The sun sat in the sky shining down brightly on the green grass underneath them. Aziza lay on her back with her hands folded behind her head and her ankles crossed. The leather boots she wore made a squeaky sound each time her feet moved. She adjusted herself on the blue blanket and looked over her head to where Hazina lay. The girl had her hair in a single braid pinned around the crown of her head. The white sweater she wore made her skin look as if it was glowing. She moved her hips again; the jeans she wore were obviously uncomfortable.
"You were correct in your theory that lying in the sun and being as still as possible would help generate more heat to our bodies." Hazina sat up suddenly. "When is our heating system due to be fixed?"
"Within the next three hours." Aziza looked at her watch. It was twenty minutes past four o'clock. "Let us go to the mall!" She stood and grabbed the blanket. Hazina had just managed to move when she pulled the cloth and rolled it into a ball. They walked to their room quickly.
"Why are you wearing that weird shirt underneath that sweater?" Aziza frowned.
Her finger reached up and touched the collar of the tan shirt she wore underneath her sweater. She shrugged. Other than the fact that it kept her warmer without her having to suffer with a coat, she did not have an explanation. She pulled on her boots that were the same color as her undershirt. Just to be sure her hair wouldn't fall anytime soon, she pushed several more pins into the braid. Contrary to Aziza's belief's, Hazina had no plans of cutting her hair in the future. She might clip the ends to make them perfectly even, but she would not do more than that.
The door chimed, and Shi'Kahr strolled into the room dressed in her gold dress with her arms crossed over her chest. She didn't even have to tell them she was going as she sat on the bed and watched Aziza bounce around in a pair of jeans that were too tight. Hazina sat on the bed beside Shi'Kahr and waited patiently. She had two days before her second fated meeting with Kanshero. Although they saw one another every day in the mess hall, they hardly spoke. It was…awkward.
She followed Aziza when she walked to the door. Joanna had called her several times to talk to her about Aziza's "problem" which she had chosen to ignore for the time being. Hazina stared at the snug fitting jeans Aziza wore; it obviously was going to fight to not be ignored. She hadn't noticed that her roommate had gained weight. She closed her eyes briefly. Aziza had not worn anything aside from her uniform or those huge pajamas since that time they had gone for pizza. She pushed her hands into the pockets of the jeans she wore. Aziza had told her that the jeans were meant to fit her, but Hazina had insisted on buying them two sizes bigger than what her friend had suggested. She was just not accustomed to wearing clothes that hugged her body.
The shuttle was crowded with people from their dorm. Were they all escaping campus to feel comfort from the cold in their living quarters? Shi'Kahr looked rather pleased with herself as she ran her fingers through her tangled black hair. She crossed her arms over her chest and locked eyes with the blond boy sitting across from her. He gave her a brilliant smile of confidence. Like her sister, Shi'Kahr had allowed her bangs to grow longer. This, Shi'Kahr had told her sister was an advantage; more people approached her because she looked more human. Her hair was always down unless she was doing a project or test. She lowered her eyes and stared at her hands. When she looked up, he was still smiling. She gave him a shy smile before looking down again.
If she allowed herself to display more emotions, Hazina would have rolled her eyes and made a sound of disgust. Her sister had dated two males already since her arrival four months before. It was illogical of her sister to boast of her more Vulcan looks then hide them just so that she could be more human. What irritated her most was Shi'Kahr's inability to hide her interest. Once a human male even thought a woman was interested in him, it was hard to get rid of him. Hazina knew this from experience. The male she had been forced to train with in advanced defensive tactics had thought she was interested in him, and he made it his priority to accost her and speak whenever he had the chance. He even got upset whenever Hazina ignored his extended hand and tipped her head to him instead. She moved in her seat slightly, pushing her elbow into her sister's side. Her eyes narrowed when the girl gave her a look of irritation.
When their stop came, Hazina waited for her sister to stand and exit the shuttle first. She walked behind her with her hands in her pockets and her eyes on the tall leather boots she wore. The thick black coat Shi'Kahr had draped over her shoulders looked like shiny black bear fur. The diamonds in her ears, yes diamonds, glittered as she turned to frown at her sister. Not only had she gone against Hazina's wishes when she had gotten her ears pierced over the weekend, but she had also bought that hideous coat. Hazina allowed herself to frown as she gazed at her younger sibling. Surely, Solin would not have been as brash as the girl before her. If only she [Shi'Kahr] had gotten accepted into that stupid Vulcan academy, she would not be there now. Hazina enjoyed having her sister around, but she knew the girl would be safer on the planet of their youth. She would not be allowed to do such childish things there.
Aziza crossed her arms over her chest and looked between the two sisters with an expression of interest. She knew Hazina had been patient with Shi'Kahr, but even she would have blown a fuse if she was Vulcan and her sister had gotten pierced ears. She pressed her lips together and took a step back when Hazina walked towards her sister.
