it works like nothing else in the universe!" she twirled it around her finger with an expert hand. "Non-damaging solution I see. Still silky smooth, non-crackly, looks completely natural..."

"Now, what's all this?" Wadser approached us. Marissa stared at the Marusian in his four-armed, aproned glory with apprehension. I touched her arm.

"We can trust him. He's hidden me and Daniel for the past week."

"Wait, who's Daniel?" she looked at me, confused. Then her face morphed into a conspiratorial, almost motherly expression. "Neri, are you hiding here...with a boy?" she sniffed dramatically. "My naive little caterpillar is growing into such a beautiful, sly butterfly!"

I blushed as I mentally smacked myself. I had filled Marissa in on what had happened in the market...mostly. I had left out any mention of Daniel in order to preserve my secret plans for the day, and as a result, she knew nothing whatsoever about him.

"Uhh, Mari? When I told you what happened in the lower levels, I...neglected to mention a few...key details..."

When I had finally filled her in, her face was much less foxy. She understood my reasons now, and she took the news well. I offered to introduce Daniel to her, but she refused.

"Then I will be able to tell anyone that I have not seen the escaped criminal." she told me.

Marissa may be a girly-girl, covered in pink and cute around boys, but she is smart in her own right. One of the many reasons I love her so much.

"How did you get here?" I asked the question that nagged at me. She was now sitting on a stool next to me while I made the Arentile pies.

"Oh, Neri, it was easy! I know you too well to not know where you planned to go! You told me...well, almost everything about your adventure down here, and I knew that Wadser was someone you trusted. Besides, he offered you a job, in the kitchen! I knew you would never pass up an offer like that!"

I shrugged. She was right, on all counts. Those were the exact thoughts that had run through my head while I planned this wild escapade.

I do not know how long we talked, but it felt like forever. We talked as I made the orders, we talked as we cleaned up the tables, and we talked as we prepared for the dinner rush. Eventually, the throng of people entered. Marissa had to return before she was missed, and I was back on full-time duty. I showed her the back door, and we stood there and said our goodbyes. I will spare the details, but I will say that it was heartfelt. I forbid Marissa from coming to see me for at least 2 months because someone could follow her or take her in for questioning. Marissa tearfully agreed and told me to stay out of trouble, even though we both knew what could happen to either of us.

We hugged each other tightly, and I watched her walk away until she was out of sight. 

I wiped a few stray tears from my eyes and quickly checked my costume makeup before heading back into my new life.