Chapter 10

Writer's Note: Here's the second half of the tenth chapter. I'm not even sure what's going on in here after this. I'm playing catch up right now, so I'm not going to try to figure it out. Enjoy.

‘did you need anything to drink, sir?’ one of the servers asked Conner. He must have looked like some uncultured boob, standing and staring in the doorway.

‘you can call me Conner, all of you I have never like the name ‘sir’. And no, I do not need anything as of yet. I am not as much of a fish as my friend over there, who, I am sorry to report, enjoys being called ‘sir’. If he gives you any problems then come for me. And I suspect there will be trouble tonight, so tell everyone to memorize my face and back,’ I told the woman. She nodded, looking thoughtful.

‘I will pass on that information to the others. For you help I will tell you one thing. That man over there,’ she paused and nodded to the bartender, ‘is the only one in here what could tell you anything about the Ya̧nomamö and the forest they protect. Or anything about their culture and customs.’

‘a good position for a person with that type of power, is it not?’ Conner mused out loud. The woman smiled and glided away.

Josh slunk over to Conner next, smirking. Conner knew what he was going to say and checked that neither any wervers or his classmates were close to them.

‘enjoying some nice Ya̧nomamö ass, Conner? Or is that one more to your taste?’ josh asked, nodding to one of the male servers bending over the table to give the silver candlestick holders one last polish before the majority of the students arrived.

‘shut your mouth and stem the flow of the ridiculous musings. I am not gay (nope, only bi. I lust after both sexes but mostly you Josh!). I just have not really felt the time was ever appropriate to have sex (because it has never been with you. Why have you not offered yet?). I know the options are open to me from several women and the sex centers if I were desperate. It is just not what I want,’ Conner told him. They had the conversation before, and Conner was sick of it.

‘This is not two thousand and nine; there are centers for men who like men. It is a biological mutation, nobody would thing less of you,’ josh said, slapping Conner on the shoulder. Conner nodded and smiled, mostly to get josh’s hand off him (I suppose I was just too close to getting hard if he kept it on there any longer).

He knew exactly who would care if he was interested in men instead of women. Jude would be, and not in a buddy – buddy way, or a I – could – use – this – as – a – knowledge – gaining – experience way either. More like a get – the – fuck – out – of – my – house fashion. He would not want his precious son corrupted by his dirty influences. While homosexuals were not necessarily condemned in their society, it was kept quiet by the man or woman. Otherwise family visits were fewer and farther between, because things were just so busy. Friends might stop being friends for the same reason. Slowly every social connection might fade away and your job status lowered as a result. Nobody else would want theirs lowered as a result. Nobody else would want theirs lowered as a result of yours. In a way the government caused your isolation, just in case you spread the gay or something. Reportedly the number of homosexuals has fallen since they implemented the laws, but Conner wondered what the rate for dissatisfaction was across the years. The tests were given every year but that was a privatized test. You could infer what it was by the amount of assemblies that warned of depression and ways of avoiding unhappiness and living a fulfilling life, but that was imperfect.

Slowly the students had been filtering in. There were seventeen students total in Conner’s class. Ten males and seven females altogether. The males were dressed fairly plainly. Mostly blue and green shirts with black pants and shoes. There was one red head in the group and he was hostile about it. He was mocked all the time as a kid, and that could cause the anger and resentment. He never really made friends to help him care less about his difference. The rest of the class had typical black hair. Some had wiry hair and some had the smooth hair, reflecting where their ancestry might lie. A more Asian background would typically be shown in fine hair and African or Latin would be shown through the more wiry hair.

