A gay story: Where the Lines Overlap Ch. 01 Note: This story is a sequel/spinoff of my other story ‘The Lunar Life’. While it is not absolutely necessary to have read that beforehand to understand this, it is highly recommended. If you are not a fan of sci-fi, I would appreciate if you gave it a shot anyway. It’s not ‘Star wars’ sci-fi, more ‘dystopian future’ sci-fi.
Hey guys, I’m back with the requested sequel to ‘The Lunar Life’. I’m really proud of this one and I think it’s one of my better written works. Sorry it took so long, I’ve been busy. Shoutout to Karol whose comment on ‘The Lunar Life’ inspired most of the plot for this story.
As always, all comments are welcomed. Enjoy.
P.S. The story is completely written and all chapters will be up shortly.
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“Kev! Are you even listening to me?” Ken’s voice cut through my stupor. I shook my head, pulling myself out from my daydream as I turned my head to my twin brother.
“I’m sorry, what?” I replied, looking into the blue eyes that both my brother and I shared.
“Dude, what’s got you so distracted?” Ken asked, cocking an eyebrow at me. I was never one to daydream so when I started doing it a few weeks back, it was no wonder my brother caught on; he’s my twin after all. Before I could even reply, Ken’s frustrated look was replaced with a smirk. “Oh, you’re thinking about him again.”
“I am not,” I rebutted, putting on the best ‘wrongfully accused’ look I could muster. I should have known better than to try hiding things from my twin though.
“Yeah sure,” Ken said, rolling his eyes as he returned to his breakfast. “You should just tell him you know.”
I had to scoff at his statement. He was the last person who had the right to give me advice on the matter. “Excuse me? I don’t see you telling Alena about your feelings.”
“Hey, that’s a completely different matter,” he scolded.
“It’s the same exact thing and you know it,” I said, finally devouring the food in front of me. The only response I got was a roll of his eyes. I was right of course, which is strange because he was usually the correct one, being the smart one between us.
You see, even though Kenneth and I were twins, we couldn’t have been more different. While I had short spiky hair, his brown locks were longer and neatly slicked back. He was a science geek while my strengths revolved around mechanical stuff. He was thin and hated exercise, while I frequented the gym. But I guess the biggest difference between us, was that he was straight while I was gay.
More often than not, people always question if we are actually twins, because other than our faces, we looked totally different. That is, until we open our mouths, because sure we looked different, but our personalities were two peas in a pod. If you could use only one word to describe us, it would have been sarcastic.
“Morning boys,” my mom said, walking into the kitchen. “You’re both up early.”
“We have to head to class earlier today. Something about an interview or something,” Ken replied, while I scooped a spoon of my now soggy cereal into my mouth. All the advancements on Lunaris, and still no one could figure out how to keep cereal crispy.
“Interesting. Anyway, are you boys coming home for dinner tonight?”
“We’re hanging with Alena after school, so probably not,” I replied.
“Okay, send my regards to Alena too. She hasn’t been around lately.”
“You know her, always running around with something important,” Ken replied, shaking his head as if disapproving, but I couldn’t help but notice that look he got whenever he talked about her. Yeah, he got it bad. My smirk wasn’t lost on him either, immediately glaring at me.
“Well whatever it is, have fun tonight. Gives your dad and me some alone time,” my mom said, wiggling her eyebrow suggestively in our direction.
“Oh my god. No Mom!” both Ken and I cried, getting up and bringing our now empty kitchenware to the sink. The victorious grin that plastered my mom’s face just carried her win home. She just knew how to push our buttons; I mean what kid wants to hear about their parents doing the nasty. Hell, I don’t even want to think about it.
After making a hasty exit, we got ready to head to school. At the age of 20, we were almost done with our education. Less than a year later and we would both be taking the test to know what we would be doing for the rest of our lives. It wasn’t really something that either of us were worried about though. We were so tuned to what we liked and what we were good at, we were almost certain where out postings would place us. Ken would be placed in a lab somewhere and I would be in a dingy workshop.
As a natal, you don’t really expect your life to be any sort of exciting. Everything is laid out for you and that’s the way life goes. Ken was a natal through and through, his slim body hidden beneath loose fitting clothes just screamed natal. At 6’2″, he was on the tall side, but other than that he fit in with everyone else. Me on the other hand, people had trouble believing was natal, what with the amount of time I spent at the gym. Most natals didn’t have the physique I possessed and I was definitely proud of it. Though the same height as Kenneth, I probably weighed fifty pounds heavier.