Their identical brown eyes locked in a heated stare. Hazina's hand extended and fell upon Shi'Kahr's shoulder heavily. The younger girl's eyes widened. She wouldn't dare! Hazina gripped her shoulder tightly. Her mouth opened, but she did not speak. The coldness Shi'Kahr saw in her eyes made her shiver. She looked away and frowned. While she hated to put her sister in such uncomfortable situations, Hazina was fed up with Shi'Kahr's carelessness. She did not even have the heart to ask her sister if she was still pure. Her hand dropped to her side as she side-stepped and walked towards the building looming in the distance.
Overwhelming numbers of people no longer bothered Hazina. No, she was more bothered by the fact that her sister, whose attire vaguely reminded her of a twenty-first century hooker, was leaning over the counter smiling in the face of a man of Arabic descent. She took a step towards the store but stopped in her tracks. If her sister must learn the hard way then let her experience what Aziza is going through. It was wrong for her to make assumptions, but her sister gave off the aura that she had, on several occasions, experienced things Hazina did not know of. She watched her with narrowed eyes.
"You're fighting a losing battle. I don't know what's up with her, but…" Aziza's speech died when Hazina turned to her. She gave a nervous laugh and reached up to touch the auburn wig she wore. She looped her arm through Hazina and led her forward. "How about we go find you an outfit to wear to Kanshero's party?"
The store her friend chose was one of obvious taste and expense. Hazina walked around the store gazing at the dressed with approval. While there were so many, she knew what she did not want. Sleeveless, anything shorter than the Starfleet dresses or thin was automatically out of the running. She stopped beside a rack of knee length dresses that were made from Egyptian cotton with gold trimmings. The color was high and the design of one that reminded her of a painting she had seen on the computer when she was researching Italian culture. She pushed the dress aside and lifted the pink one behind it. The color reminded her of the roses she had recently noticed in the garden on campus. This dress was trimmed in aqua colored rayon. Her thumb brushed the material.
"God, Hazina, could you get something a little more seductive?" Aziza took the dress form her and placed it on the rack.
"Would you like me to dress as Shi'Kahr does?" Hazina watched her friend saunter around the racks.
"No. You would look weird. Just find something a little less conservative."
Hazina picked up the dress on the adjacent rack. It was nearly identical to the one she had had before, but the sleeves reached the elbow and the front was layer in a cut that had a piece of pink cloth covering it. Also, the dress was an inch longer than the Starfleet dresses. The material, on the other hand, was some strange mix between linen and nylon. She placed it back on the rack. On second hand, the chest part of the dress was just not suitable.
She picked up a black dress that would fall an inch above her knees. The sleeves would reach her elbows, and the cut was wide at the neck. There was a large black flower on the shoulder. She stared at the dress for 5.3 seconds before deciding to buy it. She also chose a light pink dress of silk. She handed the woman at the counter her card.
The air in the store was warm, but Hazina still felt a chill upon her neck. Her eyes swept the distance of the store quickly. The air seemed to be knocked out of her when thoughts of her sister barraged her. Although Shi'Kahr and Hazina were not twins, they still shared a small telepathic connection. She turned on her heels and briskly walked from the store. She could hear Aziza calling her.
Shi'Kahr stood in the center of a group of girls. Her eyes were round with confusion and fear. The group loosened, and Shi'Kahr backed away until she was pressed against the wall. Hazina sighed to herself and walked to the group, which was drawing a small crowd.
"Is there a problem?" Her voice rose above the murmurs of the people around her. She stopped on the side of the group and looked at her sister. She addressed her in Vulcan. "What are you doing?"
"They are from the academy. Those two blondes accused me of having sexual relations with their partners."
"Understandable." The look of hurt in Shi'Kahr's eyes stopped the words she wanted to speak. She looked at the girls standing around her sister. "It would be more beneficial if you left or took this discussion to a more private place."
"Who is going to make us?" The girl with the short black hair glared at her. "This girl is a slut. And I have a feeling you guys were talking trash about us in your gibberish language."
She grabbed her sister's wrist. "Come, Shi'Kahr." She thrust her sister ahead of her, causing her to stumble. Aziza, carrying several bags, caught her in an awkward hug.
Her feet had moved several fractions of an inch when something hard slammed into her back. The blow had caused her to stop in her tracks. Although she was not hurt, she was intrigued. She pivoted on her heels and stared at the five girls with a blank expression. Her teachings were firmly against the use of violence, so she did nothing but move when one of the girls walked to stand less than a foot away.
"We were talking to the trash." Her aquamarine eyes shimmered with anger.
Hazina had found that ignoring human metaphors made her life easier. "She is done talking." Her eyebrows rose when the girl's fist connected with her jaw, snapping her head to the right.
