{"id":804,"date":"2016-03-10T16:23:53","date_gmt":"2016-03-10T16:23:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/?p=804"},"modified":"2016-03-10T16:23:53","modified_gmt":"2016-03-10T16:23:53","slug":"timeless-chapter-5-by-sritha-vemuri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/timeless-chapter-5-by-sritha-vemuri\/","title":{"rendered":"Timeless Chapter 5 by Sritha Vemuri"},"content":{"rendered":"
\r\n
\r\n \r\n <\/i>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/span>\r\n<\/div><\/div>

Sometimes I wonder whether there will be one day when the sky turns to an eternal night. When the sun is hidden beyond piles and piles of fluffy marshmallow clouds. I claw at the air, lying in my bed, acting like a playful kitten. Then when I feel like falling asleep again the guards in front of my placid cell take me out for a walk. Or more like a tour. They show me where the bathroom is. Where the closet and test labs are. They show me everything. It\u2019s kind of weird though being explained something that you won\u2019t even need to know.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are you guys even showing me this.\u201d I say annoyed as they start telling me about every single chemical they have in the lab. Apparently they have over three hundred and fifty types.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell we\u2019ll wait for the boss to tell you.\u201d they say, leaving me in more suspense.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIs it good news?\u201d I ask. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t say.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy can\u2019t you say?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the boss said we couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do you have to listen to your boss I mean the boss is not your mom or dad or something.\u201d I say rolling my eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell we don\u2019t have parents that matter I mean they failed the tests so they\u2019re practically useless and if we wanna wake up with our heads then we better listen to boss.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIs your boss a he or a she?\u201d I ask again.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGi\u2026 Boy.\u201d they say. I stare at them for a bit, suspicious at the fact that they were about to say girl.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIs he nice?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The guards scoff. \u201cI guess you can say that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDid the boss make you kill your parents?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUm\u2026 Yes\u2026 No… \u201c then they stare at me with narrow eyes and shake their heads. \u201cWhy are we even answering you anyway? For all we know you might be trying to get some information out of us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell than why are you still talking?\u201d I ask. They stand in front of me and shake their heads again. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever. Just contact boss, Lewis will ya. I\u2019m gonna take a break.\u201d the other guard says and he walks off. The guard left of me, supposedly Lewis, takes out a his phone. I guess they couldn\u2019t improve those. He calls his boss and says,<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHey boss. The girl\u2019s here. Mark went on a break and he told me to contact you and she\u2019s been annoying the heck out of me here.\u201d he pauses to clear his throat. \u201cThe Grongula on floor three has been executed for not following orders like you ordered boss.\u201d He than hangs up the phone and then focuses his attention back on me, his face placid and his lips purse. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMind telling me how your pathetic sister managed to make the Grongula who had her in captivity all of a sudden follow her commands?\u201d he asked me. The news shocks me and my jaw drops.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. Camila has always been good with animals and creatures while I always absorbed myself in books, television, and video games.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lewis stares at his watch and leans over towards me. \u201cLook kid, I don\u2019t have time for your childhood so you can either tell me how your sister did it or just let me go work on the newest species to guard her.\u201d I stare at him, thinking of something that I could say to stall him. What if this newest species rage quits and kills Camila?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s just say you\u2019re gonna need kryptonite to stop me from getting to my sister.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He chuckles. \u201cYou remind me of myself when I was younger. An ametur thinking I was indestructible. Let\u2019s just say I was wrong and soon you will feel that feeling as well.\u201d he turns around. \u201cOh kid. Lucky you. We have tons of kryptonite.\u201d I stick out my tongue at him, narrow my eyes, and shake my head to show him I don\u2019t care. The truth is I do.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

When the boss comes I can\u2019t see their face. It\u2019s hidden beyond a mask with a pattern making out a shape kind of like a crucifix but curvy on the edges and thick in the middle. Even their hair is hidden. Probably in the hooded sweater they were wearing. I guess this boss had to keep their gender secret. Probably something the future was protective about. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was here to talk about whether you were the one.\u201d the boss\u2019s voice sounds like a computer program and their hands reach into touch my face. Both gloved thickly.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow am I supposed to know!\u201d I shout. \u201cYou didn\u2019t even give me the opportunity to say something to my sister and look at you! Your face is probably so hideous that you don\u2019t want to show it or maybe there\u2019s a secret that you have and you\u2019ve been hiding it from everyone.\u201d The boss steps away at that. Though I can\u2019t see their face I bet he or she is startled about what I said. Another guard steps forward to me and slaps me across my cheek sending a rash of pain go through my body.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was that for?\u201d I ask.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was for the way you spoke to boss.\u201d he stepped back in line behind me and the boss continued to speak.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was quite curious in how a pathetic human from the past like you could be the key to something so\u2026\u201d the boss pauses, looking for the right word. \u201cProdigious.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was wondering whether your sister\u2019s brains would work to fuel the machine. Especially since she was able to control our best Grongula.\u201d anger started to rise inside of me. How dare they hurt Camila.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t touch her okay.\u201d I whisper. \u201cTake my brains once I\u2019m dead or maybe even now just don\u2019t touch her.\u201d The boss chuckles and shakes their head.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is with you humans from the past and love? Why is it so important. Without your love you would be much stronger. No weaknesses. Take your son Chandler for example. He is a smart man. He sacrificed you and soon his Father as well will be sacrificed. You know. I\u2019m gonna let you on a little secret. I\u2019m not even from the future and this ring on my hand keeps me young. I\u2019m from the past like you and I started this evolution. Smart, right? I killed my parents with my own hands. I bled both of them to death and then put them in our neighbor\u2019s trash can. Pleading to the police officers to solve the murder.\u201d she pauses with a happy sigh. \u201cThey did. They put our neighbors in jail and gave me money to survive. It\u2019s how I made this wonderful dream come to life. You could\u2019ve done something truly amazing as well. Too bad you won\u2019t be able to see it all.\u201d she says and takes her cold, hard fist and knocks me out.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