But of course, I wouldn’t have even gotten the chance to bulk up if not for Alena, our best friend and Ken’s secret crush. You see, what made us different from most other natals, was that our best friend happened to be an elite. If not for Alena, Ken and I would not be able to live the life we currently lived. Having an elite best friend did have its advantages, like the occasional ride in a hovercar to the city centre, or access to facilities that only elites frequented.
The way we met was also kind of funny, and really the only reason we even met Alena, was because of Ken.
It was almost three years ago when this happened. At the time, Ken and I were in class, just another normal day interning for a new job. This new job, while brought me nothing but boredom, made Ken bounce around like a little kid. I mean, he was a science freak and interning as a laboratory assistant was right up his alley. The only thing that really intrigued me was that it was the first time any of us were in the city centre.
“Kevin, this is too cool. It would be a dream if I could work here,” Ken said, as we were leaving the place. I shook my head at my younger brother, smiling at his enthusiasm.
“I’m sure you’ll have a great time here, surrounded by all your nerd friends,” I mocked. Ken immediately turned to me, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s not really an insult and you know it. I am proud to be a nerd,” he said, raising his head in pride.
“And you never let me forget it,” I said, slapping my hand across his shoulder. This was still pre muscle me, so Ken didn’t so much as move. If I were to do the same thing now, he would have stumbled forward. Anyway, it was this time that Ken decided to run off down an empty corridor, away from the class group we were following. “Where the hell are you going?” I whisper shouted as my eyes shot between the class group gradually disappearing ahead of me, and Ken running down an adjacent corridor. “Ken, get back here,” I called out to which he simply ignored. I stood there, my gaze darting from Ken’s departing form, and the shrinking class, contemplating who I should follow. I groaned and rolled my eyes, taking off after Ken.
I knew we would be in so much trouble when the mentor did a head count and find us missing, but not as much trouble if we were found sneaking around the place without supervision. Not only were we natals in an predominantly elite area, we were natal interns. I saw Ken standing in front of a glass window, looking into the brightly lit room, the fluorescent lights illuminating his smiling face.
I ran up to him, punching him in the arm. “You’re gonna get us in trouble. C’mon lets go,” I said, attempting to pull Ken away and back to our class. Hopefully we could get back without anyone noticing we were gone. Ken was rooted to his spot though, totally ignoring me. I looked past him to see what he was so intrigued about and saw a huge lab with high tech machinery, shiny apparatus and clean work benches. I didn’t really see the appeal but apparently Ken was in geek heaven.
“Look at this place. It’s a dream come true. I’ve never seen something so wonderful,” Ken babbled. I swear if I hadn’t been there looking at exactly what he was looking at, I would have thought he was staring at a beautiful girl, but no it was a lab. My brother was such a geek.
“Yeah yeah, ooh aah, very nice. Now let’s go,” I said, once again pulling at my brother’s arm, but immediately stopped when I saw a pair of eyes staring at us. Judging by her stature, she couldn’t have been much older than us, probably a year older. She had silver hair, which she pooled on one side of her head, revealing an ear with piercings running across the upper rim. Examining her face, I could immediately tell that she was an elite, and she was gorgeous. I may be gay, but I can tell a pretty girl when I see one, it’s just that I manage to keep my hormones in check.
I watched her as she watched us, Ken still staring at the lab behind me. I was shocked because not only was it the first elite I had ever met, but also that we were caught somewhere we shouldn’t be. To say I was panicked was a gross understatement, although you probably couldn’t tell from the calm facade I was putting on. Internally, I was berating myself for letting Ken lead me into this. I should have just left him and let him get into trouble on his own.
“What’s his deal?” she spoke motioning to Ken behind me, finally breaking the awkward staring session we had. Her voice was smooth and yet had a deadly edge to it. I turned briefly to see Ken still taking in the beauty of the lab, unaware of the scary elite girl standing behind him.
I shook my head. “He just really loves science.”
“I can see that,” she said matter of factly. “So mind telling me who you two are?” She crossed her arms across her chest and I immediately stiffened at her change of pose. Sure she couldn’t have been much older, but you could definitely feel the authority that emanated off of her.
“Um…we uh…we got separated from our class,” I said. I didn’t know why I lied, but I chalked it up to self preservation.
