THE PROM
Author: Nyrki
Chapter 4: Heaven and Hell
Many thanks to my reviewers: TCandBTVSluver, PSG1JOHN, Velhu, olischulu, EvilTheLast, XxDeathStarxX and Lsquare. Your feedback is extremely valuable to me.
I wish everybody a great and successful year 2011. Now let's see how Cameron is going to live her first prom night.
Recap: John and Cameron both confirmed their respective dates about the prom. Cameron spent the afternoon to prepare herself and stunned everybody when she went down the stairs. Morris, John and Cameron then left in the limo Sarah had rented for them. They stopped to pick Riley up. During the rest of the journey, Riley openly seduced John in front of a very upset Cameron and heated words were exchanged.
Note: I have reused in this chapter the garage scene from "Ourselves Alone" between Cameron and Riley at some point and readapted it to the context of my story.
D-Day, Friday 8:02pm
Becky Taylor was in the ballroom discussing various frivolous topics with a large group of friends. She frowned. Steven Richards, her boyfriend first and secondarily the school football team quarterback – priority reversed order for him – wasn't listening to her anymore, he was visibly engrossed in something or somebody behind her.
"Steven, are you listening to me?" she asked, annoyed.
"Yeah…" he replied absent-mindedly, not even bothering to look at her.
She turned to see what was so interesting. In the distance, standing at the entrance door within a group of four persons, she noticed an elegant looking girl in a long black dress. It was like she was a little lost, but Becky had to admit she was definitely looking gorgeous.
Who's that girl? She wondered as she couldn't recognize the girl despite the rather short distance. She turned back, upset, and nudged her boyfriend in disapproval.
"Hey Steven! Stop looking at this girl and pay attention to me… or go with her. What does she have that I don't have?" she asked in very sarcastic tone, as if it was the most unlikely thing in the world.
"Becky, um… I think it's Cameron Baum," another girl declared. Sandra was in shock at the impossible vision.
"What?" Becky said, her eyes wide open in disbelief.
She turned again to have a better look and had to face facts. The girl she hated to admit she was now almost jealous of was actually Cameron Baum, the ever oddly dressed weirdo she'd always made fun of with her friends since she'd arrived in school. She couldn't believe at the spectacular transformation. It looked like the chrysalis became a beautiful butterfly. She dismissed the idea however, remembering the death stares she'd earned herself when mentioning her brother, speaking of whom was standing by her side.
She stared at John and found him very elegant in his tuxedo. She thought that there was something military in his attitude, in the noble sense of the word. She considered that maybe she made a mistake not to accept his invitation. Steven was more impressing, but he always had this touch of clumsiness that was somehow jarring with her natural class. At least, this is what she thought.
D-Day, Friday 8:02pm
Upon Morris' encouragements, Cameron entered the ballroom first, very carefully as she wasn't feeling quite comfortable, not exactly knowing what to expect. She examined the ballroom, not only for checking for threats and exits. It wasn't very large, but the dance floor seemed able to accommodate all the dancers. At the far end of the room on the left was the DJ and against the wall were various buffets for eating and drinking. The lighting was too soft for her liking, but she forced herself not to think about it.
When she finally stepped in, with the others in tow, some heads turned towards her. Cameron froze and turned to John.
"John, twenty-one males and nine females are currently looking at me. What's wrong with me? Do they suspect something?" Cameron asked, fearing she already might have to ruin the event by having to terminate everybody.
"No Cam, don't worry. The former admire you, while the latter are jealous of you, nuthin' unusual," John explained, not surprised at all by the effect of Cameron's appearance.
"Oh. Thank you for explaining," Cameron said, reassured.
She felt valued again at the idea that some human girls could be jealous of her. She had already dressed herself and behaved in a way to deceptively seduce persons during missions, for what she had never considered the effect back on herself and it had never worked on females. On top of that, she felt some sense of pride at the fact she could keep her promise because it wasn't originally in the bag.
The group slowly walked over the buffet. John served some drink for Riley and himself.
"Do you want something to drink, Cameron?" Morris asked.
"No, thank you. I'm not thirsty," Cameron replied with a bit of a forced smile.
During these first moments of the party, Cameron appeared engrossed, almost absent. She was thoroughly observing the people around herself. How they talked, how they laughed, how they behaved. It was quite different from their every day's school behavior. People seemed to behave a little more freely, they appeared to show more their inner self.
She realized that it was true for herself too, though in a different manner. She was also taking part in the event as a true person, not infiltrating it nor pretending to be human. She was actually living the event for herself. More than ever in her short life, she had a glimpse of what it meant to be human.
Cameron was indiscreetly peering at a passionately kissing couple like a child would, mouth slightly open and tilting her head, when she heard somebody behind her calling her name.
"Miss Baum?"
Her voice recognition systems instantly informed her that the person who spoke was Mr. Mitchell, her teacher in mathematics. She turned and nodded at the man in his mid-forties walking over her, his hair was almost completely grey, but both his voice and appearance were those of a dynamic man. She already knew all the concepts Mr. Mitchell was trying to teach the class, but she appreciated him for his way of explaining mathematics, so different from SkyNet's. It would never be as short and efficient as a data download, but she found the method interesting. She had even learned new fields of application with him.
"Good evening, Mr. Mitchell," Cameron greeted him.
"Miss Baum, I didn't recognize you at first. Let me tell you, young lady, you look absolutely magnificent tonight," he declared.
