Geographical Centre

Darkness enveloping, alone I stood in my infinite depth of misery. Suddenly, a sharp, blinding light illuminated in front of me, cutting through the darkness and leading me towards a path which I could barely see in the far distance. I sprinted ahead to keep up, when I saw the silhouette of a girl. She was tall like me, her hair flowing in the dry winds of the desert. She was gesturing towards me to come forward. Just as I took another step, I saw her face. Her brunette hair blazed in the light like a raging fire, her cold hazel eyes piercing deep in my heart. The rest of her features were hidden away under a small bandana-like clothe which covered her face from nose to chin. The light that was guiding me entered the girls chest and she exploded in a spectacle of brilliance.

I opened my eyes.

The star decals on the ceiling greeted me as usual; their shine faded, but quite noticeable. It was pitch black outside, so I figured that there must be only some time left till dawn. The night lamp assisted my eyes as I scanned the room, my eyes glancing from the corner to my right - where an IKEA DETOLF glass door cabinet stood exhibiting my 'treasures' (prized possessions) - to the Game of Thrones poster with a sigil of house Stark reminding me that 'winter is coming', which hung around the opposite corner.

I sat up, blinking the dreariness away, and focused my eyes on my 'treasures'. They included: The Flash's Ring (one of my favourite DC characters), the first 6 issues of Star Wars in mint condition (I really don't know how dad pulled that off), a headband of 'Hidden Leaf village' from 'Naruto', and last but certainly not least: a 'how you doin?' mug, signed by Matt LeBlanc, the actor who famously spoke the iconic dialogue.

After a long gratifying look at them, I stood up and walked over the the bathroom door and swung it open, the sea green color of my room fading into waves of bright light as I entered.

I gazed into the mirror where my reflection showed itself: its skin pale white like a polar bear with nausea, nerves popping from each of the hands. Its face showed signs of a moustache and a few freckles which had survived the puberty stage, amber brown eyes glistening with ambition, and hair shortly trimmed into a military cut (a prerequisite of the academy).

It was around 7:00 a.m. and dawn had already broken, when I finally decided to get out of my pyjamas. I was very indecisive about my wardrobe, so I couldn't elect what to wear on my first day. Finally, after a long staring session with my clothes, I decided to ask my mother to choose an attire for me . I closed my bedroom door and walked towards the open kitchen, which was the jurisdiction of my mother, and prepared the only recipe in my cook book- a PB and J sandwich.

"So, let me guess... couldn't sleep?" Mother figured, starting with the same annoying attitude she has whenever I show up with the tensed and tired face of a cow minutes away from being slaughtered.

"Well... it is my first day so, yeah," I replied.

"C' mon Rumi, you'll do good, and anyways... it will be their loss if they don't choose you," she reassured me.

I started drifting off into my thoughts and doubts about me getting chosen or not, when my mother announced while clapping her hands for effect,"Chop chop dreamer! You'll be late on your big day!"

"Wow ma! thanks for pumping me up," I mumbled sarcastically.

"isn't it 'hyping'?"

"Ok there... Hold your horses," I chewed the sandwich, before muttering, "50 points for keeping up with the trends of the modern language though."

"50?! I deserve at least a 100 for that kind of efficiency."

"See, Samantha now that's a bit excessive, don't you think?"

"Rumi, stop blabbering, you're going to be late!" she urged, "And don't call your mother by her name!"

"About that..." I paused and looked at her with all the puppy-like cuteness I could muster in my eyes.

"No... No n-n-n-n-n-n-n-no."

"Mom, please, one last time."

"I remember you saying this the last time as well; you wanted help with selecting and it was a complete nightmare!" My mother shook her head in disapproval.

"Pretty Please," I pleaded, my hands joint in a triangle of importune.

"Alright!" She agreed with a lot of scoffs, tuts and eye rolls (she could be a great Mr.Bean; or Ms.Bean- whatever).

I rushed her to my room, eagerly anticipating her judgement. I laid down my top 5 choices, and waited patiently for her verdict.

"Well at least the situation is not as worse as last time when you had me choose between 15 outfits, but I think, hmm," she picked the black one up and spun it in a 180 degrees rotation. Then she pressed it to my chest as if I were a mannequin and finally decided,"Rumi, you'll look great in black and of course the cherry on top is the fact that it has long sleeves!"

"Thank you for your impeccable verdict. Now, please may I have some privacy, your honour?"

"Very well, the court is adjourned!" She chuckled, raised the invisible gavel and bowed, retreating out of my room with a proud smile and a spring in her gait.

