Hi!

For context, this OS is a translation from my collection "All the ways you come back to me", so you can find the text there in French under the title "La Pression"

Anyway, English isn't my native language so please forgive any weird spelling or mistakes this text probably contains! I'd be more than happy to correct them if you can point them to me!

I wish you a good reading, hope you'll like the story!

All the ways you come back to me

Pressure

Part I: Sanja

Sanja takes a deep breath, contracts the muscles in her arm to force her flux through them, and strikes in front of her. It bursts in the air and propels her backwards with enough force to make her take off a good meter off the ground. After a few moments of flight she feels herself falling back down, so she rolls to catch herself. Her back makes contact with the ground without too much trouble, allowing her body to turn on itself, her legs describing an arc. When she looks up after landing, her Breath has dissipated enough for her to see the robot in the exact spot where she was just moments before.

The machine stares at her without moving, the small screen on its round head indicating that it is calculating its next move. Sanja knows she has a few seconds of respite, so she takes the opportunity to breathe and calm her racing heart beat. She should use the advantage her dodge gave her to counter-attack, she knows it, but she's tired. It will surely be easier to wait for the next attack to build a more effective strategy than fleeing.

The small screen on the robot's forehead turns off and the machine lunges toward her again, leaning forward and pushing on its legs to jump the few feet between them. The gray block of its body is at least twice as thick as she is, but the robot moves with dexterity, its long arms and legs making up for any agility and dynamism it might have lacked. Sanja sees one of the metal arms start describing an arc, making her brain instinctively calculate the trajectory, and she knows her legs are targeted. She takes a breath, contracts her leg muscles, crouches, and jumps.

Her Breath doesn't fail her and propels her high enough and fast enough to dodge the blow. The metal hand rasps on the concrete floor with a sharp noise and leaves a nasty trace in the material. Sanja must be a good ten feet off the ground when she feels herself losing speed, and that's when she realizes that she didn't give it enough angle to her jump, that her ascent was too straight and that her fall will land her far too close to the robot to get out of its range. Caught up in the urgency, Sanja forgets to breathe, raises her right arm to the side and contracts her hand. The new spray of flux is not as strong as she would have liked, though its strength manages to change her trajectory abruptly. But not fast enough. The robot has righted itself faster than she estimated and manages to hit her left shin with one of its arms.

Cut off in her new momentum and propelled by her flux, Sanja feels her body swivel rapidly in the air. Panic-stricken and lost in the world that spins around her, she only spots the ground as she is about to hit it. She just manages to put her forearms in front of her, absorbing the shock and protecting her head as much as possible. The world stops spinning abruptly, and after a moment of confusion, Sanja is forced to realize that she is lying on the cold gray ground. Her shin is not too painful, her equipment having done its job, even if she suspects that she will find a pretty bruise there tomorrow morning. However, the palms of her hands have grated on the concrete, leaving painful scratches and small pieces of material embedded in her skin. The pain isn't great, but the tingling is far from pleasant. Worse than that, Sanja has the impression of seeing herself back when she used to fall off her bicycle when she was a kid, and the comparison doesn't please her.

Finally raising her head to apprehend the position of her adversary, she finds it at the place where she left it, at about ten meters away from her. The torso of the machine is halfway turned towards her, letting her see the screen on its face displaying a small group of dots dancing in a geometric pattern. Aware that she has lost all the advance she had managed to glean, Sanja tries to stand up as quickly as possible, knowing full well that she'd better be ready before the robot finishes its calculation if she wants to have any chance of beating it.

The screen goes out and the robot leaps forward.

