Think 'Haven' & Take My Hand (girlxgirl)

Chapter 5 Stephanie

Next Monday, I decided to give myself a break. Usually, no matter what, I go jogging to relieve my morning stiffness… not sexually, I mean, because I tend to have very uncomfortable dreams. I don’t remember anything, but I’m sure that I have nightmares; when I wake up my muscles are sore. So jogging isn’t just because I’m supposed to stay healthy. It’s about my own mental health. I would not be able to deal with this whole lab-rat situation without venting out.

I tapped the right in front of my bed and a screen immediately appeared. The time of the day was displayed as my lock screen so after a momentary pause, I tapped the screen again and stared at the short-cut images: my kitchen, the Main Street Park, and Jay’s and Rachel’s face. My face lingered on Jay. I hadn’t seen him yesterday but this network immediately took a picture of his last access. He had been sporting a stubble, messy brown hair and his usual half-moon earing. His blue eyes looked as sharp as ever…

I suddenly had the urge to give him a call… But obviously, he isn’t awake at 7am in the morning.  He always wakes up rather late… and there’s no reason for him to be up today in the morning. He didn’t receive a letter; he confirmed it to me last night. He hadn’t received anything…

In an afterthought, my eyes traced a line towards Rachel. She had used my ICN (Inter-Connected Network) yesterday so she showed a sweated expression. It had been right after our run. A tranquil enough run to keep us in shape… only 7km. Even so, she had got pretty tired – reason for the red-cheeked appearance in front of me.

I turned around and tapped the wall on her face, instantly calling her. After a few seconds of silence, I heard her voice through the miniscule pores on the screen.

“Hey…” Rach said with fake annoyance, “Why are you calling me?” 

“At what time are you heading over there?” I asked her as I turned to my drawer. “I just want to know that.”

“In an hour,” She replied, “I’m curious to see if anyone else has heard about it. Maybe the Resolves have.”

Resolves - the retired Cases.

“I was planning to do that too,” I said taking out a gray and long-sleeved shirt. “Although mostly because we don’t know how many were chosen in our Locality and I want to get out of there as quick as possible for the first day…”

I took off my current blue shirt and threw it into the laundry hole in the wall and as I did, a pause lingered between me and my friend. I turned around and eyed her, feeling strangely watched. “What?”

Her eyes opened wide as if I had discovered her doing something she’s not supposed to do. I know that look. She’s a trouble maker in the end. “N-nothing. I was just wondering, I mean, since you always sound half-sure and half-scared of all of this…” 

‘All of this.’

“Of course…” I put my shirt on and kept my eyes on my feet. I could feel the small heat burn in my cheeks. I don’t like Rach pointing out my thoughts. “It isn’t the first time that you notice it.”

After that, we talked for a while. Actually, for more than a while. The ICN works everywhere around our houses so instant communication is not that hard. I said ‘goodbye’ to her once I decided to leave and sent a message to Jay, telling him that I was leaving for the day.  I closed the door to my apartment and headed down the stairs. My strong legs dragged me out onto Main Street. It was a warm and sunny September day, just enough to feel the winds of aurum starting to pick up.

“Hey, Steph!” A Resolve friend said as he jogged his way down the solar-panel pavement. “You didn’t take your run today!”

“I’m giving myself a rest!” I said back to him as he made his way past me. “See you tomorrow!”