Nocturne’s Reaping® : Intermezzo Chapter 9

Nocturne’s Reaping® : Intermezzo

Chapter 9

Takara was very eager to start Monday’s class, so she could find out when the next outing would be. Unfortunately, Miss Harrington logged on to the class site five minutes late. And when she did log on, she went straight to work. Takara’s heart was beating quickly. It was hard for her to calm down enough to focus on the lesson. She breathed, attempting to inhale and exhale as slowly as possible. After all, this information could turn out to be useful on the next field trip. Perhaps, she could even get her work done early during the field trip; that way she could sneak off and mail her letter.

Still, she couldn’t seem to stop herself from looking at the clock more than once as the session progressed. Time was ticking by, and the teacher’s lesson wasn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Takara sat back in her chair and clenched her teeth after the class time expired. A moment after that, she heard the teacher announce that class was over for the day. The teacher then made some comment about needing to be somewhere.

Takara leaned forward; she felt panic-stricken.

“What about the next field trip?” Takara wondered.

When Takara saw the images of the other students looking around, she realized that she had said that out loud. Takara froze. She was horrified when she noticed that Miss Harrington looked flustered.

“I’m sor—”

“We’ll deal with that later.” Miss Harrington said quickly before abruptly logging off. One by one the other students seemed to follow suit. Takara stared into space. She had messed up again. Why did everything have to be so complicated? She looked down and placed her hand on her forehead.

“Are you all right?” Takara heard a voice ask softly.

She looked up startled. She blinked a few times then realized that the voice was coming from one of her classmates online. It was that boy that seemed to know her.

“Yes. Thank—thank you.” Takara stammered.

She looked off to the side and tried to think of something else to say.

“No problem.” the boy noted.

Takara looked back at his picture and smiled slightly.

“Are you from Grove Academy?” Takara found herself asking.

“Oh, yeah. Right.”

“And your name is Kenji, right?”

“Yeah. And yours is Takara.”

Takara smiled again. She felt herself relax a little.

“Thank you for what you said before.” Takara told him. “It’s as though I don’t know what to say anymore.”

Takara bit her lip slightly. She worried she was admitting that she wasn’t normal like everyone else, and that he would reject her because of it.

“Yeah, I hear you. I feel that way all the time with my parents.”

Kenji grinned; then, so did Takara. Something about Kenji seemed to put her at ease.

“I didn’t mean to offend the teacher.” Takara lamented.

“Yeah, who knows what that was about. I bet everyone was thinking the same thing you were only no one but you had the nerve to ask. I mean, if all we end up doing is sitting around talking about our weekly reading assignments — that could get pretty boring.”

“Yes.” Takara admitted. “I suppose you’re right.”

She smiled again; then, she sighed. Suddenly, someone began to open her bedroom door. The person paused when the door was about an inch open. Takara heard the person’s voice and recognized it as Patty’s. Patty seemed to be talking to someone in the hall. Takara panicked as she remembered where she was and under what circumstances.

“Takara?” Kenji uttered, recalling her attention.

Takara bit her lip again as she turned from the hallway toward the computer screen.

“I have to go now.” Takara returned sullenly.

“Sure.”

“It’s not like …”

“Hey, I get it. Don’t worry.”

Kenji smiled. Takara managed to smile as well. Then, she swallowed as she reached forward and pressed the button to turn off the computer. Turning off the computer had been a hard thing to do. Kenji was so genuine; it felt as though he was a lifeline for her. She was sure he and her father would have gotten along. They had a similar sense of humor. Takara managed to smile slightly. Then, she prepared herself to handle the inevitable onslaught of negativity and disapproval.

“I thought you’d have been off by now.” Patty remarked in an accusatory tone.

Takara decided to just look at her without saying anything. After all, she couldn’t afford to tell her the truth, and yet she also didn’t want to lie. Eventually, Patty went about her business. Still, Takara could tell the precedent had been set. It was seemingly okay for the others here to be rude to her. And Takara couldn’t help but wonder how they would react if they found out about the question she had asked Miss Harrington. Chances were Takara could expect a poor response. Well, at least she had one possible friend now. She just had to find a way to maintain that connection.

 

***

 

It didn’t take all that long before the fear that Takara felt after her run-in with Mr. Tyler to begin to fade. And it was strange to think of it, but Takara found herself waiting for the sun to go down again. It was as though a tension would finally release. True, she couldn’t spend too much time walking the halls; Patty always came for her at around the same time in the early morning hours without fail. There would be too many questions if she slept in too late. Yet, these few hours free from the microscope of scrutiny were freeing. Part of her felt there could possibly be a camera installed in the halls, but Takara didn’t see one. And if there were one there, she’d just be seen wandering around. And, after all, she didn’t go toward anything with locks on it anymore. Still, there was always a chance they would tell her to stop or restrict her freedom further by possibly locking her in her room. But she couldn’t think of that. She needed these excursions to stay sane, so she took them. The consequences, should they come, were a problem for another day. But why should they come? She wasn’t harming anyone with her walks. And with every other step she took, she could feel her father’s key securely placed within her shoe.

Fortunately, no one said a thing about Takara’s question to Miss Harrington … day after day. Takara was glad. And certainly, soon enough, the class would have another field trip, and she would be able to contact her mother — only it didn’t happen.

For some reason, Miss Harrington never brought up the subject, and Takara was too afraid to ask again. She figured she’d been fortunate there had been no repercussions the last time she ventured to ask, and she didn’t want to risk a backlash now. Still, every day this sliver of panic began to grow inside of Takara. It was hard for her not to become despondent. Then, finally, someone else apparently could not stand the strain any longer and came out with the question Takara had uttered weeks earlier.

“Miss Harrington?”

“Yes, Erik?”

“When are we going to go back to the Virtual Reality Gaming Complex?”

Once again, there was silence. At least now Takara knew Miss Harrington’s negative reaction when Takara had asked about the arcade previously hadn’t been personal. And yet, Miss Harrington had seemed so excited about the virtual reality arcade in the beginning. Could it be that the large robot had scared her this much? Was she having trouble leaving her house? Actually, why would she think any one place would be safer than another? As far as Takara knew from the conversations she had heard the other students having before class, there was no new information about the cause or reason for the incident. Who knew how long it would be before there were answers?

“I guess we’ll have to do that again, won’t we?” Miss Harrington murmured.

Again there was silence. Takara got the feeling the rest of the students were in agreement with the teacher’s statement. While no one jumped in to say “yes,” no one seemed to disagree with her either. Then again, maybe Takara was the only one who felt pressure to make Miss Harrington feel better. Miss Harrington sighed.

“Okay. I have to check into something.” Miss Harrington looked down. “I’ll give you the date next time.”

When Miss Harrington logged off, Takara could hear some of the other students groan before logging off as well.

It had become part of her normal routine for Takara to linger on after the class ended for a few minutes. Kenji would as well. Takara ended up having to abruptly log off not long after when Patty would enter the room. The first time it happened, Takara worried what Kenji’s reaction would be. Would he think her odd or even mean? The next time she spoke with him, he didn’t even bring it up. And then, when it happened over and over again, he didn’t question it. If he wondered what was going on, it certainly didn’t bother him enough to ask. Takara appreciated how normal he was with her. Nothing seemed to particularly faze him. And it made Takara feel comfortable. Not to mention, it gave her something other than her nighttime walks to look forward to in her everyday routine.

“So, how are you today?” Kenji asked with a smile on his face.

At first, Takara began to smile; then, seconds later, her smile broke. She considered. She could hear him breathe into the microphone. She looked up at his image.

“Sounds as though we might get another chance to go to the arcade. Then again, it’s not as though we couldn’t go anytime we wanted to, right?” he asked.

Takara looked off to the side. Her brow furrowed slightly. Then, she thought of something. At that moment, she thought about things not as a captive at the Institute but as an ordinary school girl — anxious about not being prepared for an assignment. She let her guard down as a result.