Sanja is taken by surprise. She didn't have time to move, still kneeling on the ground at her drop point. The machine is approaching her at breakneck speed, but the adrenaline in her veins makes her experience the scene in slow motion. Her instinct is to reach forward with her arms, palms facing the enemy, and she visualizes the protective screen. She has already succeeded in creating one last week. The shield was even big enough to cover herself completely. She knows she can do it. She has to. The gray robot approaches again and again. The shiny blackness of the screen serving as its face grows as it approaches, like a void ready to engulf her. In front of her hands, nothing happens. Sanja doesn't even realize that she has tucked her head into her shoulders in anticipation of the shock, nor even that her hands are shaking. She only sees the approaching machine, as if she were in a tunnel in front of a train.

It happens so fast she can hardly keep up.

She vaguely sees a movement in the periphery of her vision, the machine suddenly turns its head, then its hypnotic, inexorable approach comes to an abrupt halt. A fist enveloped in Breath makes contact with the metal, the shock so powerful that the flux turns white for an instant, sending a flash like shockwave around the point of impact. Despite its momentum, the robot does not resist. The metal box explodes mid-air, throwing various parts into the air as it flies forcefully to the side. It hits the ground and bounces several times, scattering metal and oil in all directions, before coming to rest about fifty feet away from them. The machine is not moving any more: its final position, normally unattainable by its initial body, proves that it's definitely out of service. Small wisps of purple smoke quickly appear, then a drone comes out of one of the walls to spray the corpse with a blue foam. Or purple. She is not too sure.

Her brain still needs a few seconds to register what happened, but when the realization hits her, Sanja recovers in a flash. She closes her wide open mouth, clenching her teeth, and furiously unhooks her eyes from the robot that almost beat her. Turning her head to look straight ahead, her vision falls on him, obviously. Two steps away from her Micro-Ice scans her up and down with a worried face, but the expression disappears when their eyes meet, replaced by a reproving look. Sanja feels herself pouting, but hurries to her feet. She barely wobbles when putting her weight on her left leg, and she manages to stay on her feet without any more trouble. Crossing her arms to give herself composure, she stares at the concrete floor to avoid any eye contact with the stern eyes that are still looking at her.

They don't exchange a word either, knowing full well that they are not allowed to outside the exercises, so they wait. In the big grey room, nothing moves. They are planted like stakes in its center. The moss-covered robot further away. She has time to count to "238" when a muffled and falsely comforting voice comes out of the speakers, announcing the end of the training. As soon as the voice is done talking, a door opens in one of the walls, revealing a small side room. Micro-Ice doesn't waste a second to start walking. Sanja, for her part, waits a few seconds before dragging her feet, and takes the opportunity to take one last look at the large black rectangles that cover the center of the opposite wall, like a giant frieze perched several meters high. She does not guess any silhouette through the tinted glass, but she knows for sure that they are there.

She crossed the threshold of the door to enter the new room, joining her elder who is waiting for her with his arms crossed. The small cube leaves them little space, so she sits on the bench fixed to the left wall, sticking her back against the metallic surface while focusing all her attention on her shoes. Micro-Ice quickly imitates her, sitting on the bench facing her, and a few seconds later, the door closes to cut them off from the large white room. A motor starts, filling the air with a rather discreet vibration noise, and she feels the cabin start to move. The opaque walls make the movements vague, but she's made the trip enough times to vaguely recognize the circuit, and know it will only take a few minutes. She starts counting the turns to pass the time, hoping that Micro-Ice won't try to talk to her. Her wish isn't granted, of course.

- Your jumps are getting better lately.

Sanja looks up at him. If Micro-Ice is half wallowing on his bench, sitting crookedly, one leg folded on the seat, his head against the wall, his face is very serious. She stares at him for a moment, looking for the slightest trace of irony on his face, but she finds nothing. The comment sounds hollow however, she knows she did not perform well today, and she also knows that reproaches will follow. But for now she decides to accept the compliment.

- I think so. I'm trying to... Mei showed me a technique last week, so...

- Breathing deeply first?

- Yeah, that's it.

- It seems to work, that's good.

Sanja nods, but doesn't answer. The discussion seems empty to her. She suspects that Micro-Ice is trying to start nicely before moving on to more painful remarks, but she doesn't feel like playing the game today.

