CHAPTER 26 - MIRROR MIRROR
"After four months of hurtling through space, I can't believe we only have a few days left on this ship," Jack remarked as he jumped off his berth and moved past his roommates to get to his locker.
He had been working overtime to ensure that Abayomi Nneki Oyeyemowa's prosecution, conviction, and sentencing would be flawlessly handled back on Earth without the need for his presence.
Jack had promised Elizabeth, after she had essentially threatened to handcuff herself to him if he tried to get on the return flight, that he would not be required to physically attend any court proceedings. A dozen hologram recordings, five investigation reports, and one very lengthy typed statement were now on their way to Earth where they would be waiting for Abayomi's arrival.
"I thought you hated when people say 'hurtling through space' like we're on some rogue spacecraft. And besides, I like our tiny room. I've kind of grown attached to it," Elizabeth replied. "I'm going to love living with Abigail once we land – did I tell you, she thinks it will be no problem for me to move in with her? But I'm going to miss our living quarters."
"You said your closet back home is bigger," Carl spoke up.
"And that living with three men was worse than a classroom full of boys", Seth noted. "Although, personally, I don't think you could have asked for better roommates."
"You're wonderful roommates. When you're not snoring."
"Or whining about missing your family," Jack piped up.
"And Carl's not sneezing from his allergies, or the three of you aren't laughing at crude jokes," Elizbeth added.
"Or you're not boring us with scientific nonsense," Seth said with a look towards Carl.
"Or you all aren't walking around half naked," Elizabeth remarked.
"Hey, you love that part!" all three men responded at the same time causing Elizabeth to laugh.
She sat on the bed and looked around. It was strange. This feeling she had. Just four months ago, on a late summer afternoon, she had been rummaging through her clothes in her fancy bedroom in a mansion in Hamilton, Canada with her sister, Julie. It seemed like it had been years since then. Everything had changed. She had made new friends - wonderful friends, had new exciting experiences, and most of incredible of all, she had met Jack.
Four months ago, she had never even known he existed. Never known his taste. Never known his touch. Never known his words. And now those words were forever imprinted on her heart.
- I would like to take you on a date. Where we go to the movies, sit next to each other, hold hands, and maybe you even let me give you a good-night kiss.
- Outside our living quarters I would very much like to kiss you right now.
- I pushed through the damn crowd to get to you just because I had to kiss you.
- I know you just borrowed the kiss, but I'm going to need it back right now. With interest.
- I wasn't expecting anything when I took this assignment. And then I met you and you kind of knocked me off my feet.
- I love you. I really really love you.
- You do realize that I find you and your logic to be absolutely irresistible, don't you?
- Millions of millions of stars.
Elizabeth smiled as she watched a shirtless Jack, wearing just a pair of shorts, get ready to go to the fitness center before dinner.
He's the most romantic man I know. Every word that comes out of his mouth is romantic!
"I think I forgot to put these socks in the laundry. They stink," Jack said as he moved a pair of socks away from his nose and threw them back into his locker.
Okay, maybe not everything, Elizabeth realized with a frown.
"And my tee-shirt's got sweat stains," he grumbled. "I can't wait until we get issued new clothes in Coal Valley."
Okay. Maybe most things aren't romantic.
She watched as Jack pulled a wrinkled tee-shirt over his head, and then ran his hand through his tousled hair. At least he's still handsome. Sort of. In a messy dirty disheveled sexy way.
"Elizabeth, you sure you don't want to come with us?" Jack asked as he, Seth, and Carl headed out the door.
"No. I'm good. I'm going to go over my lesson plan one more time, and make sure I have all the kids' names and a special fact about each one memorized."
"Dinner's in an hour!" she called out before the door started to close.
"Don't wait for us. We're not sure how long we'll be. We'll meet up with you later," Jack replied as he disappeared from her view.
Elizabeth was thrilled that her class would have an almost equal number of boys and girls. She lazily tossed an apple in her hand as she looked at her computer screen.