“Do you think other people will have that advantage?” she asked him. “Do you think going in on our own time is expected as part of the course?”

Kenji considered for a moment. Something appeared to be troubling him.

“I mean, is that why we haven’t had a Friday field trip since?”

“No.” Kenji stated. “Just … can you wait a second … I have notes from the first class.”

“All right.” Takara then realized that she didn’t have much time to wait. She was concerned that she would have to log off quickly while Kenji was reviewing his notes.

“Kenji …”

“Hang on just a second, Takara.”

Takara turned an anxious glance toward the door. She could hear heels clapping in the hallway.

“And … no, there’s nothing like that!” Kenji declared.

“Thanks. I’ve got to go.”

“I know.” he acknowledged.

Takara’s screen went blank. Kenji just stared at his screen. He found his heart was beating faster. It was as though he and Takara had just pulled off some sort of life and death mission rather than simply exchanging information for a course. As Kenji’s heart rate returned to normal, a sense of foreboding overcame him. He had been concerned that something strange was happening around Takara; now, he was positive of it. There was something troubling going on with her living situation. For the first time in the string of times she’d had to log off suddenly, he was able to actually feel her fear. No, something was definitely wrong. The problem was Kenji had no clue what to do about it.

“Kenji, breakfast is ready!” his mother called out.

Kenji wished he could tell his parents his concerns, but what could they do? Somehow, he guessed it was more than they’d be capable of handling. And what was more, he felt as though they could be in danger if they tried. Kenji bit his lip. No, he’d have to give this one some thought on his own — at least until he was able to see Takara again.

Copyright © Jennifer Alice Chandler 2019

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Nocturne’s Reaping® : Intermezzo Chapter 8

Nocturne’s Reaping® : Intermezzo

Chapter 8

“I’m here!” Kenji announced upon his arrival. He took off his shoes near the door and placed his bag on a hook. He did these things without being asked to. The fact was that his parents were more likely to leave their things strewn about than he was. It was kind of an odd experience growing up after he realized his parents were … unique. Other parents had rules, but his didn’t seem to have any. Kenji could have taken advantage of that, but they were his parents and he loved them — even if they did embarrass him every chance they got.

“Kenji! We’re in here!” his mother announced.

Kenji walked into the living room and saw his parents watching the news coverage of that large robot.

“Wow!” his father noted.

The news coverage went off.

“Oh, no!” Kenji’s mom exclaimed. “We forgot to make Kenji a copy!”

“No worries.” his dad responded. “It will be on again in a half hour.”

Kenji’s mom sighed in relief.

“Wait a minute! You were in that neighborhood weren’t you, Kenji?” his mom asked suddenly.

Kenji was shocked by this sudden concern.

“Yes, I was.” he answered.

“Lucky!” his dad cried out. “Good thing we allowed you to miss your other school, so you could attend that trip, huh? Not every parent would have done that! Come, sit here and tell us about it. Was it as big as it was on the TV?”

Kenji sighed then did as his parents requested. Kenji ended up having to retell the tale a couple of times. Then, Kenji asked, “Did they find out where it came from?”

“No.” his father responded slowly. “It hid somewhere it seems.”

“More likely whoever owns it called it back.” Kenji pointed out.

“I wonder whether it was controlled remotely or was programmed to do that.” his mom mentioned.

“Well, whichever it is, I doubt the person responsible will come forward. Can you imagine the fines? Then again, you’d have to have deep pockets to build something like that.” his father added.

“Well, either way, it’s time to eat.” his mother concluded. “We waited for you, Kenji.”

“Thank you.” Kenji replied with a smile.

After dinner Kenji logged on to his computer and went to the course group page. There, they were still talking about their experience on the bus with the robot. The topic held some interest for him. Yet, it was something else that seemed to be attracting most of his thoughts these days. His eyes caught sight of Takara’s name almost instantly. She seemed to be logged on, and yet she didn’t say anything. The window which should have housed her picture was also blank. Kenji leaned his face on his hand. He wondered how long it would be until he saw her again.

 

***

 

Takara hadn’t wanted to ask the question. She sat there staring at the screen hoping somebody else would, but they never did. It was disappointing that there didn’t appear to be any new information on what had happened with the robot after it passed by the bus. Still, if Takara had learned anything from her recent past it was to bide her time and to not take unnecessary risks. The information simply wasn’t important enough for her to risk her interest in it getting back to Mr. Tyler. She logged off.

As Takara lay on her bed, she heard the last of the staff shuffle around the halls. Patty came by a lot less frequently now. She mainly came just to give Takara her medication and food. Takara had to admit on difficult days she wondered whether she should even take her medication. But it always looked like the same medication she had taken at the hospital, so she took it. As the lights dimmed out in the hall, Takara knew that the employees had left the wing. Takara breathed a sigh of relief. Usually, Takara tried to sleep at this time. That night, however, Takara was too alert to sleep. Takara slid to the edge of her bed and considered.

Takara hadn’t tried to enter her father’s office since she found the door locked. Maybe it was the fact that she’d been given the opportunity to leave the Institute, but she found herself more empowered than before. She slipped her feet onto the floor and went to the door.

A pervasive silence filled the passageways. Slowly, Takara tried the knob. Then, she slipped out into the hall. Only the dim security lights were on. Takara carefully shut her door. She held her breath and listened. She walked forward, careful of each footfall. Takara paused at her father’s office door. She reached out and touched the knob; then, she hesitated. It was probably still locked, she told herself. How Takara wished she had taken all of his papers from his room when she had had the chance! She felt almost certain that some of those papers contained information about the robot. She decided she might as well try the door since she was there. She really didn’t believe anything would come of it. She told herself that, though it would be a disappointment that she couldn’t get into the office, her decision to leave her room needn’t be in vain. She could always go down to the atrium and sit for a while. Perhaps, she could even get the TV to turn on and watch some coverage of the robot.

Takara was shocked when the door slid open. She froze; her brow furrowed. How could this be? Why would Mr. Tyler leave the room unlocked? Was there some way he could be monitoring the room? Takara turned on the light switch and peered inside the room trying to see whether she could see a camera pointed at her. There was nothing obvious she could see. Still, how could this not be a trap? Unless … could Mr. Tyler have come back to the room and forgotten to lock the door? Regardless, how could Takara miss this opportunity? She released the doorknob quickly and stepped inside. She then secured the door behind her.

Everything in the room seemed just as it had the last time she was there, and yet there was a feeling in the air as though the room had somehow been violated. Then again, maybe it was just Takara’s imagination. Takara stepped toward her father’s desk. She placed her hands on the leather of his chair and felt it with her hands. She smiled to herself when she remembered the time she had first been capable of reaching the top of the chair — with a little help from her father at least. Takara’s eyes began to water, and then the tears started to flow. Takara quickly wiped them from her eyes. As she looked down, she noticed something was amiss. There was a scratch around the lock on the desk drawer. Takara placed her finger on the metal of the lock, feeling the subtle grooves as her finger passed by them. It was almost as though Takara doubted her own senses. No one had ever accused her of being out of touch with reality, but still no one around here now exactly trusted her either. It was as though she had internalized their criticism to such an extent that she could almost hear what they would say. What was she doing in her father’s office? What was she up to? What trouble was she trying to cause?

Still, what was real about this whole situation was staring her right in the face. Yes, someone may be up to something, but it wasn’t her. Someone had broken into her father’s desk and possibly that was why the door to the room had been left open. Whatever had been deemed important in here was already gone … Takara froze at that thought. Moments later, she pulled at the drawer. Takara remembered how her father used to stuff things he was working on into this drawer. Once whatever it was had been completed, it would be filed in the official files of the company. Takara could remember clearly that right before the New Year’s Eve party the drawer had been nearly overflowing with papers. At that moment, as Takara stared down in disbelief, she found there was nothing left.

