"War Bug" by Cale Robinson
In the name of whom I love,
to protect who I relish,
to defend what I believe,
Just hoping to be righteous!
Sound burst in my hearing.
Sights I wish to repress
find their way to my eyes.
I shall never smile again!
I just wish my just thirst
wouldn't dirt my hands,
for they will never be clean.
What if my body learns?
This acquired taste remains
long after the clear reasoning?
The night came with a deafening ring, reminding me of the late engaged sleep as I awoke. I was back to reality, back to study and a late politics review and doubts' class in the Tacyturnos Noctis College.
After opening my politics book I traveled through the pages and pretended I believed I was all mighty over my own mind and would force my thoughts to follow the skimmed pages. There was no use going earlier to the college, Akita was m.i.a. (missing in action) as in the previous semester and I knew my Dark Knight would be training all night and wouldn't interrupt, not even to grasp last minute exams information. So when time weakly bared the clock pointers for me to leave home I sent an sms requesting for a simpler time to talk this over with him.
- ``Will you meet me today? We need to talk.''. The response took a while, I believed extra elite trainings were too intense to write sooner, but I wondered if he just didn't spend a girlish amount of time obsessing about the perfect answer.
- ``Shouldn't we date before we get to the talk? What is the rush? I will meet you after your politics class.'' - Was all I got.
I trained and wrestled and simulated the words I would greet him with and what I meant to ask or state during most of the class. Still when the time came to leave the premises the burden lifted and I just forgot I wouldn't be going directly home, away from this strange reality and back to my depressing plane books. Gathering my strides within the reduced herd of students I left the monumental entrance primarily concerned with my steps. When a hand tapped my shoulder, it triggered a frizzing consciousness that climbed my spine. Reality stroke vigorously as a lightning inducing an awkward jump. Suddenly yesterday's meeting and today's plans were too real.
-``You OK?'' - The moon light was hardly enough to uncover his smooth features, but his smile was bright enough to dazzle.
-``Sorry. Of' course. NO! I am not OK. Have you any idea of what you are training for?''
-``My assignments are classified, we've been through this. Shouldn't you be minding your exams?'' - He whispered low and turned to the moon to avoid eye contact. He leaned his back against the brig wall, crossed his arms over his chest and a leg over the other. He wouldn't trust himself regarding my puppy eyes or innocent curiosity.
-``I don't care for your assignments! Except for those of spontaneous generation your trainer concocts!''
-``What do you mean? Are you crazy? That is not the sort of accusation you can just make lightly!'' - He straightened up like an arrow. His hands grabbed my shoulders and his eyes searched mine, digging deep for a sign of humor or regret. - ``You're serious! You are totally out of control, you know that? What makes you think? I don't really get you, you know? Give me quadratic differential equations any day of the week, but you... You are really unique, you knew that?''
-``Oh, Shut up! I am not making anything up. Nor am I conjuring a conspiracy theory involving your dearest.''
His hands loosened and his eyes dropped.-``What the hell?''
-``Let us go somewhere, shall we?'' - I faced the forest, leaving his lost expression to meet my back and follow.
-``No matter what you think, you have no facts, no knowledge, no idea of what is going on. How can you just figure you should blame someone of treason... You do know that what you are talking about is treason, right?''
-``No, it's worst than you think! I think your trainer has lost it!''
I carried on until we were covered by trees and found a plane surface to sit on. An horizontal branch split high from an oak tree trunk. I jumped effortlessly thus pushing my body over it. Mid-jump I rolled up, revolved and ended holding on it, hanging from my hands. I looked down at this darkened figure to realize I must be two and a half meters above ground. I then then pulled my legs up and with impulse tilted my upper body over the branch. Still pushed by my arms and in a movement I bent my knees to my nose -so my legs would pass over the branch- and after they did I unfolded them so I gracefully sat on the branch.
He broke his hassling tone for an instant as he checked my stunt- ``Show off! You frogette! Seriously, just let me know whatever gave you the idea...'' - But he continued talking as he jumped lightly to hang on the branch. Using his legs he swung his body so it would rotate on the branch and pass over the branch. once his legs passed over the branch his hands released it and he twisted his flight, landing with his ass on the branch.
-``And I'm the show-offer?''
-``I'm entitled to it! I am an elite member, couldn't allow you having the best of it!'' - Moon beams lit this branch and us on it, that was one of the reasons why I chose it. Yet considering this light shining on his smile I reconsidered. Exhibiting his features while I wish to have this conversation would not help.
-``Let's start from the beginning, what do you know of the council?''
-``Besides what we learned on politics?'' - I nodded patiently, I had to choose a smooth approach. - ``Well. I know our teachers are part of it and that they have been agitated in the last meetings. Why?''
-``So the elite is kept in the dark, how nice of him. I overheard a meeting at the end of the semester, before you started having extra trainings.''
-``You did what? Do you know that that is forbidden? You should not be telling me this! On those days only few are chosen to guard the subsoil compound, in order to provide as much privacy as possible. If you wish to attend to the council there are public discussions on the main atrium. The ones held there are supposed to be private.''
-``I know! I had the same classes as you! The fact is that I wasn't looking for it and didn't know it was a council meeting, until I had heard too much. I just followed our trainers, because they were nervous and found them arguing under the tomb. Your trainer was concerned about the political response that the new government had to something and my trainer was arguing his response proposal.''
-``Yes, they argue a lot, so what?''
-``Have you ever heard of these letters being sent before?''
-``No. But I think it is a good thing that our community is summoned to intervene on the decision making process.''
-``They are summoning us to create a fighting force. The new president wants us de-militarized and the answer your trainer is obsessed with is to show how much power he has. They are playing chicken with a civil war!''
-``You're crazy! How did you jump to that conclusion?''
-``I hope I am! And I didn't, my father did!''
-``You told him? And who is he to know?''
-``That's why we are here. I wanted you to find a flaw in this idea. Another explanation for the council arguments over a new president and his threat and our trainers behavior and your being in training twice as usual and during exams period and the letter we received. Can you conjure a better hypotheses?''
-``Conjure a better hypothesis? Who are you right now? A physics professor? Sherlock?'' - I looked into his eyes, letting him know I wasn't kidding. I needed him to take this seriously if he was to find something out, but I also knew he was as curious as I am and had as much of a scientific mind which couldn't stop when confronted with these alarming facts...
-``Just do me a favor and try to figure why we are having this meeting, OK?''
-``I will. I also find it fishy, but you don't need to jump into this type of conclusions.''
-``As you wish. Thanks for meeting with me. Are you dedicating any time to study at all?''
-``Not really, but I think I will as soon as I train my brain to endure sleeps of three hours per day.'' - He smiled triumphally as though he invented the recipe of success.
-``And I am the one who is crazy? You are totally lost you know? Tell me when you decide to study, maybe we can help each other.'' - I jumped and landed gracefully on the ground. - ``Until then I will bare my cross alone. Please sleep. There is no use to studying under exhaustion.''
A grin was made audible and I knew he was feeling quite full of himself right now. Maybe even too full. - ``If you are having such a hard time, I think I can spare some minutes to help you.''
I didn't turn back to face him. In fact, having a hard enough time to suppress a smile of my own I just left, happy to find he was still the same with all the training and seclusion that he's had. - ``Sure! I was more thinking that I could help you as an acknowledgement for the help you gave me last semester, since you haven't even started. But I guess not sleeping will solve all your problems and will probably take a little longer to create graver ones.''