The Rainbow Maker's Tale Read online

  Breakfast was a familiar mix of bland cereals today with a soya-based liquid to soften them. There may have been dried fruit pieces in it, but I couldn’t say for certain. I barely noticed the actual contents of my bowl, hurrying through my breakfast eager to escape from Mother’s unsettling presence. I was in such a rush I forgot my vitamin tablet.

  “Balik?” Mother called out to me as I dashed out of the room, heading towards the bedroom.

  I turned.

  “You need your tablet.”

  “Oh yes,” I mumbled, leaning back around the corner and reaching out for it, thinking that she would pass it to me from the table where it was hidden behind the half-drunk glass of juice. The distance between us was very small, but she did not move to collect the pill. Standing perfectly still next to the table, Mother’s eyes were abruptly blank after their earlier animation. I was confused, and following a few uncomfortable seconds of silence I realised that she was not going to pass me the vitamin.

  Maybe she hadn’t understood the meaning behind my gesture. I stepped back into the living space and walked past Mother to the table. The tablet was still half-hidden behind the juice glass and I reached over to pick it up. Circling towards the bathroom again, I’d taken two steps when Mother spoke.

  “Can you take it in here, please?” She asked, her tone was neutral but the words were clipped, as though she resented having to speak them. It felt more like a command than a question.

  I turned for a third time, confusion reigning now. Why did I need to take it in here? It didn’t seem like it should matter where I was so long as I’d taken my daily dose. And, it was only a vitamin tablet after all – surely I’d survive one day even if I did forget it? Mother’s behaviour was getting odder by the minute.

  “You have to take the tablet with juice rather than water,” Mother said, nodding at the capsule clasped in my hand, “it helps it break down for easier digestion.”

  I nodded automatically and went back to the table for my juice glass, noting that Mother was watching my actions carefully. Placing the small tablet on my tongue – it now felt huge because of the strange significance it had taken on in the past minute – I glugged down a mouthful of juice. The pill remained resolutely stuck to my tongue, resisting the torrent of orange liquid that sloshed around my mouth, trying to force it down my throat. Another mouthful and the tablet still had not dislodged and the glass was now empty.

  Why did I do it?

  I don’t know. But, instead of getting something else to drink, or even swallowing the vitamin dry because it was easily small enough to do that, I pushed the tablet to the side of my mouth and left the room. Mother seemed content, now that I’d taken my dose, and allowed me to escape to the privacy of the bathroom without further questions.

  Closing the door behind me and locking it firmly I opened my mouth and pulled out the offending tablet. It sat in my open palm: small and unassuming with only a tiny amount dissolved around the edges from my attempts to wash it down my gullet.

  Why was it so important? I prodded the pill, as though that might magically release the answer for me. It didn’t.

  Through my bewilderment over the whole episode I was conscious of the unsettling notion that Mother had answered unspoken questions straight from my mind. I replayed the conversation in my head, trying to understand what had happened.

  I’d forgotten my tablet…she’d asked me to come back for it…she wouldn’t pass it to me and asked that I take it in the room…the implication was that I took the tablet where she could see me…that had confused me and I’d wondered why I had to take it in there…thought it wouldn’t matter where I took it…and then she’d given me the answer for something I’d not asked…not asked aloud at least.

  Had the question been written so plainly in my expression that she’d been able to guess what I was thinking?

  It was possible, I conceded, but it didn’t feel right. I paused a few moments longer, mulling over the peculiar exchange. More likely was that Mother knew my inquisitive nature: that I liked to understand how everything worked and why. Of course, she was unaware of how far I really took things, but still, she knew enough about me to think that I’d want some reason to back up her request. That must be it.

  The pill still sat in my open palm. A new question began playing around my head. For the first time I had a tablet in my hand, without someone watching over my shoulder while I obediently swallowed it. I was alone now and had the freedom of choice whether to take it or not…what would I do?