Does he mean I usually look bad? Past the small moment of disappointment, Cameron had to admit she still couldn't grab all the subtleties of the human language. She still needed her infiltration protocols but decided to make minimal use of them as a support to keep her cover.
"Thank you Mr. Mitchell. You're very dashing tonight too," was the answer she chose from the list of possibilities her systems proposed on her HUD.
"Thank you." He turned to Morris. "Mr. Villanova, I pay homage to your good fortune."
"Yes, Mr. Mitchell, Cameron is full of surprises," Morris replied with obvious pride.
Riley took the occasion to split the group, knowing that Cameron wouldn't allow it without the help of some external distraction. She leaned over to John and whispered in his ear. "It sucks to just stand around. Come on John, let's go dancing." She took John by his arm before he could say anything and dragged him away. Cameron looked over at John and Riley walking off towards the dance floor, she gave Riley an icy stare that thankfully nobody noticed.
"I have to say I'm a little surprised to see you here." Mr. Mitchell declared, snapping Cameron back into the conversation and unintentionally preventing her from taking any action to keep John close to her.
"Morris asked me and I promised I would." Cameron tersely explained.
"Well, I think this is a good thing. I've noticed that you and your brother were rather lonely. You two kept to yourselves, maybe you more than him however." Mr. Mitchell observed.
"We moved to LA recently. It's hard to make new friends," she lied.
"I imagine it is," the teacher agreed. "However, I'm glad you've decided to come tonight. Your presence is a nice surprise."
Cameron understood that this remark was in relation to his previous statement. "I thought it would be the occasion to better fit in," she replied with the ghost of a smile. It was an adequate answer in regard to her known indifference to social relations, but she knew that it was also true in regard to her true nature.
"You're still so quiet, as if you always want to express your thoughts with the fewest words. Sometimes, I believe that you have a computer in your head," he said, chuckling at his own witticism.
"Who knows?" she mysteriously answered with a small wry grin on her face.
"You know Ms. Baum," Mr. Mitchell continued, "I think that if you continue like this, the most prestigious universities will soon dispute themselves the honor to count you among their students."
This is not my mission.
"This is not my goal," she replied flatly, not picking up what the teacher had in mind.
"Don't underestimate yourself, Miss Baum," he explained. "Keep faith in your capabilities. You're sometimes disconcerting, but you are one of the most brilliant minds I've seen in my carrier," he sincerely complimented her. Brilliant mind, but impaired social interaction and communication as well as restricted behavior, Mr. Mitchell thought that Cameron might be affected by a very slight form of autism.
Cameron was usually taking little attention to what people said, beside valuable information they would give away for her mission. But what Mr. Mitchell said hit something in her. He didn't know what she truly was, but he believed in her capabilities. Only one person had told her that before: John. Not the John who was somewhere amongst the crowd, but the John who sent her back in 1999. He'd told her that he could only trust her, only she had the capabilities to fulfill her protection mission.
The teacher took his leave of the couple. He slightly bowed. "Now, if you would excuse me, the principal is calling me. I wish you a very pleasant party."
"Good evening, Mr. Mitchell" Cameron and Morris said in unison.
This young lady is fascinating, the teacher thought as he was walking off. She's so different from her brother and her mother. I wish I had the chance to meet her father. He must have been someone special and teach her much. I bet he was working in the computer industry.
Pleasant. Indeed, Cameron was pleased with her conversation with Mr. Mitchell. She made a mental note to analyze their discussion further later. However, she was annoyed that Riley had taken John away from her, but fortunately, she'd been able to track them in permanence. Being an advanced machine had sometimes its advantages. She could run a background task to keep watch on John and Riley while keeping up a conversation with Morris and Mr. Mitchell. She could even filter the reigning noise and record the runaways' conversation. It wasn't ideal, but the situation was still under control.
###
Not far from the ballroom, Sarah got out of the SUV and locked it with the remote, John being in possession of the other one. She looked for a short moment at the building from which the muffled music came from and then rapidly got in the passenger seat of Derek's truck which slowly left the school parking lot with the characteristic growl of its V8 engine.
"I'm glad John could date a girl and go to the prom. Sure, he needs to keep his head in the game, but everybody needs to let the pressure go at some time," Derek joyfully said. What he didn't say is that he was happy that John had dated a real girl and even happier that the metal was being pulled away in the process. The only fly in the ointment being that it was at the prom too. Poor guy, he thought of Morris. I hope he won't attempt anything inconsiderate. He might not live long enough to regret it. He finally frowned in disgust about the idea of making out with a terminator, would it be in the shape of a stunning female teenager.
"Yeah…" Sarah answered absent-mindedly. Needless to say she cared about her son like all mothers. John was going to the Prom tonight and therefore she couldn't help but thinking he was getting over another step in his life, far too soon for her taste. She was still considering the little boy she'd always had to protect, maternal instincts are very powerful. The way he was looking at Cameron sometimes wasn't helping either.
However, she maybe had more reasons to worry than the other mothers, about his condition in general, but also specifically about tonight. John was out in a public place and clearly not in the mood of caring about his own security. Thankfully, Cameron was still around. Not that it completely reassured her though, the cyborg was behaving curiously lately, and Sarah was not quite sure what to think about it.
Just as if he'd read in her mind, Derek suddenly declared, "I don't know what the machine is up to, Sarah. I don't like that."
