Chapter Two: Discovery
Having one foot in the world of Alpha and one foot in the world of Factory is an odd juxtaposition; a way of living that took some getting used to, though she likes to think she has a pretty good handle on it now. She'd been so angry when she found out that her mother had gotten her father floated that she'd wanted to just leave – but she loved what she was doing with her medical apprenticeship and hadn't wanted to just walk away. And part of her though that if she stayed she'd be able to figure out what exactly her father had been into that had caused so much trouble (though she hadn't been able to yet).
She has a life and friends on Alpha, and didn't want to walk away from all of that. And, if she's being honest, she knows that living on Alpha affords her certain luxuries and opportunities and she would not get if she lived on Factory. Avery grew up on Alpha, but when he had to escape his father, Factory was all he could afford, so he left his engineering apprenticeship and went to work and live on Factory – now he's spoken about like a cautionary tale. Something you tell children to keep them in line.
So instead of leaving, she made a deal with her mother. She'd stand next to Council Woman Griffin when public appearances called for it (Avery called it 'kissing the ring') and act, for the outside world, like all was fine. Additionally, she'd sleep at home on Alpha every-so-often and continue her medical apprenticeship. In exchange, she lived with relative freedom. It was not ideal, but it was working so far.
Clarke checks out of medical with a wave to the admittance clerk at the front desk, "Have a nice couple of days off, Clarke" she calls after her. Clarke turns and says thanks before walking out. It's late – around ten, and all she really wants to do is sleep. She's glad to have the next couple of days off, but doesn't really have any plans either. She goes to the Alpha cafeteria and grabs an apple, she's on her way out when she sees Wells.
"Hey" she says, dropping to the seat across from him.
He startles, looking up from his book and breaking out into a smile when he sees her. "Clarke" he greets with a nod. They're not as close as they used to be. His father floated her father, and she knows that is not his fault, but it can be hard to look at him without replaying the memory of her father being sucked out of an airhole and in to space. But, she still counts him among her closest friends – not that it's a long list. They chat for a while, mostly about easy, light topics, before she continues towards Factory. She grabs another apple on the way out, having had shared her original one with Wells.
She has her key in the lock when she hears voices from inside the pod. It comes back to her, all the sudden, that Avery told her he was going to ask out a girl he worked with, Amelia. Clarke knows her, just barley – they've talked in the cafeteria and in passing but never about anything more than current Ark happenings. She's pretty – tall and brunette, and kind. Clarke knows she could just walk in and past them, to her room, but she is just not in the mood to make small talk so she sighs, pulls her key out of the lock and walks down the hall to the large window.
She boosts herself up and sits on the ledge in front of the window – it's just barley deep enough for her to balance on, and eats her apple. She remembers that there is supposed to be a solar flare tonight, far enough away that it is no danger to them, but close enough that they'll be able to see a pretty spectacular show. She tilts her head back until it comes in contact with the glass and angles her face, waiting for it to come into view.
She hears a door open and close down the hall, and she moves only her eyes to see who it is – with no windows in the pods on Factory she'd expected at least a few people to watch the solar event at the windows on either side of the hallway. She'll move when people start coming. At first, she thinks it's Amelia and wonders idly what Avery did to make her leave (she feels guilty when he second though is that she won't have to sleep back on Alpha tonight if Amelia is leaving). But as the young woman walks closer, she realizes that she is a few years younger than Amelia and herself, and she walks so cautiously that she seems scared. Clarke hops down from the window and the girl jumps, obviously not having seen her. "Sorry" Clarke says, holding a hand out.
She looks from Clarke, back down the hallway towards the pod she came out of, and back to Clarke a few times before seeming to come to a decision, "That's okay" she finally says, quietly. She walks to the window and puts her hands on the ledge that Clarke just jumped down from, leaning in so close that her nose touches the glass. Someone passes behind them to the stairs that lead to Factory Cafeteria and she jumps again, turning away from them.
"I'm Clarke" she says finally, looking out of the window from behind the other girl.
She doesn't say anything for a long time, just keeps looking out the window, "I'm Octavia" she finally says, at a near whisper
"Like the Emperor Augustus's sister?" she asks. Clarke had a pretty long Roman History phase around age 12, being fascinated by the culture and world they lived in.