- Are you aware that the Breath discharges you manage to create for your jumps, you could use them for hits?

- I don't have to hit if I dodge fast enough.

The argument isn't valid, but she doesn't know what else to say. Micro-Ice must be of the same opinion because he raises an eyebrow.

- Maybe it's just an impression, but it didn't seem like the best tactic back there.

This time Sanja refrains from insulting him. This discussion, they have it at least three times a week, it has even become the official conclusion of their common trainings in her eyes. So, once again, she fires the same statement.

- I refuse to fight the robots.

Micro-Ice releases a long sigh. He straightens up, takes off his back from the wall and withdraws his leg off the bench to take a more suitable posture before leaning towards her, elbows on his knees. The atmosphere of the small room is immediately much more serious, and she does not like that too much. Now much closer to her, Micro-Ice stares at her like he's searching for his words. The face she once knew as so smiley looks at her seriously, and she tries to ignore the dark circles under his eyes and the discrete marks she recognizes as old cuts.

- Sanja, you're not a kid anymore, you know?

They have this discussion often, too often, but never like this. Never in that tone. The calm voice of her elder destabilizes her a little and she feels a knot form in her stomach and her aplomb fly away at the same time.

- I know...

- Running away from the confrontation, in the long run, it won't be sustainable...

- I know...

- You have to find a way to... A way that suits you. A way to defend yourself properly.

- I know, I know...

- We can't afford to be vulnerable anymore. Learning to hit could at least save you from critical situations like the one you were in earlier, even if it's a technique you only use in an emergency. It's important.

- I just... I don't want to hit.

- Sanja...

- One day it won't be robots in front of us anymore and I... I don't want to...

- Sanja... If that day comes, we'll have to strike harder.

A knot forms in her throat this time. She tries to ignore the unpleasant sensation, as well as her eyes which are starting to sting, and takes a deep breath. She refuses to strike. It's not an option, even for extreme emergencies. She remembers the robot exploding in slow motion a few meters away from her and tries not to imagine anything else in its place...

It takes her long seconds to regain a minimum of composure. Micro-Ice gives her time, she knows he sees her fear, so close to her, but it's not the first time it's happened, and he's seen her in far worse crises than this one, so she tries not to think about it too much.

- I want to... I want to make shields... Protective screens... I did one by myself last week, I can learn to do it again...

Her voice is more shaky than she would have liked, but she manages to keep some composure. Facing her, Micro-Ice gives her an encouraging half-smile and nods gently.

- Okay, that's a very good idea.

- Yes?

- Yes, of course.

Sanja answers with a shy smile, still confused, but relieved that he approves. She hadn't told anyone about this plan yet, and she was terrified that they wouldn't find it good enough.

- Just promise me that, one day, if it is the absolutely last option you have left, you will use your strength? Please?

Her smile freezes a little and herjaw tightens. The very idea of it seems inconceivable to her. Absolutely impossible. But the gray eyes that stare at her look sad suddenly, so she accepts the compromise, swearing to herself at the same time that this situation will never happen.

- Okay...

- Promise?

- Promise.

Micro-Ice nods and straightens up, leaning his back against the wall again. Seeing him close his eyes and cross his arms, Sanja knows they won't talk anymore. The anger she felt when she climbed into the metal cube has completely evaporated, even her adrenaline must have dropped during the conversation because now she feels exhausted. Her muscles are starting to stir as a result of the long hide and seek game she played during the training. She wonders absentmindedly if Micro-Ice's hand is hurting or if he can't feel anything anymore.

She wonders if they heard everything in their conversation. The answer is obvious, of course, so she buries the question deep in her skull with the anguish it causes.

Not having followed the turns made by the vehicle, Sanja does not know how to evaluate if they still have a lot of waiting remaining. It takes her a few blind moves to recognize a sequence, so from then on she starts counting down in her head, more to keep her mind from wandering than because she is really in a hurry to get home.

