Area-1

Michael Kay

Michael Kay I leap in straight through the first door I see, which happens to be the lady’s room, thank Origin. I quickly place the ring on the counter and wash up my gloves, before cleaning the ring along the way. That will give me some time to get busy. I take my time cleaning these things, not wanting to think of my problem. But as I clean up, I find my thoughts getting angrier and angrier.

Dating, marriage, procreation. Why does everyone assume that life has to be in this order? Or to be an obligation for every individual being? Aren’t we a smart collective of intellectual beings? So what if people like me decide to wash their hands off these things entirely? Surely it is not the end of the world!

And, oh no, Nathaniel did not settle for being subtle. Not at the ring. Not at the proposal. But right down to the confession. It felt like I was being shot thrice when I stood there, awestruck by the occurrence like a stupid person.

When I brush my fingers too harshly, the ring jumps from my grasp. My heart leaps when it falls into the sink, rolling around the sink bowl until it gradually moves down towards the sink hole. I watch everything in slow motion, until the ring goes straight into the hole…. only to see it stuck just around the big frame. I find myself releasing the breath I don’t know I have been holding. Quickly and carefully, I grab the ring and give it a gentle run under the water before drying it with a towel.

Sure I don’t like how things ended up before, but that does not mean that I get to throw away Nathaniel’s hard work. Not wanting to lose the ring the second time, I decide to wear it under my gloves, which happen to be the safest and most discrete location I can think of currently.

Suddenly, I feel silly for being so upset just a mere moments ago. I was caught by surprise. That is all. And I just hate surprises. You can prepare for all you want, but there is nothing that can prepare you for the unexpected.

Speaking of the unexpected, since when has Nathaniel liked me this way? Where did all these feelings come from? How come I did not realize that his prospect of me has changed before?

Or maybe I am just refusing to see it. I am so agitated with the idea that I dismiss all the signs that I am supposed to pick up. Maybe that is why I felt so surprise when he proposed and confessed his feelings to me.

But what am I supposed to do now? Nathaniel said that I do not need to answer to anything, that he just wanted me to know and notice him. But will I really be able to look at him the same way again? Is this where our friendship ends? No more spending hours unearthing lost artifacts? No more cleaning up dust to figure out what is underneath? No more mysterious objects?

Before I realize it, I find myself walking the path to the Biology Department. Michael Kay, the Head Biologist, works here. Like Nathaniel, he also stays at work late. Though not as often. No one can top Nathaniel in breaking the work hours. Unlike him, he has life outside of the lab.

If I walk any further, I can reach James’ department center. When a man runs three different departments at the same time, sometimes combining those three into one office makes the job much easier. Sometimes I pay a visit to his department, when I have no artifacts to clean up. My cousin, Mark, is an apprentice of James in Mineralogy. Apart from jumbling three departments, James can still spare some extra time to mentor Mark after work. Another reason to drop by.

I wonder if I should, though. I might still feel a little bit upset, and I don’t want them to ask questions. It will just make me more upset, recalling the reason. Maybe I should just head straight home?

Before I can make a certain decision though, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around to meet with a pair of intense grey eyes.

“Michael, hi. Just got out of work?”

His hair is styled parted at the side as per usual. He wears lab coats like the others when he is at work, but off work he usually leaves it behind, walking out with an expensive grey suit.

“Yeah. Wanna grab a drink? I hear they are serving a new type of substance from Area-32.” His arm goes around my waist as he starts to direct me, as if he is not about to take no for an answer.

I stop and shake my head. “You know I don’t drink, but do enjoy yourself.”

He pulls the corners of his lips into a wide smirk, the muscles stretching so far off that I know he has the widest smile ever. Like a shark, as some may say. “Oh no, young lady. You’re not gonna get away that easily this time. I’ve been trying to get you to come with me for many times already. Order a glass of milk, if you must, but you have to say yes this time.” He nudges me with him again, his arm pulling with a gentle strength.

“Sorry, but not this time, Mike,” I try to wiggle out of his arm. “Perhaps tomorrow.” I am not really the type to go to bars and drink alcoholic substances. I have seen Dad get drunk on occasions when I was young. His face always got so red afterwards. Heck, I even mistakenly drank too much once, causing my face to turn as red as a tomato, as if I had been embarrassed by something. But I have sworn never to repeat such mistake again.

“That’s what you said yesterday,” he comments in a criticizing manner. “Come on. Just one drink. No harm done.” When he speaks, he makes sure to look into my eyes. The sincerity in his eyes is way too dramatic for someone who asks for a drinking company. It could have been too hard to resist, if it is not for its cheesiness.

