► In which a curious boy writes about a peculiar girl that has suddenly captured his interest ◄
Blu has always known that Harper didn't follow the laws of gravity, but she was always still simply his best friend. What he didn't know was that she's...
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Test 1 turned out to be easier than I had first thought. It was a holographic projection that made things appear very real, so at first we were both scared.
Hundreds of birds fluttered towards us, talons outstretched, and I began to yell in fright and wave my arms wildly, hoping to scare them away. Harper, however, was strangely still for a few moments, staring straight ahead as if in a trance.
"Blu!" She suddenly exclaimed. "This isn't real; it's a test."
"What?" I still shrank back as one of the big black fiends approached.
"Watch," Harper whispered and stepped into the birds, her hand outstretched towards the biggest one in the flock. I wanted breathlessly as her hand passed through its feathers, and the image shimmered.
"How did you know?" I asked, still in awe. "They looked so...real."
Harper shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know...for a moment I forgot this was supposed to be a test, and then Mr. Wright's words suddenly came back to me."
I frowned, shaking my head. "That happened to me as well until you did that...I had forgotten it was a test. That must be a part of it; to make it harder."
She nodded, twisting a silver strand of her hair between her fingers; something she always did when deep in thought. "I wouldn't be surprised. It seems that Mr. Wright is capable of much more than we have imagined."
The scene around us began then to dissolve, leaving an all white room with no windows. We had been blindfolded after Mr. Wright's office, which I am sure contributed to the disorientation at being in the generated scene.
"Did we pass?" I wondered out loud, staring at the wall. Or at least I think it was the wall...the sameness of it all confused me immensely, and I suddenly felt as though I was tipping. I sat down heavily and Harper did the same, closing my eyes in the hopes that when I opened them I'd be anywhere but there.
• ⑊ •
No one came for hours. It was like being in a desert; we were hungry, thirsty, and blinded by the white of the walls and floor that after awhile blended together all into a dizzying mass. The light came from the whiteness, and only added to the effect.
Since it was nearly impossible to sleep, Harper and I began to amuse ourselves by talking with our eyes closed. It helped keep us oriented and alert, something in the midst of nothing.
When Jeff finally opened the door, we sat up suddenly, causing both of us to get extreme headaches from the light and perspective.