“Kevin, this—” Ken started, finally pulling himself out of his trance involving the lab but stopped when he caught sight of the elite. I glanced back at him and saw his mouth hanging open. To this day, he won’t tell me why, but I guess he was just overwhelmed by her looks. He never told me this, but I get the feeling that that was when he started developing feelings for her.
“Oh, so glad you could join us,” she said, looking as stern as ever, not even a smirk gracing her features. Ken remained dumbstruck as he stared at her. “So, you got separated?”
“Yeah. We’re trying to find our way back,” I said.
“Really? Because I could’ve sworn I saw you both taking off, leaving your class group,” she said. My eyes widened at her and the color drained from my face, shocked that we had been spotted in the act. Not only that but the fact that I had just lied to her, and she knew it, scared the crap out of me. Before I could even speak, her face broke into a grin and she burst out laughing.
The only emotion that registered in my head was shock then. Shock at being caught lying to an elite, at her sudden change in temperament, and really just shocked at her laugh. Her laugh was booming, reverberating across the walls of the corridor, echoing down the empty hallways; a laugh that seemed out of place from someone who had just minutes before been glaring daggers at me. “Oh man, you should’ve seen your face,” she cried, wiping the tear from her eyes as she clutched her stomach from the cramps caused by her uncontrollable giggles. In that instant, I felt my panic wash away, instead replaced by slight irritation at this strange elite.
“Glad I could amuse you,” I muttered, not intending for it to actually be spoken aloud and a little shocked at myself for letting it slip.
“Oh man, I haven’t laughed that hard in forever,” she continued, either not hearing what I said, or simply choosing to ignore it. By this time, Ken had finally regained enough of his composure to shut his hanging jaw, sending me a raised eyebrow as we both waited for this strange elite in front of us to stop laughing. Eventually, the laughter subsided to chuckles and she walked up to us, resting her hands on her hips as she regarded us. “So, you two have names or what?” A part of me wondered if I should lie again, knowing that there may be a slim chance of us not getting in any kind of trouble if I do. I mean I had already lied once. What’s the harm in lying another time? “Nope, don’t even go there. I can tell if your lying,” she said without so much as a stutter. Eventually, I decided to tell the truth.
“Kevin Branson. This is my brother Kenneth,” I replied, pointing a finger back at my silent twin. I was still slightly worried about where this conversation would lead. I wondered if she was going to squeal on us and get us into a shitload of trouble, or let us off with a warning of sorts. Hell, I had lied to her and I was kinda scared that it was going to bite me in the butt.
“Relax dude, I’m harmless. I swear I’m not gonna rat you out. I’m Alena,” she said, as if she was reading my thoughts. It was only later down in our friendship that we learnt that she specialized in psychology and her gift to read people like a book, but anyway, that’s how we had met.
It’s been over three years since our chance meeting and it’s funny how much we’ve all changed in those short three years. Alena had grown up quite beautifully, which wasn’t really surprising seeing that she was an elite, only to the dismay of Ken. He would never admit it, even to himself, but I knew he was in love with her. I mean, she was at least 6′ tall, had a hot bod, and a carefree personality that most guys would fall for. I know I would if I wasn’t gay, so it wasn’t that difficult to believe that Ken was in love.
Speaking of my little brother, Ken hadn’t really changed much over the years, physically at least. Sure he grew taller and grew his hair out, but other than that he hadn’t really changed appearance wise. He did however, come out of his shell more. He was never shy or anything, just reclusive, but when you spent as much time in an elite centric environment as he did, some of their personality traits rubbed off on you.
Me on the other hand, changed quite drastically on the exterior. It was Alena who actually got me to go to the gym. We had dropped Ken off at the Lunaris research centre for him to do whatever sciencey thing he wanted and she had pulled me along to the gym. The rest was history. It became a routine and I found myself gradually getting larger. Personality wise I hadn’t really changed much, except that maybe I was no longer so uptight when it came to adhering to rules. Yeah, I was a goody two shoes as a kid.
But enough with the trip down memory lane. “So what do you think this special interview is about?” I asked Ken as we walked down the street towards the tram station, talking about the plan for school. Nothing much was told to us, other than we had a special interview, whatever that meant.