It takes a little longer for the cabin to reach its destination. A stronger jolt is felt, rocking them from right to left on the benches, followed by a final turn, and finally the metal cube slows down. The sound of the engine barely covers the sound of a piston outside, their cabin comes into contact with something else before coming to a final stop, the engine shutting down all at once. Several slams are heard, Sanja knows their melody enough to anticipate the one that will make the door of their cube vibrate, avoiding to be surprised. A second later, a muffled whistle resounds, and the opening of their door follows with an identical sound. The small space before them is a bare room, about twice the size of their cube in length, devoid of anything but the opaque, handleless door on the wall facing them. Only the walls are special: long rectangles run along the walls from floor to ceiling, their function betrayed only by the traces left on the floor when they slide.

Not wasting another second to cross the threshold, Sanja is forced to step down to enter. The wall between the cube and the transfer room is as thick as her forearm's length, and as she passes through it she chases away the stupid idea that it might close in on her. She thought about it once when she was still little and terribly impressed by it all and now she thinks about it every time. She still is, impressed, actually. But she pays less attention to it now. She just stifles any anxiety when it comes up, like bubbles that she would prevent from rising to the surface. Micro-Ice crosses the threshold right behind her, quickly out of his nap, and she buries the thought that the door could have closed between them to separate them.

Once they have both entered, they move to the back of the room to stand in front of the door. The rectangle seems to be carved out of the wall, the matte metal giving nothing away. A beep sounds and the door behind them closes. Another beep and the door in front of them opens. They move quickly into the next room and the plate closes behind them in a flash. A new beep sounds, followed by the same metallic clacking as before. The banging resounds in the room they just left, filtering through the wall, and even though she can't see it, Sanja knows that the plates on the walls have slid shut to seal off the passage temporarily, locking them in for good.

A hand presses on her skull and rubs her hair to ruin her ponytail even further. She doesn't have a chance to complain as Micro-Ice has already left the hallway with a sneer, disappearing around the corner of the wall, swinging his vest onto the pile already hanging on the coat rack. Sanja sighs as she imagines his face, and begins to retie her hair at the same time as removing her shoes. She presses down on her heels to remove the white sneakers one by one without untying the laces first, knowing that she can ask for a new pair if she damages them. Her hair gives her more trouble. Her long red locks, already thick and messy by nature, are even less docile after the workout she just did, so it takes her three tries to get them to keep together. She can feel the ponytail is not straight, and that she still has a few strands falling into her neck, but Sanja decides to ignore them. She glances at the schedule hanging on the wall as she removes her jacket, quickly scanning it to find her name among the others.

Workout session tomorrow afternoon. Training with Mei the next morning. Weekend.

Sighing in anticipation, she absentmindedly wishes that the resting days would come sooner.

Finally crossing the threshold, she enters the large living room. Kylian and Ican are sitting on the carpet right in front of the old TV screen, in the middle of the sofas, playing on the console. She doesn't recognize the racing game, but the two boys are arguing in low voices, pushing each other. Molly is reading a book on one of the sofas, sitting curled up against one of the armrests and buried under a blanket. Sanja waves to her roommate as she passes by, and the Xzionian returns it with a shy smile, diving back into her reading at once. At the back of the room, a door cut in the wall lets glimpse into the kitchen. Micro-Ice is sitting on one of the counters, a mug in his hand, talking with Mei. The young woman has her back to her, yet she swivels the moment she looks towards her, swinging her long braid behind her back. The brunette gives her a smile and points to the still steaming kettle next to her. Sanja refuses the tea with a wave of her hand and runs to the bathroom before the adults call her back.