The girls were wearing the interesting clothing. There was a new style with hair style, where, from the front it looked like a classic haircut. Straight and neat and shiny. Coiffed. But when you saw the back of it you could tell she was a party girl at heart. It would be short and spiked and multiple colors on the back. They actually looked like they could cut you accidentally. If that were true he felt bad for anyone who was going to be dancing behind them tonight. Their clothes, these were a statement but different from the hair. Some were in today’s clothing; a close – fitting dress made of the normal, reusable latex that could be formed and reformed into many clothes and would probably outlive the person. It was practical and current. The girls who wore these dress, for all they could put any pattern that they wanted onto it – Conner even saw one girl with the Pegasus Nebula on hers – they were known to be of the lower class, and probably there on some sort of scholarship. There were three girls who were there simply with pain and three little patches of latex. They were not poor, and one was part of the most prestigious families that existed. This was their form of rebellion. Since body art was as temporary as the person wanted it. So showing skin, and showing a lot of it was their way of telling their parents it is their life. The other two girls were new money, and they reeked of it. They decided to war the biggest dress type they could find. And they looked really far back to find it. The 1500s. It is 6327 A.D., in comparison. Big hoop skirts with petticoats and flounced drawers. Corsets with bodices that pushed their breasts up to their chins. They were made out of older materials, a carbon tubular structure, and they were expensive. Very beautiful, but very impractical. Conner was not sure how they were even going to sit at the table. Or dance, for that matter. They looked like they were heavy and constricting, and he half expected to see fainting couches lining the walls.

Conner, now that the rest of the class was there and milling around, chatting before the meal so he took the moment to go order a drink from the only one in the room who could tell him anything.

While he was walking over to the bar one of the scholarship girls intercepted him, the one wearing the nebula on her dress. Conner knew Cassandra liked him, although he did not think that she knew he knew. He really could not say for sure, though. Now, though, it seemed like the author was up to something, maybe relating her name to an obvious reference to Greek mythology. Even though they might not get it five thousand years into the future we know and understand it now. Maybe she is just trying to avoid Conner ordering a drink, because it is a sort of commentary on a person’s personality. Martinis were Josh’s drink and wine seems too girly. Beer is just too manly a drink, because the author’s readership has some preconceived notions about what kind of man drinks beer. And hard liquor is a just a little hardcore for him.
Cassandra’s eyes were glazed over, and she did not even seem to be looking at Conner, but through him. What could she possibly be seeing? And would Conner even believe her if she told him? Would he even pay attention at all to the words? Conner really did not have a choice at this point.

‘she is going to need you soon, and you her. Joshua’s destiny needs to split from yours for a time. If this is going to be fixed then you need to go away into the woods, into the forest. There will be help from the half – blind among us. Your chances of success are one in three, so do not misstep,’ a shudder passed through her and Conner grabbed her hands to keep her from falling. She came back to herself, looked down, and then blushed from the tip of her chin to the base of her hairline.

‘uh, sorry Conner Ursa. I have these dissociative episodes, and I do not remember what happened, although that is not true to the mythological Cassandra’s plight. The author is modernizing and futurizing it a bit. I did not do anything embarrassing, did I?’ the redness on her face deepened, something Conner would not have expected it to be able to do. He could feel the heat from where he was standing. He still had not let go of her hands though, and he finally realized after all these years that she was beautiful. Conner also knew that she was an intelligent and sweet girl. He pulled her just a little closer.

‘you just told me about your feelings for me,’ Conner lied. She actually managed to blush even deeper, and she looked about ready to start crying and run from the room but Conner kept a good hold on her hands os she could not, ‘I think that is great. I have been trying to find a way to tell you that I feel this way too. Just walking up and announcing it seemed like too much, unless you would like me to?’ Conner asked, then raised his head and took a deep breath.

‘No! no, please do not. I think I would die from the embarrassment. I will tell my friends quietly and let the rumor spread because we both know that even after five thousand years that part of human nature really would not change. I hope you do not mind this way, do you?’ Conner smiled and shook his head. He leaned in slowly, then, and kissed her on the cheek. Then stayed there to whisper in her ear like he was telling her naughty little nothings. He also did it because the music had started, and had started loudly.

‘is there anything I can get you from the bar?’

‘yes, please. A white wine spritzer, please’

‘okay, princess. Your wish is my command. But do not worry if I do not come back right away. I have business with the bartender about my friend, josh. But do not worry, please, because I will make sure to be close at hand for the rest of the night,’ Conner told her. She nodded and released his hands. He let go of hers and watched her walk back over to her friends, who were all giggling and watching him. Conner noticed josh grinning broadly at him and giving a hand gesture of approval. Conner shook his head and turned to the bartender one more time, because the author finally figured out what the hell is his drink and managed to throw in a new and interesting character that may cause problems later. It is a win – win for both sides because Conner might be getting some later in a coat room or something.Even the bartender was staring at him, and out of every one this discomfited Conner the most. One of his eyes were glazed over but the other one seemed to be staring right through him. He took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and walked over to the beautiful bar that had taken his breath away.