Takara felt weak. She took a few steps backward then sat in her father’s chair. At least the chair was still here, she thought. She looked toward the door, the door she saw Mr. Tyler enter the last time she was here. He never did say why he came in here that day. It wasn’t to find her; that’s for sure. The look of shock on his face when he saw her here was telling. No, he never did say why he came, but now it seemed obvious what the reason had been. Takara concluded that she wouldn’t have to wonder anymore.

Takara did find something in the room that had been overlooked. Her father had left a key to his main office in one boot he had. When questioned about his choice of location for the key, he would laugh and say, “It would be the last place anyone would look since who would want to root around in a crusty old boot?” Still, despite having to do just that, Takara felt relieved when she successfully pulled out the key. Far away at that moment, farther down the hall, Takara could hear something that sounded like a door slamming shut. Takara instantly went for the lights. She hesitated as she considered whether or not to remain in the room. Seconds later, she concluded that staying here was too much of a risk. After all, it was probably Mr. Tyler, and this was the place he headed for the last time.

Takara opened the door as quickly yet carefully as possible. Still, she didn’t feel she had the time to make it down the long hallway without being seen, so she dashed straight across the hall and into the bathroom. The bathroom was like the one she used to have at school. It was built that way before the Institute decided to convert this wing into Takara’s father’s living quarters. The bathroom had more than one stall and more than one sink. There was one shower off in the corner of the room; that had been added later. Takara and her father had made plans to redesign the bathroom, but they never got around to it.

Takara decided to head for one of those stalls now. There was no window in the room, and Takara feared turning on the light. So, the room remained dark, and she had to go by memory as well as feel to find her way to the stall.

She finally found a stall then hid behind its door. Takara believed she would just need to wait it out. She could hear the door across the hall open and then close soon after. Takara could then hear the footsteps recede. Only Takara thought something seemed odd about it somehow; Takara stepped outside of the confines of the stall and closer to the door. She strained to hear something outside. She didn’t sense anyone was on the other side of the door. Yet, when she suddenly heard her name being called she shivered. It dawned on her where he was. He had gone to her room to look for her. Perhaps, he had heard her walking or seen the office light shine from underneath the door while he was still down the hall. Either way, he was now calling out to her in a taunting way.

Takara froze. If she let him find her hiding, it would be worse. Then again, she thought of where she was. A plan formed in her mind; it could work if she had the courage to pull it off. She couldn’t let Mr. Tyler think she’d been hiding; she knew that much. Slowly, Takara reached out toward where she knew the light switch was. It was a risk to turn the light on as Mr. Tyler could have noticed the light was off before; still, it was necessary to turn on the light for the illusion to work. Takara then pulled the bathroom door open without hesitation. Instantly, she came face to face with Mr. Tyler.

Takara fought the urge to shrink away; instead, she just uttered, “Yes?”

She could see Mr. Tyler appear to relax. Apparently, he hadn’t noticed the light suddenly come on from underneath the bathroom door.

Mr. Tyler just looked at her for a moment; then, he looked between her and her father’s office door. It occurred to Takara that he had some knowledge that she had breached the doorway to the office. Yet, apparently, he seemed to have no proof she had actually been in there. It was almost as though he was trying to figure out whether Takara could have triggered the alarm — or whatever it was that had alerted him — by simply going to the bathroom across the hall. Takara just waited while he considered. She was afraid if she spoke he would react negatively. Just as she had hoped, he became less and less agitated as time passed.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” he finally asked her.

Takara considered. What was the right way to answer that?

“Yes?” she stammered.

Mr. Tyler seemed pleased that she was taking her cue from him. Then again, seconds later he became annoyed.

“Well, get there!” he barked.

Takara was relieved and quickly headed toward her room. It seemed unlikely Mr. Tyler would suddenly find fault with her departure given he had ordered it. And then, when she got back to her room, she found she had never been more relieved than when she felt the door click and was able to lock the door behind her. As happy as she was to be temporarily out of that situation, the whole experience unnerved her. The level of animosity Mr. Tyler seemed to have towards her had become obvious. Takara’s eyes shifted.

Why did he hate her so much? She found she didn’t want to be at the Institute anymore. If she were given a decent alternative, she would take it. She didn’t want to be dependent on this person who clearly couldn’t stand her. She didn’t see how this situation could possibly be tenable for the next five years until she was able to legally leave it. She just had to get word to her mother … she just had to. Of course, she had to once again block any nagging thoughts as to why no one had mentioned contacting her mother for her. At first, she had waited for someone to bring the subject up; she had assumed someone around here eventually would. While it stood to reason that there would be custody and estate issues to work out, they would have had to have figured out she had a mother by now. However, things had changed since then. Takara no longer had any trust in anyone around the Institute and felt as though mentioning her mother now would just tip them off to the fact she was planning to make contact.

Of course, the letter to her mother wasn’t the only thing she’d have to hide now — now there was her father’s key. She found she had mixed feelings about having it. After all, this was another way she could get into trouble. Yet, if Takara found she needed her father’s key for some reason at least now she had it. Takara looked at the key in the moonlight and wondered whether it would turn out to be worth the risk. She could always destroy the letter and then rewrite it when the opportunity presented itself. That would carry its own risk, but even still it could be done. But this key … she couldn’t just rip it up. Takara decided to do what her father had done. She went to her bedside and felt for her shoes. Since her shoes were smaller than his boots, Takara decided to do more to hide the key. She pulled at the insole of one shoe and slipped the key under it. There was a chance she’d get some sort of blister from placing the key there, but Takara was determined not to let any discomfort show.

One thing was for sure; there was no going back to her father’s office again. In fact, Takara, at least for that night, was afraid to even go down to the bathroom.

When Takara awoke the next morning, she could hear construction noise in the hall. It woke her up fairly early in the morning. Takara sat up, feeling annoyed; still, she knew she wasn’t allowed to be annoyed. So, Takara carefully crept out into the hall. There, she was surprised to find maintenance workers adding locks to her father’s office door — on the weekend no less. One of the men then came forward and handed off a key to Mr. Tyler, who was standing off to the side. Mr. Tyler looked at Takara squarely from afar; he seemed to be watching for a reaction. Takara was determined not to give him one … or at least as little of one as possible. She tried to look uninterested as she returned to her room. Well, at least at this point they weren’t locking her in her room. Takara sat on her bed and waited anxiously. Maybe Mr. Tyler would, in fact, restrict her to her room. That would require her to have an escort on hand all day every day to let her out when needed. She couldn’t be forced to stay in her room forever, she told herself. Surely that would be more than Mr. Tyler was willing to do just to keep her contained. Fortunately, the sounds of the men stopped, and she heard no footsteps approaching her room either. Takara lay on her bed and sighed. Things could in fact get worse, she concluded. How far would Mr. Tyler take things?

As time passed, Takara got to wondering whether there were any announcements about the next field trip. She couldn’t wait until she got out again and had the chance to contact her mother. Unfortunately, when she reached her class page she found there were no announcements. She logged off. She had a feeling it was going to be a long day. Takara spent most of that day reading. It allowed her to look busy. She hoped anyone who came into her room would leave her alone. Fortunately, Patty was her only visitor, and she was as unfriendly as she had been. Right after Patty left the room, Takara stared at the ceiling and imagined being far away with her mother. She just had to reach her … she just had to.

It was strange, but Takara felt a certain relief when the night descended. All the noise was gone, and she could pretend the wing was hers again. She opened the door to her room and peered out. Ironically, the locked door had empowered her. It was almost a license to go anywhere other than her father’s office. That room was clearly off-limits, so anywhere that wasn’t locked was fair game; it felt like tacit permission. That night Takara decided to walk around the halls then visit the atrium again. She knew she had to get physically stronger, so when an opportunity to further her escape came she could seize upon it.

Copyright © Jennifer Alice Chandler 2019

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Nocturne’s Reaping®: Intermezzo

Nocturne’s Reaping®: Intermezzo is now available in print and on Kindle! Yay!