When I was little I would frolic outside in the garden in our backyard picking up dead tulips, roses, and rhododendrons. My brother called me crazy and Camila, well she thought I was weird. At the end of every month I would put paper over the whole entire pile and compress them on a sheet of scrapbook paper. Once each of my scrap books were finished I would give them to my parents for christmas. Mom would get the one full of rhododendrons and roses while Father always got the one full of tulips. They loved them and had a box full of them. It wasn\u2019t even close to what they had done for me.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone thought I was ten when I was nine. All the big kids thought I was a midget. I knew I was only 4\u20195 but that didn\u2019t mean anything to me. I would walk around the halls acting like the school was mine. I had a huge ego back then but now my life has changed and I don\u2019t fight for the last cookie in the jar. I fight for the last droplet of blood in a human being.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

When I wake up it\u2019s morning and the boss is right in front of me. Something\u2019s different though. My arms are unchained and the boss\u2019s mask is off, set beside her. The boss is a young woman with long curly blonde hair that ends at the edge of her waist. Her face is scrunched up and her cheeks look a rosy pink from the blush she was applying. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHello.\u201d she says when she finally notices me. Her voice is smooth and she sits on a stool swinging her legs back and forth. \u201cYou wanna have a match?\u201d she asks smoothing out her hair.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat kind of match?\u201d I ask.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA boxing match.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOkay.\u201d I say skeptical as she picks up her blue gloves and hands me some gold ones. \u201cVisitor\u2019s advantage.\u201d she says. \u201cThese gold gloves you\u2019re wearing give you double times the power than these blue gloves.\u201d she says pointing to her gloves.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe fight starts\u2026 Now!\u201d she says wildly swinging towards my stomach making me fall backwards. She kicks me over and over again in a violent way making a bruise start to appear on my left knee.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c10! KO!\u201d she says, taking off her gloves. \u201cYou know I totally showed you hell.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t like the fact that the boss seems to have eyes on me more than any other patient in the system. I take my time to observe the blue and gold gloves from our boxing match earlier in the morning. The gold ones do less effort on the cell walls than the blue ones. That means that the boss cheated me. It makes me feel better now because without the advantage she would be dead meat.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

I wake up the next morning with a plate set aside me. it\u2019s filled with some protein, blue shake and a sandwich filled with tomatoes, onions, cabbage, and other veggies. They were trying to keep my blood healthy.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

The boss comes to visit me every night. It\u2019s creepy how she checks on me like a minion. I bet you she\u2019s not even the real boss who talked to me the first time. I swear the boss might be a boy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tonight when the boss comes to visit me, I stare blankly into her eyes and ask,<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow did you kill your parents?\u201d she\u2019s startled I even ask this question.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith my bare hands.\u201d she says calmly, sitting down next to me, stroking my hair in a weird cat like manner.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did you do it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor the money of course. To start this whole dream of mine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow did you get the money.\u201d I ask.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t I already tell you this?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThen why ask?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I wanna know if you are the real boss.\u201d she slaps me.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t ask that again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t understand why the boss has to make such a big deal over the question I asked last night. Maybe it\u2019s personal. Maybe she\u2019s not the real boss. Maybe she is and is offended that I would even have second thoughts.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

Later that night I hear voices outside of my cell.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTerminate her.\u201d the \u2018boss\u2019\u2019s voice is like sand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean the one\u2019s sister? then she\u2019ll\u2026\u201d the guard drops his voice. \u201cKill herself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201ci don\u2019t care. How dare she ask such a question. Even if I am not the boss boss I am still the boss.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSee that\u2019s what I mean.\u201d she chuckles flipping her curls over her shoulders. \u201cMen go head over heels for me.\u201d the boss continues. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf only that silly girl knew that Cathy was the boss.\u201d she chuckles. \u201cWhat a wonderful world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

My jaw drops at her words. Cathy. The girl who had been the first person she saw after her black out. That crazy woman with the clickety clack heels. She was the boss.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes I wonder whether there will be one day when the sky turns to an eternal night. When the sun is hidden beyond piles and piles of fluffy marshmallow clouds. I claw at the air, lying in my bed, acting like a playful kitten. Then when I feel like falling asleep again the guards in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":805,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-posts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=804"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":806,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804\/revisions\/806"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}