As soon as she left, I crumpled to the floor as if a lighting bolt had just zapped me. A streak of warm tears streamed out of my eyes like water from a leaky pipe. I wasn't able to hold them in any longer; they landed on the folded clothes in my hands. I felt like all the despair that I kept hidden under my smile was finally bursting out of me.

My mother and I were always alone, as my father had passed away days before I was born. He was in a plane, returning to Belle Fourch, South Dakota for my birth. However, he never made it due to the plane crashing. The authorities had said that it was a technical fault.

My mother hid her sorrow. She gave me all the happiness she could, but I felt that all my courage had once again been drained when she told me about her medical condition. However, after everything that had happened she still somehow remained strong for my sake.

I wiped my tears, quickly got dressed and focused on the task of being enrolled in the academy. Only a selected few were chosen each year by the Golden Wood Academy; the institutions staff meticulously observed one's intellect as well as a minds resilience using a series of assessments to determine the Gold from the Pyrite (sorry for that). However, that's why G.W.A is one of the toughest institutions to get into.

I rushed down the stairs, all set for whatever G.W.A had in store for me.

"Mom I'm leaving," I said, snatching the last PB and J sandwich from the plate.

"Ok sweetie, best of luck," She kissed me goodbye.

I shut the white door behind me, neglecting my former school, Belle Fourch High on my left. I continued on 1114 Lawrence Street, rolling down the roads in my silver Prius, finally exiting straight onto Jackson Street. Thinking of the new milestones ahead, I wafted into the endless possibilities yet to collide with, and finally drifted to a halt after 5 mins: I had reached my destination. I got out the car, my heart beating as fast as a kingfisher.

'The Geographical Centre of The United States of America!'. I had come several times to this monument, but today was special. I continued walking past the Historical marker sign at the visitor's centre, which I had read many times in the past. I was delighted to read it again, and cherished the words engraved on them.

One of the marker signs read:

1959, The year it all started.

Walking blindly ahead, I stopped at the photosphere to take a closer look at the compass rose, and stared at the middle where the 12-inch stainless steel diameter monument rose from the compass.

"This is it!" I gasped excitedly.

I continued the walk to where the compass showed a sparkling 'S'.

"hey! Over here!" I shouted out towards Sebastian.

"Hey Rumi! What's up?" he exclaimed, still being rather clumsy with his robe.

"Nothin much," I said with a shrug, "You ready Seb?"

"Yeah, let's go!"

We walked past the hut towards a group of students who were mostly our age, when I looked at him again, bewildered by my childhood friends change in appearance: his blonde hair-which I had always seen dangling to his shoulders-were neatly cut like mine, his turquoise-blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight, and his pale skin which made him look more like a young girl than a Sebastian.

I chuckled at that thought as we reached the group. They were all gathered around the emerald green gate, waiting in anticipation as if a golden bear were going to blast through any second. While I waited with them, I told Seb about my dream.

"Quite a contrast there," He said sarcastically, "What with the light and dark; very mysterious, I must say." his sarcasm, as usual hitting right on point.

Just when he finished his response, the barred gates opened. Silence surrounded us, awaiting our entrance.

"Oh my God!" A red headed boy with black eyes said.

In complete unison, we flooded in through the now-open gates, and were completely blinded by the huge bolted golden gates reflecting the Sun. The property was surrounded by a fort like structure, which looked like something out of a story from The Arabian Nights. Minute designs were carved on an arch above the gate, and further above were windows twinkling in the morning Sun, where we could see several profiles of people working in long white robes.

"Woah!" Everyone gasped at the view.

"I remember when I saw this for the first time," Seb said.

"I know right, it's... legendary!" I declared in amazement.

We continued on the white marble, which paved the way between the surrounding sand. Soon we reached the entrance of the five-story administration building. Ignoring the gorgeous wood work that was on the monuments doors, we entered.

We were each called separately for our entrance test, so in the meantime everyone else was required to wait at the lounge outside, which looked no less than a 5-star hotel, with its maroon sofas and soft cushions, accompanied by a glass table, which held snacks and fruit juice for attendees. Everyone knew that this was just the beginning; once they entered there would be several more delicacies to savour.

It was there, while waiting, when I saw someone familiar.

"It's her!" I whispered to Seb, showing the direction with my eyes, unable to mask my distressed expression.

"Who is that?"

"It's her, man!"

"Wait you don't mean..."

"Yes, the girl from my dream!"

That was the first time I saw her, the first time I saw you.