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Nocturne’s Reaping® : Intermezzo Chapter 7

Nocturne’s Reaping® : Intermezzo

Chapter 7

Takara didn’t hear anything more about her attending the field trip, and she didn’t ask. She waited for Patty to mention it, but she didn’t. As the day approached, she figured Mr. Tyler had given her teacher an excuse as to why she couldn’t attend. It was probably only the possibility that he could be blamed somehow for her not being able to go that he had objected to. He probably didn’t want the questions. As for his objecting to Takara bringing up the fact she possibly couldn’t attend the field trip? Why wouldn’t she have had doubts about that? What, with all the restrictions he had her adhere to — it only stood to reason she would wonder. And what was more, she could very well see him changing his mind at the last minute in order to mess with her head. In fact, every time she logged in to that one class, she was surprised to find her name hadn’t been removed from the roster. Takara had no intention of giving Mr. Tyler the satisfaction of reacting to any of his mind games.

Takara lay upon her bed and stared at the ceiling. It was a Friday and, while that used to be a joy for her, she now found herself with nothing to do. It was actually the copious amounts of free time she had that wore on her the most. She sighed. That was the moment Patty came into the room.

“Takara.” she stated. “Why aren’t you dressed yet?”

Takara looked at the woman quizzically.

“Your field trip …” Patty added impatiently.

“I’m going?” Takara wondered.

“Mr. Tyler said you would be difficult about it. He said to make sure you went …”

Instead of letting Patty finish her lecture, Takara stood and began to assemble her belongings. She decided to hurry lest they change their minds. Still, she waited for Patty to leave before retrieving the letter she had written for her mother.

Takara had begun moving the letter around the room when it was dark. She also figured someone would be less likely to search the same place twice. And though Takara concluded it was probably silly, it did give her a sliver of self-determination — something she’d been lacking for quite a while.

Today, Takara slid the letter up one of her long shirt sleeves. It was probably a warm spring day, but Takara figured her health issues would answer any questions they might have as to the reason she had dressed warmly, so that she wouldn’t have to.

After she was dressed, Takara got some surprising news. Instead of being driven to her destination, Mr. Tyler had arranged for her to take the bus. Takara tried to temper her shock that he expected her to wait outside for a bus the very first time she left the house after her coma. But then, she knew how it would look if she protested — as though she wanted special treatment — so she just nodded and let them escort her down the long, winding driveway to the side of the road.

Since they put her out early, she had time to wait and time to realize just how weak she had become between the coma and the captivity. Then, there was the fact she was standing alone in the middle of nowhere. Suddenly, she wondered whether she should just throw caution to the wind and escape right then. Then again, where could she go that Mr. Tyler wouldn’t find her? She realized at that moment that her situation could get worse. Then, before she could go any further with this train of thought, she noticed that there was one security camera pointed right at her. Takara looked away and froze under its prying eye.

Fortunately, the bus pulled up not long after. Takara’s first instinct when she boarded the bus was to apologize to the other students for making them go so far out of their way in order to retrieve her. But then, she decided, if Mr. Tyler were to hear about it he would probably view that statement as a personal insult.

As it turned out, it didn’t seem to matter. Most of the students seemed to be completely uninterested in her. Then again, why should they be interested? Theirs wasn’t an abnormal reaction once Takara got to thinking about it. She probably wouldn’t look at every person who stepped onto the bus. And at least this meant that the extra distance the bus had traveled hadn’t caused the other students to become annoyed with her. Takara did manage to make eye contact with one of the students. Of course, he eventually looked away.

Takara took a seat in the middle of the bus. She leaned back in the seat. Still, even though she was being driven away from the Institute, she couldn’t completely shake that feeling of anxiety she had had since learning her father was dead. She was out in the world now, but there was no real sense of relief. Maybe it was because she knew she’d have to go back to the Institute later on that day. Or, maybe it went deeper than that. After all, she had never had a chance to say good-bye to her father, never attended the funeral. There was no one to grieve with: he was just gone.

Takara suddenly wanted to find his grave and visit it. But this trip, this only reprieve from her prison sentence at the Institute, was for a different purpose; it was to learn. Takara managed to cheer herself up by remembering that it was her father’s work that they were studying. She knew a little about the subject, too. Those nights when she would go to see him in his office — sometimes he would explain his ideas to her. It was probably to occupy her while he finished up whatever project had captivated his mind. But, still, she grew to enjoy it all the same. He’d even told her once that she had a natural ability for his work. At the time, she wondered whether he was just being her father. But after starting this course, she began to see that it was true. And she figured in this small way she could hold on to him. Certainly, she felt her father would be pleased she was following in his footsteps. It would probably be the only aspect of her current life he would be happy with.

The bus slowly rolled to a stop in front of a three-story building with tinted windows. There was a bright sign in the front declaring it to be a virtual reality center.

Takara braced herself for the inevitable falling forward followed by the falling back that came with riding the bus. Then, Miss Harrington stood at the front of the bus and gave the students instructions on the day’s assignment. She sent a copy to the students on their tablets. Takara reddened. She didn’t have a tablet. Then suddenly, as though sensing her concern, Miss Harrington announced that she had a tablet in hand that had been purchased for Takara.

Takara didn’t know what to make of that. Takara released the top of the seat in front of her, which she had been grasping, and sat back in her seat. On the one hand, it was a relief; on the other hand, Takara found it strange. Mr. Tyler on his own volition had probably arranged it. He was very aware of everything she did apparently. Only he didn’t just give her the tablet beforehand for some reason. Could it be that he didn’t want her to have it at home? Takara blushed thinking about the embarrassment that would ensue if her tablet was taken away from her at the end of the day. Miss Harrington stepped off the bus and headed into the building. One by one, the other students filed off.

It was then that Takara felt a wave of exhaustion. She braced herself. Was she even well enough to be doing this? That’s when Takara noticed that a boy, the boy who had looked at her before, had paused next to her on his way off the bus. She looked over at him.

“Are you all right?” the boy asked her. He had a serious look on his face.

Takara considered briefly. She looked down for a moment. Then, she finally looked back at him.

“Yeah, I think I’ll be fine.” she replied.

The boy smiled briefly then continued on. Takara pulled herself up and made the effort to catch up with the others.

As Takara met up with the group inside the building, Miss Harrington began to speak.

“Well, we’re going to start with a tour.” she announced.

Miss Harrington looked off to the side, and a man from the Virtual Reality Gaming Complex came forward. Takara wasn’t sure whether the tour was a good or bad thing for her. Takara wouldn’t have to think much to make it through the day, but she would have to walk. Fortunately, there was an elevator to ride on when the tour headed for the second and third floors.

There were many things of interest in the complex. Of particular interest to Takara was a computer room with the most advanced computers on the colony. With them, the students could run their own virtual reality programs. Each computer had its own booth with a tabletop to place items such as tablets on.

Another area of interest was the virtual reality corridor. Takara’s heart leapt when she heard that her father had designed those rooms and had donated the money to build them. They were apparently a smaller version of what was at the Institute. Next, there was automation. That was a more recent addition. Takara’s father would read a lot of his plans for the automation program to her. Of particular interest to him was combining the two concepts. Actually, that was what he was working on right before his death.

For a second, Takara thought the others might ask her about the facilities at the Institute. The truth was that she had never seen the facilities there; she just knew they existed. She had gotten the impression that they consisted of many large rooms that linked together, and that they even extended underground. Takara was relieved, though a bit surprised, when no one turned to her while they were discussing her father’s work. Part of her wanted to talk about her father, but since she was afraid what she might be asked if she brought it up she didn’t volunteer any information.

Then again, as Takara scanned the group of other students she did notice that one student, the same one who had approached her on the bus, had turned and looked at her when her father’s full name was mentioned.

“Could it be?” Takara wondered. “Could he know who I am?”

