by Elin Peer
Hunter snorted, lifting the edge of his upper lip. “Not fucking likely.”
Willow’s hands were playing with her hair and her eyes glazed over as she looked out the window, no doubt long gone in memories from her time with Solo.
“What happened exactly?” I asked because only vague memories of hearing about a falling out between Hunter and Solo came to mind.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Hunter’s tone was dismissive and he walked over to stroke Willow’s back in a soothing manner.
Storm crossed his arms. “Alright, then forget about Solo, but what about the rest? Do we invite the old people or just us young ones? I mean, Archer and Kya are a must, but what about Boulder and Christina? They kind of built the school so I want to invite them too.”
“You invite everyone, of course,” I said, as to me it was a no-brainer.
“Even Lord Khan and Pearl?”
“Especially Pearl and Lord Khan. They came up with the idea to create the school to begin with and the school is named after Pearl.”
Hunter nodded. “I agree, but there’s no way they’ll come. I mean Lord Khan is our ruler. I doubt he has time for us.”
I leaned against the wall, my arms folded. “The school was always important to him and Pearl. If they have time, they’ll come.”
Storm’s eyes widened as if he’d just thought of something worthy of a genius. He spoke with excitement. “What about Magni? You think we could get him to come? It would be the biggest scoop ever to have him there.”
I angled my head. “How is it a bigger scoop to have Magni come than his brother, the ruler?”
Storm scrunched up his face. “It’s fucking Magni Aurelius – the man is a living legend. He’s my hero.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Do I need to remind you that he almost killed me that time when he thought I’d slept with Laura?”
Storm and Hunter burst into grins and spoke at the same time. “It was epic. He almost crashed his drone when he came for you.”
“I thought Magni was going to kill you for real. He looked like an avenging demon coming straight out of hell to kill you.”
I spoke in a dry tone. “I’m glad you two were entertained.”
Storm rocked back and forth with sounds of suppressed excitement.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I just remembered something hilarious.” Storm grinned. “Never mind, though, it’s about Solo, so I probably shouldn’t say it.”
“What?” Willow asked. “What about Solo?”
“Don’t you remember that Magni knocked him out?” Storm lifted his arm and made a right hook in the air. “Boom – good night, Solo, sleep tight.”
Willow tensed up. “It wasn’t funny then and it’s not funny now.”
Storm was still grinning. “Oh, it’s funny.” He pointed at me. “But at least Solo was standing up to Magni. You fucking ran like a girl.”
I scoffed. “I had no problem with Magni and didn’t want to fight him, that’s all.”
“You were terrified of him.” Storm clapped his thighs with laughter while Tristan came to my defense.
“Shut up, Storm. We were all terrified of him, you included. I would like to see what you’d do if Magni stormed after you with murder in his eyes.”
Hunter crossed his arms and snorted. “We all know the answer to that question. Storm would be begging for Magni’s autograph.”
“Have you decided on a day for the reunion?” Willow asked and brought us back on track.
“No, not yet, but I was thinking late July or early August, before the new school year starts. That way there will be fewer children at the school.”
“You want to have the party at the school?”
“Of course. We can bring tents and make it a fun weekend.”
Willow picked up a bowl of nuts and offered it to Storm, who was trying to reach. “And how far are you with the planning?”
“I spoke to Kya about it and she loved the idea. She said she would talk to Archer about a date. When it comes to invites, the adults should be easy enough, and from the kids I already have us four plus Nero, Mila, Raven, and Shelly.”
I frowned. “Wait a minute, why are you counting me as a kid? I was an adult.”
Storm leaned his head from side to side as if not quite sure. “You and Shelly were kind of in between.”
“We were assistant mentors. Not students.”
“True, but Shelly was only fifteen.”
“So? I was twenty.” I raised an eyebrow, speaking slowly and clearly. “I was not a kid.”
“Okay, fine, Marco, then you can sit at the grown-up table.”
“Do you need help finding the Motlanders?” Willow asked.
“Actually, I was planning to ask Shelly to get her sister Rochelle to track down the rest of the Motlander students. Isn’t Shelly and Rochelle’s mom a member of the Motherland Council?”
“Yes, she is,” Willow confirmed.
Storm nodded with satisfaction. “Then she’ll have the connections to find them.”
“And how are you going to track down the last students from the Northlands?” I asked.
Storm gave me a sly smile. “Actually, I was hoping Tristan could help me with that.”
Tristan pushed further up on the couch. “Me?”
“Uh-huh, you talk to Mila sometimes and being Magni’s daughter, she’s bound to have connections too.”
“Sure, I can ask her,” Tristan offered.
“Good.” Storm clapped his hands together. “Tell you what. I’ll call Kya right now and ask her if she’s got a date yet while you call Mila and get her on board.” He turned and pointed to me. “Can you call Shelly, and fill her in? Tell her we need her to enroll her sister Rochelle.”
We all stared at him, not used to Storm’s being so organized.
“Go…” he said with impatience, gesturing with his hands for us to spread out.
