"I've been taught that girls have no value, and he's the only one who assures me that I do."
Soleil is a girl. A young woman. A female. She couldn't hate it more, because in her society that cursed gender makes her expendable.
The war that was wrou...
"I think that I know what this is about, little lady." He muses. I open my mouth, and then close it again. There's no way that he can know what this is about. Not in his wildest dreams. But, I humor him.
"Is this because of Paul's advances towards you?" Garick wonders, and I gawk at him.
He knows? He knows and has the nerve to be amused by it? I suddenly want to flee, get away as fast as I can. I swallow the bile that threatens to rise up my throat. I can get through this, I just need to push past the misogyny first.
"No." I reply shortly, and he seems surprised. He continues with his nonsense.
"Well, regardless, you'll need to take a husband eventually. You're not getting any younger, you know." He points out. I want to scream at him that I'm only 18, and I don't want a marriage like the ones around here, but I stay silent.
I put on a fake smile, knowing that I need to go along with this to please him. If I get on his good side, then maybe I have a shot at making him believe what I'm about to tell him.
"Anyway, about what I came here for..." I trail off. He raises his bushy eyebrows at me, impatiently expectant for what I'm going to say. I clear my throat. This is a lot harder than I thought it would be. "I wanted to talk to you about the men that are outside the gates."
Panic flashes across his eyes. It's as if he's more comfortable to just sit around and pretend that nothing is wrong. We all know it's a lie. The whole compound is on lockdown. Everyone looks to President Garick for guidance. He's supposed to protect us, act out of care for what's best for us. But staying away from Fray and his gang is not what's best. I just know it. All I have to do is make him see that.
"I really don't want to discuss that with you, Soleil. It's a sensitive subject, and civilians don't need to know anything about it." I want to correct him. He really means to say that women have no place to hear about anything, but I clamp my mouth shut.
Be good, Soleil. Play the role of the quiet, reserved girl that they want you to be.
"I just got some information on them that I thought you might find helpful." I say. That sparks his interest. It's about time.
"What? What is it?" He wonders, his tone a bit too demanding.
I sigh, preparing myself for what I'm about to reveal.
"It's going to sound crazy, but its 100 percent true. Ok?" I bite my lip. "They're aliens." I state simply, blurting the bitter syllables before I can chicken out.
I don't really know what I was expecting. Scrutiny for sure, maybe rapid fire questions shot at me, but I certainly was not expecting what I get. Laughter, a sharp chuckle that settles in my stomach like a punch.
My lips part in disbelief.
"Aliens?" He barks, putting a hand to his chest as his laughter continues. President Garick is grinning from ear to ear as if I've just told a knockout joke. I frown. Maybe I should have expected something like this. It's not the most rational sounding thing in the world, but I had to have hope that it would work. I have to look forward, I need to keep trying.
"Yes. I know it doesn't seem real, but its true. I know it. I saw their..." The word spaceship almost pops out of my mouth before I can retract my chatty tongue.
I don't need to expose myself. I broke the rules, and I almost admitted it to the man in charge. Way to go.
"You saw what?" He presses, all traces of humor fleeing. I cringe. I should have been smarter. Why didn't I think this through more thoroughly before showing up at this terrible place to talk to such an arrogant, sexist man? I should have prepared a presentation or something, maybe written an essay with all my points.
It's a little too late for that now, I suppose.
"What you're claiming is ridiculous, and frankly, I thought you were telling a joke. You can't possibly be serious." He demands. I quiet down, knowing deep down that this was a long shot. I silently give up.
"I think I know what's going on here.." Before Garick finishes his thought, I already know that he's going to be dead wrong. I let him speak anyway. "You want to distract me from the fact that you need a husband. Well, it won't work. By the time you're 20, you will be married. Make no mistake."
His words are a promise, and I become sick from hearing them. I clutch my gut, trying to force the tears in my eyes to recede. I leave President Garick's office quickly after that. I want to be far from here. Part of me begs to delve into the woods until I find that spaceship and somehow hide as a stowaway, fly off into space and never to be heard from again. That seems like my only chance at escape, the new shot at having a happy life that I so desperately need. A life I can create with an alien man with silver hair.
My brain latches onto that one person who always makes me feel better. I realize suddenly that I'm just standing in the hallway like an idiot when my mind is elsewhere.
I need Fray. I cant wait to be in his company. I want him now.
Well, I better go find him.
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