Takara considered.

“He does look somewhat familiar.” Takara admitted to herself. But was she just fooling herself?

Suddenly, Miss Harrington announced that they would be trying out the computers with the time remaining. Only since she hadn’t reserved the computers ahead of time, there weren’t enough computers available for all of the students. So, they would have to take turns.

Takara was not one of the first students chosen, but that boy from before was. Takara decided she may as well observe his experience. When she walked into the computer lab and began to look for the boy, she noticed an alcove she hadn’t spotted before. It jutted out from the rest of the room. The most unusual part of it was that the walls of the room were transparent. Takara kept her eyes on the view as she made her way into the room. The main room and the entrance below began to unfold before her. Then, right to her left was the boy from before and a couple of other students observing. Takara crept in beside them. Her attention was split between what was happening below her and what was on the screen. Takara began to slowly tap her toe against the floor. After a few moments, the boy turned and looked at her. She turned and looked at him in return. Then, she smiled softly. He nodded then went back to his work.

Takara’s brow furrowed a bit. It was probably nothing after all. He had indeed seemed familiar, but it was probably just wishful thinking on her part, she concluded. She was so desperate to find someone who knew her — or at least who knew of her from better times — that she had started to believe she recognized this boy. It was actually a bitter disappointment. Maybe she could still build a friendship with a fellow student anyway … but that probably wouldn’t go unnoticed by the teacher. And could she even trust that student if she did reach out? Would that person trust her? Takara decided a new friendship would only work under these circumstances if that person trusted her right away and believed that her judgment could be relied upon. How could she expect that from a total stranger? She had made the mistake of hoping Patty would be on her side, but that hadn’t lasted. And what had been more disturbing was that Takara still hadn’t figured out why the woman’s attitude toward her had changed so drastically. She could only assume it had something to do with Mr. Tyler. Takara sighed.

“Can you see the screen, all right?” the boy asked her unexpectedly.

Takara looked down at him and saw a flash of recognition in his eyes. Could it be?

“All right, students. Please finish up what you’re doing and meet me in the lobby.” Miss Harrington pronounced.

As a couple of students pushed forward to get a last-minute glimpse of the screen, Takara decided to head for the elevator. She was tired. Overall, it was a good day, but her body yearned to lie down again. It was frustrating to realize that after wanting to leave the Institute for so long she wasn’t capable of making the most of this rare opportunity to be free of it. Her fatigue did have one positive effect on her; it made her determined to get stronger.

Once she got into the hallway, she saw the teacher standing at the entrance to the lobby. She was making some sort of a phone call. Takara just walked forward as usual — that is until she heard her name mentioned. Takara froze.

“Yes, we’ll be leaving right now. Yes, she’s doing fine. All right, good-bye.”

The teacher hung up. Takara released her breath as her teacher turned and saw her standing there.

“Takara … A woman called from the Institute to check up on you. I told her you were fine. I hope I didn’t overstep.”

Takara shook her head. The teacher smiled.

“I think you had a good day, but we’d better get you back.”

Takara frowned and looked off to the side.

“Yes.” she forced herself to say.

Fortunately, that boy came upon them then.

“Kenji, right?” the teacher asked.

“Yes.” The boy pushed up his glasses.

“Well, we’d all better get going.”

Takara looked at the boy named Kenji briefly as he walked past her. She thought about trying to walk next to him. But given how ill she was feeling, she doubted she could keep up with his pace. So, she decided against it. After all, trying to hold him back as though she had something important to tell him might seem incredibly suspicious. Kenji might be her only link to the outside world — that is if she didn’t blow it in the meantime.

It wasn’t until she was standing there facing the bus that she remembered her letter. Takara froze in place. It seemed as though the plan was to return to this place one day, but when? It could be weeks from now. Being at the Institute now was bad enough, but having to wait to even mail the letter that could allow her to escape seemed almost unbearable.

“Takara? Are you coming?” the teacher called from the bus.

Takara blinked. Then, almost as though Miss Harrington could tell what she was thinking, she added, “We’ll come back here soon.”

The word “soon” wasn’t exactly specific, but it was reassuring, nonetheless. Certainly, it gave Takara just enough will to spur her legs towards the bus. Still, she sighed when she retook her seat. It was disheartening to be returning to the Institute. It was as though she was on a rail, and she couldn’t get off. Takara bemoaned the fact that she couldn’t force herself to leave this train and claim her own path again. Where was this path leading anyway? Maybe it was crazy, but it didn’t feel good wherever it was going. Takara tried to convince herself that she had made progress that day towards freedom despite the fact that she had failed in her most important task: sending that letter on its way. But then there was Kenji; he could be important. She dare not look at him now, but she did see him get on the bus. Somehow, knowing someone might know who she used to be was comforting.

“All right. We seem to be missing one.” Miss Harrington checked the list. “Has anyone seen Erik Lancaster?” she asked.

People looked amongst one another. Then, a voice called out from the back, “I think I saw a guy head into the virtual reality corridor when all the computers were taken.”

“Oh.” She turned to the bus driver. “Oh. It’ll just be a moment. I’ll go find him.”

Miss Harrington headed off the bus and into the complex. It wasn’t all that long afterward that she returned with a boy, who appeared to be a bit younger than Takara and Kenji. He looked a little embarrassed as he stepped onto the bus. Still, he held the light brown hair atop his head high in spite of it.

“All right.” Miss Harrington breathed. “We can go anytime.”

The bus driver started the bus. And with a slight jostling of the students in their seats, they were off. The bus petered along dropping off one student at a time. Takara sighed. She might as well relax. After all, this was going to take awhile.

Suddenly, the bus came to an abrupt stop.

“What?!” Miss Harrington exclaimed aloud.

Takara and the other remaining students peered over the top of their seats.

“It’s okay, everyone. It’s just a tree limb.”

Suddenly, there was a loud noise in front of them and to their left. All the students seemed to turn simultaneously towards it. Then, despite Miss Harrington’s protestations, they headed to the left side of the bus in order to watch a giant … something moving off into the distance toward their right while destroying everything in its wake.

The thing was a bulky reddish creature about two-stories tall. It resembled a lobster.

“What’s that? It’s alive!” one student commented.

“No, it’s not alive.” Takara spoke up. The group turned toward her. “It’s just a robot.”

“Cool! It’s a robot!”

The students began to chatter among themselves. It was as though this was part of the course experience. Takara just kind of stared at the robot in disbelief. It was just like the automation that her father had envisioned, but the scale — that was unexpected. Takara then looked over and saw the horrified expression on Miss Harrington’s face. All the teacher kept repeating was that if they’d made it to that spot moments earlier — if they hadn’t been running late — they would have been crushed. After the creature had left their line of sight, the bus driver suggested he find an alternative route to progress. Miss Harrington seemed eager to leave the area, so they backed up and headed down a side street.

Just like that morning, Takara’s place of residence was the last stop. As she passed by Miss Harrington, she noticed that the woman was still pale. Takara paused. It really was a big deal to almost die. Takara had acknowledged that reality in her mind but wouldn’t allow herself to really feel it. After all, no one at the Institute acted as though Takara’s near-death experience had been a big deal. Takara was moved by sudden compassion, and she said to Miss Harrington in a tone she wished someone would speak to her in and with the words she secretly wished they would say: “It’ll be all right. You’ve been through a lot, but you’re still here. And tomorrow is bound to be better.”

Miss Harrington turned and looked at Takara. Takara was expecting a disapproving look to cross the woman’s face given the way she was treated at the Institute; instead, Miss Harrington broke into a beautiful smile. Then, she suddenly hugged Takara. Finally, she whispered, “Thank you, Takara. You take care of yourself.” The woman let the girl go, and Takara smiled back at her. Then, she forced herself to head off the bus and start the long walk up the driveway.

Should she have given Miss Harrington the letter? That’s almost all Takara could think about as she slowly plodded on. Takara stopped to catch her breath a moment. “When am I going to take action?” she chastised herself.

