Suspending Reality (7 page)

“I-I don’t know. Wouldn’t it be better to stay with the group?”

“There’s nothing more I want to do than help build a new world, but I won’t live under a tyrant to do it. If that’s our only choice, I’d rather run away.”

“The rules might not be so bad,” she said. “It’s all part of being…civilized.”

“Civilized? Is it civilized to keep people locked in a bubble underwater until he feels like releasing us? If that’s being civilized, I want nothing to do with it,” I snapped. “I’m tired of being treated like a prisoner when I did nothing wrong.” 

“But we’re not prisoners. When we’re eighteen, we’ll go up—legally. In the meantime, Dante’s workers are busy building a world for us up there.”

I sighed. “See? It’s all about power and control, and you’re under his thumb just like everyone else is. We should be allowed to go up to the surface whenever we want.”

“It’s only two more years.”

“After seeing the sun, sky, and ocean, do you really want to wait that long?” I asked.

“No, but what choice do we really have?”

“I’m a misfit down here,” I said. “I’m the only one who complains. We only live once, right?”

“Yeah, I get the whole YOLO thing, but—”

She was trying to be hip by using the word, YOLO. It was an acronym for "you only live once". It was kind of like carpe diem or memento mori. It implied that one should enjoy life, even if that meant taking risks. Made me think of the 2011 song "The Motto" by Canadian rapper Drake.

“So why would you wanna spend the rest of your teenage years down here in this waterlogged, boring glass aquarium?” I asked.

“You know what they say. ‘Great leaders boldly drive forward, clearing a path for those who follow.’”

“Great leaders, huh? So you think Dante is actually clearing a path for us?”

“Yes. Just think how fantastic it’ll be when we get up there.”

“You’re such a dreamer,” I said. “You always believe the best about everyone.” I’d always thought my friend was too trusting, and it infuriated me that she just accepted whatever she was told, without question. We had a lot in common, and we were best friends, but in that way, we were very, very different.

She threw a pillow at me. “Enough with all this serious talk. I’m starvin’. Let’s go get lunch.”

I laughed.

Rachel looked at me oddly.

“What?” I asked.

“Your face is pink.”

When I looked at hers, I noticed she had the same problem. “You do too.”

“Did we catch some terrible rash up there?”

“Maybe the air’s not safe after all,” I joked.

“That’s not funny!” she snapped. “How can you stay so calm? Who knows what germs we brought back down here.”

I smirked, trying not to break into laughter. “It’s a sunburn.”

“What?”

“Our skin is pale. We got a sun burn from the sun, that’s all.”

“My first sun burn?”

“Yeah. I know the perfect trick. Make up, lots of it!”

We went back and put on lots of cover up to conceal our sunburn. It worked like a charm. We didn’t have tons of make up so we used it very sparingly on special occasions, or for emergencies like this one.

On the way to the cafeteria, I ran into my twelve year old cousin. 

“These are for you,” she said handing me a pot with a Christmas cactus. The red and pink drooping flowers were gorgeous. “Happy Birthday!”

“I love it!” I said, my face lighting up. “When did you plant this for me?”

“They’re not from me, silly. They were sitting in the lounge with your name on them.”

I cocked a brow. “Who are they from?”

“I don’t know. The card just has your name. Who keeps leaving you all these flowers? We don’t have any more room for them. Because there’s more that came.”

“More?”

“Yep. I don’t think Brett’s going to like that much.”

I bit my lip. “Yeah, I’m gonna have to agree with you on that one.”  

***

After lunch, Walter called me over. He delivered supplies from the surface and did lots of repair jobs for our city. He lived on the surface already and only submerged about once a month, and whenever he did, he made it a point to chitchat with me. Walter was a nice, sweet guy, and both Rachel and I could clearly see that he had a crush on me. His cheeks always turned red when he talked to me, and he stuttered and wrung his hands. I thought of him as nothing more than a friend, but it was cute and a bit flattering that he liked me that way. He was big and buff, like a wrestler, and he had black, curly hair and dark eyes. “Hi, Sky,” he said.

“Hello, Walter,” I answered. “You’re still here, huh?”

“Yeah. Took all day to fix that stupid thing.” He handed me a wrapped present in blue, floral wrapping paper. “Here. This is for you.”

I smiled at the sweet gesture, but I felt awkward accepting a gift from him; I didn’t want to lead him on.

“Happy birthday,” he said. “I hope you like it.”

I smiled and slowly unwrapped the present. My jaw dropped at the pair of small diamond stud earrings. “Wow, Walter,” I said, glancing up at him. “This is very sweet of you, but—”

“I was hoping to make…a glittering statement,” he said. “Do you like it?”

“It’s very beautiful, but I…” I trailed off and looked down at the jewelry. It was too much. I hardly knew the guy, and Brett would have a fit if he found out that another man was giving me presents like that. Walter knew I was dating Brett, but he didn’t seem to take that too seriously.
Awkward
. Just a little while ago, I’d given Rachel a firm warning about not accepting apples from Melvin, and now Walter was giving me diamonds. I didn’t want him to have any expectations when I arrived on the surface; even if I would be a legal adult by then, I didn’t want to date him and certainly had no intention of marrying him. He had previously mentioned finding his special woman and settling down, and I sure hoped he wasn’t talking about me.

I smiled and tried to be polite. “Thank you, Walter. Really. It’s just lovely, but I’m afraid…well, I can’t accept it.”

He frowned. “It’s just a token of my friendship. Nothing more. I won them in a raffle held by Dante. What am I going to do with them? They don’t look good on me.”

I chuckled.

“It sure is pretty, Walter, but like I said, I just can’t accept it.”