Her whole life, she had been brought up with the understanding that gender roles weren't defined at birth. That females weren't necessarily emotional or sweet or delicate or lovers of all things pink or frilly. That males weren't necessarily strong or crude or unemotional or lovers of all things dirty or mechanical. But despite all the scientific data on gender, and despite her own love of adventure and an aversion to sewing and cooking, she still believed that girls and boys were innately different.
Almost an equal number. They'll work well off each other. And I know all their names, she thought as she took a bite of the apple. Hazel has the missing front teeth. And Billy has the mother who invented that thingamajig. Clementine has trouble with math.
Elizabeth crinkled her eyebrows in confusion and looked at the apple in her hand. It looked like a Golden Delicious - her favorite. But it tasted odd. Almost . . . she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Oh well, an apple's an apple, she sighed as she finished chewing. Maybe it's fermented some. Or a new variety that got mixed in with the others.
The small bowl of apples had been in the living quarters for almost a week and had been left untouched by her roommates after her strict instruction that they were not to touch them. As she had explained to the men, every time that she had a craving for an unhealthy snack, she wanted an apple readily available.
Elizabeth munched on the apple again, ignored the slightly bitter taste, and wished it was a croissant. A chocolate croissant. A warm delicious gooey chocolate croissant.
Maybe I'll give a lesson on nutrition. Or have Abigail come give a talk. On healthy eating.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Good. The doctor's rude.
Here's to my health, she thought as she took another bite.
The juicy apple piece had already been chewed, passed her tongue, and was traveling down her throat when a horrified Elizabeth suddenly suspected what was happening. Why the apple tasted odd.
Unfortunately for Elizabeth, the esophagus is a short muscular tube – only about eight inches in length – and the bite-sized apple piece, now chewed into smaller pieces, was already in her stomach, along with the other pieces, before she could stop it.
She jumped off the berth and ran to the bathroom. Putting her finger down her throat, she gagged twice before warm vomit came up.
She held onto the metal toilet bowl and tried to retch again. Knowing she hadn't gotten all of the apple out of her stomach.
Her heart was racing. Beating too fast and erratically. But she couldn't be sure if that was from her anxiety or from the poison already flowing through her veins.
Sweat formed on her forehead and her hands began to tremble. Her palm slipped from the smooth metal surface and she fell forward slightly. Trying to steady herself with one hand, she put two more fingers down her throat until she vomited again, spewing into the toilet bowl and onto the floor around it. When she saw the red from the morning's breakfast jam, she felt confident that all the apple was also now out of her body.
She stumbled to her feet and jabbed her wet finger onto her bracelet messenger but nothing happened, and she realized in dismay that she had again forgotten to charge it.
She was starting to feel dizzy and worried that she would pass out before she could get help.
I just have to get out the door.
She lurched forward and banged into the wall when she missed the doorway by three inches. Ignoring the resulting pain on her forehead, she staggered out the bathroom door, and pressed the main door sensor. Her sweat dripped off it as the door slid open.
Staggering into the corridor, she crumpled to the ground.
As she lay with her cheek pressed on the hard cold floor of the corridor, a most unusual thought came to mind. It's funny how the mind works. Bringing images from old stories once read in pleasure to the present.
A vision of Sleeping Beauty floated into Elizabeth's thoughts. The innocent victim of fairy tales lying motionless in a quiet sleep. Waiting for her prince to rescue her from eternal slumber.
The metal automatic sliding-door of the living quarters opened and closed against Elizabeth's unmoving foot which hadn't made it entirely across the threshold.
She felt the door hitting against her but she couldn't get her foot out of the way. No matter how hard she tried, her leg refused to move. Nothing moved. Except her chest as she inhaled ragged breaths. But even that began to slow down.
Just before Elizabeth fell unconscious, she realized that it wasn't Sleeping Beauty who bit the poison apple, it was Snow White. And that poor woman had died before her roommates had come home to find her.
UP NEXT: CHAPTER 27