Sarah imperceptibly flinched at the coincidence and looked over to him with an involuntary slight expression of surprise on her face. His joyful mood was gone, he was now all serious. Her reaction to Derek's blunt statement made her realize at what point Cameron had started to find her way to Sarah's heart. Too deep to her liking. She stayed silent while she thought about the machine and what Derek had just said.
"All this fuss about her preparation, I'm sure she wants to seduce and keep John close," Derek reasoned.
"Her, she? So this is how you call Cameron now? No more 'it' and 'metal'?" Sarah teased him with a mocking grin on her face.
Derek loathed himself for even not noticing. "Okay, you got me on this one. The outside and behavior maybe deceiving, but I'll never forget what's inside. Never!"
"Neither will I, but Cameron really seems different now… She said at the beginning that she would learn. Now I can see she's grown, I'm scared that I don't know where it'll lead her… and even more scared that she doesn't either."
"I think she… uh, it wants to intensify its influence over John… slowly but surely alter his way of thinking about machines. Might cause him take the wrong decision in time… and lose the war." He paused to make sure what he said was properly understood. Then "Machines are deceiving, devious, wicked and manipulative, with only one goal: kill all humans," he convincingly said.
Derek never expected Sarah's reaction to his last statement. She chuckled.
"What?" Derek asked in shock. Sarah's reaction was so out of place that he couldn't think about an adequate justification. "Is my fly open? Did my eyes glow red when I said it?"
As her only answer, she nodded towards something outside right in front of the truck. There was an advertisement of the WALL-E movie.
"Damn Sarah, we're not in some kind of cute sci-fi animation movie or lousy TV series. It's for real," Derek said in a louder tone, now upset that Sarah wasn't apparently catching the message.
"I don't know, Derek. Maybe you're right. It seems to me she just wanted to do this prom stuff, without being particularly up to something. I don't know why though," Sarah explained.
"Be careful Sarah, looks like it's twisting you round its little finger too," Derek warned her. "First the son, now the mother!" He started to think that Cameron's wicked plan included seducing Sarah too. Its main target would be easier to reach. With that, he admitted that the metal was starting to understand human relations quite well to undertake such action.
"No way," Sarah blurted out with much assurance, but inwardly, she felt the wall of her beliefs she though was indestructible starting to fissure.
###
John and Riley stopped dancing to get some refreshments. Riley leaned against the buffet table and took a provocative posture, exaggerated by arching her back and tilting her head back, putting her generous bust forward as a consequence. "So John, are you enjoying yourself?" she asked coyly.
John turned red at the obvious and less than subtle seducing maneuver. "Yeah, this is fun," he simply admitted. He was spending a nice moment with a nice girl who just seemed to find him attractive, oblivious of his real name and destiny. He liked this little game of seduction Riley was playing with him even if he couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed with the girl's straightforward ways. He felt more like a normal teenager with their futile concerns, putting future General Connor in the background, at least for a moment. He knew he would come back soon enough.
"I'm feeling good spending time with you. I feel free with you. Do you?" Riley said seductively.
"Yes, we're free… for now."
Riley reached and planted a kiss on John's cheek.
"Uh, what was that for?" he asked, grinning.
"Oh, just because you're a handsome boy and I'm happy to be with you," she offered.
She put her glass down, took John's hand and dragged him towards the dancing crowd again.
In the meantime, Cameron was spending the evening with Morris but she seemed a little absent, constantly observing. He served himself a second glass of punch, he thought that a little help to overcome is shyness towards Cameron would be more than welcome.
That's weird, he thought. It looks like she's still watching that girl Riley. Starting to feel the urge to execute his plan, he gathered his courage and asked, "Shall we dance, Cameron?"
Cameron tactfully declined Morris' invitation. "No."
"Why Cameron? This is a great occasion for dancing."
"I don't know how to perform this kind of dance." Cameron deadpanned.
"You don't?" Morris said in surprise, but he immediately bit his lower lip. He remembered number 16 of the 'fifty most common mistakes boys make with girls' he thoroughly went over this afternoon: 'Don't point out girls' lacks of knowledge. They would feel belittled and therefore seek somebody nicer to them.' He tried to take a casual expression and went to something more positive. "Look, this is not difficult. Can I show you?"
Cameron thought dancing would be a way to better fit in and to get closer to John and Riley too. "Yes, I would be pleased," she accepted with a small smile.
Morris finished his glass in one gulp. He resolutely took Cameron's hand and she let herself be taken to the dance floor. She stood still in the middle of agitated people, not knowing what to do.
"Don't be shy. Nobody will laugh at you. Just listen to the music and move in rhythm," Morris told her.
Cameron launched another noise analysis process. She analyzed the music and calculated the main tempo and frequency levels. However, she couldn't figure out how to move according to these parameters. Ballet moves were more codified, the routines were easy to learn.
She decided to try something she learned without the help of her infiltration routines, so she performed some ballet moves she believed appropriate according to the music and that her slit dress allowed to do, earning herself some strange looks.
"Wow Cameron, that was… interesting," Morris appreciated, taking great care in his choice of words. "But you know dancing is…"
"…the language of the soul," she finished. "Wasn't that routine appropriate?" she asked, confused.
"Cameron, you can dance the way you wish. I'm just trying to teach you something more…" Morris took his time to choose the right word again. It was not the right time to hurt her. And he did. "…conventional," he told her. "Take a look at the others."