Takara had never had trouble asserting herself before. Why was she so indecisive now? It was as though she was limping along emotionally, incapable of rebalancing herself. Yet, the biggest thing — literally — that Takara thought about was that large robot that had torn through the forest and toppled those trees.

Where had it come from? Maybe the news would have a story on it — if she ever got back to the Institute. Then again, to even watch the news she would have to have permission from Mr. Tyler to stay in the atrium for a while. After all, the television sets were only left on during the work day.

“Takara!” Miss Harrington’s voice suddenly called after her in a frantic tone.

The woman came running up to Takara over the short distance Takara had been able to cover. The bus was still waiting behind the woman. Takara was unnerved that Miss Harrington appeared to be out of breath.

“Takara …” she gasped.

“Yes?”

“I need … I need your tablet back.”

 

***

 

By the time Takara made it up the steep incline of the driveway, she found she was very thirsty and, of course, tired. No one at the reception desk seemed to lift their eyes as she passed by on her way in. So, she slipped into the elevator and got off on her floor. Takara, upon entering the building, thought she might stop by her room before checking to see whether she could watch the television in the atrium. But as she passed by the atrium, the television was turned on, and it drew her attention. There was the story about the robot, and a whole group of people were standing in front of the television. Mr. Tyler was among them. Takara came up behind the group and stood there watching the footage different news agencies had managed to gather. That’s when Takara noticed that one of the receptionists she’d seen at the receptionist desk over a year ago appeared to be crying. Could it be a relative of hers had been hurt?

“Has something tragic happened?” Takara asked. The question was directed at the woman.

The woman turned and gasped. Then, Mr. Tyler and a bunch of other people turned towards Takara as well. Takara was confused.

“You should be in your room!” Mr. Tyler quickly barked at her.

Takara flushed with embarrassment. She quickly turned on her heels and walked as fast as she could back to her room. She couldn’t recall having taken a breath until she secured the door behind her. She went and grabbed the pitcher of water from her dresser and poured herself a drink. She sat on the bed and proceeded to consume the water.

“What was that about?” Takara wondered. Was it really that easy for her to mess up? One thing was for sure; the fact they were that reactive to her showed the problem was obviously them and not her. Still, it was bothersome — both because she had to live among them and because it meant she wouldn’t be able to find out more about the incident with that strange robot.

“Something just seemed oddly familiar about it.” Takara concluded.

Copyright © Jennifer Alice Chandler 2019

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Nocturne’s Reaping® : Intermezzo Chapter 6

Nocturne’s Reaping® : Intermezzo

Chapter 6

Takara was glad when the first day of school finally came. She even got dressed in her old school uniform for the occasion. Fortunately, it all still fit. She wanted to pretend things were normal as much as possible. She decided to make the best of her living situation for now. What choice did she have really?

In the meantime, she hoped she could feel normal again for a while even if her school was merely online …

 

***

 

Kenji Moto [Ken-jee Mo-to] wasn’t too pleased with the situation he found himself in. After all, he’d been looking forward to summer vacation. And yet, his parents were going to Colony 11. His mother had been assigned the task of upgrading the atmospheric regulator in that colony during the upcoming academic year. And despite protests from Kenji that he could stay behind for those few months, his parents weren’t having it. So, in order for him not to fall behind in his studies in the fall, they had him enter an online academy in the summer. His parents thought it would be a great opportunity for him since he was actually pretty smart … or so they said.

“So I get punished because I’m smart?” he retorted.

His parents just laughed. Kenji grimaced. They never did take him seriously. He sighed and sat next to the computer. He played with the mouse.

“Why? Why me?” he mumbled. He could hear his parents laughing down the hall. Kenji spun around in his chair, staring at the ceiling while he waited for the first class to begin.

“Boring.” he said aloud. Then, he caught himself lest he unwittingly cause another round of riotous laughter. He next faced the computer and, leaning his face against his hand, he waited. His eyes started to drift shut. Why did this have to be so early? Oh, that’s right. After this session, he had to go to his regular school and complete the day there. He’d have to keep up this schedule until the end of the semester. That was the moment he saw it: a name he thought he recognized on the class list.

“Takahashi, Takara … no, it couldn’t be.”

He clicked on her profile, but there was no information listed. Was she stuck as he was in this before-school program? Kenji didn’t know Takara well. She was the class president this past school year. She was actually in Class C, and he was in Class A of Level 7. He had seen her give a speech, and occasionally he saw her in the cafeteria. She seemed nice enough, though he never got the chance to say hello to her because one day she just disappeared. No one in Class A talked about it, and Kenji just assumed she moved.

Kenji considered. Maybe he should message her and ask her whether she was the same Takara he knew. But before he had a chance to click on the message link, the teacher’s face appeared on-screen. Kenji jumped back slightly and adjusted his glasses. Much to his dismay, he could hear his parents laughing again.

Kenji was pleasantly surprised by the topic of the class. It was entitled, “Advancements in Virtual Reality and Automation.” The topic was of interest to Kenji; in fact, he even thought of working for the Institute someday. Actually, he had once heard that Takara’s father worked there. Maybe it was the same girl after all; maybe she wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps.

“All right. My name is Miss Harrington.” a voice came over the speaker of the computer. “I will be your teacher for this course. Well, let’s start this course by introducing ourselves … in a manner of speaking anyway. What I mean is please turn on the camera app on your computers.”

Kenji did as she requested. One by one small boxes with live images of the students appeared on-screen. The teacher’s picture was in the center. The eight other slots surrounding hers were reserved. Each slot had the name of the student underneath it.

“Oh, no.” Kenji thought suddenly.

He concluded there was no way to avoid attending these class lectures. He couldn’t just do the homework on his own time; the teacher could see if he wasn’t there. He groaned. Just having to look at his tousled black hair and his plain blue t-shirt as shown in his screenshot put him in a bad mood. He hadn’t thought his appearance would matter in an online course. Now he wished he had put a little more effort into the way he looked. Finally, the last picture came into view. It was actually she — the Takara from his school!

“I can’t believe it!” Kenji exclaimed.

“Who said that?” the teacher’s voice asked.

The other students shook their heads.

“It was I.” Kenji finally admitted. “It’s nothing.”

“Okay. Well, I’m sorry you haven’t been given your texts for this course yet. I understand the reading materials for the other courses — for those of you who are taking more than one course — have already been made available to you. The thing is I was just recently assigned to teach this course. However, I will make the reading supplements available to you by tonight. Oh, and I want to have field trips or at least some meetups so we can work on our studies firsthand. I figure in about a week we might meet at the Virtual Reality Gaming Complex.”

There were cheers all around.

“So, maybe next Friday. I will arrange to have a bus available to pick you up, if needed. Just print off the form and have a parent or guardian sign it. Oh, wait does anyone think there might be a problem? A scheduling conflict perhaps?”

Most of the students shook their heads “no” or said “no” except for one — that one student was Takara.

“Umm …” Takara started.

“Yes? Does someone have a problem?”

Kenji saw Takara look down for a moment.

“The thing of it is … I’m not sure I’m allowed to … go anywhere.” she admitted.

At the moment she admitted she was housebound, Takara wondered whether she should also admit she was trapped. But that could lead Mr. Tyler to make up stories about her just as he probably had with Patty. Still, it was very tempting. On the other hand, what she said was true. She wasn’t able to leave the house. Mr. Tyler would probably just tell the teacher that she was too sick to leave and that would be the end of that.

“Oh, well, I’m sorry to hear that.” Miss Harrington said. “I will have to give that one some thought.”

“All right.” Takara replied. “All right.”

The next day, Takara was summoned to see Mr. Tyler in the atrium. She grumbled, wondering what this could be about. She slid out of bed and began dressing herself.

