Chapter One
It was supposed to be one of the happiest days of my life, and it was for a few hours. I remember waking up in my dorm that had all ready been packed. All that remained was a silly little note to the incoming juniors that would take our room, and a few boxes of my stuff that hadn't been moved out yet. I looked over at my room mate, Katie, as usual she was talking in her sleep, "Kir...Kir..Kirk, wil..will ya..," she sighed and turned over. Ever since Captain Kirk had been named as the captain of the Enterprise, the premiere ship and the one we would hopefully be transferred to, she developed a major crush. Captain Kirk was quite handsome, he had piercing ice blue eyes and like all members of the Enterprise was in great physical condition, but he was the captain and had quite a reputation of being a player. I was very worried for Katie, she and I would defiantly get onto the Enterprise (because of our outstanding grades and in no part to Katie's excellent flirting to our arithmetic teacher) but when she did, she would no doubt get attached to Captain Kirk and there is no telling how that would turn out.
I went over to wake Katie up and then take a shower. All I could think about was graduation. I kept picturing myself tripping and making a fool of myself in front of everyone. And there really was everyone there, some representative from each of the ships, at least 200 alumni, and of course every relative of the graduates.
Starfleet Academy was the highest university there is. Just think of it as the school that had the highest student in every grade school, the prodigy that everyone envied, all of them gathered together and taught to the maximum. We were to become the people of tomorrow, the leaders of all our peers, the future superstars, and a bunch of other bull shit like that which would probably said at least three times in the graduation speeches. I was not looking forward to it, though the after parties should be fun. Besides for our intellect, we were also know for our rather luxurious and insane parties. There were three that I had planned on going to.
I stepped out of the shower and looked at myself in the mirror. Despite my medical training, I had managed to gain some muscle. My arms and chest were sculpted and just slightly defined. My legs were more lean, and had a higher kick stored in them then before I entered the academy. Even my face looked different, my childhood freckles had faded, though still visible, and my cheekbones were more prominent. The only thing that had stayed the same was my hair. It was still as long (or longer) as when I had walked the halls freshman year, though I did occasionally died the ends purple for weekends and parties.
This will certainly be a shock for my parents. The last time I saw them was when they helped to move me in, four years ago. I got the occasional email update, praising my brother's achievement in this new science exploration ship, very cutting edge. They were always traveling and working and didn't really have time for anything else.
"Katie? Are you up yet?" I asked as I left the bathroom to get my Starfleet uniform. I heard a nearly audible mumble in response. "Come on! We have to be ready by 11:30 so we can be down there by 12!" I grabbed my grey uniform dress, we got our coloured dresses when we got assigned a ship. But it wasn't like anyone was going to see the uniform under our white graduation dresses.
For the next hour I blowed dried my hair while Katie struggled to get up. The communicator started to ring, groaning I got up to answer it. Annoyed I answered it thinking it was some guy Katie gave our number to. "Hello?" Surprised I heard my mother's voice on the other end, "Hey sweetie, it turns out our ship won't be returning for another two months. So that means were going to miss your graduation-"
"But-" I said almost half heartily, wanting to believe it was some kind of sick, sick joke.
"-Love you sweetie! Have a great day! Email us what ship you get into! Lots of Love, mom and dad."
And then I realized the worst part of it. They prerecorded it. Not only did they miss one of the most important days of my life so far, but they didn't even have the half decency to tell me in person (or in person over the phone). "This is so unfair!" I thought. I couldn't help but break down into tears. I had worked four hard years on this stupid diploma! I studied and worked so hard! And for Christ's sake I was highest in my class! I really could care less about what a hydrocarbon was, and predicting the next trend in a quadratic formula was, I just wanted them to be proud of me, and I had obviously hadn't done a good enough job. Maybe if I was up to my brother's standards they would bother to skip a few days on their research.
I heard the water shut off in the bathroom and quickly tried to wipe away the tears. Katie stepped out and immediately noticed my face. "Oh Annagh! What happened?" Scrambling to think of a response I said, "Oh its just, ah, I'm really going to miss this place and having a dorm with you." I added a force smile at the end, hoping she wouldn't see though my mask. Even if this day was horrible for me, I shouldn't make it horrible for Katie too. "Aww so am I!" she didn't even notice as she pulled me into a hug, "but don't worry 'cuz I'm positive were going to make it to the Enterprise, and then I can marry Kirk and you can, ah, you can marry...SPOCK!" She seemed quite happy with our imagined futures. "Ah, no! That's gross!" Spock was my favorite teacher, but he was far from attractive and was emotionless, which everyone said made for bad..well...relations... "Well you are his 'favorite' student," She said mockingly. I gave her an eye roll and sat down to put on my makeup.
Katie insisted that she attach her false eyelashes before we go down, which of course made us nearly 10 minutes late. "Why do I even try?" I said as we tried to run down the flights of stairs in our giant heals and too long gowns. "Aw come on you know you love me." When we got to the doors to where everyone was lined up, we waited for Spock to turn his back and then gracefully slid into our positions. I was behind this really snooty girl, and in front of a boy that I had known since kindergarten but hadn't really 'known.' He tapped my shoulder and smiled as if to say 'good job,' I smiled back in return.
