Starbound

9 - Separate Halves

Charlotte

It's day two here and I've already lost the other half of my Pair. 

Zach isn't in the dining hall like I thought he'd be. Or at least if he is, I can't see him anywhere. My eyes dart about, searching for his olive skin and dark hair.

I need to find him.

My desperation to find him isn't about him specifically but the need to find the other half of my Pair. I couldn't care less if it was Zach or not, but he is the one they've Paired me with so he is the one I must find. 

Why do I need this so much? I find myself asking.

The answer is simple: because I have nothing else left.

My family threw me out and I know I will never see them again. I have no one else, no friends or other relatives. I only have myself and the person I've been Paired with.

I only have Zach.

My stomach growls. Sighing, I go collect a plate of food and carry it to an empty seat at one of the tables. I'll go find him later, as soon as I've eaten something. 

While I'm picking at the salad on my plate, a raven-haired girl drops into the seat on my right.

'This morning has been insane, hasn't it?' Aliyah, one of the girls in my dorm asks. Out the corner of my eye, I can see her wide grin as she speaks. Hovering over her shoulder is the boy she's been Paired with, Jordan. He moves to take the seat on the other side of her.

'I mean, the hangar was pretty cool but when we went into that room with the holograms of all the starships, my mind was completely blown!' She continues to chatter away, never once stopping to let me answer any of the questions she throws my way.

I don't mind though, I'm not in the mood to talk. My mind is too busy, my thoughts whirling around inside it. I let her ramble on, not absorbing anything that she's saying.

'So where's Zach?' Aliyah's question brings me out of my little whirlpool. She's stopped talking and stares at me intently, waiting for my answer.

'I-'

'Charlotte Desquita?' A voice calls over the chatter of the room.

I freeze. Slowly, my eyes drift over to the door where a LOE guard stands with a dark-haired boy. 

From across the room, the eyes of Zachary Oscove meet mine.

He looks away.

I rise from my seat and pick my way through the tables to meet them. As I approach, the guard narrows his eyes at me. I proceed with caution as I draw closer. This guard is clearly unhappy with me, I must not do anything to further aggravate him.

'You are Charlotte Desquita?' He asks.

I nod. 'Yes.'

'You must remain with your Pair at all times,' he reminds me. 

'I know, Sir,' I reply.

'Good. Make sure that you do actually stay together,' he says. 'If I find him wandering around by himself again, I will not be happy. See to it that he doesn't get lost again.'

'Of course, Sir.'

The guards leaves us with a parting glare. I turn to Zach, ready to ask where the hell he was. But he has already moved, heading towards the spot I had been sitting at. I follow him back to the table and sit back in my seat, Zach sitting on my left.

'What did you do?' I whisper-shouted so only he could hear me. He didn't answer, he just simply gets up to make himself a plate of food.

'What's wrong with him,' Aliyah asks after a while. I shrug, not knowing myself what was wrong with my Pair.

'The name Oscove is very famous though,' The boy Jordan says, startling both Aliyah and I.

'Really?' I frown. I hadn't heard the name until I met Zach, but to now hear that his name was famous, I was surprised.

Jordan gives a nod. 'Ever heard of Illyria Oscove?' He asks. 'She was a famous aerospace engineer, some even say that all the LOE's personal ships are designed by her.'

Illyria...

Yes, I had heard of her but hadn't remembered that her last name was Oscove.

Is she Zach's mother? 

I glance over at Zach, watching him from the other end of the dining hall. 'How do you know they're related?' I ask. It could just be a coincidence that he and Illyria share the same name, I never knew that she had a child.

Jordan shrugs, leaning back in his chair. 'My father knew Illyria,' is all he says, refocusing on his food.

We sit in silence, picking at our food as Zach returns to the table and joins our silence. I watch him out of the corner of my eye, making sure he won't slip off again. Maybe if he knew how much this meant to me, he wouldn't do it again.

Who am I kidding? He doesn't care. He doesn't even want to know me.

The rest of our meal is pretty quiet after that. Occasionally, Aliyah tries to start up a conversation but none of us are in the mood to talk. While she rambles on, I nod and at least pretend to be listening but her words just flow over my head. Jordan does the same as me, but Zach completely ignores her.

He just sits there, picking at his food and blocking out the rest of us. I stare at him, wondering what is going on inside his head. Why is he so closed off from the rest of the world? Doesn't he want to be here? Is he planning something foolish?

I can only watch and wait for him to acknowledge me, wait for him to let me in. If he asked, I'd be willing to open up myself to him, but would he do the same for me? No, not yet at least.

And so I wait.