Compile:Quest

Chapter 30: Twenty, Going on Sixty

WeDeli_5 Delicatessen, Lower Northbridge,

Africa Dome

"I see you come here quite often," the girl said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

She was pretty, in a mousy kind of way, with large gray eyes, a narrow face and a small, pouty mouth. Her hair was neon pink, but it suited her.

"Yes. I like the view." Topaz tried to keep his tone light.

He knew the importance of keeping up appearances, but social situations tended to misappropriate the moisture in his body — making his hands clammy and leaving his mouth dry.

She gave him a small smile and dropped her eyes. Topaz stared at her for a moment, puzzled. Ah, she must have taken his words as a compliment. He had been referring to the view from the window of the second-story delicatessen, of course, but he refrained from correcting her.

The weDeli Five overlooked one of the most beautiful parks in the dome. Its most striking feature was the cluster of sandstone pillars left intact when the dome was erected. He realised the girl was saying something to him and hurriedly turned his attention back to her, pushing sandstone formations from his mind.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I was planning on watching a movie tonight. Want to join me?"

"Yes. Sure. Which cinema?"

"Oh, I hate it when people speak through a movie. Don't you?"

"I do."

"We can go to my place. Unless you want to go to yours?"

Topaz stared at her in frank astonishment.

"I'm Lower Southbridge," he mumbled when he managed to extricate his tongue from the roof of his mouth.

She grimaced faintly. His shoulders sagged. Her eyes scanned him and she shrugged.

Topaz glanced down at himself. What had she been looking at? Or for? His clothes were neat — a casual button-up shirt and jeans, brown loafers. He'd been sure to ruffle his black hair so it didn't lie flat against his scalp. Alas, there had been nothing he could do about his face, but he supposed it would have to do. It looked... normal. Average. Perfectly ordinary for a twenty-year-old man.

"Then my place?" she asked. He could only nod. "Perfect."

She put the straw back in her mouth, slurping up the last of her Dom Pedro. She glanced down at his glass.

He shook his head, pushing it away. "I don't have to finish this."

She got to her feet with a grin, waiting for him to stand. She led him into the street below, summoning a travel-bot and sliding in when it arrived a few seconds later. He climbed in awkwardly behind her, pausing when she patted the seat beside her.

"So why geology?" she asked, peering at him with what appeared to be genuine interest.

"It's geophysics, actually. A lot of people get them confused." She waited for him to answer her original question. "It's just so fascinating. The Earth has so many mysteries that we haven't even begun to unlock."

"You mean rocks?"

"That's geology. I study the physics of Earth."

Her eyes glazed but he ignored the warning signs and elaborated.

"I study the Earth's gravitational field. Seismology, plate tectonics."

The girl frowned, and Topaz cleared his throat.