  Of course I wasn’t going to be a good boy and do what I was told if there was no one watching. I curled my fingers around the capsule and pushed it carefully into my pocket. It would be nice to understand what was in my daily vitamin, and I knew just how to find that out with some choice supplies from The Clinic. I smiled to myself, already relishing the new knowledge I would have by the end of the day. It looked like today was going to be even better than I’d expected.

  Quickly stripping out of my night-suit and stepping into the shower, I couldn’t stop grinning as the hot water pounded over my skin. My hair – erratic from being in bed – flattened against my scalp and drifted towards my eyes as the water tamed the dark curls. I pushed them away and held my hair back from my face allowing the spray to spatter my across my eyes and cheeks, as I began to plan out my day.

  Twenty minutes later, I stepped through the sliding door of our apartment pod onto the corridor outside. I was wearing a fresh day-suit and had managed to pacify my unruly hair somewhat, so that I looked presentable. I set off towards The Clinic with an excited bounce in my step, the stolen tablet sitting securely in my pocket.

  * * *

  It wasn’t difficult for me to blend in with the pedestrians milling around the plaza in front of The Clinic. There were lots of people coming in and going out, some even forming queues to wait in an orderly fashion for their turn to pass through the gapping hole of a doorway. The Clinic was a large, clear-fronted structure, but it still managed to dominate the whole square, standing several stories above the surrounding buildings. It was also the widest building on the square, taking up the equivalent frontage of five other properties. It was huge compared to the blocks in the residential zones, which were limited to three storeys, housing six families each. Of course, The Clinic needed to be big: it was the main medical facility for this area of the Family Quarter, serving the surrounding Black, Green and Blue Residential Zones.

  I shook myself. Why was I thinking about architecture? Or the logistics of which sections of the space station population were served by The Clinic? I must be desperate for a distraction! Clearing my head, I refocused on my feet and began walking again.

  I had arrived early – really early – and had been wandering an invisible track around the square, pretending to myself that I wasn’t waiting for someone, even though I obviously was. But there was no sign of Cassie so far.

  Was she going to be late? I wondered, before a second thought pushed it away. Had she changed her plans? This prospect deflated my buoyant mood and I tried to ignore it.

  As I walked the first few circuits in front of The Clinic, I was still persuading myself that my pursuit of, and interaction with Cassie, was purely for academic purposes. I had told myself a hundred times already: Cassie has an interesting mind and could offer me an alternative perspective on my questions about Space Station Hope.

  And the fact that your missing friend Scarlett suggested that Cassie would be able to help you find out something you haven’t been able to do alone...?

  Ambushed by my own sarcasm, I knew there was no answer to that question. More accurately, there was no answer I was going to offer to my questioning subconscious at this point in time. I shrugged it off and continued pacing.

  Another lap of the plaza, with these thoughts churning, and I gave up. I was even boring myself with my thinly veiled excuses. Cassie was undoubtedly a bright girl and looked at life differently than me, so that was true. But it wasn’t the reason I was pa
cing around the central hub of the residential zones at 7.00am on a Monday morning. No. I was here because I was a sad, lonely stalker. I couldn’t even muster a silent, bitter laugh to accompany that thought; it was too painful because it was true. My mind slipped into a blank limbo as I continued walking in circles.

  8.07am. There was still no sign of Cassie arriving.

  Surely she wouldn’t be late on her first day?

  As I passed under the clock – it showed 8.09am now – I fell into step behind a boy from my Green Zone school class. Matthew. I didn’t greet him or make him aware of my presence. Why would I?

  “Hey Matt!”

  I turned towards the voice, even though it wasn’t me that had been shouted. A boy I didn’t recognise was waving and he turned in my direction. I saw Matthew raise his own hand in acknowledgement when he saw the guy and he slowed down to wait as the newcomer approached through the crowd. I slowed myself, mainly because I had little else to do at the moment apart from continue with my circuits of the square.