Cameron analyzed the various female dancers' moves and only started mimicking at first.
"These are erratic movement patterns. I can see no relation with the sound," Cameron deadpanned. Regretfully, she started to consider increasing her infiltration levels not to blow her cover. Dancing was so obvious and easy for humans, so she thought her difficulties could be suspicious.
"Close your eyes and just feel the beat, baby," Morris advised her.
Giving herself a last chance and ever wishing to learn, Cameron complied, even if she didn't understand how she could 'feel' music. She knew, or at least thought it could only be listened to. However, after a moment, she realized she could match the tempo of the music with her own movements and she felt a sensation akin to when she danced ballet. She found the experience of executing this very tribal act pleasing. They danced like this for a long moment and Morris marveled at Cameron's graceful moves.
At some point, an R&B hit from a famous singer was being played. Cameron remembered watching the corresponding video clip during one of the numerous nights she spent watching TV to learn… well, anything she could about humans. She fetched the file she'd recorded, finding at the moment that the dancer's movements were very unnatural and devoid of any meaning. She started performing the very daring and sensual dance routine the exact same way the artist did it, first under surprised then interested and finally admiring stares from people around, including Morris.
From her ballet experience, Cameron knew that reproducing a known routine was a way of dancing. When she recorded it from TV, she didn't understand at all, making a mental note to analyze it further. Unexpectedly, that time had now come. She'd learned much about humans and herself since then and beyond the pleasure provided by dancing, she started to grab the sensuality brought out of the routine, but that only lead her to another question.
I don't understand. I though it wasn't appropriate to display sensuality in public. However, while still flawlessly performing and highly enjoying it, she never stopped analyzing, thanks to her heavily multi-tasking system. She crossed the question with the observation she'd made short after she entered the ballroom, concerning the difference in people's behavior compared to normal school days. She came to the conclusion that there were different moments and places for different behaviors. The sole purpose of a party was to enjoy it, extend people's relations and possibly tying new ones. She found that dancing was a powerful act of seduction in this regard. She wished she could experiment her last brainwave with John, but immediately felt sad at the idea that she probably wouldn't be able to for a long time.
A pretty slender black girl joined her not long after she started and they synchronously performed. At the end, the people around them were over-enthusiastic, heavily applauding both of them. Before leaving, the black girl nodded at Cameron with a thumb up and a smile full of respect, wondering to herself how a tiny white teenage girl could move so well. Cameron gently smiled back, pleased by this small interaction.
Morris' took time to pick his jaw up off the ground. He thought that Cameron was remarkably talented for a girl who claimed that she didn't know how to dance less than half an hour ago.
Cameron enjoyed some more dancing when suddenly, a warning flashed on her HUD. Her surveillance process informed her that Riley was moving away from John. Her joy did not last long as she listened to the last reported statement by Riley, "Sorry John, I have to go to the bathroom. I won't be long."
Cameron seized the occasion to regain the control of the situation. She told Morris with a slight apologetic look, "Sorry Morris, I have to go to the bathroom. I won't be long."
"Okay, I'll be waiting for you at the buffet."
Cameron headed towards the bathroom in straight line in her usual purposed terminator pace, jostling several dancers in her path. She looked at Riley entering the girls' washroom and entered too just a few seconds later.
To Cameron's satisfaction, the girl and the machine were alone in the room. Riley negligently turned to see who had entered after her and winced in realization of who it was. Cameron came up to Riley but stopped at a respectable distance from her. "What am I going to do with you?" Cameron asked, looking right into Riley's eyes.
"I don't understand. I don't know what you mean." Riley said, confused.
Cameron came straight to the point. "You're constantly trying to take John away from us. Are you trying to break up our family?"
"No. John wants to keep his distance from you. I'm just here." Riley replied. She was starting to worry. Her face was showing the stress of being alone with Cameron.
"You don't belong here. John isn't right for you and you're not right for him," Cameron stated. Her left hand twitched, which Riley noticed. "He can't see that." She walked over to Riley, slowly, menacingly.
Riley cringed. "Stop, please, you're freaking me out." She was now afraid, unsure of what the machine might do.
But Cameron was in a big quandary. Her logic was yelling that Riley was a threat and that she should kill her right now, but something she confusedly could only refer to as 'instinct' was telling her not to. There was definitely something strange about Riley' behavior and she knew John wouldn't be happy if she did. So she couldn't decide which direction to take. "You're unreliable. I don't know what to do with you," she stated quietly but still menacingly.
Riley was on the verge of panicking. "I'm just John's girlfriend. That's it."
Cameron felt a pang of anger. "You can't be John's girlfriend. You're a threat," she stated as she came even closer. "You can't stay here anymore. But I can't let you leave," she concluded. Her face was now centimeters away from Riley's. "What am I going to do with you?" she dithered.
Riley wondered why Cameron was hesitating, despite her crystal clear speech. She knew it was her only chance to escape, but she had to say something convincing to save herself. "Nothing! You're John's sister. You can't do anything to me."
Cameron tilted her head and smirked. "They don't always like the way I do things."
Someone suddenly entered the room. Becky Taylor moved in and looked at a blonde girl who was visibly afraid of the person being spoken to. Wait! Cameron Baum again?
"Help! She's trying to kill me!" Riley cried out.
"I know," Becky said in a very detached tone. "She does that all the time, believe me these are idle threats, don't worry."