“Who knows? My guess it’s some survey about the jobs we’ve been interning for or something, seeing that were about done with it all,” he replied. I thought about his explanation, nodding my head slightly at the sense he made. I, on the other hand, was completely stumped on the matter and any kind of reason was good enough for me. Like I said, I wasn’t the thinker in our little relationship. “What’s the plan tonight though? Did Alena tell you anything?”
I rolled my eyes at him. It was Friday, meaning it would have been our usual routine, with him heading down to his favorite place and me to the gym. The only question was who Alena was going to follow. “Do you really need to ask?”
“Well…no, but I thought maybe she wanted to do something else,” he said. I could almost smell the awkwardness of his words and I smirked at his comment.
“You want to take her on a date.” I said, more a statement than a question. “Aww, little Kenny is trying to romance her.”
The blush that crept up on his cheeks told me I had hit the nail on the head. “It’s not a date, just maybe a quiet dinner together.”
“Whatever you want to call it, message received loud and clear. You can both drop me off and then be on your merry way. Are you finally gonna confess?” I prodded, lightly elbowing him in the ribs. Ken had been pining over Alena for so long, I wondered when he would actually get the guts to take things further. Of course, he’d always blown me off with the same excuse.
“No!! You know I can’t,” he exclaimed. See? So predictable. Of course I did know why though. He was natal and Alena was elite. There’s something about crossing that boundary that seemed taboo. I had no idea why though, seeing that there wasn’t any kind of rule that forbade it. Still, I had never heard of a natal and an elite pairing up… well, other than one couple, but even that was a special case.
“You know, if you’re gonna stick to that excuse forever, why are you even bothering with the whole dinner plan,” I asked.
“Shut up. It’s…complicated,” I rolled my eyes but I knew I had no right to. I may tease the hell out of Ken about his crush but I wasn’t much better to be honest. I too was hopelessly infatuated with an elite. Taron Wolfrum had invaded my conscious mind for the past month and I was so painfully in the same position as Ken that I should not have been making jabs at his love life.
“At least you know how much of a hypocrite you’re being,” Ken shot, rolling his eyes at me. I was still debating whether I liked having a twin, and it’s times like this, when he goes all mind reader on me where the feeling starts swaying towards the negative. Of course, having someone who was my best friend and brother was cool too, so it was a never-ending seesaw of emotions.
The ride to class was quiet as we both got consumed in our thoughts. I was sure that Ken was debating if he was really going through with his little date plan with Alena later tonight, from the way he kept rubbing his knuckles. Ever since we were little, he had done that whenever he was deep in thought.
I didn’t want to think about Taron though, so I kept myself occupied, watching Lunaris zoom by as the tram sped down its magnetic tracks. Lunaris had pretty much stayed the same throughout the years. When you have already reached a level of perfection, there really wasn’t much left to do to improve. Like they say, don’t fix something that isn’t broken.
I watched the buildings whiz by and caught a glimpse of President Hopper on one of the advertising screens standing atop buildings. I chuckled, feeling like life was reminding me of how much had in fact changed. When Varek Hopper became president, I was only 14 and not really aware of the whole political scene at that point; my only concern was getting to my first internship class. It was only when I got older that I realized how much Varek Hopper’s assumption to office had changed how my life would pan out.
You see, in my early teen years, I was having an internal battle with my sexuality. Actually, battle is a wrong term because that would have suggested that both sides had equal footing. No, that wasn’t the case. I wanted nothing more than to go about life and hide the fact that I had interest in boys instead of girls. Everything changed however, after it became known on Lunaris that the President’s son was gay himself, and the criminalization of homosexuality was abolished. I don’t really remember how my parent’s reacted to the news because I myself was reeling at the piece of information, too preoccupied by my own thoughts to take notice of anyone else’s. I was happy that maybe I wasn’t so alone, scared at what the people around me would think of the situation, but most of all shocked that all this was happening.
I mean, the President’s son was gay, and he seemed perfectly happy. Lunaris didn’t hate him, and by extension, didn’t hate me.
After the initial shock of the situation wore off, I was finally able to fully comprehend what that meant for me. I had always figured I was going to keep the secret that I was gay my entire life, never telling anyone, but now that may not have to be the case anymore. It was that same night that I caved and told Ken about my preference for boys, and the little twerp had the nerve to smirk and tell me he had known all along. I can remember that day like it was the back of my hand.
“Ken, I’m gay,” I whispered, as if speaking it aloud was taboo.