“He better make this quick.” she thought. Her first class began in thirty minutes. Still, Takara felt conflicted. Should she walk there as quickly as possible to avoid being yelled at, or should she do what she suddenly felt like doing and drag her feet — proving she had some small amount of self-determination left? She sighed. She did still have things she could lose if she got decidedly on his bad side. Of course, walking quickly gave her less time to consider how she should act when she got there. Pretty much from the beginning Mr. Tyler hadn’t seemed to expect her to be friendly towards him —which was strange considering she barely knew him. Still, Takara guessed that he would be more suspicious of her if she put on a happier face now. It was true that she wanted to be treated better. Never before had people been so wary of her … so hostile. Takara couldn’t grasp what had happened. You’d think they’d have some sympathy for her; she had just been released from the hospital after months in a coma. Her father had died in the same accident that put her there. And yet, she was treated as though she were a manipulative brat. What had she done to these people? She had no history with them. She racked her brain trying to come up with a slight she had given them, but there was none that she could remember.

And yet, here she was — treated like some sort of criminal in her own home, summoned as though she needed to go to the principal’s office. Takara came upon the atrium, the room in which she had experienced some of her fondest memories. As she stood in the foyer, she found it wasn’t the same room. It was as though her cherished memories could never have happened here.

Mr. Tyler was in a meeting with another person. Takara wondered whether the meeting was about her. Maybe she had to meet with this man, too. Perhaps they were going to send her away. But then, Mr. Tyler excused himself from the gentleman’s company. He stood and walked towards Takara. When he got to her, he guided her back into the hall. Takara prepared herself for any emotional whim Mr. Tyler felt like displaying. She figured he could be nice to her one of these times just to throw her off. Most likely, however, he’d be just as skeptical and disapproving of her as he had been. Maybe she’d get a lecture about leaving her room and going into her father’s office. As it turned out, it was a lecture — only it wasn’t about her father’s office.

“Takara.” he said with familiarity. “I got a message from one of your teachers.”

Takara’s brow furrowed. She was perplexed. Certainly it was too early in the term for anyone to have any complaints about her. Was this some sort of game? Perhaps he was toying with her.

“She said you told her that you had a problem with one of the course requirements.”

He seemed to be waiting for her to say something. When she said nothing, he continued, “The field trip. You actually said you couldn’t go.”

“So?” Takara returned.

“So, you didn’t even ask me.”

“I just assumed given what happened when I asked to go to school …”

Mr. Tyler looked grim.

“The field trip isn’t optional.” he said. “So, you can go.”

“Thank you.” Takara offered.

Though her response was far from over the top, Mr. Tyler looked skeptical but said nothing. Takara was, in fact, grateful to go. But apparently Mr. Tyler wouldn’t believe any positive emotion coming from her … for some reason. Takara noted that in the future she should not appear to be too excited about anything he did for her, not if she didn’t want him to retract the offer later.

“Anyway, I have to get back to work. I’ll be sure to have your teacher contacted about this.” He paused. “… You can head back to your room now.”

Takara nodded then watched as Mr. Tyler turned around and headed away from her and toward the other man. Takara considered. She decided to turn away and get out of there. True, it was tempting to linger around the other people gathered there and feel normal for a moment. She was growing tired of being kept in the same room. Not being able to choose her own schedule heightened this feeling of being trapped.

Still, once she got outside of his scope of vision Takara slowed down significantly. They may be able to tell her where to go, but from that point on she would control how fast she got there. Since her meeting with Mr. Tyler had been so brief, Takara found she still had plenty of time before her first class. She sighed when she finally caught sight of her room. With her homework done, Takara only had thinking about what Mr. Tyler was going to say to her teacher to occupy her time until the morning class began.

Copyright © Jennifer Alice Chandler 2019

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Nocturne’s Reaping® : Intermezzo Chapter 5

Nocturne’s Reaping® : Intermezzo

Chapter 5

When Patty came the next morning, Takara was still asleep. Usually, she was awake well before Patty’s arrival. This time she heard Patty knocking at her door. Takara pulled herself up.

“Takara!” the woman cried out.

Takara went and opened the door. She had set her doorknob lock to the locked position the night before, even though she didn’t think it would be very strong. Takara had had trouble going to sleep that previous night. All she could think about was how she was being denied access to her school and to her father’s room. It seemed she had no way to contact her mother now. Still, it was the fact that she saw Mr. Tyler walking the halls the day before that had driven her to decide to go ahead and make this public display of her mistrust.

“I see you’re sleeping in this morning” Patty observed.

“I guess.” Takara returned. “But really, why does it matter?”

Patty looked surprised and somewhat annoyed as she stepped into the room. Takara closed the door.

“Actually …” the woman started.

Patty and Takara both turned toward the door as it was suddenly reopened — only Patty didn’t appear to be surprised. Takara braced herself for another visit from Mr. Tyler. Instead, it was a different man, who was carrying a box.

“Where should I put it?”

“What?” Takara asked.

“You can set it up on the table. Go ahead and move those books.” Patty directed.

“What’s going on?” Takara questioned.

Patty sighed. She obviously had a very different and very negative opinion of Takara now.

“Mr. Tyler has bought you a computer for your classes.” Patty informed her.

Takara sat on her bed as Patty turned back to the computer technician.

“I’m going to be making the girl her usual breakfast. You don’t need me here, do you?”

“No, I should be fine.” the man returned.

Patty left without another word to Takara. Takara watched the man set to work on the computer. She noticed that he had a badge from a local computer store on his shirt. It occurred to Takara that she was now a prisoner in her own home. The only people she felt she could risk trusting at all were ones who didn’t directly know Mr. Tyler … like this man.

“I guess that one’s going to have parental controls?” Takara asked.

The man looked at her skeptically.

“Of course.” He turned back.

“I guess I’ll have to be careful what I write.”

“No, I don’t think so.” the man said. “You just won’t be visiting any sites but that school’s site — so I guess it’s pretty much the same thing.”

“That’s fine.” Takara laughed.

When the man looked back, Takara was smiling.

“I was bored for so long; even homework sounds pretty good to me now.” Takara declared. Sadly, it was partly true.

The man smiled but looked doubtful. Takara looked off to the side. She could only visit the website of the school … but at least there wasn’t a keystroke logger. Then again, she couldn’t be sure of even that. And certainly, the teachers would report to Mr. Tyler if Takara said anything too provocative; Mr. Tyler wouldn’t have allowed Takara to communicate with a school, even online, if that weren’t the case.

As Takara was thinking these thoughts, Patty returned.

“Here is your usual. I hope it will be okay.”

“It’s fine.” Takara replied.

Takara wished she could go back to the way things were with Patty a week ago, but then she reminded herself it really wasn’t Takara’s fault that there was tension now. How was she supposed to know there would be an issue with her going back to school? How was she to know her asking about it would be viewed as though she were trying to get away with something? Usually kids were questioned for wanting to stay home, not for wanting to go back. Why couldn’t she leave this house or talk to other people anyway? It made no sense. Takara shook her head.

“It’s not to your liking?” Patty asked with an edge to her voice.

Takara just looked at her. What could she say that wouldn’t rub this woman the wrong way?

“It’s fine.” Takara repeated blankly.

Apparently, now she couldn’t even think without being questioned.

“All right. All set.” the computer tech stated.

“Oh, good.” Patty returned.

The cheerfulness in Patty’s voice rang hollow to Takara given Patty’s current treatment of her. The man nodded then looked at Takara.

“I hope you feel better … and enjoy your classes.”

Takara smiled sincerely.

“Thank you.” she said.

“I’ll show you out.” Patty insisted.

As they left, Takara was glad the man hadn’t alluded to their conversation. Takara had been hoping he wouldn’t think much of it if she downplayed it. As long as Patty didn’t give him the third degree, Takara doubted it would come up in conversation. Speaking of Patty, what was with her anyway? The change in her attitude towards Takara was hard to fathom. What could Mr. Tyler have said to change Patty’s opinion of Takara so completely? Takara hardly knew Mr. Tyler — or Patty for that matter. The whole situation was odd. If Takara couldn’t find a way to be viewed as a normal person again, she knew that this harsh treatment of her was bound to take a toll.

