It was a clean, crisp autumn day. The kind of day that, whilst warm, has the smell of winter in the air. The day that makes you want to wear your favourite scarf and gloves, even though itâs still t-shirt weather. The airships buzzed overhead, sending their frozen vapour trails into swirling eddies as they crossed paths, the low hum from the engines mingling with the noises of life all around. Driverless electric cars hummed by on designated roads, and the overhead metro whizzed past, taking hundreds of city workers to their jobs and drones swept the pavements clean on a continuous loop, never needing rest.
Ignoring the scenes around him, a young man tucked his books to his chest and stumbled around masses of other new students, old students, lecturers and general public on a crowded campus.
Rhys was on his way to college. First week in a big town, a city almost, and the first day in a university heâd wanted to go to for ages. His parents had tried to dissuade him.
âStay homeâ theyâd said to him, âWork with us on the farm, itâs no life, studying all the time, you want the fresh airâ as theyâd gestured to the wide open spaces where they farmed cattle, sheep, even chickens. But he was sick of the farm, sick of the early mornings and late nights, the physical labour and strain on his back. He was only 21 for goodness sake and he wanted an education, and by the Gods he was going to get it. Although, whilst he was glad to be here, he was a little homesick for the wide open spaces. The sky here was too close.
The buildings were so tall, and so clean, bright and shiny. They had beautiful intricate patterns built into the glass and steel structures that loomed over the older, brick buildings, squat and ugly in their historic settings. The metro linked a lot of the taller buildings up, walkways between groups of skyscrapers too, saved people descending hundreds of floors, personal airships crowded the sky and even on a bright, clear, sunny day it was hard to get a sense of openness and height like back home.
âOOFâ A well built, dark haired young man had run into the back of Rhys, causing him to scatter his papers and books over the floor like a badly written 1990âs teen film. He smiled briefly at the thought of the ancient classic films they were shown in high school before getting on his knees and grabbing his things.
The boy who ran into him crouched down to help.
âDudeâ he offered him a folder âmate, I am so sorry, but like, you were just stood there, what were you doing?â
âOh, sorry, I was justâŠI donât know, I guess a bit overwhelmed, Iâm new hereâ
âAhhh, country boy huh? Youâve got that look about you. Iâm Baz, Iâm in charge of socials here, mixers, parties, informals and formals and so on. You thinking of joining a group?â
âIâŠI donât know?â Rhys rubbed his nose, and sign of nerves, and grinned shyly at this onslaught of friendliness.
âGreat!â Baz was like a one man hurricane of enthusiasm, it was hard not to instantly like him, âLook, Iâm organising an ice breaker at the student guild hall tonight, why donât you swing by? Find me, Iâll get you a drink, introduce you to a few people, I feel bad slamming into you like thatâ
âOk, sounds ermâŠcool I guess?â Rhys took the leaflet Baz was offering and grinned his shy grin again, âIâll, see you then?â
âYea! Great dude, ok, cool, see ya thenâ. Baz waved over his shoulder as he jogged off into the crowd. Rhys hoisted his bag onto his shoulder, grabbed his armful of books even closer and made his way to the first class of the semester.
Later that evening Rhys stood in front of the mirror heâd brought from his room back home and adjusted his shirt.
âTucked in, or left out?â he wondered to himself, untucking and tucking his shirt from his new jeans. Usually wearing bust up Levis on the farm to do the work he felt strange wearing âsmartâ jeans. One last look in the mirror.
âIâll doâ he said to himself out loud.
The students guild hall was in an old part of the campus, from back when it was first built. Made of red brick and stone, it was a stout, unsightly building compared to the tall, elegant glass spires that twisted into the sky. It has itâs own appeal though, the stone work was intricate, and inside the marble floors and high, curved ceilings were reminiscent of old money, very old.
Rhys could hear the music before heâd even walked through the door. Showing his student ID to the bouncer, he was nodded through and he entered the main room. Almost immediately Baz came bounding over to him like an excited puppy.
