Chapter 2
I stay up all night trying to fix the G4; it's fairly simple and straight forward…at least to me. I've always been pretty good with my hands. Nobody really thinks of it as a talent but I've got a knack at fixing things. Ironic with how clumsy I am…actually, maybe that's how it all started… Wherever I go I end up braking things and so it's not too unusual that I've developed a skill at fixing what I break. What is unusual is that I don't even know what I'm really doing! I sort of just do some random motions and ta dah! Maybe that's why nobody really recognizes it as a talent, it's not a skill, everything I do is at amateur level. No work, no effort, just a convenient hobby I picked up over the years.
I match up one wire with another, one part in place. I hear a familiar click that tells me it's been put in correctly. Using my fingernails I screw in some screws and then using my fingers I spin the bolts into place. Everything seems to be intact and secure. I don't really get what I'm doing, but I guess it's okay. As long as it's presentable and not too obvious that it's broken.
And so I connect the charging cable to the connector and wait for it to charge. It takes time, I sigh in relief as I spot the evident green light that tells me it's in proper working condition. If it can at least charge itself then the damage can't be that bad…right?
I start to clean my room. The clothes that lie on the ground tell me that aunt Laura, also known as the clean freak, will come bursting in through that door at any second. Sure, it's locked, but that doesn't mean she doesn't know the mess that lies in here… She must have some sort of sixth sense, that one, and sure enough a moment later… "Rachel? Is your room cleaned up?" She asks, still on the other side of the door. "Yes aunt Laura!" I call, a smirk being worn on my face. I told you so! "Let me in! I'll be the judge of that!" She declares, waiting for the sound of the doorknob turning to let her in. I do as I'm told, not wanting to get into trouble.
Just as soon as I unlock the lock she comes bursting through, the door slamming on the other side. Darn, she's fast! Breathing heavily she stares at the lock on my door, evidently upset. Giving the room a once over she huffs with nothing to correct me on. And so no chastising for an untidy room leads her to another issue, one I was hoping she'd forget. "I'll be taking this!" She tells me, pointing to the lock on the door. I frown but am too scared to talk back; retaliation isn't one of my fortes. They always come back to haunt you and bring you trouble… And so, without a word, she takes my lock and leaves, bustling through. I stare hard at her retreating back.
I fall onto my bed, what a day! Too much excitement, it could last me a lifetime… I decide to close my curtains; looking out the window before swishing them firmly in place I catch sight of the moon. It's a full moon, the same one I was looking for on those dark streets, now the clouds far away. Is it too late for a second chance at life, I wonder? Can't I become someone new? My brother is too embarrassed to introduce me to any of his friends. I'm his dumb little sister after all, just a dumb looking nerd with glasses and my hair pulled back into two braids. My specs are big and hide me. I want to be hidden. I don't want to be an embarrassment. I want a second chance. Too bad, the world the way it is now clearly draws a line between those "better" than others. The world now is full of talented and talentless people. The world doesn't give second chances, not to me, not to anybody. An idea flickers into my head. A thought spotted in mid-thought. But could it be? That father of mine finally doing something useful? But maybe, just maybe…
But maybe G4 does?