Chapter 8 "Self Control"

February 2021

Tuvok

Although I investigated the school thoroughly once I repaired my tricorder, there still weren't any readings of any anomalies. Nor could I find any reason for my random relocation to the twenty-first century. Each Friday evening, I would join Aurora at her school and wait for the anomaly to recur at eighteen hours and thirty minutes.

"Why this time specifically," I contemplated.

Behind me, Aurora impatiently tapped her foot in the hallway as she stood with her arms crossed against her chest. I didn't have to see it to know she did it. Besides, my sensitive ears detected the gentle beating of her foot on the concrete floor.

Looking at the timepiece on my wrist, I acknowledged that Aurora's date was supposed to pick her up at her apartment in forty-five minutes.

"Time's up, love," she sweetly declared, hastily putting her petite hand on my shoulder. I felt the left side of my mouth twitch upwards at her touch.

Zap! I almost dropped my tricorder because of the magnetic energy from Aurora's touch.

"Oh, ow, that hurt," she whined, swiftly withdrawing her hand from me. Her beautiful face scrunched up to a painful expression, and I instantly was concerned about her.

"Are you badly injured," I inquired, tenderly grasping her hand to check it, but fortunately, there were no injuries.

"No, it was just unexpected. We have some potent chemistry, you and I, Tuvok," Aurora joked as she bashfully grinned at me, lowering her eyes downward.

Discomforted, we gazed into each other's eyes, acknowledging the truth of her statement for a few seconds.

"I have to go home and prepare for my date," my roommate awkwardly announced. Aurora's cheeks turned crimson as she spoke, and she released

my hand to grab her purse from the floor.

"Affirmative," I emotionlessly remarked as I hid my equipment in her backpack, and I picked it up for Aurora.

As we descended the stairs, side by side, Aurora swung her arms as she walked. Her fingers would brush against my skin, and I felt a chill cross over my body.

"What did she see in Matthew?" I pondered.

They had gone on three dates, and she seemed enamored of him. I disapproved of Matthew because he was an arrogant imbecile. Nonetheless, I was hesitant to tell Aurora because she would accuse me of behaving in an envious manner.

"Vulcans aren't jealous," I thought as I put her bag in the back seat of her car. A nagging feeling tugged at my heart, indicating that wasn't the case.

Aurora opened the trunk and I laid the back pack there before entering the passenger, letting that thought go by the wayside. She inserted the key into the ignition, and the car roared to life..

"You appear apprehensive tonight. Is it because you have been here for a full month now?" Aurora deduced asked fifty one seconds later. Her beautiful face displayed concern as she viewed me.

"It is mystifying," I revealed,peering out the window as the landscape went by. Aurora gently patted my left shoulder and grinned, "You will solve the mystery, Tuvok. I know you don't want to be forever stuck in the twenty-first century."

Her concern gratified me, and when the traffic light turned green, she drove on. Aurora was an extraordinarily caring human female that I had grown accustomed to, but a dangerous thought crossed my mind,

"If I was with you, I might not mind staying here."

Banishing that thought, I concentrated on finding another way to communicate with Voyager as Aurora drove us back to her apartment.

Matthew, a five-foot-eight Hispanic man with shifty brown eyes, arrived less than half an hour later. He wore an almost permanent sly smirk on his thin lips, and I didn't want to let him in the apartment. Regrettably, it was not my place to stop him, so I allowed him entrance to Aurora's apartment.

"Hey man," Matthew said, trying to give me what is known as a "fist pump" in this century as a greeting. Grumbling, I returned it and shut the door behind him. Matthew sat down at the kitchen table and began "texting" on his phone as I went to the kitchen to prepare my evening meal.

"Tuvok, I've been meaning to ask you...have you and Aurora, you know," he questioned after checking his phone for three point two minutes. Matthew, like most humans during this time, seemed to be obsessed with their cellular devices.

"Please Specify," I gravely inquired, chopping up fresh vegetables to saute such as zucchini's, carrots and others. I felt a bit of my patience crumble away as Matthew spoke, similar to when Mr. Neelix attempted to converse with me.

"Sex," he quickly explained, giving me a pained look when I critically regarded him with an ocular scan before answering, "No."

"You two are just friends," Matthew reluctantly cross-examined me, exhibiting some relief at my current answers. However, I felt my heartbeat thump in my body loudly and a sense of disappointment at Aurora's choice of dates.

"Yes," I confirmed, trying to keep calm despite his bothersome questions.

"Are you homosexual?" he inquired, staring at me carefully.

"Negative."

Suspring noisily, Aurora's date appeared reassured, announcing, "I hope to seal the deal tonight, man."

Discounting his comment, I cut up part of my daily protein. Matthew's comment caused anger to envelope me, and I felt my body temperature rise.

"Control your thoughts and emotions, Tuvok," I reminded myself and continued cutting my food with a sharp knife.

"Aurora is smokin' hot," Matthew admitted, " a little psycho, though."

"Define psycho."

"Mentally imbalanced," he clarified, heavily annoyed, again looking at his electronic device.

"I have never observed any sense of mental illness except that Aurora appears to suffer from anxiety," I stated plainly.

A frown appeared on my face, and a general sense of malaise set over my body as I felt the muscles tense up. I didn't like that Matthew found imperfections with Aurora. Yes, she had weaknesses, as we all did, but that made her perfect in my eyes.

"Aurora's got one hell of an hour glass shape body, and her breasts are gigantic," Matthew commented, ignoring my discomfort. He held his hands out in front of his chest to indicate my roommate's well-endowed nature, and I felt my heartbeat rate strengthen to a rate of seven point two as I turned off the stove.

"Yes, Aurora is the most beguiling yet charming human female my eyes have seen," I agreed with her date to myself. Next, I used a spatula to put the steamed vegetables on a dinner plate on the counter.

"I can't wait to "hit that," Matthew finally stated.

My blood pressure rose sky high, and I felt my heart stop briefly.

"Are you here, honey?" Aurora's melodious voice rang out as I almost dropped my dinner plate.

Matthew's last statement didn't sit right with me, and I knew his use of the slang term "hit" referred to having sexual intercourse with her.

The degrading way he spoke about Aurora provoked my wrath, and I clenched my fists into balls as I decided I had to leave right now. I felt like I would do something ill-advised, like punching Aurora's date out or snapping his neck. Swiftly, I replaced the components of my evening meal into the fridge and slammed the door of the appliance shut.

That's when I saw Aurora and Matthew embracing and kissing in the hall. Excusing myself, my stomach somersaulted and I opened the hallway door to retrieve my jacket. I attempted to conceal my rage, but it was most strenuous.

"Going for a run," I declared, roughly grabbing the black jacket from a coat hanger, and it made a noisy, squeaky sound as a result.

"See you later, don't forget your key," Aurora dreamily called.

Consequently, I strode into the brisk evening air, where I jogged out of the complex to the park. I sprinted for seventeen minutes and felt calmer with their absence and the physical training.

Oreo meowed when I reentered the apartment and rubbed against my legs as I stretched my muscles for five minutes. Next, I played with her for three minutes before eating my evening meal.

"I must stay in control, which must be the focus of my meditation after eating," I reminded myself.