Chapter Two
Mrs. W lead us through the building, showing us all the bulky equipment and how to use them. She told us specifically not to touch certain things and not to push certain buttons. Part of me wanted to do something wrong on purpose just to piss the old lady off. The other part was afraid of what would happen. I was assigned to engineering and communications. I got to swing around on the sides of the building like a freakin monkey for the rest of my teen years.
How fun.
Well, actually, I thought it was going to be fun until I noticed how high we were, and if I fell, I would probably die. Then it wasn't so fun.
I climbed up to the highest perch, looking over the seas and seeing the other islands. I could pinpoint them and what they they were called before the earthquake. There was Junues, which was originally known as northern Europe and a part of Russia. And there was The Yankee Isle, which you can probably guess was the northeastern part of America. Massachusetts seceded from YI because of severe differences. There was Krignes, which was England and the majority of Ireland. Yumi was China, Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. Australia was still called Australia. Canada and the rest of western America was named Free Eagle Territory, because it was really the only territory that still followed the laws of their previous country, America. The Caribbean islands were still going by their original names as well. Mexico and South America were Culturas. Most, if not all, of the smaller islands like Hawaii had sunk underneath the water at the time of the earthquake.
I lived on Yankee Isle, born and raised in what used to be New York City. Ever since the earthquake, all of the skyscrapers were torn down and the houses were turned into beach house like, cozy, and modern little buildings. The Tinkering House was probably the biggest building on Yankee Isle, and there was one Tinkering House on each island.
Black smog lifted up into the sky, such a big contrast from the clean, sweet tasting air that I was used to. The smoke tasted disgusting and heavy, hanging around the highest point of the building.
I felt another person jump onto the platform that I was on and sit down. I looked over and saw Landon.
“Hey,”I smiled, turning towards him, being careful not to fall on the thin platform.
“Hi,”He grinned back at me, fixing his shorts.
“So, is she always like this?”
He looked at me, confused.
“Who?”
“Our boss? She always this... this...”
“Mean? Yeah. Every damn year its the same thing. ‘Don’t touch this, don’t touch that, blah blah blah...’ It gets annoying.”
“Yeah. She got on my nerves after a while.”
“I could tell; you looked like you felt like you were gonna punch her face in.” He laughed, showing off perfect white teeth.
My heart skipped a beat and millions of thoughts ran through my mind all at once. My stupid brain, of course, tells me to blush.
Damn. You. Brain.
“Y-Yeah, she’s scary though.” I laughed nervously, feeling my cheeks getting hot.
He smiled and looked out to the sea. In the distance, Krignes and Juanes’ Tinkering Houses sprung out of the islands, their platforms spiraling out of the silver and black buildings. There were small motorboats swimming around in the water, docking in and out of the YI trading system. The ocean looked impossibly blue.
I took out the communications radio, turning it on. The static was soft, not loud and harsh. I hung my legs off the side of the platform, letting the wind blow softly through them.
“Mr. DelRio? Ms. Steele?”
We both jumped at the sound of Mrs. W’s voice.
“Yes, boss?” Landon’s voice shook, and I saw that scared look in his eyes again.
“Would you two like to tell me when you are going to get to work?”
“Right now, Mrs. Whinthrope.”
She nodded and sauntered away, her sharp blue eyes maintaining contact with mine. Landon looked over at me with scared, with those amazing blue eyes.
I turned away from his gaze, took out my tools, and pretended to fix a bolt.
I was still looking out to the sea.
And I vowed that no one, not even Mrs. W, was going to take this type of joy from me. The happy feeling I got when I was looking out at the sea with Landon was amazing; I had never felt it before.
“Hannah?”
I looked up, smiling.
“Yep?”
“How do you maintain your cool around her?”
“Who?”
“Mrs. W.”
“Oh, well I guess I never really liked any stuck up adults, is all.”
He nodded, that worried look still pulling at his eyes.
It took me all the courage I had, but I held his hand. He looked at me with puzzled eyes.
“Don’t let her scare you.”
He smiled and nodded, and I got those butterflies again.
We worked all day.
I was beginning to think that I was going to like this job.
I didn’t know how wrong I was.
