Terranovus

Chapter XVII - The Dinner Party (Part 2)

Philon was right. The dessert was incredible. A vanilla creme brulee cooked to perfection with a gooey hazelnut brownie on the side. I was in dessert heaven.

"It's good?" asked Philon. I nodded and used my index finger to wipe away the remaining creme brulee from the ramekin.

"Would it be rude to ask for seconds?" I asked. Philon chuckled and shook his head amused.

"For a small person, you have a very large appetite," he said. I immediately stopped licking my finger and felt my cheeks blush to a bright tomato red. Oops.

Soon the dessert plates were cleared and tea and coffee was served with small biscuits on the side. I eyed the chocolate chip cookies tempted but placed my hands firmly underneath my thighs. I have self-control, I told myself.

"So you want to become an architect?" asked Philon, as he poured himself some peppermint tea.

"I do," I said. "My dad is an engineer, so I suppose I got the talent from him. I love how an architect's piece of art can remain on this Earth for decades, or sometimes even a century or two. I want to design buildings that will encourage and support our ecosystem. Terranovus is so green, I don't understand why the Sectors aren't too," I explained.

"Well there's a lack of space," said Philon.

"True," I said, "but there doesn't have to be. Our buildings and skyscrapers were built quickly and with little thought of the future. They were made of such poor quality that sometimes you'll have three or four levels completely uninhabitable, structurally unsafe. And the lack of funding prevented reusable water systems and solar panels from being installed. Did you know there are kilometres of land in the Sectors, just filled with power stations? If they had installed solar panels and wind turbines on every building, half of those power stations could have permanently be closed by now." Philon appeared lost in thought and was rubbing his chin perplexed. My eyes wandered over to the plate of cookies and I reminded myself I had self-control.

"Do you want to go for a walk in the garden?" Philon finally asked.

"The garden?" I asked surprised.

"Yes," he said smiling, "the garden."

"Sure," I said. We excused ourselves from the table and stood up. I watched Ava in the corner of my eye glare at me with fury. So I smugly smiled at her and snatched the last cookie from the table and followed Philon out of the room. Screw self-control. You only live once.

The night air was fortunately still warm but a cool breeze from the sea was slowly creeping in. I shivered as Philon and I stepped down the garden path.

"Here, have this," said Philon and he took off his dinner jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders and arms, they were covered in goosebumps.

"Thanks," I mumbled. Philon's garden was nicely lit with fairy lights, placed amongst beds of flowers and bushes I didn't know the name of. I wished I knew the name of them. We came to a stop underneath a tree that grew white soft flowers the shape of a star.

"This tree is a Magnolia tree," said Philon, "it's my favourite." He reached up on his tiptoes and plucked a flower and admired it between his fingertips. "It reminds me of my mother," he said.

I remembered what my mum told me outside the Mayor's home.

"I'm sorry-" I began.

"Please don't say that," said Philon. "I hate it when people say that." I nodded and stared at the flower he held. It was white, but also had a tint of purple to it.

"What was she like?" I asked and strolled down the garden path further. The house was nearly out of sight.

"She was kind," Philon said, "she saw the best in people. In all people."