“Yeah, and we breathe oxygen,” he replied, like the information that I was gay was common knowledge.
“You knew?” my voice rising in volume dramatically?
“Well of course I knew man, I’m your twin. When are you gonna get that fact into that thick head of yours?” he laughed, knocking me lightly on my head. Two very distinct emotions filled me at that point; Happiness and anger. Happiness at the fact that my brother at least didn’t seemed too turned off by the idea that I was gay, and anger at him for not having said anything to me about it. I mean, he knew, kept quiet and left me to suffer in silence. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hug him, or punch his lights out, especially with that smug look he kept shooting me. His smirk slowly faded though, looking at me with a calm and smiling expression. “Seriously though, I’m so happy you finally decided to tell me.”
That sentence alone, told me everything I wanted to hear. It told me how Ken hadn’t said anything, letting me do it whenever I felt that I was ready. It told me, no matter what was going to happen, he was going to be standing beside me supporting me. But most of all, it told me how much he loved me and reminded me how much he meant to me too.
Without warning, I pulled Ken into the hug that had won out on my internal conflict between harming or hugging my brother. He chuckled against my shoulder and he wrapped his own arms around my me. “Thanks Ken. No matter what I say all the time, know that you really are the best brother I could have asked for,” I muttered.
“I’m awesome like that,” he joked, causing me to chuckle as we broke our embrace. I rolled my eyes at his sense of modesty, before my face fell and once again returned to its worried look. Ken, noticing my change in expression, said, “Well, don’t disagree so quickly.”
“How do you think Mom and Dad are gonna take it?” I asked, making known the question that had been bugging me for the entire day. Sure I had inkling as to how Ken would have reacted but my parents were a whole different matter.
“Why are you worried? Weren’t you listening just now?” he asked, brow furrowed in confusion.
“Listening to what?”
“Oh geez, you really weren’t,” Ken dropped his head, slapping a palm to his forehead in frustration. “Mom and Dad are fine. Mom herself said, and I quote, ‘About time that stupid law was abolished’,” Ken mimicked, placing his hands at his hip in classic Mom fashion.
“She said that?”
“Yeah. Dad agreed too, so you really shouldn’t worry.”
“But then again, that’s when it’s someone else’s kid. Would they react the same if it was their own flesh and blood?” I asked. Sure it may have been a positive sign, but not fully indicative of how they would take their son announcing the same.
“Dude, give the folks a little credit will you? They’re not heartless.”
Turns out I really didn’t need to worry at all. I came out to them a few days later, Ken fully supportive and by my side should he be needed, but he wasn’t. My parent’s reaction was even better than my brother’s, simply looking at me and smiling.
“Okay. We still love you, now get ready for dinner, I’m starving,” my dad had said. It wasn’t even an issue in their eyes, nothing that needed a long talk filled with emotional breakdowns. It was just another characteristic of me, and I loved my parents even more for it.
The tram coming to a stop knocked me out of my flashback, seeing Ken strolling out without even waiting for me. I ran to catch up with him. “Leave me there why don’t you.”
“You seemed deep in thought. I didn’t wanna interrupt,” he deadpanned. He would have loved if I was late for class. He loved any chance of letting me get into trouble. He says he’s trying to break my goody two shoes mentality, which actually seemed to be working. Sure I still followed the rules most of the time, but I could now break a few rules here and there without going all nervous and stuff.
“I still find it strange that you are the bad influence on me. Isn’t the older brother always the bad influence?” I asked. It was one of the strangest things in our little relationship. The smart, nerdy one had a bad streak while the brawny, not-so-smart (I refuse to call myself dumb) one was a stick in the mud.
“Oh now you’re just perpetuating stereotypes. Do you want to add how, the jock is gay while the nerd is straight?” he mocked, raising an eyebrow at me.
“Touché.”
“Besides, don’t act like your way older than I am. You’re only six minutes older.” Ken had never liked the fact that he was the younger brother. Most people, me included, wouldn’t have cared if I was older or younger, especially since the difference was a matter of minutes, but Ken had always been perturbed by that fact. Personally, I think it’s an inferiority complex, which is totally absurd seeing how wrong it is. You see, even though I’m older, I was never really the strong willed one. Ken was always the ‘big brother’ in our relationship. It was always me who had to go to him for advice and never did he ever need the same from me. He was independent and mature, although he didn’t seem like it at times.