She spends ten minutes under the shower, anxiously trying to relax her muscles after today's session under the hot water, taking the moment to clear her head. If the scratches on her palms sting when she touches the soap, she tries to ignore them. The water turns off automatically to let her know her time is up for today, so she reluctantly exits the stall. The bathroom is tiny and she struggles a bit to grab her pajamas, stored in one of the lockers with her name labeled on the door. It takes her two minutes to finish getting ready, then she heads out to her room, not bothering to dry her hair. A few drops of water are already seeping through her shirt, but the uniform is not to her liking, so she doesn't care.

Her room, which she shares with Molly and Adri, is the one down the hall. The "girls' room", as everyone else calls it, is empty when she enters. The bunk bed on the left is empty, the covers barely rumpled. A stack of books sits at the foot of the cabinet, propped up against the wall so that they stand upright, while a small guitar and a pair of headphones hang from the railing of the top bunk. Sanja, for her part, occupies the single bed on the right, her old aviator glasses hanging on the post, a stuffed shark placed above the covers. She drops onto the mattress flat on her back, ignoring the squeaking of the slats under her weight, then grabs the stuffed animal to hug it. The MP3 player hidden under her pillow creates an uncomfortable bump under her head, but she doesn't move it. Instead, she prefers to close her eyes.

In one of the adjacent rooms, she can hear Adri heckling with Haan, but other than that, their "house" is pretty quiet. She can vaguely hear water running through a pipe in the ceiling, and the beeping of the fridge in the kitchen, occasionally interspersed with bursts of voices when one of the boys wins at the video game. The little holographic clock in the corner of the room shows that it's already late afternoon, but Driss, who had the last training slot on today's schedule, isn't home yet. She knows they won't have dinner before then.

She is suddenly interrupted in her listening when the mattress of her bed collapses on the side, a sign that someone has just sat there. Sanja, surprised, opens her eyes suddenly to discover Mei just beside her. She is a little ashamed that the young woman finds her hugging her stuffed animal like a child, but she doesn't say anything, just smiles. When Mei dips a hand in her pocket to take out a tube of ointment, Sanja understands that Micro-Ice has told her about her fiasco of the day...

- Mice told me that it didn't go very well today?

Sanja sighs and straightens up on the bed, sitting cross-legged, her shark in the hollow of her legs. She reaches out a hand to Mei who places a dab of gel on her scratches. The product is icy and makes her shiver, but she applies it by rubbing her hands gently.

- I still couldn't beat the robot by myself...

- He told me your dodges were good.

- I messed up on the last ones...

- Did you breathe right? Like I showed you?

- I tried? Micro-Ice stopped the robot from getting to me in the end...

- You'll get the hang of it, don't worry. We didn't do half the things you can do when we were your age, you know.

- You didn't have a flux when you were my age...

- That's what I'm saying!

Sanja must look sheepish, because Mei tilts her head to the side and moves a little closer to her. Her long braid sways flexibly with the movement.

- Did Mice scold you?

- Not really, we just talked afterwards.

- And did it go well?

- Yeah, it's... It's just, it's complicated when he's right...

Mei nods with a smirk, pretending to sympathize, then leans in as if she's going to tell her a secret.

- If I have to pull his ears, you tell me!

Sanja surprises herself to smile as well, amused by the image which is taking shape in her head, and answers in the same tone:

- Promise!

Mei laughs gently and straightens up. In spite of the tiredness which marks her face, the young woman still looks as taken out of a fashion magazine as before. Her elegant posture, her perfect hair and her sharp eyes... Sanja always feels a little awkward next to her, but Mei is too kind to her to let the feeling remain. A few seconds pass without them saying anything, the silence filled by the muffled voices in the other rooms, but also by Kylian and Ican's screams in the living room, quickly followed by a complaint from Molly. Micro-Ice's voice rumbles in the distance, a sign that he is forcing on it for the boys to listen to him, and a certain calm falls over the general hubbub. Sanja sees Mei smirk before turning back to her.

- So... Mice says you want to make shields?

Sanja nods slowly.

- He says it's a good idea.

- But... Have you ever made one?

- During my solo training last week.

- Really?