Several people gasped. Shi'Kahr's eyes widened and she stepped forward. Hazina gave her sister a gaze of anger that would have done their mother justice. She knew that one look had said more to Shi'Kahr than any words she could have uttered. She turned to look at the girl again. The hardness in her face relaxed slightly. She blinked.
"Well?" Her beautiful aquamarine eyes were dancing.
"She will not speak to y--" Her words were cut short when the girl's fist slammed into her jaw again. "If you attempt to do me harm I will incapacitate you."
The girl swung again, but Hazina stepped out of the way and grabbed her wrist and pressed it firmly against the girl's back; she shoved her away gently. Another of the girls stepped forward and kneed her in the stomach. The wind in Hazina's lungs came out in a rush as she leaned forward. The girl's fist slammed into her lip hard. While she was adverse to people doing illogical things, she had become annoyed. So, when the girl made to punch her again, she pushed her hand out the way. Hazina's hand wrapped around a significant amount of the girl's shirt before she slammed her into the wall. Her palm rested flat on the girl's chest.
"Stop." Her dark eyes moved across each of their face. The anger she felt began to ebb away the moment she blinked. She glared at them before she turned to walk a way.
"Hazina!" Aziza shoved Shi'Kahr out of the way and ran forward. The heel on her left boot broke, causing her to slam into her friend with enough force that they toppled over. Something heavy fell on top of them.
Shi'Kahr pushed the girl on top of them aside. She helped Aziza up then gave her sister an apologetic look. "I am sorry."
Hazina inhaled deeply and calmed herself before she turned to look at the girl clutching the strangely shaped statue. Her brown eyes moved to Aziza. She looked as if she was suffering through a mild amount of discomfort. Hazina pushed past her sister and rested a hand on Aziza's shoulder.
Her hazel eyes shifted from the floor to her friend. She forced a smile, but Hazina could see the emotions on her face. "I'm hurting."
She nodded. "Shi'Kahr, get the bags." With gentleness, she led her friend towards the door with her sister following closely at her heels. She wiped something wet from her chin and nearly grimaced when she saw the brown blood on her hand. That would explain the strange expressions of several of the people passing. She eased Aziza into the seat on the shuttle. It was truly convenient that a shuttle had been pulling up just as they'd emerged from the mall. She looked at the girl sitting beside her. "Where is your pain?"
"My back and my stomach." Aziza pressed her shoulder against hers and rested her head there.
When they got to their stop, Hazina found that Aziza was asleep. Instead of waking her, she simply picked her up and carried her. They went up the elevator and stood outside Joanna's door until she opened it with wide eyes. Hazina deposited Aziza on the bed gently. She stood and explained what had happened to Joanna.
"How did they fall? I mean, where was Aziza in the pile?" Joanna scanned the unconscious girl with her tricorder.
"In the middle. She ran into Hazina and the other girl fell on top of her." Shi'Kahr spoke from the corner."
"Great." Joanna moved around the room quickly. She injected Aziza with several hyposprays. "If she's not bleeding within an hour, you guys can go."
"Why would she be bleeding? She did not sustain injuries." Shi'Kahr stepped forward.
"This does not concern you. Please wait in the sitting area." Hazina closed the bedroom door and kneeled beside the bed. She wished that Aziza would be fine. She knew Aziza would be okay; it was the baby she was worried about.
She looked at Joanna with raised eyebrows. "Why is she not waking? Will the child be okay?"
Joanna frowned as she brushed a wet substance under Aziza's nose that caused the unconscious woman to stir. "She's no longer pregnant, Hazina. That was taken care of two days ago."
Aziza groaned and blinked quickly. "Where am I?" Her eyes widened with recognition as she looked around the room.
"I want you to rest here an hour before you go. I assume someone just fell on you?" Joanna began packing her equipment up.
"Yeh. I'm okay. I suppose all the stress was getting to me. I fainted."
"That and you were just pregnant. It can take up to a week for those symptoms to wear off. Be careful." She gave Hazina a look before she left the room.
"You did not tell me you had the abortion. I would have gone with you." Hazina looked at her friend. She touched her on the arm. Perhaps this small move of affection would make her friend more comfortable.
"I know, Hazina, but I did not want you there." Aziza sighed and let her head fall against the pillow. It was obvious that she was searching for the right words. "Your life is exciting enough without me adding my mistakes." She laughed.
Hazina pressed her forehead against the side of the bed before she looked up at her friend again. How could she tell her what she meant to her without sounding too out of character? Hazina's hand trembled slightly as she touched Aziza's index finger. Her hand wrapped around her friend's hand. She allowed her comfort and concern to move into her friend's mind before she pulled away. She smiled at her.
"If I did not have your mistakes, dear Aziza, my life would not be what it is now." She wrapped her in a tight hug.