06/06/2053
(Present)
"Mister Eros, your appointment is here."
I'm standing in front of the large window of my office. The city is spreading out below me, quiet, distant. I don't turn around.
"Make him come up", I say neutrally, almost away, to my secretary.
I've hardly said it when I hear hurried steps… then a thud.
"He's already…!"
My secretary's voice is cut. He just shoved her to enter, without any courtesy. I don't even need to turn around to imagine the whole scene: her, surprised, probably furious, and him forcing closed doors open as always.
"So, now, one must take an appointment with you?!" he called me out with his typical arrogance that smells like cheap perfume.
I stay still, my eyes still looking at the view. A heavy silence falls on us.
"I thought I told you to throw this photo away", he mumbles while dragging the frame on the table.
Without turning back, I say calmly:
"Do you remember the first time I met her?"
"You mean, if only you minded your own business?"
"Yeah… You can say that", I say while slowly turning back to him.
He's there, standing in the middle of my office, still nervous as hell. Like a man who already knows he lost it all, but doesn't want to acknowledge it yet.
"I warned you. We aren't from the same circles. And yet… you did only what you wanted to."
A slight smile skims over my lips.
"Do you think I could choose? She listened to no one."
10/01/2048
(Past)
"This is Cedric Eros", says Mr. Akira.
Another introduction.
Eyes on me, again.
He introduces me to his school staff as a win, a symbol.
His smile is wide. Thiers, curious.
These reactions are induced by the fact that I've been accepted in this school by the dean's approval. But I'm not an exception, nor a miracle.
"Mr. Akira, we can't wait to see what a treasure you found here !" a group of teachers says while looking at me with their hypocritical smiles.
I see clearly what they're thinking about me. As they see it, I'm going to become someone. Someone important, because the dean pulled strings for me. As if it would be enough to change me… They're wrong. I'm not who they're waiting for, and I don't want to be him.
"This child will surpass all your hopes", he says with a smile.
Each time I see this smile, his closed eyes send this picture of Quinn saying:
"Don't forget, Cedric : no mention of your past. Do exactly as I taught you. If you don't, you'll come back right where you're from."
It's an easy reminder: one mistake and I'll come back to my starting point.
A woman comes up to me, blond hair, green eyes, her skirt too short for our environment.
"I'm Leonie Falker. I'll be your head teacher this semester. I'll be here to help you catch up with what you missed and to supervise you so you could pursue your education here."
I look away, as if she didn't exist.
"Hum hum"
The dean darted at me, waiting for a reaction that I'm not giving.
"Er… Yeah. The pleasure is all yours."
He pinches the bridge of his nose, apparently disheartened.
Mrs. Falken laughs gently and waves at me.
"Let's go. Class is waiting for us."
Before leaving, she exchanges a glance with the dean, and a smile a little too controlled to be honest.
The smile troubles me. I turn my head towards Quinn; he encourages me with a sign, still smiling.
11/10/2048
(Past)
The bell rings.
True to character I keep my eyes closed, my head laying on the desk. Nobody exists while I'm sleeping.
When I open my lids again, the room is almost empty.
Almost.
There's only this girl remaining, who does nothing but sleep in class. Leïla.
She can't be missed.
Mrs. Falken tries to keep her awake all day long.
Honestly, I'm wondering what she's doing in this school. She must be a rich kid, one who must do nothing to have it all… The kind of people I should avoid at all cost if I want to keep as much peace as I could these three years.
Sitting. Silent. Still, her phone in her hands.
I'm waiting.
She doesn't leave.
I ultimately get up, annoyed, and I leave the room without looking back.
Upon exiting, I notice someone a little older than us. Without him wearing the school uniform I would have mistaken him for an adult. He must be in third grade.
Our eyes meet.
He seems preoccupied… as if he was dragging a lot of troubles behind him.
I look away and go on.
It's my favourite time of the day, when I can go on the rooftop.
Students are forbidden to go up there, but that's exactly why I do so.
Nobody comes there. Anyway, it's not like there was someone looking for me…
The door opens brutally, with a crash.
A huge noise that startles me.
I look around.
It's a girl… and it's Leïla.
She seems distressed. Out of breath, her eyes wide open, completely panicked. I stay hidden, stiff against the wall. I feel trouble is coming, and I have no desire to be dragged in. I watch her running to the end of the roof.
I look away. I want to ignore her, but… she doesn't slow down. She goes on. Right to the edge. And then… my body moves by itself.
"Leïla? What are you doing?"
She doesn't answer. She doesn't stop.
She's about to jump.
I throw myself forward and catch her sweater.
"Leïla!!?"
I sigh. I'm annoyed at myself to have intervened.
Questions are piling up, without answers.
Why doesn't she say anything?
Why would she want to do that?
And above all… Why me?
I don't want to be involved with anything.
Suddenly, the door bursts open again.
Without thinking, I throw Leïla against the wall behind me so nobody could see her.
Sorry, Leïla… I hope she's not injured.
It's the man from earlier. Out of breath, stressed, he climbs the last steps with his eyes on me.
"Did you see a dark-haired girl coming here?!" he asks me, panting.
I stammer, caught off guard.
"Sorry… She's not here."
Great.
I just get myself involved in a story that does not concern me at all.
Of course.
As if it were any of my business.
"There is nowhere else she could be. What are you saying?"
He catches me by the collar. His move is rough, precise. Too controlled to be impulsive. My eyes instinctively glance at his hands. My heart races. I slowly lift my head up and I can't hold back a smile. An empty one. Calm, almost absent. I look him straight in the eyes.
He freezes.
His face becomes expressionless, as if he had just understood he made a mistake.
That's not anger he sees in my glance.
I feel his grip faltering, imperceptibly.
I don't say anything.
He takes a step back without even realising.
He saw something.
He steps back, then goes down the stairs without a word.
I let out a long sigh… I'm relieved he's finally gone: all of this could have turned out badly.
I freeze when I remember my things are still there… just near her.
Leïla is still hidden behind the wall, next to the door. I don't have a choice.
I turn around towards her, looking down, my eyes focused on my bag. I come up without a word, carefully avoiding meeting her eyes.
I pick my bag up without breathing too loudly, ready to shun. I don't want to talk to her. I don't want her explanations. She seems to bring the worst troubles upon herself. I reach the door. I hold my hand out to grab the handle, and I hear:
"Cedric, isn't it?"
My hand stops. My breath too.
Surely she'll want to explain, to speak, to drag me in her problems.
I don't want to know anything.
I slightly nod, my back to her, and I open the door and disappear in the stairs without a word.