"What crime did you commit anyway?" she continued. "Wait, I know! You said something bad about her brother, didn't you?" she declared with an accusing look to Cameron who turned to glare at her.
Riley took her chance and rushed outside the bathroom.
"You can't help it, can you?" Becky sighed and turned to face the mirror.
Cameron stayed still and silent for a moment then quietly left the room too, while Becky was reapplying some lipstick.
Riley hid in a small storeroom and hunched to let the intense fear drop. Her heart was only starting to slow down when she heard the steady and eerie slamming of high heels echoing in the corridor. It was her… it. Through the frosted window of the door, she saw the slender silhouette of the machine passing by. She closed her eyes and put in her hands on her ears, feeling the panic flow again. She remained so, until she couldn't hear the sound anymore. It reminded her from the time she was a tunnel rat and hid in an attempt to escape from the terminators when they broke up into the camp. She stayed in the storeroom a few minutes to calm down. Only then she started to think properly again. This is how deadly and mischievous the machine could be. She felt reinforced in her mission to save John from it. Come on, Riley! You have to do it. She stood up and went back to John. She let a sigh of relief when she saw no Cameron beside John.
John smiled when he saw Riley approaching. "Where have you been? I was starting to worry." His smile rapidly faded when he saw her stare. It wasn't anymore the cheerful look she had when she left. Now he could just see… fear.
"Hey Riley, what happened? Who–" He stopped as realization soon hit him.
Cameron! Who else?
"Riley, did Cameron hassle you or something?" he asked her with a concerned look.
Riley hesitantly nodded.
John was mad at Cameron. There was something wrong with Cameron when it came to Riley. He started to leave in search of Cameron but Riley took his arm and held him back.
"No John. Please stay with me…" she pleaded.
"Okay, but I'll have to talk with her about what she did."
"Maybe later, but for now, gimme something to drink and after we're going back to dance. I just want to be with you." She proposed John with a smile she hoped was convincing enough to hide her dread.
###
Derek parked the truck in the house yard and they both slowly got back into the house. It was still daylight and the air temperature was perfect. The mildness of the dying day was pleasing, inviting to idleness.
Derek headed right towards the kitchen, got two beers out of the fridge, uncapped them and gave one to Sarah on his way back to the living room. He flopped into the couch, crossed his legs over the coffee table and switched the TV on. He soon found himself zapping channels rapidly, unable to find a football match, everything else being crap for him. Well, maybe not all, but the rest he preferred some privacy to watch.
He'd already got through almost all the available channels when Sarah came over, unceremoniously tossed his feet away from the coffee table and sat on the couch beside him. She took a sip of her beer, and started looking at the TV set too, putting up with Derek's frantic changes of channel.
"Is this the way people watch TV in the future?" Sarah asked with a very serious tone.
Derek looked at her with a quizzical look. "The only TV sets we have in the future are linked to surveillance cameras. Nothing really sexy," Derek retorted.
"Oh! Now I understand the regular and constant changes of channels. No more automatic switches, so they asked you to manually do it. I can see you became an expert," Sarah replied with a grin on her face.
"Look, this is mean," he started and then let it go "Bah", considering that it was useless to argue with Sarah. He continued to make extended use of the remote until Sarah snapped it away from his hand and switched the TV off.
"What are you doing?" Derek asked, annoyed.
"Derek, the kids are out to the prom. Why wouldn't we get the chance to make our own little prom party too?" Sarah proposed. There was no immediate threat, so she considered it wasn't a bad idea that the adults may relax a bit too.
"Where? What? You want to go out?"
"No, I mean we can do it here, ourselves alone," Sarah said.
Derek smiled and looked Sarah right into her eyes. "Is that actually… a date?" he asked, amused.
Sarah squirmed. "Duh no, I just thought that it wouldn't be unfair we take a break too," she uncomfortably explained.
Derek thought he seldom had the upper hand over Sarah, so there was no way he wouldn't take advantage of it.
"Well, well, well. Let the mother aside and then the girl soon resurfaces. Go upstairs to slip into your prom dress. Take your time, I'll just go out and rent a tux. John gave me the address," he said taking his trucks keys and pretending to leave the house.
"I don't require that you pull out all the stops for me, silly," Sarah replied, trying to get out of the trap. Then she reconsidered and decided to challenge Derek. "To hell Reese, that's okay, I'll go upstairs and prepare myself, we meet again right here in an hour sharp. You'd better be ready," she said, pointing down the place they currently were.
She turned her heels and headed towards the stairs, leaving Derek to his considerations. She locked herself up in her room and stripped off her clothes. She slipped on red lace underwear which she concealed so well even Cameron couldn't find them. Then she took from her closet a sexy tight white dress she bought some weeks ago, just in case… well she didn't know why she bought it. Perhaps she did because it just pleased her, secretly and hopelessly wishing that she had the occasion to… And tonight was the perfect occasion. She slipped into the dress and decided on playing the game with Derek completely. She brushed her hair and when she was satisfied with it, undertook to apply make-up and some perfume she borrowed to Cameron. Shame on me, she thought to herself as a playful smile formed on her lips.
She felt really excited to prepare for an event unrelated to Skynet or terminators. She felt ashamed but it was so good she applied herself to her preparation like a teenage girl for her very first prom. For a second, she wondered if Cameron had felt the same way in her room this afternoon, before immediately dismissing the idea the cyborg could feel something so human and complex.
