Be With Me

I stayed in the lobby where I walked aimlessly from left to right and back and forth. I just finished enrolling myself today in the university. Jo and Ven were really glad to see me again. Though now, I am anxious. I received an email from Hal the other night telling me that they're arriving around this week and I can't help but be nervous. I thought of going back to my room but there's not much space to walk around there.

The door going to the HQ opened showing Nica in her uniform. "Hi, Sapphire," Nica wrinkled her brows.

"Hello, Nica," I waved back.

"What are you doing?"

"Uhmm trying to remove nervousness out of my system."

"Ah." Her eyes went to my bag that was lying on the ground in the fake living room of the HQ. "Did you just arrive? Where did you go?" she put down her pack of files and a cup of coffee on the center table and sat on one of the sofas.

"I met with my friends and enrolled myself in university. Well, I'm a sit-in because there are like…two months left for the semester and I can't graduate with them anyway," Luckily they still accepted me.

I sat on a chair in front of her. Hairs that were stuck behind her ear fell down as she grabbed her cup of coffee on the center table between us.

"You're a music student, right?'' She took a sip and returned the cup to the table.

"Yes, it's some sort of paradise to me," I explained. She wasn't as cold as I thought she was during our first meeting. It's just her looks that make her seem so. "Are you going to leave again?" I asked.

"Again? No, I don't think I'll be back on the site anytime soon. I just attended a meeting ealier."

"Ah. Something to do with my brother?"

"It's one of the issues that was discussed."

I nodded, "Ah, are you not afraid?"

"Afraid of what?"

"The bombs, guns…death?"

She laughed, "Death, I doubt that anyone is not scared of it. They might say they're not but wait until they face it."

"I see. Your sister, Stif , she didn't stop you from becoming a soldier?"

"We separated when I was fourteen and she was sixteen. She supports me. She said that it's my destiny."

"How did you become a trainee at such a young age?"

"Commander said I have potential. So he talked to the people that owe him and let me in. Faked my age for a little while and then when I was eighteen they sent me to my first war."

"Faked your age? Don't they know what a fourteen-year-old girl looks like?"

"I was eighteen for four years. Plus, I am quite tall for my age. That's what happened. Enough about me, I shouldn't be giving too much information. How about you? How did you end up here? You're French, right?"

"Not by blood. We just moved to France. My family wasn't always a fine class family. My parents live in a small town in Spain and decided to build a business then suddenly, the business just went boom. Then my brother was born. They decided that Spain wasn't right so they moved to France. Bought a mansion there and got settled. Through the years their attitudes worsened. When I was born, my brother wasn't around at that time because he was sent to a far-off university to study. He went back when I was seven and Julia was just born. He was immediately given a position in the company as soon as he graduated college. My parents decided to follow rich people's norms by making me into someone else and prepare to marry a young and rich guy from another rich family. I didn't like the idea, of course. I met Jo, my friend, when I was eleven. She discovered what my parents are planning for my future so she decided to persuade my parents to let us study somewhere else. To explore and all—excuses."

Nica laughed.

"Then Jo and I moved here when we're thirteen. It's really just an excuse to run away from my family. Jo's family bought a house here after a year to stay with Jo. Then we met Ven along the way."

"Your little sister, what's her name again?"

"Julia. We actually never hang out as other siblings do. They force us to focus on something else that causes us to not have time to do what siblings do."

"That's tough. Your brother? Was he forced to run the business?"

"You bet. He wanted to become a soldier too. I guess his talent motivated him but my mother is a control freak."

Nica forced a laugh, "When your brother gets here, the army would be honored to recruit him."

I nodded. "Speaking of that. SIA's own military?"

She tipped her head a little, "In my earlier years. Artisans and non-Artisans are joined in one platoon. Recently, they changed it. All Artisans in the army are being transferred to a different platoon. We are now prohibited to mingle with 'normal' people and should only be let out when needed. They think we are weirdos and should be separated from the rest."

"I still can't believe that this whole thing is classified information."

She nodded, "The higher ups know a lot of things, Sapphire. Unfortunately, they consider things that they don't understand as either alien or dangerous. If we get into their bad side more, the whole platoon of Artisans might get incinerated. They might even hunt for other Artisans outside the army and who knows what they could do. Luckily, Commander thought of a solution. Why wait to be exiled? He's now pulling all Artisan soldiers from the government military and on the road to create our own military instead. They've won wars because of us, you know and yet we are monsters in their eyes?"

"I guess that's better."

"Way better. In the camp, we're an outcast. We're like a whole new species not to mingle with. It hurts. We're not treated as humans. We are treated as weapons and aliens. We just really wanted to be accepted and be treated normally."

