Untitled- Chapter 2

“Your house is so cool,” Melissa exclaimed for about the fiftieth time.
She and Todd were in the kitchen eating grilled cheese sandwiches. She had washed her face and arms, and her hair was now relatively clean from twigs and leaves, although it wasn’t until she had splashed her face with some cool water that her head cleared enough for her to realize that Todd was incredibly attractive. He had wavy black locks that occasionally fell over his rich, chocolate brown eyes. His skin was tinged with a colour that hinted at European heritage. His muscles were clearly defined; she could tell even through his t-shirt. He was also extremely kind and seemed genuinely interested in her, in spite of her stammering and repetitive statements, like how amazing his house was. So of course she had willingly gone on a tour of it with him, and was now glad to have some lunch with him.
“In fact, it’s not a house. It’s a mansion. I mean, you have an actual movie theatre for watching TV, and, like, your own satellite that has access to every channel that exists! But you say you rarely ever use it?”
Todd smiled. “Only to watch the news every now and then, or to see a movie that catches my interest. We have access to every movie ever created, thanks to our satellite, and even some movies that are still in theatres. My dad uses it more than me, though. He likes to watch hockey.”
Melissa shook her head in disbelief. “If my family owned a private movie theatre, I’d invite all my friends over every weekend to watch movies, illegally downloaded or not. You are just so lucky. And the fridge! You don’t even have to open it! You just say what you want into that little microphone thingy and it pops out onto that tray.”
“We’ve also got a robot to cook for us. My dad has taught it a few simple recipes, like grilled cheese sandwiches, but it still needs some work, so we don’t use it much right now.”
“Just… wow.” Melissa shook her head again. Then she looked at him suspiciously. “Your dad could make a crap-load of money off of these inventions. Why hasn’t he sold any of them to any major companies? Not like you aren’t rich enough as it is.”
Todd hesitated for only a moment. His dad had given him permission to tell her whatever he felt like telling her. Even if he hadn’t, Todd had a feeling that he would find it hard to keep secrets from Melissa. Something about her amused him, but fascinated him at the same time. Her sweetness and innocence evoked a deeper feeling of compassion than he was used to feeling, and he was used to being compassionate.
“Well, there’s a long story behind that,” he admitted. “You see, for a long time my dad did sell his inventions to appliance companies and the like. But soon his inventions caught the interest of the government. There were a couple of times when he caught a spy trying to find the plans to his latest creation, and he threatened to sue the government. They knew better than to risk their reputation by loss in a lawsuit over attempted stolen inventions, for which there was strong evidence. So the government left him alone… for a while.
“But after my mother died, five years ago, my dad went frantic- some might even say slightly insane. He froze her body in liquid nitrogen and took a strong interest in cryopreservation. He’s been trying to find a way to bring her back to life ever since. However, this allowed the government to pounce and sue him for undergoing the research for cryopreservation on her body without her written permission. So he went into hiding. He hired some friends and workers from a construction company to help him illegally build this mansion. The land it’s on isn’t owned by any township. He’s been working on trying to bring my mom back to life ever since. However, he still comes up with other inventions, like the cooking robot, and sells them underhandedly to people for private use, for an income. Neither of us fills out any forms anymore that can be tracked by the government. This means that we don’t have credit cards or bank accounts- all our money is kept in the house.”
Melissa drank in his words, contemplative. Even his voice is incredibly sexy, she couldn’t help thinking. Out loud she said, “That’s really cool. So, what school do you go to?”
Todd chuckled. “I went to school in Kelowna until the end of grade nine, which is when my mom died. After the whole incident with the government, we both changed our names and my dad got us new ID's. My old name was Avery, but I adjusted pretty well to ‘Todd’. Even with the new ID, though, my dad was paranoid about being found, so he actually refused to let me go to school. So, for my high school years I was kind of home-schooled. He taught me a lot about what he knows about science and math, and, well, I’ve always been an avid reader and writer, so I occasionally write a book review and published it on the web. Not exactly proper schooling, I know, but there wasn’t really anything I could do about it. I'll tell you, though: life is pretty boring when you don’t have school to attend or a job. Obviously, I don’t need to work. My inheritance alone is more than most high school dropouts make in a lifetime.”
“I guess your life must be pretty boring,” Melissa replied jealously. “You don’t have to work, you don’t have to go to school, and you don’t have to worry about paying bills. Poor you.”
Todd caught on quickly that he was coming across as arrogant to Melissa. “I don’t mean to sound rude,” he responded. “In fact, there really isn’t much to boast about. I have very few experiences compared to most people my age. I’ve had virtually no social interactions in the past four years, and I have no friends from the nine years of school that I took. I’ve never been to a dance, or been in a serious relationship with a girl.” He blushed slightly. “In fact, I’ve never even kissed. I haven’t had the opportunity to meet new people, other than those I meet online and when I go to town to get supplies. I’ll never go to a prom in a limousine with friends, or attend a college and earn a degree. I’ll never be able to work like a normal citizen, or pursue my interests. I doubt I’ll marry and have children, and even if I did, I couldn’t raise them like a normal parent.” He turned to stretch and as he did, his hand brushed Melissa’s. They looked at each other suddenly, caught in each other’s gaze. Melissa was the first to turn away, feeling embarrassed as a wave of heat crossed her cheeks and her heart pounded. Todd cleared his throat, equally flustered.
