Issue in the Showers

“Why if he thinks me a mischievous fellow, he is only returning a compliment”

 –Mr. Farebrother—Middle March

—George Elliot

The morning bell pulsed in the hall, ringing loudly for every Surface Patrol cadet to rise for morning service. Zormna Clendar rubbed her eyes as she rolled off her bench onto the floor as her roommates did the same. Her fiery blond curls were twisted this way and that like a tangled bush, some of it sticking to her sweaty face as she kneeled to express her thankfulness to the Creator—but in half-empty effort in meditation as it was more habitual than genuine. Murmurs of devotion filled the room. She groggily wondered if the Creator was real, and if so, did He really listen.

She was always kept away from the priests at the weekly services when they arrived all solemn and chanting, she thought as she prayed. The Kevin said it was for her safety. But Zormna had thought about that a great deal, wondering why the seer class would care to harm her. She prayed they wouldn't. And yet she could have sworn her father saying the seers were friends of the Tarrns, and her secret that she was a Tarrn being exposed was the only thing she had to fear. A seer would not betray that if they figured it out. But the Kevin said they were taking no chances.

When finished with her morning meditation with a solemn word of closing, Zormna stood up and marched out of her shared quarters to the shower room for her issue attire as everyone else did. Lines stretched in wait for the stalls, the wet tile glistening as the warm fog of steam filled the ceiling, sucked up into the vents so the water would not be wasted. As they collected their daily issue, each female cadet carried her set of clothes and boots in her arms, staring at the ceiling in boredom. More close friends chatted amongst themselves, taking more time than they ought as Zormna steadily slipped behind a sixteen-year-old Aver that was just promoted a month ago. Zormna stared in envy at the official green uniform the girl

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 26.02.2018
ISBN: 978-3-7554-7876-8

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