My phone suddenly vibrated from my bag. "Excuse me," I took my phone and answered, "Hello?"

"Sapphire, we have a problem."

"Hal? What is it?"

"Julia and I…we're on our way to the airport when our parents decided to come with us. We're now on our way there."

"What?" I covered the phone's speaker and told Nica about the commotion, "What should I do?"

"Just let them in. The Commander will handle that." Nica said calmly.

I frowned. "Nica said it's fine," I told Hal.

"Alright. Sure." He ended the call first.

The Commander is standing at the center, I'm next to him and on my other side is Aaron. Nica is standing on the other side of the Commander, next to her is Timothy.

A black BMW stopped right in front of us, spitting out my nervous brother, Hal, my little jolly sister, Julia and then my parents.

"What is this place?" my mother asked as she patted her Audrey Hepburn style hair.

"The Special Intelligence Association HQ, Mrs. Valoria," the Commander replied, not sending any nervous signals.

"Special what? It looks like a normal house. Too normal, in fact."

My father remained silent behind her. Nodded a little to me.

"We're going to be fine here," Hal took Julia's hand and let her walk towards me. Julia immediately hugged me, making me lose grip of Aaron's hand.

"Is she a soldier? Ladies shouldn't be wearing that kind of thing," my mother pointed out Nica's suit.

Nica eyes my mother from her feet to her head. "You're not my cup of tea either."

My mother sighed in disbelief but brushed it off, "Sapphire, Mark is waiting for you back in France. How can you be like that to him?"

I felt Aaron winced beside me.

"Mom, I don't think he wants to marry me. If ever it'll be my brother."

Hal spun his head to me, surprised by the shocking revelation. He's…gay? so he knows telepathy too.

I nodded at him.

Knew it.

"What makes you say that?" My mom seemed shocked too. She placed her heart on her chest and gasped.

"Because the last time he looked at my boyfriend, his eyes twinkled."

Aaron loosened up his stiffened shoulders when he heard me say boyfriend. It just came out of my mouth, I too was surprised. I don't know if he actually accepted the fact that this is us forever because of that pairing whatever.

She gazed her eyes at the tall man standing beside me then back to me and Julia. "Nonsense. You were supposed to get married last week. I told the guests that there are still more preparations to be done for a perfect wedding but it'll happen soon," her eyes went to Julia whose grip tightened around me. "You too, you should be preparing for your future. Come back here or you'll suffer," my mother hissed.

"Mom, it's not right to force them like that," Hal said, facing our mother.

"They always did what you wanted them to do. We always do what you want us to do. We never did anything that will make us happy but we did everything to make you happy," I could feel Hal's sorrow as he spoke. Right there, is a dream that's broken.

"It's for your future. Do…do you want to be like us? Get married and have nothing? We are lucky to have the business! All of these, we did all these for you! To secure your future and this is how you repay us?" my mother squinted her eyes at her husband.

"No, this is for your future." My father spoke. Julia, Hal and I were surprised. Our father never spoke back to our mother before.

My mother stepped back.

"Ysabelle, Hal is right. You always force them to do what you want. You never let them reach their dreams," for the first time, I heard my father speak on behalf of us.

"What are you saying?" my mother stepped back a little away from her husband.

"What I'm saying is enough with this. Hal, take care of you sisters and I'll take care of your mother. It's time to make some sense out of her," my father grabbed my mother's shoulder and pulled her inside the car. It doesn't seem right. I looked at Timothy who was smiling at me and winked. I smiled at him too.

"Goodbye," Hal sarcastically smiled at them.

"Bye bye," Julia followed.

I didn't say anything.

"I guess that's it then," the Commander said, waving at the car speeding away from us.

"That's some disrespect." Nica muttered on her breath.

I lowered myself down to face Julia, "Why are you crying?" I asked.

She looked at me with her twinkling eyes, "I've never felt this free. That's why."

"Hey," Nica tapped my brother's shoulder.

"Oh, how are you?" my brother asked.

"Good, I guess. That's the Commander," she pointed at the middle aged looking man beside me.

"He's the one who wants to talk to you," she added.

Hal bowed a little at the Commander.

"What's it with you and your sibling always bowing at the people they meet?" The Commander was shocked by our attitudes.

"Th-that's how—"

"…we're taught. I know." The Commander looked at me.

I just shrugged.

"Hi, I'm Julia," she handed her hand out to the Commander.

"Now that's more like it," the Commander took Julia's hand and shook it. "What'd you say? Lunch?" the Commander smiled.