“Shoot. I knew it was too much. I shoulda stuck with something simpler.”

“Save these diamond studs for that special somebody.”

“I know the perfect girl. She smiles at me a lot. I’ll be sure to save it for her,” he said, trying not to sound too embarrassed, but his cheeks had turned even darker red, and his eyes looked sad—like a punished puppy’s.

“She won’t be disappointed.”

“But now I don’t have anything to give you for your birthday.”

“I know the perfect present.”

“Yeah? What?”

“Info,” I said, smiling slyly. I figured if Walter liked me enough to buy me an expensive and rare gift like that (it wasn’t like there were still jewelry stores on every corner in the new upper world), maybe he’d be willing to flap his lips, even if he wasn’t supposed to.

“Info?”

“Yeah. Tell me what it’s like up there, Walter.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Is the sky really blue?” I asked, wondering if he’d lie to me like all the other talking heads on Dante’s payroll.

“It is. In fact, it’s the prettiest shade of blue I’ve ever seen. Today, it’s especially gorgeous, with white, fluffy clouds floating by. You couldn’t ask for a prettier day on your birthday.”

Whew
! I thought, glad he was telling me the truth. I knew, because I’d seen it for myself. “It sounds lovely. What’s the city like?”

“Dante made sure to build Viti in the best part of Miami, the least-damaged area. We’re all working together to build a strong, beautiful community.”

“Do you see my dad, my brother, or my sister?”

“All the time.”

“How are they doing?”

“Wonderful.”

“Please tell them I said hello.”

“I will.” His gaze narrowed. “What’s wrong, Sky?”

“Walter, I just don’t see why I have to wait, why I can’t go up to the surface to be with my family. Why are some of us left behind down here? Miami’s a big city. Surely there’s enough room for all of us.”

“Look, you should enjoy your life down here while you can. It is beautiful up there, but it’s a lot of hard work.”

“I know, but I don’t care. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help our community.”

“You’ll be up there in no time. Don’t rush it, Sky.”

***

After my talk with Walter ended, I ran into Brett. When I did, I lit up like a Christmas tree; my awesome boyfriend always had that effect on me. Brett had short, blond hair and brown eyes. He wasn’t muscular, but he was definitely fit and in shape, very athletic. I’d been smitten with him ever since he took my toy truck when I was five. We’d grown up together, and we’d been sweethearts since childhood. He was the perfect guy for me, and no one—not even Walter—could replace him.

I didn’t like keeping secrets from Brett, so I told him about the jewelry dilemma. He was pretty cool about it, surprisingly mature for his age, and I was thankful for that. We decided to walk to his room because he had a special birthday present of his own to give to me. As nice and thoughtful as Walter’s gift had been, Brett could have given me a paper airplane, and that would have meant a whole lot more to me than Walter’s diamonds.

When I overheard a couple talking, I listened intently.

“Dante Marcellus has envisioned a glorious future for everyone,” Jan said.

Her husband nodded. “He has a strategic plan to get us all out of here. We just have to wait our turn. It’ll only be a little longer.”

“Well, some things are worth waiting for. I’m sure he has good things in store for us.”

“I agree. We couldn’t ask for a more charming, adaptable, persuasive leader.”

“Remember that last speech he gave before he went to the surface? I felt the energy and adrenaline when he talked about the challenges we’d face.”

I rolled my eyes, tired of Dante’s fan club, and continued walking to Brett’s room.
How can all these people so blindly accept everything that man tells them?
I wanted to say something about it, but I was pretty sure Brett was tired of me standing on my soapbox, ranting and raving about it all the time.

Brett opened the door, and I walked in first and sat down on his bed. 

“I’m afraid I can’t top diamonds and silver,” he said as he walked over to the dresser to pull something out of his drawer.

“I turned those down, remember?” I reminded him. “A gift from anyone else doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“Sky, I know there’s only one man in your life,” he said, absolutely aware that no other man could compete with him when it came to my affections.

I grinned. “You’re right…and you’re him, baby.”

He softly brushed his lips against mine in a soft kiss. “Happy birthday, Sky,” he said, handing me a card and a present.

The passionate kiss would have been enough, but I smiled and opened the box. When I saw what was inside it, I screamed in delight at the giant stone set in a stylish silver ring.

“It’s a mood ring,” he said. “It changes colors when your mood does. It reminds me of your eyes,” he explained. 

“I love it, Brett! It’s just…perfect.” I jumped into his arms, and he lifted me up and kissed me.

“I know it’s not a diamond, but—”

I put my finger to his lips. “I’d rather have this any day. This is more…me, and it flatters me that you know that.”

He grinned, and I kissed him on the cheek and slid the ring on my finger. 

***

I wasn’t a huge fan of school, but I did actually look forward to my survival class. They taught us lots of survival tips, including how to start fires and how to fight. I thought learning how to shoot would be quite important if we had to hunt, but Mrs. Selena thought otherwise, because she was entirely opposed to guns. She did teach us how to use crossbows though, in the huge room we used for sparring and for target practice. I had the best aim of anyone in class, and it was nice to actually have a talent besides gardening and shooting pool.

After class was over for the day, Rachel and I decided to stay and practice. We knew experience was the best teacher. Besides, we enjoyed sparring, and it was a friendly match. It wasn’t really dangerous, because we used wooden spears with padded tips. Sometimes, though, we’d sneak and use real spears, but we were always super careful.

“You ready for a two-hour battle?” Rachel asked.

“Bring it on.”

After a few minutes, Carla came in. “Hey, Sky,” she said.

I met her gaze straight on. “What do you want?”

Her sapphire blue eyes blazed as she pushed strands of black hair from her face. “Wanna take me on?”