  The boy was tall – a good few inches bigger than me – and he had the dark skin colour of the station descendents with African heritage. He had a relaxed walk, more of a lope really, and he covered the distance between them in a few long strides. I found myself eavesdropping on their conversation, as a distraction from my own concerns.

  “Hi Joel, how’s things? Where’re you going?” Matthew asked as the boy joined him.

  “I’m starting my Medic placement today at The Clinic.” The boy – Joel – nodded towards the large building that I’d been circling for the last forty minutes. “What about you?”

  “Yeah, I’m on placement too.” Matthew shrugged his shoulders dismissively as he replied.

  It was exactly the same movement Cassie made and I wondered whether this was something she’d picked up from him or vice versa, as I knew that they hung out at school.

  “I’m just heading over to Engineering, I applied for the longer rotation and start today.”

  I could tell by the sound of Matthew’s voice that he wasn’t overly happy with this and I wasn’t surprised; from what I could remember of his answers in class, engineering was not his strong point. That would explain the extended placement and lack of enthusiasm.

  “I know – no holidays right?” Joel complained lightly, echoing Matthew’s apathy. “It sucks!”

  “Anyone else you know on these earlier rotations?”

  Joel shook his head. No. “Not on the Engineering side of things,” he said, “just a girl from my class on the Medic rotation.”

  “Nice?” Matthew asked. I knew he wasn’t referring to her personality.

  “Oh yeah,” Joel laughed, catching his meaning immediately. “But man, can she talk!” He held his hand up and flexed his fingers open and closed rapidly to reinforce his words. Matthew laughed and rolled his eyes. “Anyone you know on my placement?” Joel asked a moment later.

  “I think Cassie’s doing the extended Medic rotation,” Matthew replied after a few seconds thought. “She might be with you.”

  “Nice?” Joel asked, flashing Matthew a mischievous grin as he echoed his friend’s earlier question.

  “Sure,” Matthew replied; without hesitation I noticed.

  Joel made the same talkative hand gesture that he made before. Matthew laughed again.

  “Yes, but not in a bad way,” he assured Joel. “She’s pretty cool.”

  “Really?” Joel asked turning towards his friend with interest now. An unfamiliar monster growled somewhere in the pit of my stomach when I saw Joel’s reaction. For some reason I could not explain, I felt unexpectedly angry with this perfect stranger.

  “Yeah,” Matthew repeated.

  “Seeing anyone?” Joel enquired casually.

  The unknown beast rumbled inside me again, its discontent still directed at Joel.

  “Nope,” Matthew shook his head. “Don’t know why really – she’s pretty much the nicest girl in our year – just never seemed interested in anyone, like that.”

  Matthew’s words silenced the monster. It gave me a secret sense of satisfaction to know that Cassie did not seem attached to any of her male friends from school. In that instant I realised what the unknown growling beast inside me was.

  I’m such an idiot!

  “Hmmmm,” Joel drawled sounding thoughtful.

  His interest didn’t bother me any more. I was too busy trying to absorb the implications of the fact I might be jealous of him – or any other guy – that Cassie was interested in.

  “Don’t get your hopes up mate,” his friend laughed quickly, “I don’t know why she’s on the early rotation at The Clinic. She’s a smart girl. Not like you!” Matthew laughed harder when Joel pulled a face at him, but I was already tuning out of their conversation and losing myself in my own thoughts once again. I barely noticed when Joel disappeared through the crowded plaza into The Clinic.

  8.10am and forty seconds...

  To my considerable relief, Cassie appeared at the edge of the square opposite the entrance to The Clinic. Breaking away from my well-trodden track circling the plaza, I moved through the swarming pedestrians, intending to appear near to Cassie as though I was just arriving myself.

  My efforts to seem casual made me realise once more how sad I actually was. They also reminded me of the unpleasant monster I had just discovered buried deep inside me, and how quickly it could rise to the surface. There was no denying that the girl I was walking towards was the cause of this new, angry beast.