Sixty five minutes after having left Derek, she got out of her room on her way back to the living room. Sixty five and not sixty, not because she was late, but just because a girl had to keep boys waiting. She couldn't help but mincing a bit too much while getting down the stairs. She noticed that not only was Derek there, but he was actually wearing a tuxedo.
How did he manage to do that?
At the sound of Sarah's first steps on the stairs, Derek looked at his watch and started, "You're five minutes la–". The word lost itself in his throat as he peered up to Sarah and gaped in awe at the vision.
Sarah noticed. She smiled and said, "What? Can't I make myself presentable?"
"Wow Sarah, you look really great," Derek clumsily said.
"Why thank you Derek," she appreciated, gently closing Derek's mouth by lifting his chin with her right forefinger.
"Would you mind getting me a drink Derek? It's not polite to let a girl be thirsty!" she asked in a very coy manner.
"Uh, sorry. Make yourself comfortable, I'll bring some more beers," Derek answered and soon disappeared in the kitchen.
He's beyond redemption, Sarah though in a sigh.
As he made his way back to the living room with an armful of beers he wished was sufficient to let them rest at least for a short moment until he would have to fetch some anew, he heard the first notes of music.
"What's that?"
"Music from the 80's. Maybe you forgot about it."
"I know what it is, thanks. You're not going to let that crap playing, are you?"
"Crap? Are you kidding? This is the best music ever. They couldn't make somethin' even close since then," Sarah said.
"Live in your time Sarah," he advised her.
"This is not really my time…" Sarah replied with some melancholy. I cheated to be here and now, she thought. "And neither is yours, remember?" she added.
"This is right. But as soon as the only music we have in the future is from our weapons, I'm entitled to appreciate any music from my past… which is actually now, by the way."
"Stop it Reese. I don't need to catch a headache now!" Sarah snapped.
"Anyway, the only music I like from the eighties is rock," Derek indicated.
"Okay let me guess which genre. I'd bet… metal. I hope you prefer it from this period because in the future, it seems rather ironic that metal is used for… killing" Sarah said with a voice full of sarcasm.
Derek froze at Sarah's most unexpected declaration. For a moment, he didn't know to react. Then he burst out laughing, a huge and sincere laugh.
Sarah, who also froze at first at her own boldness, soon started to chuckle and then joined Derek in his roars of laughter. It took them several minutes to calm down, until Derek was able to say something.
"Damn Connor, you've never dished out that much self mockery before… But that was hell of a good one," he appreciated.
He left his beer up and Sarah knocked her own bottle into Derek's. "Fuck the metal for tonight," Derek joyfully declared as they did.
At Sarah's sudden frown, Derek could only give her a surprised look again. "What?"
Then he realized what he'd just said. "No, I… This is not what I meant. I… I'm sorry." He then wore a disgusting look. "Eww". He loathed himself for suggesting something he always considered that could never happen.
It was Sarah's turn to burst out laughing.
"If you could have seen your face… So funny," she barely managed to say between laughing and wiping tears from her eyes.
"Yeah, right" Derek muttered, wondering how he could have left the situation slip like that and lose the upper hand on Sarah in the process.
###
Cameron decided not to inform John about her encounter with Riley. There was nothing conclusive about it, but there was something strange about this Riley she couldn't quite put a finger on. She was annoyed not being able to find out. She located John anew and saw Riley walking in his direction. She knew John would inevitably tell her off now about scaring Riley, unless… But there was nothing she could do for the moment. She went back towards Morris, her usual blank expression on her face.
Morris didn't fail to notice her mood swing. "Is there something wrong, Cameron? You've been gone a very long time," he asked.
"Nothing I can't deal with," Cameron responded flatly and looked away, indicating that the conversation was over.
Here is the Cameron I know again, uncommunicative and disturbing.
Morris hesitated about the action to take. Something must have happened during her absence, Cameron looked impressively tenser than before she went to the bathroom. He didn't dare asking her the reason. Anyway, he hardly dared asking her anything when she was like that. He needed her to be in a better mood if he wanted to make out with her. He took a sip of his glass of punch and then another to help him think.
What can I do now to cheer her up again?
He got unexpected help from the DJ who chose this moment to play softer music. He jumped at the chance and invited Cameron to dance a slow number with him, sensing that it would probably be the right moment to make his move if she were to relent.
"Would you like to dance again, Cameron?" Morris tentatively asked.
Cameron decided she could resume her 'prom' activities, as there was anything she could do concerning Riley for the moment. "Another type of dance?" Cameron inquired, noticing the change in the type of music.
"Yes, I can show you if you would allow me," Morris tentatively proposed. "This one is danced in couple. I know you'll do perfect," Morris said, satisfied he retained the lesson this time.
Cameron nodded and they went on the dance floor again. This time, Cameron observed the other dancers first and let Morris come closer, take her left hand, move his left arm around her waist and place his hand in the small of her back. She put her right hand on his left shoulder, mimicking the other female dancers' position. Despite the correct position, Cameron felt very uncomfortable with the closeness to Morris. She remained very stiff and tried to maintain some distance between them while dancing.
She's shy, Morris thought. She's impressed. It's almost time. Morris tried to get closer and let his left hand wander a little lower than necessary.
Cameron noticed the change in Morris' posture. What is he doing? She restored a little distance but did it gently, using only a fraction of her strength, forcing Morris to reposition his arm properly.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Morris whispered in her ear, barely covering the music.
