Night Security

The Seminar

(Three months after the party)

I pace around the security office. I stare back at the calendar, then back at the floor. There's a knock on the door and Teddy pokes his head in. "Are you alright in here?" he asks.

"Ah, thank God. Teddy. You spoke in front of a lot of people, is it easier to talk to kids? I have my seminar in one week and I'm freaking out. What if I say the wrong thing or make a fool of myself? I don't want to drive people away from exploration, but they need to know the dangers. How do I talk about death without freaking them out? Do I even talk about that? What do I talk about? Do I talk about my parents? My history? Maybe my kid life. I don't-" Teddy grabs my shoulders to strop my from pacing.

"Breathe. You'll be just amazing," he smiles at me.

"Thank you," I sigh after taking a deep breath.

"Now. I assume you have a speech prepared?" He asks. I pull the index cards out of my pocket and hand him my notes. He flips through them. "These are great. Just say what comes to mind, using these as a template," he smiles and hands them back. "You go find somewhere quiet, some where comfortable. I'll hold down the fort with Larry out there," he points to the door. "Go practice," he says.

"Okay," I smile. We both walk out of the room and make my way upstairs. Standing at the end of the hall, I start practicing my speech. "Okay... Let's see... Hmm... Home Life and Early Life," I say, deciding on an opening topic. I take a deep breath and begin. "Not that long ago, I walked the same halls as you, wore the same uniform as you. Listened to the same seminars talking about the future, but one really stuck with me. My parents, they both came to talk about their career. It wasn't the seminar itself that inspired me, as I had heard the same things at home, but it was the light in my mother's eyes and the happiness in my father's voice when they spoke about exploring. As a kid, around your age, I was fascinated with the past. The Romans, the Egyptians, even the people along the Indus River Valley, they all inspired me. Sometimes, people found that to be odd. I remember when I did the Time Travel project in Miss Harbors class. This was my favourite project out of the whole class. I chose Ancient Egypt as my time period. I remember getting in trouble for that project. I was always fascinated with the mummification process. It was the most odd ritual I've studied. Don't talk about it in detail to a group of elementary kids," I laugh to myself.

"Kids can be very mean. I remember getting the nickname 'Dead Girl' because I was fascinated with death and history, also because of my skin tone. But, I didn't let them tell me what I could and couldn't do. Instead, I showed them what I could do. I finished school at the age of 14 and I'll become a Doctor of Anthropology by the age of 22," I enunciate the right words and I walk back forth as I talk. "Going into Exploration is one of the best decisions I have ever made. I get to visit ancient towns and learn about the people who once lived there and how they shaped our culture into what it is today. I get to see the treasures of old nations and learn their meaning. My first expedition was when I turned 15. It was two weeks after I graduated and my parents flew me out of Egypt. I got to see the Valley of the Kings. I visited the Luxor Temple and worshiped with the natives. I explored the Sinai where the ancestors there mined for turquoise. And just one year later, I visited Kitsuki and lived like the native Japanese would have during the 1300s. I housed with a nice family called Orihara and their youngest daughter, Ahmya, became like a sister to me. I made family in unexpected places, made connections with people who have been dead for thousands of years and it is amazing. By the time I turned 20, I had been to 70 different countries. And in one year and 3 months, I will be going to South America to live as the ancient tribes did. Reading about an era in history is one thing, but living through it is a completely different experience. It is not a completely safe profession, though. I lost my mother, father, and sister 3 years ago. Our private jet crashed. My sister was on her way to her first expedition. She wanted to visit the Kazakh Mountains. I'm not sad about it. They died doing what they loved, with the people they loved. I couldn't think of a better way to live," I sigh and look down the hall. I see the shadow of a person move, along with a shuffling. "Who's there?" I call out.

"It's me," Ahkmenrah steps out from around the corner.

"How long where you there?" I ask.

"A little while. It was getting a bit noisy down there, so I can up for a minute alone," he points to the Egypt exhibition.

"I'll leave you then. My apologies," I bow apologetically and begin to walk away. Just as I try to pass the Pharaoh, he steps in my way. "Sorry," I apologize again and I go to step around him, but he steps in my way again.

"You apologize too much," he simply says. I keep my head straight and my eyes forward, causing me to look at the jewels on Ahkmenrah's robe. I stay silent. "I didn't know you've been to so many places," he says. I can hear the smile in his voice.

"I like to learn. It's better to learn hands on than reading a book," I say, not moving a muscle. He reaches down and grabs the note cards out of my hands. He doesn't look through them. Instead, he just holds them. I feel his eyes on me, but as I'm much shorter, I can't see his face.

"Why are you so tense?" he laughs. I watch as his chest moves from the laughter. His laugh makes me feel warm, happy. He slides the notecards into my pocket on my jacket. He tilts his head down and to the side. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him staring at me, brows furrowed, but I keep my eyes ahead.

My watch beeps. "One hour till sunrise," I simply say. He stands up straight, but stays in in front of me. He places his hands on the sides of my face.

"You are so tense. Why?" he asks, confused. I don't answer. "You're thinking about something. What's on your mind?" He notices that I'm thinking. I want to tell him what I'm thinking about, but my thoughts are going faster than I can comprehend them. This has never happened to me before and I don't understand. My heart is racing, but it feels like time is standing still. My eyes dance across the jewels of the robe and they land on his smooth, golden skin. Without even thinking, or realizing what I'm doing, I press myself into him, my arms wrapping around his waist. He freezes, not expecting what I just did. I take in a breath and a soft, warm scent enters my nose. His bare back is warm against my hands. His warmth radiates through me as he wraps his arms around me. One of his hands lands on my mid back while he runs the other over my soft, white hair. We stand there for a while, his head resting on mine. Without my brain telling them to, my hands start shaking. He feels this and steps back, taking my hands into his.

"Are you feeling well?" he questions before he softly places his hand on my forehead. "You don't feel warm," he states. His hand softly slides from my forehead to my cheek, where it stays. His other hand holds mine as it still shakes. My empty hand grabs the hem of my jacket in an attempt be still. My watch beeps again, alerting me that we have three minutes till sunrise.

"We better get you ready. The suns about to come up," I say softly. He raises my hand higher to his face.

"See you soon, Kamilah," he says. He presses his warm lips against the back of my hand, sending sparks throughout my body. I let go of my jacket and softly place my hand on the side of his face. I smile a warm smile and look into his perfect green eyes.

"See you soon, Ahkmenrah," I say. He nods and grabs my hand with his other hand, now holding both in front of him again. He nods one last time and sighs before dropping my hands and walking into the exhibit.

One the sun is up, I press my hand against my forehead and lean against the hall. "Geez," I whisper to myself before taking a deep breath and sorting myself out. I try to not smile, but I cannot help it as I walk away from Egypt. What have I gotten myself into?