âMate! You made it! Awesome! Follow me!â
Before Rhys could even say a word Baz grabbed his hand and dragged him to the bar.
âWhatâll it be pal?â
âOhâŠerm, just a coke thanks, I donât drinkâ
âCoolâ shrugged Baz and waved at the bartender. âSo, what are you studying?â
Rhys thanked the barman and took a sip. Slightly too warm, but it was ok, as far as cola went.
âOh, network engineering â Iâve always been good with computersâ
âOh cool! Ok, so these are the computer tech nerdy guysâ.
He grabbed Rhys hand and practically dragged him across the floor to a group of people stood around a table. First glance they looked like your average bunch of guys, but you soon saw things that gave them away. A one guy was wearing a red bowtie, elf ear body mods on another guy, a cute tiny girl with blue and green hair was even wearing a nasa t-shirt, that amused him. He was sad when the agency closed down, but everything was privatised these days, and Space-X was doing some amazing things with space. The Mars colonies was his eventual plan, itâs why he took network engineering â canât beat a farmer who knows how to code he figured. Especially in a colony.
âGuys! This is âŠOH MY GOD Dude I didnât even ask your name! What am I likeâ Baz grinned maniacally and punched the top of Rhysâs arm. âWOAH, dude you are SOLID!â He grabbed Rhysâs arm and squeezed.
âUmâŠâ The short girl with blue hair poked Baz âWhen youâre done beingâŠwell, being yourself Baz â who is this?â
âHaha, omg ok, so heâs new and heâs one of you guysâ Baz swung around âOH! Look! Itâs that new poetry guy, I'ma catch you laterâ and he danced off, leaving the group stood blinking. Rhys was beginning to recognise that expression, like surviving a flash flood, but this was a Baz flood.
âSoâŠ.â The girl waved awkwardly âHi, Iâm Ruby, Iâm doing network engineering, year one â againâŠ.â
âRhysâ he said âYear one, first time, but I took a break after school before coming to uni so Iâm older tooâ
âOh, coolâ she smiled slowly. It was a strange smile, slow and creeping and all of a sudden sheâd been smiling for a while and you didnât even notice. She wasnât what youâd call amazingly gorgeous. She was short, really short, and her nose was all snubby, her cheeks chubby and a dusting of freckles covered her nose, cheeks and forehead. Her eyes were hidden behind thick rimmed glasses, but then she smiled and it was like seeing the sun rise on a grey morning.
âArwenâ they guy with elf ears thrust his hand out and pumped away at Rhysâs âyear two advanced computer codingâ he spoke in a tight, short voice and whilst his smile was friendly enough, the eyes behind it were cold and glittered with ice. He put his arm around Ruby. âWeâre togetherâ he smiled again, coldly.
âThatâs greatâ said Rhys âI have a girl back home on the farm, I miss her, youâre lucky to be togetherâ he didnât, but his hackles were up with this guy, and he wouldnât give him an inch.
The bowtie wearing guy coughed and awkwardly put out his hand.
âH-H-H-hi. Iâm M-M-M-mmmmmmâ
âMikeâ chorused the group, unthinkingly.
âM-mikeâ he said thankfully. âIâm th-th-the group s-s-s-tudent representativeâ The last word flung itself out of his mouth with such intensity Rhys was momentarily taken aback, but realised this was the way he could get harder words out. Instantly feeling a warmth towards him, Rhys grabbed his hand and shook it firmly.
âNice to meet youâ Rhys said, and meant it.
The night wore on and they chatted, Rhys found himself relaxing happily into a group. They all exchanged palm pilot info and got to know each other. Mike shared his love of intricate networking code, and even Arwen chilled enough to talk about farming techniques he knew from his own community. Ruby was chatty but guarded, she didnât give much away, but he found her easy enough to talk to.