Ten minutes later we were all back in the living room surrounding Tristan, who was still on the couch.
“Kya and Archer are excited. We’re doing it the first weekend of August,” Storm reported and looked at me. Did you get a hold of Shelly?”
“Yes, she said. “Rochelle will be happy to help. According to Shelly, Rochelle is already in contact with the other Motlander students anyway.”
“I knew it!” Storm gave a satisfied nod. “And what did Mila say?”
Tristan and Willow had talked to Mila, and they exchanged a glance before Tristan spoke. “The good news is that Mila is more than willing to help.”
“That’s great.”
“Yeah, but there’s just one problem.”
“And what’s that?” Storm asked.
“It’s just that Mila is a true Motlander at heart. She’s a strong believer in second chances, and inclusiveness.”
Hunter stiffened next to me. “I think I fucking know where this is going.”
Tristan pushed higher up on the sofa. “Mila didn’t like the idea of inviting everyone and leaving Solo out. She says that she’ll help, but only if everyone is invited.”
“I doubt that he’d come anyway,” Willow said in a low voice. “He’s too proud for that.”
I really wished that someone would tell me what had happened between her and Solomon back then, but with the tension emanating from Hunter, I wasn’t going to ask again.
“Did you tell Mila that Willow and I won’t come if Solo comes?” Hunter asked.
Willow’s bright green eyes locked on her brother. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Maybe it’ll be good for me.”
“Are you fucking serious?”
“He wouldn’t hurt me, Hunter. You know that.”
Hunter paced the floor. “You’re damn right he wouldn’t hurt you. I wouldn’t let him get close enough to touch you.”
“The chance of Solo coming to the reunion is very low. If he does, maybe it can give me some closure.”
“You don’t need closure, y
ou’re over him.” Hunter said it like it was an order and underlined it with his hand cutting through the air.
With her chest rising in a deep intake of air, Willow gave a slow shake of her head. “I have so much anger when I think of him. So much deep resentment. Maybe if I found answers to some of my unanswered questions, I could finally find peace.”
“How about Mila invites everyone and then we take it from there,” Tristan suggested. “If Solo comes and you want him to stay away from Willow, we could always tell him that Willow and I are a couple now.”
Hunter stopped pacing and his hand flew to the back of his head, his face turning toward Tristan. “What did you say?”
Tristan paled. “You know, to make Solo stay away from her.”
“Ahh, yes, that’s not a bad idea. That would work on every male there, not just Solo.”
“Hey, don’t talk about me like I’m not here, and for the record: I don’t lie,” Willow protested.
“It’s just a little white lie for your safety,” Tristan pointed out. “After I failed Shelly yesterday, I would like to help you if possible.”
Willow got up from the couch and walked to the window overlooking the city. “Why don’t we wait and see if Solo is even interested in participating?” Her hands played with a necklace around her throat. “Storm has a point. There’s a big chance Solo is married with children now. He probably doesn’t think much about us anymore.”
“Wonderful. Then I’ll get the invites rolling,” Storm exclaimed. “It’s going to be the wildest party ever. You’ll see!”
CHAPTER 13
Pragmatist
Shelly
Does being a pragmatist make you less emotional?
It was a question I pondered over as I analyzed my relationship with Marco. For as long as I could remember, I’d been told I lacked a filter and needed to develop more sensitivity.
I’d taken a psychology degree and learned to compensate for my so-called lack of empathy by analyzing body language, non-verbal sounds, and making sense of it all.
Now that Marco was back in my life, dormant feelings had surfaced from the time I was a teenager with a crush, and I’d concluded two things.
One: Maybe I didn’t express my feelings as openly as normal Motlanders, but I still had strong emotions. Marco brought out a wide range of feelings in me, strong enough to cause physical reactions and sleepless nights.
Two: I did have a filter. Not once had I told anyone, including Marco, about the way he made me feel. Declaring my love would only complicate things between us when it was really very simple. We shared chemistry but had vastly different ideas of what our futures looked like. I planned to travel, explore, and develop things to improve life for all humans. Marco dreamed of a life in the Northlands with a sweet wife, children, and material wealth.
I was rational enough to understand that we would never be able to make each other happy. The realization that I had not just a filter, but a strong one, made me think that maybe I wasn’t lacking empathy either. Maybe I was just less attached to outcomes than others and therefore less impacted by emotions.
Like the time my sister didn’t get into the school she wanted and she cried for a week. I didn’t understand why she was so upset when there were other schools to pick from. It wasn’t that I didn’t see how disappointed and sad Rochelle was. I just didn’t see the sense in sharing it and feeling sad myself. That would only make it harder to cheer her up.
Charlie called me and because I’d just been deep in thought, pondering the subject of empathy and how I could apply it to Natura, I asked him, “Charlie, would you say empathy is important?”
My boss tilted his head. “Very much so.”
“And would you say that I have empathy?”
Unlike Nmen, Charlie had no facial hair, and wore a bit of make-up. “Why do you ask, Shelly?”