Octavia turns around at that, a bright smile on her face, "Yeah" she nods excitedly. She hesitates a moment before, "I thought there was going to be a solar flare tonight" she looks down like she's nervous and Clarke wonders why, "I really wanted to see it" she glances anxiously back down the hallway.
"We won't be in range to see it for another few minutes" Clarke answers. She waits a moment, before deciding that Avery wasn't going to anger Amelia, and maybe a shower would do her good, so she should probably stop stalling at get to Alpha. "Well…" she gives a half shrug, "Enjoy" she finally finishes.
"Thank You" Octavia breathes as Clarke walks away. Clarke hops over the rusted-out stair and into the hallway when a man's voice stops her.
"O! I've been looking everywhere for you. What the hell are you thinking?" he shouts at the young woman she was just talking to. Clarke peaks her head out to look at them, try to see what is going on. But her movement alerts him to her presence and he grabs Octavia's arm to quiet her – she's been apologizing since she saw him. He pulls her towards him and down the hall. He hears him hiss to Octavia as they walk; "Do you have any idea who that is, O? She's the Ark princess, she'll have people here inside of five minutes" it's the last thing she hears before they disappear behind a pod door.
She makes the rest of the walk to Alpha trying to make sense of what just happened. She doesn't know why the guy was angry or what he thought she was going to do to them. She makes it home, and starts to get ready to go to sleep. By the time she gets out of the shower, she's all but forgotten the odd exchange.
She never stays out in the common area when she's at home in Alpha, wanting to avoid contact with her mother as much as possible. So, she's in bed reading when he mother comes in from her Council meeting. It's obvious that she's here; she took a shower and has laundry hanging on the line now (hers and Avery's) so she's not surprised when her mom raps on the door. She sits up straighter, then decides to stand before "Yeah"
Her mother breezes in, "How are you, Clarke?"
She nods, "I'm well, you?" it feels like she is talking to a stranger.
"I am well" he mother says it slowly and Clarke nods into the awkward silence that follows. Abby clears her throat, "Were you on Factory Station earlier?" she's trying to sound casual, but failing, so Clarke knows this is going somewhere.
"Of course, I was" she answers. It's more or less where she lives, Abby knows she was there, Clarke just can't figure out where this is going.
"Was anything odd over there?" Abby asks. Clarke narrows her eyes in response. "We had reports of an unrecognized girl in Factory." She pauses, "And that you were talking to her".
Clarke rolls her eyes, "You sound crazy".
"We've had suspicions of a hidden child on that station for a while now, but random searches haven't turned anything up – if you came in contact with it, that would be huge. Someone saw you speaking to a brunette girl they didn't recognize. If you -"
"That is insane" Clarke interrupts, "Hidden siblings are a myth anyway" she turns so she's not facing her mother, the realization of who that girl was and why that boy was so angry she was out dawning on her all at once, "Goose-bump stories the Council spreads to keep people in line. No way a person lives on this ship to be my age without being discovered". Clarke almost believes herself – how has this girl gone un-discovered?
"Then who were you talking to, Clarke?" Abby asks, exasperated.
"Amelia" she answers, remembering how much she thought the young girl looked like Amelia, "She's Avery's new…whatever" she says, not knowing if they are actually dating or not.
Abby sighs and rubs her forehead, "Clarke, I -"
But Clarke cuts her off again, "Is that all you wanted?"
It's silent for a long moment, "No" Abby finally says at a near whisper, "I heard that you broke up with your boyfriend, and thought you might want to talk about it"
Clarke barks out a laugh, "Ajax and I broke up like six weeks ago," she does not mention that Ajax cheated on her, "And if I did want to talk, it wouldn't be with you" Abby looks genuinely wounded at that and Clarke takes a deep breath, "You and I just see the world differently, mom". She hates that she still ultimately wants to spare her mother's feelings and gain her approval. Abby nods a little, and turns to leave. Clarke sighs when she shuts the door behind her.
She drops to her bed heavily. How did she not know that there was a secret child living 4 doors away from where she slept most nights? How does someone live like that – was tonight the first time she ever walked in a hallway or looked out of a window? She lays back on the bed – she understands a mother wanting to keep her child, but it almost seems cruel – what kind of life could Octavia have? She'd have to be born, live, and die all in the same room. Suddenly, the Ark felt a lot bigger.
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