As he chatted away in his new group of friends, someone caught his eye. He peered through the crowds and saw a tall, thin, elegant looking girl. Her arms were covered in bright, watercolour style tattoos, she had a few facial piercings, and bright purple hair. He blinked and she had vanished into the throng of people. He turned back to his new friends, the image of the girl leaving his mind as he chatted away. Happy he had come to the meet and greet now, he found himself looking forward to his time at university a lot more.
It was a couple of days later and he was walking to his class. The pavement less crowded now everyone had started to settle into the routine. The leaves on the treeâs had begun to turn orange. He smiled, there was no need for it, the synthetic leaves on the cities trees worked year round, but every year they turned orange for the autumn and early winter, and shrank away into imitation twigs for the winter, unlike the real treeâs back on his farm, which really did turn orange and shed their leaves. Humans were a funny bunch, he mused, weâve made such a mess of things, but we still like things to be as they should be. As he was walking along admiring the trees, Rhys noticed the purple haired girl walking towards him. She stopped to look at her palm pilot and Rhys walked over to her.
âHiâ he saidâŠâI, um, I donât usually do this but I noticed you at the party the other night and âŠumâŠ.I like your hair?â He ended his sentence in almost a squeak as nerves took over and his voice rose.
She smiled, a beaming, wide smile that reached her eyes and lit up her entire person.
âHi! Thank you! Most people think itâs too 'out thereâ yanno but it makes me happyâ She grabbed a bunch of it and flung it about. âitâs so retro right?â
âhaha, yea I guessâ said Rhys âvery twenty-tens!â
âI know right! Iâm Jen by the wayâ,she stepped in and gave Rhys a quick hug. She was a bubbly, enthusiastic girl and babbled away at Rhys happily, not minding at all heâd approached her. âso, what do you study?â
He realised heâd just been starting at her as she spoke, and shook himself internally.
âOh, networking and that..â he said dismissively.
âNo way, cool! Me too! Iâve just missed the first couple classes but Iâm on it now! In fact, Iâm meant to be on my way now, are you going that way? I think Iâm lost, I was just checking the campus map when you said hi.â
âYea I am actuallyâ Rhys fell into step beside her and they walked to the class together. He found her enthusiasm strange, she reminded him a lot of Baz, in fact, she looked slightly like him too now he thought about it.
âDo you, do you know Baz?â He asked her.
âYEA! Yea man, Baz is my brother, you know him too?â
âHe actually invited me to the party the other night, Iâve not seen him since though, is he ok?â
âYea heâs cool, just busy, student council and organising and stuff. He actually graduated last year, but stayed behind and took a job here for a year.â
They carried on chatting throughout the lecture, to the disapproving glances of their peers, and into the lunch hall together, not even thinking to call off their conversation, Rhys found himself opening up to her about his whole life, the farm, his loving but slightly over-bearing parents, his desires to join a colony and so on, and she told him all about her family, about growing up with Baz and how they teased each other, and how her complete lack of direction but enthusiasm for computing lead her to take the course. Most days after that they met up and walked to class together, usually with one of the others on the course as well.
That first semester was full of warmth and happiness. Everyone was great friends and very close. Jen and Ruby would tease the boys, threatening to do their make up if they fell asleep, taking silly pictures on their palm pilots and dressing up in costumes at any opportunity. Mikes stutter had become part of the conversation, the gang would fill in automatically for him, or tease him good naturedly about it and though it would never go, when he was with his friends it was much less noticeable. Arwen had lost his stoic coldness once he realised Ruby really was totally into him and he didnât need to be so guarded. He confided in Rhys one night that his mother and father had a very jealous relationship and he realised that it wasnât healthy. They talked deeply that night, and as the sun rose the two men were solid friends. The autumn bled into winter which fell into spring. Long nights around campfires drinking and talking turned into long study session as exams loomed and essays were due. The gang could often be found at each others rooms working together, studying, chatting or just playing the VR together. The work was hard but interesting and Rhys was smart enough to cope with the load.