“Can’t you ask someone else?”

He simply arches an eyebrow at me. “Lini, do I look like I have a lot of friends?”

I chuckle. “That’s kinda a sad statement. How about James, though? Isn’t he your friend?”

All of a sudden, the friendliness on his face is gone, replaced by a suspended outburst. “James and I are on a break right now, so if you would be so kind, please don’t mention his name to me for a while.”

“What? You and him? Fighting? Yeah, like this has never happened before,” I say sarcastically. Michael drops his arm around me and starts to walk away, but I decide to catch up to him. “Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad. You guys fight every now and then like how other good friends do. Tell me, what are you guys fighting about?”

He looks anywhere else but at me, almost making me believe that he is starting to ignore me completely, before muttering coldly, “I don’t want to talk about it right now.” I know that backing off is the wiser choice right now, but I can’t help but following the instinct of my curious nature. So I press my luck further.

“Michael—”

One second I am trying to keep up with him, and the next I am slammed against a wall. Slightly light-headed, my eyes can’t focus much but to the seams at the front of his grey suit. As I find out, the fabric is very slick to the touch this up close. I look up, meeting his grey eyes, which are staring down at me intensely. I feel an unseeing weight on me when our eyes look into each other, and I frown by the sensation.

This closeness gives me an involuntary chance to study every single frown line on his facial features. I can even see the early hint of his beard, hovering just around his jaws.

Michael notices my staring and decides to close the remaining space between us, force me to back up further against the wall. Not that I can back away much, since there is barely any space left.

My body temperature rises higher as it becomes harder to breathe with so much less space left. I notice that he is experiencing the same thing as well, which makes me wonder why he does not pull away. Our nose almost touches as we share the air. We are so close that I can taste the musky blend of his scent, mixed with a little hint of spearmint.

I don’t know why, but being this close to him reminds me of Nathaniel’s words just right after his unexpected proposal.

“I love you, Lini. Not as a friend or as a mentor, but as a lover. I thought you had figured this part a long time ago. I guess I wasn’t that obvious compared to others.”

Others, as in plural. He was talking about others, who might or might not have similar feelings for me. Don’t tell me—

“You have no idea….” He breathes out. His lips almost brush mine when he speaks. He tries to lean in even much closer, but I clasp my hand against his mouth before he can. This causes him to throw a deviant look at me, as if challenging me.

“Don’t,” I say. “We should get you to— Eeeeww!!!” I suddenly shriek out loud when I feel something slimy with beaded texture run across my hand. I can’t believe it! He just licks the palm of hand that I use to cover his mouth with.

I let go of him almost immediately and pull far away. I stare at my licked hand with a frown and try to raise it as further away from me as possible. Doesn’t he know how much germs are on my hand? I know I just washed it, but still, he couldn’t have known where it has been. And how knows what type of germs has been residing in his mouth.

“What the heck did you do that for?” I turn to him angrily. “And to think that I had considered going with you.”

“You are?” he asked huskily, excited hearing the news.

“At least I did. Now? Don’t even think about it!”

“What? Why? Don’t tell me that it really bothers you that much?”

“Well, obviously. You licked my hand! What the heck? What are you? One?”

His shark smile returns upon hearing my words. “Who is being childish now?” I throw him a look. “Oh, come on. It’s just a lick.” He takes one long stride next to me, closing in on me for the second time. Taking advantage of my astonished state, he leans in and whisper against my ear, his lips probably brushing my earlobe. “Imagine where else I can lick you.”

His words make my frown even deeper. My body even decides to turn red without much control. I take a step back. Michael chuckles when he sees the physical state I am in, causing me to frown much further. I don’t like being laughed at.

“I don’t need to learn this gross side of you,” I say, before finally deciding to walk away. Screw helping. I’m out.

I hear him scoffing from the distance. “How about that drink you promised?”

I turn to him for the last time. “Would you still want it if I ask James to join us?”

“No,” he replies almost instantly.

“Then you got your answer.”

Stupid Michael! Now I need to wash my hand again. I scuff harshly as I head back to the nearest restroom, though I can’t help but feeling a bit overreactive and guilty.

But why is he acting like this, anyway? He is not usually like this. The Michael I know can be a bit playful at times, but he is definitely not gross. With strangers, he always acts cold and distant, but he always lets loose when he is with James or me. Perhaps the fight, for whatever cause it was, has gotten into his head.

After I am done in the restroom, I decide to make a visit to his combined departments.

HiveA floating tower that serves as a house for those of the same family tree to live.