- Yeah, a big one too! I could hide behind it with no problem!

Something passes over Mei's face. She can't tell if it's doubt or interest, but now the brunette looks at her more seriously than before.

- You know that Mice and I won't be able to help you? Even if I am convinced that he creates some to protect his hands when he strikes, we never managed to make them consciously...

- I know... But I did it once, I could do it again. I'll learn by myself, it doesn't matter.

Mei nods with a smile, but her eyes are still serious.

- We'll try to work on that during our training on Friday, okay?

- Okay!

That's the advantage she has over the other kids. She has the chance to master the Breath, like Mei and Micro-Ice, so they share training together at least twice a week. Thanks to this, she was able to control her flux much faster than her classmates, while enjoying the benevolence of her elders. Compared to her friends, some of whom took many months before they could even call their flux, and others who struggled with the most basic aspects of their control, she could only feel privileged. It's gotten her into a little bit of trouble, too, to be the teachers' pet, but in the end she doesn't care. She prefers to progress even if the others are jealous and always put her a little aside... And then she doesn't have to stay in the big white room all alone too regularly, so she doesn't complain.

Mei runs a hand through her red hair and winces when she notices that it's wet. When Sanja shrugs her shoulders to say that she doesn't care, the young woman looks offended before rolling her eyes. A hand comes to pinch her cheek and Sanja lets escape a burst of laughter which hardly covers the "You little brat, I swear!" of her elder, making her laugh even more. Mei takes the opportunity to pinch all the strategic places to tickle her, her ribs, her neck and her feet go through it and Sanja hardly tries to defend herself. She is quickly out of breath, then Mei leaves her alone, getting up from the bed not without giving her another teasing smile.

- We'll have dinner as soon as Driss comes back!

Sanja has hardly the time to nod that she has already disappeared in the corridor, leaving her alone again in the small room, out of breath and even less coiffed than before, but her heart a little lighter.

It takes at least an hour before the front door slides open with a whistle she would recognize between thousands, a sign that the Xenon is back, but also that she better get up quickly if she wants to eat some warm food. She goes through the door in a flash, leaving her shark plush behind, and strides to the living room. The first arrivals are already sitting on the carpet around the coffee table: Adri is talking to Haan in a low voice, the little four-eyed teen is nodding his head with a serious look. Next to them, Kylian and Ican are waiting in silence, half slumped on the table. Molly is still sitting in her corner of the sofa and raises her head towards her as soon as she enters the room, giving a shy smile to invite her, so Sanja hurries to join her. She passes the sofas positioned in a "U" to straddle the back of the one right side, letting herself fall on the cushions without care. The noise makes Kylian turn over and address her a mean glance, to which Sanja answers by sticking out her tongue. She is about to add a comment when Molly puts a hand on her shoulder while signaling her to be quiet. With a nod, she points to the couch right next to theirs where Micro-Ice is lying on his side, and even though his face is half hidden behind his arm, she understands that he is sleeping.

They wait in relative silence for the arrival of the latecomers and the meal. Driss is the first to arrive, his green scales still wet, meaning he dried himself in a hurry. The Xenon nods to her when their eyes meet, before going to sit on the sofa opposite to hers. They may all be the same age, give or take, but Driss and Molly are a good head taller than everyone else now, gradually catching up to the size of the adults in the group. Finally, it is Leroy who arrives last. The blond boy she hadn't seen yet today comes out of the kitchen, certainly on duty to help with the cooking tonight: his arms are loaded with cutlery and bowls, his mouth bent in a grimace by concentration, as if it could help him not to drop anything.