"Two new heart rates detected," Spock said from in front and in the middle of the two lines of graduates, "both over average." I cursed under my breath. "Lily!" he said as he turned around and headed in my direction. "Could this day get any worse?" I thought. As much as Spock was a good teacher and had a kind heart deep down, he honestly had no idea what made people annoyed or embarrassed, or any emotion for that matter. I heard a few snickers in the crowd, everyone was well aware that I was his favorite. "Can you explain why you and Mrs...," he said as he looked through his attendance sheet trying to find the other missing person," Mrs. Killian are late?" As much as I would love to say it was 'Mrs. Killian's fault, I didn't. "Ah just a later start, I guess..." He looked at me, "Hmm well I heard your parents will not be joining us, such a shame." I guess this day could get worse, a lot worse considering now everyone knew about my shitty parents. "Ah ya..," I mumbled and felt my face getting redder, "Ah work I guess." He 'Hmm'ed again and strode back to the front on the middle section. I felt the eyes of everyone around me, they were pitying me and feeling sorry, and I absolutely hated it.
After about an hour of practicing walking in a straight, we broke for lunch. The program started at three and was only a little past one now. Katie and I and our best friend, Leah all meet up our to eat in our usual spot, right under a genetically engineered oak tree in the outdoor student section. I knew they were gonna ask about the whole parent thing, so I had to think of something that would distract them for our short 30 minute lunch. "So what are you guys wearing, and what party do you think we should hit first?"
"Oh! I hear Jack's party is gonna be Amazing!" Katie was always up to date on who's who and all that type of stuff, "And to that one I'm wearing a little black dress, the one I showed you with the gold going down the side. "Wait who's Jack?" Leah on the other hand, was well not so much up to date, after all there are nearly 1000 students. Katie answered her question with an exaggerated eye roll, "Jack Hackney, of Course! He's the one thats always doing those back flips. And then after that I'm going to Daniel Basket's open house, apparently theres a mile long pool on his parent's apartment. And did I mention that this apartment is a whole floor on the Phoenix SkyScraper!" The Phoenix SkyScraper was one of the tallest buildings in the city and was known for the housing the most exclusive millionaires and captains. And was much like Daniel's Parent's house quite extravagant.
"Anyway I'm going to wear a royal blue cot-out dress and follow Katie drunkenly wherever she goes," I said. "Are you and Luke gonna meet us at our dorm or at Jack's?" I asked Leah. Luke and her had meet in one of their sophomore classes and had been going steady ever since, it was really quite adorable. "We'll meet you at your dorm but I'm staying sober, all night," Leah said. "Ha! Like that'll happen!" Katie was right, almost every party we went to this year Manya promise the same thing, but she always ended up in the morning with the same, if not worse, hangover. "Oh come on! Let it go! It's the last day that we can enjoy our Senoritis, we might as well enjoy it."
We spent the last 25 minutes taking about who will end up will who, and all other sorts of gossip, which felt so good after that embarrassment with Spock. As it neared closer to 3 all the family and special guests started to poor in. First was Katie's family complete with three great aunts and about a dozen various nieces, nephews, and otherwise. Of course she pulled me in and introduced me to everyone which was thoroughly exhausting. Then Leah's family arrived, I had known them since at least my third year at grammar school. I said hi to her mother and father, gracefully avoiding the question of my parent's absence, and of course talked to her brother. Manya and I had become so close over the years that he was practically my own brother, at least a lot better than my biological one.
Despite the excruciating small talk conversations and polite introductions, it was only just 2 o'clock, and I was exhausted. After prying two of Katie's nieces off my leg I slipped away to go upstairs. I decided to go where I usually went when Katie brought some guy over or if I had to escape a extremely boring lecture. There was a small little section right behind the biography of the old American presidents where the contractors seemed to have made a mistake. It was a little cuby whole that was perfect for escaping for a while. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my breathing, I couldn't hold any type of typical social interaction sober, I was a true introvert if there ever was one. And just as I started to enjoy my peaceful silence, I heard a knock at the cuby entrance followed by a somewhat familiar voice, "Um, Lily?" Startled I looked up to see the guy who I stood in front of in the graduation line, and who's name I couldn't really remember. "Um hi?" This had to be one of the most awkward situations there was, a guy I knew but didn't really 'know' had just found me huddled in the fetal position behind a bunch of dusty old books when I should be socializing on one of the best days of my life. "Well this is uh-" Forgotten name boy interrupted me, "creppy, stalkerish, awkward? Yes I guess it is." He said as he sat down. I waited for him to continue but he didn't say a word just stared at me curiously. "Um..well I guess I should ask you how you found this place?" His smile grew a little bigger, I was starting to wish I knew a little bit more about him, "Well the same way you found it I guess, a long night in the library-an escape from a roommate-looking for a cozy place to curl up and while heading to the windows you just glimpse, just glimpse a little flicker of light. And of course if we choose a library as a place to get away, it is naturally in our nature to investigate this flicker of light." It was amazing it was almost like he was there when I discovered this place. Then I thought of a terrible thought, what if he was there, what if he was following me? "That's how I found the cuby whole through a little flicker of light from a silver star right in the corner," he pointed his finger to the spot where the star still stood, "and I thought I had find my little place in the world until a week later I came in around midnight to find a goldylocks sleeping in my corner." I laughed with him, if he was a stalker he was the type that was nice up until the end when he revealed he was a serial killer. "Anyway I thought I come up her to add a star to the collection, you know for the next generation of library wanderers."
It was rather perfect I thought later, not only did he totally distracts me from all the bull shit around me, but he made me laugh a little and had made me able to say goodbye to one of my own favorite places with out really trying. For that I was more than grateful, yet I still didn't even know his name.
We parted our ways as the time drew near to line up from graduation. Before I could ask him his name though, he had managed to disappear into the masses. "Lily are you coming?," it was Katie getting a little annoyed that I had left her to deal with her massive family alone, and would probably make her late again with my daydreaming. "Ya sure hold on..." I looked back over my shoulder before I totally left mysterious no name behind and followed Katie into the auditorium.