"Yes, I am", she replied flatly, not really knowing what to say, but willing to maintain a good atmosphere. Despite Morris' slightly unsteady balance, she found this new dance interesting and hoped to experience it with John later. Again, she doubted she would tonight according to the current course of events.
"You make me feel good, you know that Cameron?" Morris said, leaning his head over hers.
Cameron did not reply. She was feeling more and more uncomfortable. She understood what Morris was up to but still didn't know how to prevent him.
In front of Cameron's apparent docility and in the euphoria brought by alcohol, Morris decided to make his move. She's speechless. She's ready. This is now or never!
He let his hand slip down on Cameron's ass and tried to close the distance between their lips in an attempt to kiss her. Predictably enough, Cameron's reaction time was much faster, so he failed.
"No!" she cried.
Forced to the wall, she forcefully pushed him away. He staggered back and hit a couple behind him, they almost fell to the ground. She walked over him and slapped him. Fortunately for Morris, a safeguard process prevented her to apply the force corresponding to her current anger otherwise he would have been instantly decapitated. That wouldn't have been an appropriate social behavior.
For Morris, however, the slap was strong enough and he put his hand on his reddening cheek. He looked back in confusion at a very upset Cameron.
"You can't… I would never allow you to… Only John… could..." She stuttered, not quite able to control her words in anger. Her face betrayed her anger and she threw him an icy stare.
"I'm sorry Cameron. I thought you and me… could be together." Morris apologized, trying to justify his behavior.
She fought the desire to hurt him some more. Why do I feel like that? It's inadequate and useless. Winning the improbable battle for self-control, she finally said in a tone that let him no choice, "Morris, please go."
Hurt as much physically as in his pride and deeply disappointed, Morris turned and went away with his head hanging down. Only then he picked up Cameron's slip. John?
Cameron left the dance floor in the opposite direction. The incident was rapidly forgotten by the crowd and everybody resumed dancing. Disappointed and not knowing exactly what to do in such a situation, Cameron went back to the buffet, took a glass and sat into one of the numerous free chairs. The dancing floor was crowded and everyone seemed to greatly enjoy the party. She had no intention to drink anything, but her infiltration routines informed her that she would be less suspicious with a glass in her hand.
She didn't notice much when a guy sat into the chair next to hers.
"Hey, pretty princess," came the voice from her left.
Only one person had called her so before. She was so happy John wasn't upset with her after all the mess that she failed to mention the warning from her voice recognition routine that appeared on her HUD.
"Oh John, I'm sorry I–" Cameron said, smiling and turning her head but her voice trailed off in realization the guy wasn't who she hoped it was. She cringed a bit. On her HUD was a yellow icon displayed with the mention 'No voice match found'.
"You know me?" the guy said. Then without waiting for an answer he added, "My… My little princess… knows – hic – me, J… John Sullivan." While speaking, the guy was holding in his right hand a half-filled glass that he threatened to spill at each of his moves and a bottle in the other. He had an unsteady balance and his eyes seemed like they were glassy. He was smiling stupidly at Cameron.
Cameron's expression went to blank as quickly as the time it took her to realize her mistake. "No, I don't. I mixed you up with…" she tried to explain the man.
"Yeah, I'd love to get mixed up with you," he cut her off as he leaned a bit closer.
"No, I was just saying I mixed you up with somebody else," she patiently explained.
"No you don't… princess… I… I'm the guy you're looking for… I like the vibe you're giving in my direction… I think you're saying let's damp, uh, dance… C… Ch… Check this out," the guy said and he ridiculously wriggled on his chair, almost falling off.
She consulted her thesaurus. Vibe = short for vibration. "I'm currently not emitting any vibration of any kind beside my voice," she informed.
"C'mon baby, can't you see? Don't rely… uh, deny we were bound to mate… uh, hic, meet," he stuttered.
The man's speech and behavior were making no sense to Cameron. She dismissed the idea he was a terminator, so she thought that perhaps this human was mentally deficient. "Your brain seems to be damaged. Maybe Alzheimer's disease, you seem out of control of thought, memory and language," she said.
"Uh? Wh… What do you mean? I'm in total controvers… construct, hum, control of my b.. body, including…" The drunken man's voice trailed off as he looked down at his crotch. "Want to edify… verify?" he burst out.
Cameron smirked, not only at the gross hint, but also because her systems reported that the air breathed out by the man was heavily impregnated with alcohol. So much, in fact, that it overloaded her sensors, in reaction to which she wrinkled her nose.
"You're drunk," Cameron stated.
"No, I'm… hic… not," he replied while trying to remain upright. "…tipsy at the most." With that, he filled in his glass from his bottle and then a second that he offered to Cameron.
Cameron shook her head in refusal. She wondered how the guy could deny the obvious fact.
He slightly shrugged and gulped his glass all down. "C'mon baby. L… Let's go dancing," he resumed.
Cameron remembered the advice that Linda, the girl who replaced Eric at the library, gave her in order to push unwanted ones away, among which drunken people who were, in her opinion, the thickest ones, a statement about which Cameron required further explanation, as she didn't understand the relation between being drunk and a physical characteristic.
"I have a boyfriend," she deadpanned. She wished it was true.
"And where is he? Where's your procurer, uh… protector then?" the guy said, spreading his arms and looking around in a demonstration that the absent are always in the wrong.
"No, I am his protector," Cameron found accurate to rectify.
