Oz Victorious
Chapter Five: Welcome
When the clocks told the world it was four thirty, the sun had yet to rise over the manmade horizon. Laying awake, Freddie held his left hand between his head and pillow, texting with his right. Addie was nervous about school today, and was thinking about having her mom call her in sick.
fred-e: it'll b ok, bud.
add-e: i just dont thnk i cn do it 2day
fred-e: it's only gonna gt worse if u avoid it.
add-e: my stomach's upset
fred-e: i cn stay wth u all day 2day. will u go then?
Message sent 2 min ago
add-e: ok
Poor, shy little Addie Singer, Ms. Benson called the girl once, trying not to cry at the sounds of what other students said and did to her. Freddie took the girl's hand as the two walked down the hallway. As usual, Addie stared at the floor. "You feeling any better?" Freddie asked, his voice calm as he looked over at his friend.
"Alittle bit," the golden-haired girl answered, taking her gaze away from the tiles. "Did you think about that audition?"
"Yeah, I did," Freddie happily responded. "I think I'm gonna do it." The brunette boy smiled at his friend, who more than returned the gesture. Four days to go.
"That's great!" Addie shrieked before catching herself. "I know you're gonna get it. You just need to have some faith in yourself." Not knowing how to respond, the young man nodded, trying to appear comfortable with the compliment. "You're gonna be good."
"I don't wanna be good..." Freddie replied, his voice warm and growing hushed. "I wanna be great."
The golden-haired young woman gazed at her friend. "You will be," she whispered.
"Thank you," the brunette boy replied. "Hey, I wanna give you something." Reaching into his pocket, Freddie found what he wanted to give, and pulled it out. "It's just a jump drive, but it has my first programs and those pictures of us from that trip our school took to the park. I know you're kind of into tech stuff, so...here you go."
"Thanks," Addie said, taking the plastic device. "So, this has all the stuff you learned back in Information Processing?"
"Every byte of it," Freddie answered, a hint of levity in his voice. "Keep it safe."
"I will," the young woman replied with a smile, tucking the jump drive into her pocket. The two then continued down the hallway, their hands interlocked.
Setting up a green screen in the living room, Freddie stepped behind his mounted camera, signaled for his mother to ready herself, then hit the record button. Smiling, Ms. Benson awaited the simple screen to be digitally transformed into a sunset-lit beach by her son's computer skills. "Say 'cheese', Mom," the young man declared. Outside, the night's sky shined with thousands of bright stars.
In another world, the sun rose above the hills to reveal a beautiful yellow hue, accompanied by rose-red streaks cascading over the land. Sitting on the grass, listening to the wind gently pass by, Freddie let out a sigh of relief, dropping his head back into the cool embrace of the breeze. A flock of young birds, painted with the colors of the roses around them, took flight into the breath-taking sky, their wings flapping valiantly. Only three days left.