Now, technically, what Todd told Melissa wasn’t true. He probably could convince his dad to let him go to high-school under his new name, and he could graduate from it. Having done that, he could attend college and obtain a job. And he could certainly marry and have children… once he found the right woman, of course. And why haven’t I done any of these things? he wondered. Dad has always told me that it would be far too dangerous to be "exposed" to the world so long as the government is looking for him. But we’ve been in hiding now for four years. Surely the government isn’t that desperate to get a hold of his inventions. As he chewed on this, Todd realized that Melissa was staring at him. He cleared his throat, embarrassed.
“Sorry, here I am rambling on about my life and knowing nothing about you. What’s your family like? What kind of things do you like to do?”
Melissa was caught off guard. She hadn’t expected the conversation to turn to her so quickly. “Well…” she began, unsure. “My life is nowhere near as extravagant as yours. My dad works as a chemistry teacher at the local college, and my mom is a registered nurse. Our house is pretty average. We have a small lawn and my mom likes to work on our front garden a bit in her spare time. We have a dog and a cat. The cat sleeps a lot and they usually ignore each other, unless they both want the same place on our couch.”
She smiled. “As for other hobbies, well, I really like dancing. I take modern jazz classes, and the team I’m with sometimes does competitions. I’ve tried to learn piano, but I only got up to about level five before quitting. I’m not exactly very musical. I guess I prefer moving to a beat than creating the beat myself.”
Melissa took one more bite from her sandwich, then put the remainder on her plate and sighed contentedly. She noticed Todd’s eyes sparkle.
“What?” she asked.
“You don’t like eating the crusts. Neither do I.”
She looked at his plate, and saw that both of them had left the crusts of their sandwiches untouched. They both laughed.
Suddenly, Ethan appeared at the doorway.
“It’s good to see that you’re both getting along so well,” he said. “But I need to borrow Melissa for a few minutes.”
Todd and Melissa exchanged glances. Then Melissa looked back at Ethan.
“What for?” she inquired.
“I want to get an X-ray of your head,” he explained. “You seem to be fine, but we don’t know how deep it is, or if it’s damaged your brain at all. It’s best to be safe rather than sorry.” He smiled at her kindly.
She smiled back. “Alright. After the X-ray, though, can you give me a ride home?” Ethan nodded. As much as she wanted to stay and get to know Todd better, Melissa was anxious to find out how her parents were after the accident. But maybe…
She looked back at Todd. “Could I have your phone number? Maybe after this whole mess is sorted out we could hang out normally. If you want, that is.” She found herself blushing a bit.
Todd grinned. “Of course!” He stood up quickly, making his chair scrape against the kitchen floor. He walked smoothly to a drawer, reached in, and pulled out a pencil and a pad of paper. He scribbled down a number, then tore the piece of paper out and handed it to her. She smiled at him gratefully.
“Can I have your number, too?” he asked with a touch of hopefulness in his voice. She nodded, and he handed her the paper and pencil. She copied his actions, and he put the utensils away. Then, smiling at him once more, she followed Ethan out of the kitchen and into a room she had never been in before.
“Please sit here,” Ethan instructed, indicating to a seat that looked a bit like a dentist's chair. Melissa sat, reclining and letting her head settle into place. She noticed him pull a semi-circular machine that was attached to the ceiling down over her head. She had never seen an X-ray machine like this before. She had been X-rayed once before, when she fractured her ankle after falling during the school play in grade eight. She was even more confused when he stuck a couple of suction cup-like things on her temples.
“Aren’t I supposed to wear a lead apron or something?” she asked.
He smiled and shook his head. “I designed this X-ray myself. The gamma rays that it emits have been screened and altered so that they only penetrate the skin very finely. No harm will come to your body.”
“Oh,” she replied simply. He chuckled slightly and moved over to another, larger machine that consisted of many buttons and a screen. Should I feel nervous? she wondered. An X-ray machine that he made himself? How do I know it’s safe?
“Hey, Ethan, I’m just thinking... I don’t really need an X-ray, do I? I mean, I really do feel fine now. And besides-”
“Hold out your arm for a moment, please,” Ethan said suddenly, cutting her off. She did so reluctantly, but gasped in shock as he pulled out a needle and felt around the crook of her arm before injecting it.
“Hey, wait a minute! I never agreed to any injections! What does this have to do with an X-ray?” She tried to struggle, to push the machine that hovered above her head away from her, but the anaesthetic was faster. Oh my God, why did I ever agree to this? What are they going to do to me now? she wondered desperately as she drifted into unconsciousness for the second time that day.