Takara stood up and headed for the computer. As she sat down, she braced herself for the possibility of more of the same bad treatment. She couldn’t trust anything completely anymore. Everyone she met online might have the same rotten opinion of her that Patty now had. Takara had effectively been isolated from everyone who knew and liked her. Still, if she didn’t try to connect with those outside the walls of the Institute it wasn’t going to get any better. One thing was for sure: playing nice with Mr. Tyler wasn’t an option. She was just getting further and further trapped in his cage. No, it was best to not care what the people around here thought of her. Her parents had always loved her, and her mother was still alive somewhere … hopefully able to be reached. Takara was determined to reconnect with her. Yes, she would find a way out of this prison they held her in even if she had to lie low for a long time before an opportunity to escape presented itself. She clicked on the power switch to the computer.

Takara ended up being somewhat relieved as she logged on to the course site. There were no people there that were mean to her. However, that might have been because the only one she interacted with on the video relay was a website administrator. The administrator helped Takara through the course selection and registration. Unfortunately, it soon became clear that the administrator was merely following a script. Takara feared that this level of emotional distance would be typical of her interaction with the school. If so, it would seem this online school wouldn’t be helpful in Takara’s efforts to contact her mother after all.

The school itself had both positive and negative aspects. The classes seemed interesting enough. Yet, Takara couldn’t help but feel agitated that she had been forced out of her old school for no apparent reason.

“All right, we’re all set here, Takara. You can access your texts online. I will send you a notice with the links.”

“All right.” Takara managed to smile.

“The next term starts on Monday. Some of the teachers have a reading list for you, so you can start working on that.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. If you have any questions, just message us.”

“Okay.”

The woman disappeared from the screen. It was nice, Takara concluded, to have someone not act negatively towards her, even though the interaction was superficial. And in addition, Takara felt a certain level of excitement. She finally had something to do with her time — something to occupy her until she found a way to contact her mother. Maybe this would give her a way to keep her morale up in case it took awhile for her to be freed.

Takara got to work reading the assigned text. Every time she started to feel bored, she would stop. Unfortunately, it was then that she realized it was even more boring to just sit in her room doing nothing. So, she would begin to read again. Unfortunately, after awhile her eyes started to blur.

“What now?” Takara thought.

There was a room down the hall, kind of big and airy. She and her father had spent time there during special occasions such as New Year’s Eve. When her father was very busy, she’d lie on the floor and read in front of the fireplace. When she first came back to the Institute from the hospital, she noticed a lot of people gathered in there. They were all dressed in business attire with drinks in their hands. It seemed the atrium, which was actually a part of her father’s wing, had been taken over by the Institute. Little by little, traces of her father were being erased. Now that her father’s door was locked, how long would it be before someone took over his office? Maybe that was why Mr. Tyler had been there: to stake out the room for himself. If the company was going to encroach this far into her living area, how long would it be before Takara completely lost her home? Or at least what was left of it.

 

Copyright © Jennifer Alice Chandler 2019

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Nocturne’s Reaping® : Intermezzo Chapter 4

Nocturne’s Reaping® : Intermezzo

Chapter 4

Two weeks passed. It was nighttime, and Patty had left long before. For some reason, Takara found herself awake. Everything was dark, including Takara’s room. And as Takara felt her way to the door, she felt a sense of invisibility. She liked that. She carefully opened her door and found the hall to be deserted and almost as dark as her room. Fortunately, Takara knew these halls, so the barely existent light from the skylight would be enough for her to get to her father’s room. As she progressed, she felt free for the first time since she woke up in the hospital. She felt she could determine where to go in this wing and how long to stay there. Takara breathed. She could remember feeling this way when her father was alive. Suddenly, the emotional heaviness that had weighed on her was gone.

Then, as she dragged her hand along the wall at the correct height, her fingers stumbled upon the knob of her father’s door. It was exhilarating. She opened the door and slipped inside. Then, she made her way to the sofa and sat upon it. She leaned back and listened to the clock tick. Finally, she lay down. She figured she might as well rest in here awhile. After all, it wasn’t hurting anything.

Around midnight, the clock struck; this time the sound was enough to stir Takara. Then again, maybe it wasn’t just the clock. Takara sat up when she heard the sound of feet shuffling out in the hall. The sound appeared to be coming from the entrance to the wing. Takara sat stunned as the sound became louder and louder. Finally, it stopped by the door frame. There was a moment of silence in which she could hear the person breathing. Then, the light came on. Takara squinted. When her eyes finally adjusted, there was Mr. Tyler standing in the doorway glaring at her. After a moment of gawking at her, he suddenly reached for the doorknob and shut the door. The sound of footsteps then retreated back toward where they had come from, and the sound of a large door being shut vibrated in the distance.

 

***

 

About a week earlier, Takara had begun dropping hints that she wanted to go back to school. At first Patty smiled and seemed happy about the progress Takara was making. Then, one morning — the morning after Takara’s run-in with Mr. Tyler — Patty’s reaction to the conversation became decidedly different. She frowned and cast her eyes downward.

“Well, let’s get you something to eat, shall we?” she suggested coolly.

As soon as she got Takara’s order, Patty seemed to dash from the room. Takara was confused. She tried being very nice to the woman when she returned, but after Patty arrived with the food she stood feet away and avoided eye contact. Then, Patty came forward to remove the tray. Takara tried to get the woman to look at her but to no avail.

“Is something wrong?” Takara asked.

The woman looked down at the tray.

“No, it looks like you’ve eaten most of it. Good job.”

She glanced at Takara then departed from the room. Takara didn’t know what to think. She wished she had been more direct with Patty somehow. So, when Takara saw the door slowly reopen to her room she was relieved.

“Patty.”

Takara recoiled when she saw the frame of Mr. Tyler quickly slip through the doorway. He then carefully shut the door behind him.

“Did I scare you? I didn’t mean to.”

Takara ‘s eyes narrowed.

“What …?” she uttered.

“I heard you were planning on going back to school.”

“Yes.”

“So, I thought we should talk about that.”

“Talk about what?”

Mr. Tyler stepped away from the door. Takara did her best to hold her ground while she remained sitting on the bed.

“Well …” Mr. Tyler grabbed a chair and sat in it. He entwined his fingers and leaned forward. Takara questioned what he could possibly be up to.

“I’ve been thinking you’re a smart girl. I think you should be capable of studying from home. There’s an online school I think we might try. You can get your assignments and any help you may need over the school’s network.”

“But why?” Takara pondered.

“Well, what’s the rush in going back to your old school? I realize you’re bored. Really, Takara, this seems to be the best solution given your health. I would hate for you to get sick again. Also, it turns out that they have an advanced program for those as smart as yourself …” He paused. “All right.” The man stood. “I’m glad we had this talk.”

Mr. Tyler quickly left the room. Maybe Takara was being paranoid, but his words felt almost like a threat to her. Either way, it appeared as though Takara’s plan to get out of the Institute had failed.

Takara hadn’t wanted to speak to Patty at dinner, and apparently the feeling was mutual. They barely spoke, except for the necessary niceties such as Takara’s menu selection. This wasn’t going to work. Takara needed to contact her mother. And now she knew for sure there wasn’t anyone here whom she could ask to contact her mother for her. She had to find a way to do it herself. She needed her mother. Her mother was her only family and her only way to get out of this prison.

Needing to think, Takara headed to her father’s office later that night. Only when she got there, she found the door was locked. She pulled at the door in disbelief. Sure enough, the door was locked. Takara headed back to her room. She was grateful for two things: that she already had her mother’s address and that there was no lock on the outside of her bedroom door.

 

Copyright © Jennifer Alice Chandler 2019

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