"Uh? You protecting your boyfriend?" the drunken man said in surprise, soon after which he chuckled. "Who can be so weak he has to rely on his tiny, defenseless boyf… uh, girlfriend to protect him?"
Cameron fought the urge to terminate the guy right away. Not because of his appreciation of her, though. The fact was, she hated hearing people talking about her John in unpleasant terms. "John, I mean my John, will save mankind one day," Cameron said convincingly.
"… but currently not his girlfriend," he completed.
Cameron looked down. She knew it was wishful thinking to consider John as her boyfriend. Beyond the fact that she was more than able to ensure her own safety, she thought that John currently wouldn't rush in to protect her. She confusedly thought she would be glad if he did.
Drunk but noticing Cameron's hesitation, the guy proposed, "Don't you prefer me p... protecting you instead?"
"No," Cameron said louder, glaring back at the guy. "I'm not interested. You're drunk," she repeated with a little more insistence.
But the guy didn't get flustered. "Yes, I'm drunk and now I want to fill… er no, not yet… feel you up."
Oops.
Fortunately for him, Cameron was not able to catch his slip. Surprised by the direct request to do something that normally required a followed relationship and pushed by her natural curiosity, she asked "Why would I let you do that?"
Surprised but glad not to be thrown away, the guy just said "Well, you know…" Then thinking he could still possibly seduce the girl, he added "…foreplay, before we move to something more serious."
"Doesn't that involve feelings and a relationship beforehand?" she asked.
"Why b… bother with feelings, it's going to be a one night stand," the guy bluntly said with a lustful look.
One night stand guard? So nothing serious after all. "Okay I'm on, I do that every night," the cyborg replied.
The guy cringed, not believing what he was hearing. He was surprised that the girl gave in so easily, but finally smiled at his own luck. "Oh, under your innocent looks, you're a slut. We're going to get well off, you and me," he said placing his hand on her thigh and caressing her soft skin.
Cameron did not understand the relation between a one night stand and the guy's overfamiliar and unacceptable behavior with her. She now wanted the guy to leave. She put her hand on his and started to squeeze it. She initially wanted to break a couple of his fingers and throw the nuisance out for good but there were too many people around, so she decided to change her mind. Besides, she thought that she deserved a little distraction too. So she simply stopped his hand from going further up her thigh and said with a slight but devious grin, "Not here. Let's have fun somewhere… quieter."
The guy beamed and he emptied his glass in one gulp before he attempted to stand up. He lost his balance but Cameron efficiently prevented him from falling to the ground.
"Thanks," he said.
"You're welcome. Hey, I think we'll need this," Cameron said, holding the bottle that was at the origin of his current condition.
"Yeah. C'mon babe," the man just replied, feeling the urge to take action at last. He seized the bottle from one hand and then Cameron's ass with the other.
Again?
Oblivious to the fact he escaped death by a hair's breadth for the second time in a couple of minutes, the man lead Cameron away from the dance to a Janitor's closet. He never noticed either that the 'tiny girl' effortlessly handled his weight all the way long, otherwise he wouldn't have gone much farther than his chair.
After finally helping him to sit on the chair, Cameron closed the door and the blind. She turned to face the man.
"Oh, you're going to be naughty, aren't you?" he said, drinking yet another glassful straight from the bottle.
"Yes, I am," Cameron confirmed with a devious grin.
The guy had difficulties standing up but succeeded after some pathetic attempts. "You really turn me on, little bitch," he said, trying to reach her.
Turn on? Humans are not machines, they can't be turned on and off. She thought that it would sometimes be useful nonetheless.
As soon as he was at the right distance, Cameron prepared herself to knock him out, lifting up her right arm at head's level and clenching her fist. But the man was moving slower and slower, ending practically still at arm's length and with a vacant stare. Cameron tilted her head, confused, before she realized alcohol had finally got the better of him. So instead of punching him, she put her left forefinger on his forehead and pushed very slightly. The man collapsed back to the ground, unconscious and… loudly snoring.
If only battles were all that easy to win, she thought to herself. But not all enemies spoil their own capabilities like humans do. This is a serious flaw in their design.
Cameron took the bottle and spilled the remaining contents on the passed out man. She put the empty bottle in his hand and started to leave. She was about to open the door when she had second thoughts and went back to the man. She unbuttoned his pants before leaving for good, hoping he will be discovered in this embarrassing situation. Next time he will think twice, she thought.
Cameron went back into the ballroom and withdrew at the far end of the room in the shadows, she was feeling betrayed. I only promised Morris to go to the prom with him and that man… Why do all humans always try to abuse someone else's confidence? She wondered. The events were not turning as she expected. Not only John and Riley were still together, visibly enjoying themselves, but also the party was taking a disastrous turn for the worse for Cameron.
Hurt deeper than she would admit and not really encouraged to let her human side express it, Cameron involuntarily reverted to her more cyborg-like ways. She stood motionless and resumed watching John and Riley as her main task. She quickly spotted them again, but she felt a very unpleasant sensation to see them locked into a tender embrace. She could not maintain a blank expression. The feeling of failure was so deep it slowly appeared on her face. For the first time, she wondered if she could fail her protection mission. The image of Future-John in the TDE room, minutes before he'd sent her back popped in her mind. He'd told her that he was sure she would succeed. Worse, she knew what Present-John would soon tell her. I'm sorry John, she thought sadly. I failed you. I'm only a machine.
END OF CHAPTER