“Still, I’m older,” I said, teasing him. See what I mean, I’m not the mature one.
“Whatever,” he replied, flipping me the finger and turning back to the building we were heading for.
I looked at the glass facade of the learning centre and had to suppress the shiver that I instantly felt. It had been almost seven years since I stepped foot in the building, back when we were still having our theory CKT sessions. Suffice to say, the place didn’t hold particularly good memories for me, judging from my sub par theory test results.
I watched as Ken walked through the glass doors, which automatically parted when he stepped towards it. Unlike me, the look that washed over Ken’s face could only be what I figured was nostalgia. He was the good student and he loved studying, so naturally returning here would have been a pleasant experience for him.
“Oh man, it’s been so long. Too long,” he said, a small smile gracing his lips.
“Not long enough if you asked me,” I replied, taking in the clean, almost sterile environment of the learning centre.
“Oh come on, in a few weeks, we’ll be back here taking the test and then you can say hello to the end of your formal education. Look forward to that at least.”
I grunted in response, following behind Ken as we made our way to the reception counter, a droid behind the desk.
“Good morning. Welcome to the Sector 5 learning centre. How may I help you?” the droid spoke.
“Hi, we’re from class group 408. We were told to report here for an interview of some sort?” Ken said, explaining their visit.
“Ah yes. Please proceed down the left corridor. You’ll be in room 10B on the left,” the droid instructed.
“Thanks,” Ken replied, immediately going off in the specified direction. I followed by his side as we made our way down the white walled corridor, passing by rooms I knew to be classes filled with Cognitive Knowledge Transfer or more commonly known as CKT systems. We walked passed them, scanning the doors for the one labelled 10B. Finally, near the end of the hallway, the door came into view, the room number clearly engraved on the brushed metal door.
Stepping up to the door, it slid open with a distinct whoosh, revealing a small room with chairs lining the space. There were already a few people seated, others students in our class group, some of them chatting within their circles. Our arrival caught the attention of the room’s occupants as they looked up from their conversations.
Both Ken and I returned the obligatory waves that they shot our way. Class groups weren’t normally very close, merely acquaintances, but studying with the same group of people for more than a decade made you foster some sort of friendship, no matter how small. You may find it funny that class groups don’t start developing close friendships, seeing that we spent so much time together but that just wasn’t the case.
Class groups were based on birthdays, with Lunarisions born within a specific timeframe put together. That group never changes for 14 years, the length of their education. That being said, seeing that most of that time was spent either immersed in the CKT system, or working as an intern among other permanent workers, students just didn’t get the chance to interact to the point of fostering a close bond.
I proceeded to take a seat in one of the hard chairs, remembering the horribly uncomfortable seats that stocked the learning centre. I glanced over at Ken who had gone over to one of the larger congregation of students, speaking to the gaggle of 20 year olds. A few shoulder shrugs and a couple of shaken heads marked the end of Ken’s little conversation, turning from the group and taking a seat next to me.
“Seems like they don’t know what this interview’s about either,” he grumbled, slouching in his seat.
“Don’t sweat it. We’ll probably know all about it once the class coordinator comes in,” I replied.
True enough, it was only ten minutes later that the coordinator stepped through the door. Before that, the rest of the students from class group 408 had streamed in, and many of whom had done exactly what Ken had, jumping from group to group asking if anyone knew what the agenda for the day was. They all got the same replies.
“Good morning everyone,” the class coordinator spoke, a little too much pep in her tone for my liking. “I would firstly, like to congratulate you on your soon to be completed stint in academics. In a few weeks time, you’ll all be taking the test and soon after that, integrate into the Lunaris workforce. Isn’t that awesome?”
A few cheers went up at the back of the class, but mostly everyone, like myself was just taken aback by this lady’s overenthusiastic personality. This had to be the most bubbly coordinator I had ever met.
“Now, I know that a lot of you are probably wondering what you’re doing here today. Well, we have a special visitor who will be conducting your interview. Don’t worry, it’s a very informal interview and it’s just to get to know you better as well as help you integrate into society more easily.” She smiled to the class, in what I assume is a strange attempt to put at ease anyone who might have been nervous about the whole thing, but her creepy smile was probably counterproductive.
“If you have any questions during the course of the interview, you are encouraged to voice them to the interviewer. We’ll proceed by age, starting with the youngest,” she stopped, looking at the tablet she held in her hands. “Natalie Haver. Please follow me.”
