EYES WITHOUT A FACE - An 'AVATAR' Story.

Chapter 2. [ TRINITY POV ]

I'm sent to the dorm area to set up. We were warned we'd have to stay with some of the SecOps, so, I took a breather. Hesitant, I knock on the door. 

"Anyone in there?" I yell into the door. 

"Come in!" I hear a familiar voice through the door. I squeeze the latch and open it. 

Sitting on the bed to the left is a woman with thick, curly brown hair covering her face. She's wearing a green tank top, so I can see her chocolate-coloured arms. When she looks up at me, her face is expressive yet stern. Her eyes are a gorgeous green which pops with the golden piercings covering her face. When she looks up at me, I get a sense of Deja Vu - as if I've seen her before. Then it clicks.

Moneta Marwood, my best friend from elementary school. 

I walk inside the room and place my stuff down. Her expression tells me that she doesn't quite recognise me yet. How can I help her out? Oh, of course! "Nettie?" I speak in a desperate tone. Her body language changes as she rises from her seated position and runs towards me, grasping me with all her might. "Oh My God, Titi!!" 

As she hugs me, her arms feel like home. More like home than any other place has felt. She sobs into my shoulder, keeping a good grip on me as she cries. "I haven't seen you since senior year!" She wails. When she pulls away from me, her eyes are puffy and red. "I've missed you, Titi."

"I've missed you too, Nettie," I reply, on the verge of tears myself. "So, you did it! You made it to Pandora!" I try to strike up a conversation. 

"Yeah, I made it! But, you made it too! You're a god damn xeno-zoologist! just like you imagined!" She grabs my shoulders and shakes me just like she used to do when she was excited. I remember the little things like that. 

"And even better, we're roommates!" I squeal, too excited to contain it.

"Oh my GOD, we're roommates!" She squeals back, seemingly more excited than I am. 

"Well let's get unpacked! You haven't got any duties today, right?" 

"Not until tomorrow, Quaritch gave us a day to get used to our surroundings." 

"Perfect."

তততততততততততততততততততত

For a few hours, we unpack our bags and set up our rooms. I was able to bring a lot of my room decor to help make Pandora seem more like home. I brought a few plushies, some of my favourite books, some candles and some Pandoran informational guides (one of them being Grace Augustine's book on Pandoran Botany). Her side consists of lots of portable gym gear, a jewellery box and a skin-care kit. Despite the entire room being grey, we made the room as colourful as ever. 

Pretty soon, a bell chimes. I checked the time - 2300 hours. It'll take a bit of getting used to, but a Pandoran day is 35 hours, so this is the equivalent of dinner time. We walk to the cafeteria, and it's already bustling with people. I collect a meal and look around.

"Trinity, over here!" I hear a voice shout from one side. It's Grace, She's sitting with a few SciOps in the Avatar program. I hear a more masculine voice call over Moneta. I turn to Moneta and she turns to me. "Meet me back at our dorm?" She says. "Of course!" I nod. We go our separate ways. 

Grace and a few other scientists are all sitting, scarfing down their dinners. I sit down in an empty spot next to Grace. She turns to me and chews her food. "So, who's the chick?" She mumbles, her mouth full of salad. She points her fork over to her table, where she's sitting with a few more guys and who I assume to be the Colonel. 

"That's Moneta, We've been friends since elementary." I chuckled. "We both had a dream to make it to Pandora and, eh, here we are.." 

"Aint that cute!" She laughs. "Reminds of me when I was little, so full of innocence...So. Have you been to see your Avatar yet?" 

"My Avatar? Oh! not yet." 

She places a hand on my shoulder. "Wanna see her after dinner?" I see a sparkle in her eye. I can tell she's really passionate about all of this, as she's been doing this for 25 years. 

"I'd love to." I reply. 

"Maybe I can even show you mine. They call me Kìreysì." 

"You mean the Omatikaya?" 

"Yeah, all the little kids. To me, I'm Sa'nok." Mother. 

"Cute." I hum, before digging into my meal. 

তততততততততততততততততততত

After Dinner, Grace leads me to the link room, where my avatar is stored. It's in a large vat of blue fluid and is connected to an umbilical cord. When I walk to her face, I can see all of my features in her. My hooked nose, My thin lips, my bushy eyebrows. All of it is picture-perfect, on a beautiful blue canvas. I turn to Grace, Who is staring into the tube, as starstruck as I am. "She's beautiful," I say, eyes still locked onto the unconscious Avatar's face. "Aint she?" She replies. 

"When can I link with her?" I turn to Grace, hoping for a good answer. 

"Tomorrow, if you'd like. We'll set her up through the night, just make sure to get up at 0700 sharp, got it?" She pokes my chest, making sure all the info gets through to me. I nod, agreeing to meet her outside my dorm. My Dorm...Moneta!

"I'm sorry, Grace, but I gotta go! Moneta is waiting for me." I begin to walk away. 

"Oh is she now? Well, I'll meet you in the morning. kìyevame!" (See you soon!)

তততততততততততততততততততত

I'm running through the corridors, each step meaning time with Moneta being lost. I find my way to our room, grab the latch and storm in. My eyes lock with Nettie's, her expression shocked and mad, but happy somehow. She's sitting on the bed in some casual clothes, her piercings placed on the bedside table. She's on her laptop, seemingly playing a game. She closes the laptop, staring directly at me. When she speaks her voice is firm, yet concerned. "Where have you been, Titi?"

"Grace wanted to show me my Avatar. She's beautiful Nettie, really." I chuckle, still choked up from the event.

"And you didn't forget?" She gives me a look, telling me to swear on my entire humanity.

I sat down on the bed, looking into her eyes with a truthful expression. "I promise, Titi."

I can see a visible blush forming on her face. Seeing this makes me blush too, and I quickly relocate to my own bed, trying not to make it awkward. She opens up her laptop again, continuing her game. I change into my pyjamas in our private bathroom and get snug into bed.

"Going to bed already?" I hear a drowsy voice say.

"Yeah, I need to get up early. 0630 hours. Meeting Grace to start my link."

"They gave you an avatar? Jesus."

"It's safer to have one if you're a SciOp. Anyway, good night."

The room falls silent as I tuck myself in. I slowly fall asleep, each part of my body slowly sinking into the mattress.