As time went on though, Rhys began to notice Jen was looking drawn, the circles under her eyes were getting darker and she was slowing down. She wasnât the bubbly, outgoing girl he met at the beginning of the term, even the bright purple hair that first caught his eye hadnât been re-dyed in a long while.
One day when they were chilling in his room he sat next to her and took her smooth, manicured hands into his large, rough ones.
âJen,â he looked at her seriously, âareâŠare you ok?â his shyness that had left long ago returning suddenly at the thought of confronting his friend.
âHonestly?â She rubbed her face. âI ⊠I donât think I am.â Her chin wobbled and she took a huge breath in before fiddling with her fingers and avoiding his eye âI know like, that you and Ruby and the others find it easy and I really am trying and I donât wanna let you down butâŠ.likeâŠ. Iâm struggling with the work and itâs really making me kinda ill. Iâm so stressed about not getting a good mark that I canât sleep, or eat, and of course then Iâm tired all the time and I canât concentrate and it makes it worse. I donât know what to doâ
Rhys pulled her into his shoulder and stroked her faded hair.
âOh Jen you daft girl, why didnât you say anything, you know weâd helpâ
âI know, but, I donât want help, I want to be able to do it, but honestly, I really donât feel very well at all.â
They sat on his sofa and talked, a very serious, very long talk. He hadnât realised just how ill his friend was. Jen was really struggling with the work, and he could see the mental strain was affecting her physically. By the end of the night theyâd talked together about her leaving. He didnât want her to go, she was his best friend on campus, and his confident in most things, and he realised just how much he really cared for her. But if it was making her poorly, it wasnât right that she carry on struggling. They dmâd the others and they all came round, palm pilots pinging almost immediately in response and by the end of the night they had, as a group, figured out the best route.
Two days later Rhys leaned out of his dormitory window and waved goodbye to her, the promises to talk every single day still on his lips and the smell of her freshly dyed hair in his nose as theyâd clung tight. He watched her fathers van full of her things leave the campus and head out onto the road, the electric engine humming quietly as she went out of sight. He cried then. He sat down on his bed, sank his head into his hands and sobbed like he hadnât since he was a young boy. The last time he cried like this heâd lost his childhood dog to old age. He hadnât realised just how much he really did care for Jen. The way her smile lit up her face, the infectious bubblyness of her personality, the silly ideas she had and the way she was always there for him. That time heâd caught the most awful cold and sheâd brought him chicken soup and teased him about his âman fluâ. All of this hit him deep in his stomach. He knew she wasnât far away, but sheâd gone, and it hurt. He cried himself to sleep that night.
The semester spun along, as spring turned into summer they all finished their exams and said goodbye for the summer holidays. Promises to meet up, dmâs from Jen and arrangements were made, and Rhys went home to the farm. Heâd missed his parents, and they were thrilled to have him back. The summer passed by in a whirlwind of family gatherings, barbecues and even his cousins wedding. He invited Jen along as his partner and they had the best time, laughing and drinking. Before she left they drove up to meet Ruby and Arwen, and spent a weekend at a lake house. The artificially heated waters filled with screams as the young adults splashed each other and messed about whilst the airships whizzed by in the hot summer sky over head.
Summer soon left and with it Rhys left the farm, this time to a shared house near the college with Ruby, Mike, Arwen and another girl Tina, who was studying Law. Baz had left the university now, moved onto a role in a large company that sent him all over the world. They had the occasional message, or vlog from him in some random country where heâd set up a huge data system, or met some interesting locals he wanted to share.
The year passed slowly, the laughter was much less as the work got harder and everyone more serious. Ruby and Arwen argued hard, and made up even harder, their bedroom door often banged on and a yell to âkeep it downâ from the other housemates. No one minded really, they all were still as close as could be, and it was a way to blow off some steam. Jen messaged now and then to say sheâd make the trip up, but days, weeks and eventually months passed with no visit. Sheâd taken a role in her fathers company and was learning how to run the business, presumably to take over from him eventually they all said, and she was busy. Exams rolled around again, and the messages slowed to a monthly catch up, and eventually trickled to a stop.