“I spoke to my sister Rochelle a few days ago and she accused me of being selfish because I didn’t sympathize with her complaints.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“What would be the point? How would it help her?”
“Well, it can be nice to feel like someone else cares.”
“Rochelle said that I haven’t developed empathy because no one expects me to show it. According to her, everyone thinks I’m quirky and emotionally limited.”
“And you disagree?”
“I know I’m quirky, but to call me limited… I don’t know, Charlie. The thing is that I’ve observed an interesting pattern. When my sister is sad, she’ll fall apart around her friends or my mother. But when she’s with me, she’ll collect herself and suck it up.”
“Maybe it’s because she doesn’t think you understand anyway,” Charlie commented.
“Exactly. But from a practical standpoint isn’t it better to compose yourself than to fall apart? Meaning, am I not doing her a favor compared to the others who make her feel worse by asking endless questions about her pain?”
“It’s not that simple, Shelly.”
“Why not? I would think I’m doing a sad person a favor by not sharing in their misery. I’m almost forcing them to move on, am I not?”
“It’s not always about moving on so much as it is about venting.”
I picked up a robotic hand that was lying on my desk and played with it. “By venting you mean complaining about what is wrong?”
“More like reflecting on it. It’s a helpful exercise to feel relief. People often feel lighter after discussing what burdens them. It you try to suppress bad experiences, they’ll only come back as memories or bad dreams, and if you have enough unresolved issues in your system, it can cause depression. That’s why it’s better to discuss it with someone who cares enough to show sympathy.”
I tilted my head and gave him a thoughtful expression. “But who has time for all that venting?”
“People take the time.”
I scoffed. “Some people have too much time then. Not me, though. I’m much too busy working on solutions.”
“Yes, that you are.” Charlie smiled. “So give me an update on the work you’ve done.”
Charlie and I discussed the research program, the data, and my improvements on Mindy before he changed the subject again. “That’s all very impressive, but how come you’re not telling me about the mail that you’ve been receiving?”
My hands rearranged a few things on my desk. “Why would I?”
“I wish you’d told me about it. I had to find out via personnel.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing. Internal systems alerted the personnel department. They told me that you’ve been on the receiving end of some vicious hate mail with strong wording that is unacceptable and mean in nature.”
“It’s not that bad.”
Charlie looked upset. “How can you say that, Shelly? I was deeply shocked when I read some of these harsh and cruel letters. Like this one.” He began reading aloud. “What a waste to give a genius brain to a traitor and Nman lover. I dislike you, Shelly Summers, and I wish that you’ll trip and get hurt.” Charlie’s expression when he looked up was stern and severe. “To think that someone here in the Motherlands would use such explicit language and wish harm on you.”
I shrugged. “I have spent too much time in the Northlands to be offended by that.”
“But why haven’t you told me about these harsh attacks on your person?” Charlie asked.
I shook my head, not having a satisfying answer for him.
“Shelly. I want to help you, but I’m not sure how.”
“Don’t. They’re not saying anything I haven’t heard before. People are just angry at me living and working here when they think I should be performing miracles in the Motherlands.”
“One of them called you a big-brained romantic. That must have hurt.” Charlie looked like it pained him to say it. “I suppose it’s a reaction from people who have seen you on the news. You are aware that the media has mentioned that you’re working in the Northla
nds, right?”
I sighed. “People need to leave me alone.”
“Shelly, you’re the daughter of a prominent councilwoman and the biggest genius we have. If you didn’t want people to care about you, you shouldn’t have said yes to all the articles or that documentary they did last year. You’re a celebrity now and that means people have high hopes for you.”
I scratched my arm, looking away.
“I’m your boss, and even I have a hard time understanding why this area has your interest. Why sex-bots for Nmen? It makes no sense. You’re not going to win any design awards for your work here; I hope you understand that.
“I’m not in it to win awards and it doesn’t have to make sense. It was something I was interested in and that’s why I’m here. When I’m done, I’ll move on and work on something else. I have a project in mind.”
Charlie lit up. “Interesting. Tell me.”
“I want to reinvent pregnancy prevention and the technology to keep women from getting their period.”
Charlie looked like I’d just told him I wanted to go to Saturn. “We already produce pregnancy prevention. There’s a sperm-killing spray on the market but it’s not selling well.”
“I know. I had some of it shipped here, and did you know that it’s only ninety percent effective? It says so on the spray.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“It also leaves a sticky residue on the penis and the taste is awful.”
“Why would the taste matter?” Charlie asked with a line between his eyebrows.
“In case the couple wants to enjoy oral sex.”
Charlie was pulling at his earlobe. “That sounds absolutely disgusting.”
“Exactly, you should taste it yourself and you’ll know what I mean. So you see there’s a need for pregnancy prevention that is more practical.”
“Hmm.”
“Now that the Northlanders are marrying Motlanders they have sex, and there’s going to be a need to control when and how often the women get pregnant.”
“If they don’t want children, they should simply cease to have intercourse. We don’t need a device or a pill for that.”