  Keep telling yourself that you only need Cassie to find out what Scarlett thought she knew about the space station…

  As I had been doing all weekend, I ignored my sarcastic inner voice when he piped up again. And walking quickly, I drew closer to Cassie.

  When I got near, I could see Cassie’s face was drawn closed: her eyes flickering nervously between the floor (and her feet) and the surrounding buildings. The man walking alongside her must have been her father I thought, although they were not talking and did not look overly alike.

  Drawing close, I realised that Cassie looked terrified. Surely her fear was not just nervousness at starting the placement? She was always so bubbly and confident at school; could anyone really be that good an actress?

  Cassie’s obvious unhappiness made me feel uncomfortable. Part of me wanted to do something to alleviate whatever it was that was troubling her. Then I realised, she would probably be more scared of the strange guy stalking her, than the prospect of starting the Medic rotation…

  Cassie and her father moved swiftly through the throngs of people in the square, and were passing through the entrance of The Clinic by the time I was able to catch up with them. As the scanner beeped at the entrance, registering her presence in the building, Cassie jumped nervously.

  Perhaps surprising her today would not be the best idea. I was genuinely concerned that she would scream the place down, if I unexpectedly popped up next to her.

  Cassie was just a metre away from me and I would have to act now, if I wanted to speak to her before we were put onto our placement. Sidling around the edge of the entrance and ignoring the familiar beep of the scanners, I covered the short distance in quick strides. Leaning down to whisper, hopefully without startling her, I matched my step to Cassie’s and spoke.

  “Hello again.” My tone was light and sociable – in complete contrast to the myriad of confusing thoughts and emotions that were coursing through my body at that moment.

  A glimpse of an involuntary smile flashed across Cassie’s lips as she inhaled a surprised breath at the sound of my voice. Better than screaming, I observed with a slight smile of my own.

  When Cassie turned to look at me – and greeted me with a lovely smile of her own – I was immediately happy to see that her features had relaxed completely from the frown she had been wearing when I saw her earlier. I hopefully speculated about whether it had anything to do with my presence. Then I kicked myself mentally for being so interested.

  “Hi
,” Cassie replied, her voice sounding slightly shrill, which I assumed was her nerves leaking through.

  “You need to go through the doors over there,” her father pointed out, interrupting anything she might have been about to say and bringing us both to a stop. “There’s a registration point in the orientation reception there where they’ll get you sorted for your first day. Probably a lot of walking around I would expect.”

  The information was actually quite useful, as I’d done no groundwork for this placement whatsoever. That was very unusual for me, as I normally liked to be prepared for behaving as people expected me to. With spending nearly an hour walking around outside The Clinic, I hadn’t actually given any thought as to what I might have to do once I got inside. Disorganised and confused: this was a whole new experience for me.

  Cassie was staring at me and it felt like she was reluctant to turn towards her father and said “OK.”

  I was about to set off in the direction of the orientation room, when a look of confusion washed over Cassie’s features.

  “Sorry Father, did you just say something?” she asked, uncertainty colouring her tone.

  “Yes. I told you the registration point was through there,” he pointed towards the doors across the foyer again, although his eyes were fixed on his daughter’s face.

  “No, I mean after that.”

  Cassie’s cheeks were flaming now and I thought it might be my presence making her feel uncomfortable and so I looked away, pretending to examine the doors her father had pointed out. I had no idea what she was talking about. Surely Cassie had heard the same thing I had?

  “Yes…” he replied again, speaking slowly now, seeming as lost by Cassie’s line of questioning as I was. “I said that you’ll probably be walking around a lot today.”

  “Sorry,” Cassie mumbled glancing away from him now. I sensed that she was not looking at me when she spoke a second later. “I thought you said something after that…I’m still a bit sleepy I guess.”