by Jon Chaisson
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Denni - Amna
Denysia?
The voice entered her consciousness as a whisper so quiet she almost didn’t hear it above the din of the school cafeteria, but she didn’t have the time to answer it right now. Not when she had yesterday’s history homework to finish off before next period. She’d been so worried about Caren that she’d forgotten all about it, and she’d be damned if she’d get another low grade in this class. She pulled up the worksheet on her vidmat and started scribbling out the answers as quickly as she could. She could at least accept points off for bad penmanship.
To be honest, she relished all this background white noise. She’d been distracted during all her early classes, not just by the persistent voice but by the news her sister had shared. It all made sense now: the dreams, the voices, the traveling, the soulhearing…and especially what Caren had told her about Mum and Dad. Caren had also called her this morning, just before she’d left for school, just to make sure she’d recovered from it all.
“Denni! There you are!”
Another interruption! She lifted her head to see her friend Amna Ehramanis making her way through the crowded hall towards her table, plowing her way through pockets of students like a hurricane. Despite her petite frame, the girl was a power to behold, and those who saw her coming always scrambled out of the way. She never did anything quietly. It was comical to watch, but it was also impressive. She was well aware of her tininess and made up for it by having a larger-than-life personality. She was sweet and cute, but she could also kick your ass if you ticked her off.
“Girl, where have you been?” she said, still a good four tables away. “I’ve been looking for you all morning!”
Denni glanced down at her homework, weighed the options of her excuses for tardy homework…certainly she could use the influence of taking care of Caren, who happened to be on the recently heavily burdened ARU…and smiled deftly at her own shamelessness. “Hey yourself,” she called as she switched off the vidmat and stuffed it in her satchel. She gestured with a nod of the head at the number of students. “Have a seat. Insane in here today, huh? A bit much for fourth period study, isn’t it?”
Amna grabbed the back of an empty seat and yanked it out, nearly hitting the thigh of a passing classmate. She dropped her load of books on the table with a resounding thump and grunted out of exhaustion. “Just got out of Taylor’s history class,” she groaned. “You wouldn’t believe the homework she’s got us doing…we have to finish up Kaalen’s dehndarra Né and have a ten-page paper on it by the end of the week. If I didn’t know the tract already, I’d complain, but…”
Denni smiled, amused. Amna was certainly an odd character who defied any mental image one might have had of her. She was half-Meraladian on her mother’s side, her clan’s trait of good-natured belligerence running rampant in her blood. She may be small, but her spirit was far greater than any room she entered.
“Goddess, that reminds me,” she continued. “I’ve got a term paper for religious history class coming up next month. I’m thinking of writing about the Mendaihu. What do you think?”
Denni tried not to frown. “It’s…uh,” she stumbled. She made herself look her friend in the eye and tried to keep her voice even. “It’s not a bad idea, Amna, but the Mendaihu aren’t really a religion-based culture.”
“Of course they are,” she countered. “Name me one Mendaihu who isn’t part of some religious movement. They’re all tied into one spiritual thing or another, Den. No questioning that.”
“There’s a difference between religion and spirituality, Amzi…a big difference.”
“Says you,” she said, sticking out her tongue.
Denysia! Denni twitched, the voice much louder and forceful than earlier. She muttered under her breath in response: Not now! Please, not now!
“Den?” Amna frowned at her, a hand on her shoulder. “You okay over there? Something I said?”
“No, no…I’m okay,” she said unevenly, forcing a smile and waving off concern. “Just a weird night last night. Caren came in late again.”
Amna nodded. “Ah. Those five riots, yeah?”
No tact, that girl. “Yeah. It’s taken a lot out of her. Lot of weird stuff going on.”
“NewsComm was scant on the details, but that doesn’t surprise me,” she said. “They’re not saying who or what started it, but I’m sure you can imagine the press is having a field day with speculation.”
Denni had to laugh at that. If only they knew the truth! “Yeah, I’ve heard some really stupid things in the last twenty-four hours. Religious extremists, anti-religious extremists, Vigil…I think my favorite one so far is the guy on NC5 who’s convinced it’s all a government conspiracy to cause some sort of war between humans and Meraladians.”
“Hey, could happen,” Amna said, pointing at her with a self-satisfied smile. “You never know when the day will come when I’m going to grow thirty feet tall, grow a tail, and come over to your house, honey. I’ve been savoring the day I can finally beat your ass but good.”
Amna’s comment was so over the top and unexpected the two girls broke out in a giggling fit. She had so needed that levity right now! She playfully punched Amna on the arm, daring her to make good on her threat, which led to more outrageous boasting and laughter. They ignored the stares and continued to talk through the rest of the period about countless different topics, from school to music to politics, each subject flowing seamlessly into the next one. For the time being, Denni’s life was back to normal. She heard the disembodied voice a few more times during the study period, but chose to ignore it. It had no intention of leaving, but wasn’t too adamant at wrestling her attention away, either. She would respond when she could, and hoped that whoever was on the other end could understand that.
The period soon ended, and with her still-unfinished homework tucked in her satchel and burning a hole in her conscience, she made a quick plan to meet for lunch with Amna and her other friends before dashing off to Meraladian History class. She felt guilty for not getting the homework done, but at the moment she didn’t feel it was that important. Instead she focused on Caren, wondering where she was at that very moment, and if she was doing okay. She thought she could reach out and touch her sister’s spirit from across the city, and for a brief second thought she felt the gesture being reciprocated. It was only her own spirit that made her fully believe that their wordless affection over such a distance had actually taken place. She smiled and hummed quietly to herself as she walked to her next class.