Jen would drop him a line now and then, full of news about her life, the bubbly Jen he knew, but on the other side of the country now. The conversations full, but brief. Heâd reply with just as much news, but over time, eventually she stopped texting and he stopped replying. Not on purpose, but work, university and life just took over, and Jen, and Baz to an extent, became a distant, fond memory for all of them, a like of a post on Instafan, or a âlolâ comment on MyBook and that was it.
University ended and Rhys moved back home. Applications to jobs sent out he took on some freelance work which sent him around the area and eventually around the country. Word got about that he was quick, capable and an honest worker, and he soon found himself charging more and more, and busier and busier. He reached out to Ruby and they went into partnership together, within months they had set up a company and employed more staff. He even managed to do some work for his childhood dream company Space-X before the Mars projects collapsed in a major disaster. Two years after he had left university he was in his office replying to emails and working on a new data centre design when ruby burst into his office and thrust her palmpilot at him.
âWhat?â he mouthed at her. She just grinned and closed the door.
âHello?â he asked, wondering what had got Ruby so excited.
âRhys?â
âJen?â he whispered âIs that really you?â
âIt IS! OMG RHYSâ She squealed and he held the phone away from his ear a second, grinning like a schoolboy. He could hear her manic fast babbling âand so I saw your picture in the Business news section on the pilot when I was catching up and I recognised you like right away and then I saw your company name and so I rang but your line was busy so I tried again and got hold of Ruby and omg doesnât she sound great are her and Arwen doing ok? I saw on MyBook that they had gone to Bali for the summer donât they look sweet I canât believe he got rid of his ears though but I guess weâre all serious now âŠ.â She took a breath. âSo, anyway, Iâm in your area on business and wondered if youâd like to grab lunch?â
âUmâŠyea, sure..when?â
âOh, like now?â
Rhys burst out laughing, she hadnât changed a bit. âYou know what, yea, why not, I'd like that, Thereâs a great little fusion place round the corner from the office, do you know the address? Iâll buzz it to your pilot now.â
âYey I got it! Ok, see you in 20 mins?â she hung up before he could reply.
Suddenly his heart raced, he hadnât seen her in what? Two, nearly three years? Not since the summer of his cousins barbecue? Had it really been that long?
He stood in front of the mirror in his office. The same mirror that had followed him all that time ago from his little farm house bedroom, into the city and now into his high rise office. He smoothed his hair down.
Money was kind to people and he dressed well, and looked good. But he felt like that out of place country hick thrown into a city party again. He threw on a jacket and stuck his head into Rubyâs office.
âSo⊠Iâm going to meet Jen for lunchâ he said, with a bemused look on his face.
âOh my godâ she giggled, âThatâs so Jen, so random! You going to Chiaros?â
âYea, love me a bit of fusionâ.
âYou sure do! Ok, have a great time.â
âI willâ
He left the office, shook his head to the offer of a car from his doorman and walked around the block. As he entered the restaurant the owner bustled over.
âMr Rhys sir hello! Table for one sir as usual sir?â
âNo, actually Chi, Iâm meeting an old friend. Two please, and quiet?â
âQuiet?â a voice over his shoulder made him jump âsince when were we ever quiet?â
He turned around to see her stood there, bright purple hair shining as the sun gleamed through the windows and hit it just right, like something from a cheesy movie. She was dressed smartly in a business suit, her facial piercings gone apart from one tiny gem in her cupids bow just above her lip. She grabbed hold of him and squeezed him so tightly he made a slight âurkâ noise.
âEep sorry!â she grinned at Chiaro and he grinned back, leading them to a booth and taking drinks orders.