At the back of the class, I saw Natalie get up as she followed the coordinator out the door. I sighed, knowing that Ken and I would be waiting a long time, seeing that we were the oldest in our class group. “I guess it’s the waiting game then,” I said, crossing my arms and leaning back in the hard chair, trying my hardest to find a comfortable position.
“Who do you think this ‘special visitor’ is anyway?” Ken asked, watching the door close as Natalie left.
“Definitely an elite. As for who specifically, I have no clue. Sounds like someone important though.”
“Yeah…It’s strange though, isn’t it?”
“How so?” I asked, curious as to Ken’s thought process.
“I mean, won’t important elites have more pressing matters to attend to than a class interview for graduating natals?” Ken said, trying to explain to me why he thought the way he did. “Hell, even the least important elites don’t do stuff like this.”
“You think something’s fishy here?”
“No no, nothing like that. I’m just wondering who could it be? And what would make them want to do what I imagine is actually a natal’s job,” Ken said, his face scrunched up as he concentrated, fingers moving to rub his knuckles. I laughed, turning away from my brother. It was so like him to get so perturbed by something like this. Blame it on his need to know or whatever.
“Don’t hurt yourself thinking too hard big boy.” I said. Ken didn’t listen to me though, mumbling to himself as he analyzed and broke down the situation in his mind. I shook my head at him, chuckling. Me on the other hand, didn’t really care who this mystery interviewer was.
I stared at the wall ahead of me, memorizing the little cracks that meandered down from the ceiling, trying to make time pass as fast as possible. It always helped me, thinking about mindless stuff like that, which distracted me from my own thoughts. Thoughts, that could eventually lead to more headaches than I would have liked. Yes, thinking about nothing was how I liked it.
Of course, the wall could only hold my attention for so long, eventually turning my attention to my BIC secured to my wrist. I swiped across the screen, bringing the device to life. I scrolled through the menus, not really aiming to do anything, not that I had much to do even if I wanted to. Our Biologically Integrated Communicators may have been state of the art but I had always wished there was more we could use it for. I mean we can make calls and stuff, set alarms and shit like that but nothing much else. Okay fine, it could do a lot more than that, like monitor our vitals and track our whereabouts, but things like that were not in our control.
I could still remember when Everett Dart was convicted all those years back, for unethical use of nano bot technology in our BICs. There was a sort of uneasiness that came with the news that all of us had nano bots, ready at anytime to destroy our bodies from the inside. Of course, with this news also came advancements to the technology. The Lunaris council had decided, unanimously too, that the lethal capabilities of the nano bots to be deactivated permanently. Instead, the technology has been used extensively in the medical field, healing severe wounds and illnesses at the fraction of the time.
“Hey, I’m next,” Ken said to my right, pulling me from my thoughts.
“What?” I asked, a little dazed.
“I’m next for the interview,” Ken explained. At his words, my eyes moved to scan the room we were in, which was now empty except for the two of us. I didn’t even know I had gotten lost in my thoughts so much that time had seemingly flew by.
“Oh right,” At the same moment, the door slid open and the coordinator stood there, looking at her tablet briefly before calling out Ken’s name. Ken stood from his seat, straightening the shirt he was wearing, which had slight creases here and there from sitting in the chair for an extended period of time.
“Please follow me,” she said, turning and waiting by the door for Ken. I watched as Ken exited, leaving me all alone in the empty classroom.
Finally alone in the room, the silence was slightly unnerving. It was not often that I was ever alone, always having at least one other person around. Even at home, in the solitude of my room, I was never truly alone, hearing the occasion bump from Ken’s room next to mine, or the soft hum of the television as my parents watched it in the living room. No, this silence was very new to me.
Still I sat there, instead listening to silence, the slight ringing that you hear when everything was quiet buzzed softly in my ear. It was strangely hypnotic, losing my thoughts to the sound. Yeah, it didn’t take a lot to occupy my mind, as you could probably tell by now. Sometimes, it makes it a little hard to focus but most of the time, I relished it. After all, it made waiting a whole lot more bearable.
True enough, before I knew it, the whoosh of the door sliding open broke the silence of the room, pulling me from my daydream. “Kevin Branson,” the coordinator called, as if waiting for the correct person to step forward. I raised an eyebrow, knowing that I was the last person and that could have only been me. I ignored her though, getting up.
