Posnega

Chapter One: Electring

"It seems that you hate everything today." I mocked Tessa and she just rolled her eyes at me.

"Where's Linda?" Tessa asked.

"Oh, mom is not feeling well so she is still sleeping." I answered. It was just 8 in the morning and I and Tessa were fat with breakfast. Many people consider the day of electring as a public holiday and act like that.

Electring started at 8 in the night. Twelve more hours to go.....

Sometimes it was exciting to know who went but at the same time we lose someone close forever. But that happened once in a decade or more because only four citizens are picked up from a country.

So just imagine four persons from the whole U.S.A.?

That will not make a lot of difference.

Every year about 600 people from earth are carried to Trigonous.

"Is everything alright? What happened to Linda?" Tessa acted like she is my mom's childhood friend.

"Nothing major. Just a headache." I mumbled.

Actually last night mom was silently sobbing. I and Del were asking her what was up but she just ignored. Dad tried soothing her and suddenly out of blue mom engulfed me in a hug.

She made me sleep beside her the whole night, which I had never in the last ten years. She didn't leave my side and kept kissing my forehead as if her life depended on it.

"Okay. Hey, why don't we hang out today? Maybe just by little chances one of the both of us may get electred..." Tessa said in monotone.

"No. We are not competitives. At least, as far as I know. We practically know each other since we were in diapers; don't you think we would have noticed? "I tried cheering her up.

"Hmm...." She said nothing after and gave me the look that said, 'you know that you are weird in an abnormal way'.

Her dubious face made me question myself, Am I a competitive?

I shook my head to wish away the dreadful thought. Just because I am a loner or some unexplainable not so ordinary incidents happened to me does not confirm anything.

"Tessa, we cannot hang out in my house and besides everyone's still asleep." I mumbled softly not wake someone up.

Our house isn't a big mansion but a medium row house. It has a kitchen hidden behind a big wall, a hall, two bedrooms down and two upstairs.

My mom ran a mini restaurant two blocks away and my dad was an engineer. Dad sometimes helped mom to run the not-so-populous restaurant when he got time.

"Good morning Margaret dear." There came my mom. A lady in her mid-forties with surprisingly wrinkle-free face, a lean figure and brown hair. She was a loving person which you will come to know about soon.

"And a very good morning Tessa!" She exclaimed. She planted a kiss on my forehead, which she rarely did and hugged Tessa.

"Good morning mom." I said dully, still not getting what's behind her sudden sweetness towards me. It was not like she was the rude mother or something, she loved me a lot but she never kept it on loud show.

"Good morning Linda!" Tessa returned mom's hug. They greet each other like this whenever they meet. They were basically best friends and they acted like they met after ages.

In reality, yesterday evening they were discussing my imaginary boyfriend, whom I never had. For a seventeen year old it's weird to know that I haven't dated anyone.