The boy moves between the sofas to place the bowls on the coffee table, making a pile in one corner before placing a cloth trivet in its center. Mei emerges from the kitchen right after, a steaming pot at arm's length, and follows the same path to the table. The tantalizing aroma creates a small clamor, the whole group sitting up to see the contents of the marmite. Mei is obliged to grumble a little and puts a tap or two on the too greedy hands before starting to serve them. Sanja soon finds herself with her hot bowl of soup in her hands, the thick liquid has a few chunks of vegetables that they don't see often, making her mouth water. She blows on the steaming soup to wait until everyone is served. Mei distributes the bowls one by one before finishing with hers and Micro-Ice's, whom she wakes up with a tap on the shoulder. The young man straightens up suddenly and looks at his friend for a second, looking a bit lost, before grabbing the bowl she hands him.

A "bon appétit" thunders through the room, all voices joining as one, and finally they get to eat.

It's one of her favorite moments. Because they eat, of course, but also because they all get together to talk about their days. All the voices are talking over each other and the hubbub could be hellish, but for some reason she finds it rather festive. Ican recounts all the video game games he's won while Kylian takes offense by recounting his own exploits, Adri explains the rules of the new card game she's creating with Haan, Molly summarizes the end of the book she finished yesterday, and Leroy asks her many questions, interested in drawing the final scene. All the conversations are going on at once, questions and comments flying in all directions, and even though she doesn't have much to say about her day, Sanja is having fun. The advantage of not talking much is also that she is one of the first to finish her bowl: the only condition to ask for more. Micro-Ice serves her, and almost all the others in the end. Only Molly has trouble finishing her dish, too far from the flavors she prefers. She takes the opportunity to explain to them the Xyionian equivalents of the vegetables they know, as well as their classic preparations, but in spite of her detailed explanations, everyone is quickly lost.

The meal finishes on this discussion. It is Micro-Ice who collects the bowls by piling them in the empty pot since Mei fell asleep on the sofa, but they all help to clean the possible crumbs of the table or the couches. The usual ritual follows. The endless queue in front of the bathroom for them to brush their teeth (a practice they were all ready to give up, but Mei insisted they keep doing it), everyone going back in their rooms, the shouts to say "good night", and finally, when the clock in her room reads 9pm sharp, all the daytime lights go off in unison. The crackling of the neon lights are gone, leaving a void in the air, and if it weren't for the little lights along the hallway to bring some visibility into the room, the mood could have been heavy.

In the bunk bed next to her, Sanja can't see Adri on the top bunk, but she can hear little notes of music coming out of the strings of her instrument, a sign that her classmate hasn't gone to sleep yet. On the other hand, she can see Molly who continues her reading with a small flashlight. Sanja, on the other hand, grabs her old MP3 player from under her pillow, puts the earphones in her ears and hits the randomize button. She knows the whole repertoire by heart, and all the lyrics, so she challenges herself to sing each song in her head, trying not to make any mistakes. She doesn't make any during her favorite songs, but has more trouble on the few rap and pop songs she doesn't like or are too fast paced. Some are in languages she doesn't know, so she sings them phonetically.

Her little game goes on until 11pm, when she turns down the sound to try to sleep, her headphones still screwed in her ears, her stuffed shark tight in her arms.

That doesn't stop her from hearing Molly leave the room at midnight. Then Adri at 1am. Footsteps pound the hallway several times too.

Sanja gives up when the holographic clock in the room shows 2:25, putting her MP3 under her pillow before getting up. When she arrives in the living room she notices that almost everyone is already there. The small coffee table was pushed to leave a maximum of space on the carpet, and she distinguishes quite a lot of bodies wallowed beside each other, all more or less covered by plaids or covers. The shapeless mass jiggles in some places, and snores in others, but it is not enough to discourage her. Sanja passes between two sofas to join the heap, taking care to step over heads, arms, and cushions of any kind to join a square of carpet that hasn't been claimed yet. As she passes, she meets the eyes of Micro-Ice, lying on his back in the middle of everyone, buried under pieces of different blankets, who gives her a smile. Mei is sleeping right next to him.

Finally, she finds a place not too far from them, she wedges herself between the foot of a sofa and a back she doesn't recognize with so little light, and in less than five minutes, she finally sleeps.