My muscles groaned in protest, stiff from the uncomfortable position I had been in. I looked at my watch, noting that it had been two hours since the start of the interviews. No wonder my body ached. I stretched, loosening the knots in my joints, in turn causing some of them to crack, immediately filling me with relief.
I walked out the room, seeing Ken waiting outside in the hallway. “Hey, how was it?”
“Listen man, you can’t—” Ken started, but was cut off by the coordinator.
“Please refrain from discussing the interview until after everyone has taken it,” she smiled, ushering me forward away from Ken. I could see Ken almost protesting, but he said nothing else.
“Wait for me, will you?” I called out behind my shoulder, briefly seeing Ken nod before I was pushed into the interview room.
I looked in, seeing that there was no one in the room. Before I could ask, the coordinator spoke up, “Mr Harrison would be back shortly. Please, have a seat.” I followed her instructions, hearing the door close behind me.
I took the time to take in the room. It was an office of sorts, a glass desk standing in the middle of it. To the left was row after row of books, all stacked nicely and according to height from tallest to shortest. I thought that whoever this office belonged to had to be mildly OCD. The right wall held a large screen TV that was mounted into the panel, the edge of the screen transitioning smoothly to the white backdrop. Behind the desk, shelves held up small ornaments that I could only describe as artistic sculptures, with no real form to any of them, but all seemingly equal distance apart, further evidence of the occupant’s obsessive compulsive tendencies.
The sound of the door opening behind me caught my attention. “Sorry for the wait. I had to take quick water break,” the interviewer said. I turned to have a look at this ‘special visitor’ and my mouth instantly fell. “Hi, my name is—”
I couldn’t help but interrupt him, “Will Harrison.”
All he did was smile as he made his way over to his seat. “I see you know who I am,” he said warmly. Of course I knew who he was; he was basically my hero. With his black hair that was combed off to the side in a neat fashion, his face held traits of his mixed natal heritage. Dressed in his suit, he looked every part an elite, but his face was classic natal.
Will Harrison was the person who helped uncover Everett Dart’s crimes. He was the first, and so far only, natal-elite transition. But most importantly, he was the husband of Thane Hopper, the President’s openly gay son. It was Will and Thane that paved the way for homosexual acceptance on Lunaris, and because of them, I was able to live life as an open gay guy.
I nodded dumbly at his comment. “I…I uh…can’t believe it’s actually you.”
Will chuckled, “I’ve gotta say, I’ve had people recognize me before, but no one had ever have a reaction like yours.” Blood immediately rushed to my cheeks as I closed my mouth and averted my stare. Wow, talk about embarrassing myself in front of my idol. “Oh don’t be embarrassed, I’m flattered.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just…you’re kinda like my hero,” I muttered, still not looking up at him.
“Hero? Well, I won’t actually call myself that. I’m just a normal person.” I finally looked up and saw that a small blush had graced his features. Shoot, I didn’t expect someone like him to be embarrassed by comments like that. He probably heard it a lot right?
“With all due respect sir, you’re anything but normal. You are the only natal to become an elite. You’re the husband of the president’s son and you helped exposed Dart’s corrupted ways. Normal isn’t what I would call you sir.”
“Please, call me Will. Quite frankly, I’m surprise you know that much about me?” he spoke.
It was only then did I realize how stalker-ish I sounded. I basically made it sound like I researched him night and day, which only made me blush deeper. “Sorry sir,” I apologized.
“Will,” he corrected.
“Sorry, I mean Will. It’s just, you changed my life in ways you don’t even know.”
For a moment, a look of confusion washed over his features, before being replaced by one of understanding. “Oh, you’re gay too.”
“Yeah, and if not for you, I’ll probably still be in the closet.”
“Well, I’m glad I could have made an impact on your life. I was, after all, in the same position you were in. I can’t take all the credit though. President Hopper had a huge role to play in that,” he smiled.
I couldn’t get over how casual he was, just another proof that he was once natal too. He didn’t have that unapproachable elite aura that some elites possessed.
“Okay, I think I’m done gushing,” I said, taking a deep breath to bring my excitement back down to normal levels.
“Shall we begin then?” he asked, to which I nodded. I still didn’t know what the interview was about, but I really couldn’t care. I had just met my hero, and the interview could have been the most uncomfortable thing in the world but I would not have cared…I think.
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So, how was that? Comment your thoughts.