Текст книги "Sunset Rising"

Автор книги: S. McEachern

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 22 страниц)

Chapter Three

In silence, I donned the crisp white uniform and tried to gather my hair into a tight bun, but a few wisps always escaped the elastic. Frustrated, I took a deep breath and smoothed my palms over each side of my head, willing the errant strands into place.

Summer gave me a sympathetic look. “She’s just trying to scare you.”

Maybe Summer was right. After all, people in the Pit noticed my hair because it was a spot of color in an otherwise monochrome world. But up here in the Dome, the bourge were used to seeing a lot of colors. The walls, the floors, the furniture, the plants—everywhere I looked color shone out. My hair would blend in.

Our supervisor told us to line up for the elevator. She explained that the kitchen was six floors up, which was too far for us to walk. Since I walked a mile of stairs to work every day, six floors didn’t sound like a very long climb at all, but I was happy to take the elevator. I had never been in one before.

When our turn came, Summer grabbed my arm as the doors closed. The elevator began its ascent, and a rolling sensation gripped my stomach. For a moment, I thought I might be sick. Then the elevator came to a stop, and the doors opened again. I’m not sure I enjoyed the ride. Summer looked a little green, too.

The kitchen was a short walk from the elevator, and we were shown through the servants’ entrance. This kitchen was different from the one Summer and I worked in on the main floor. There was polished steel everywhere, huge refrigerators, and twice as many stoves as in our kitchen. The floors gleamed white despite the many people rushing around preparing food.

“Go over there,” said a busy cook, pointing to where a group of girls dressed exactly as we were stood waiting patiently.

We joined the queue and waited for the rest of our group. Once we were all present and accounted for, our supervisor marched us into the dining room. It was positively breathtaking. Real wood floors shone with a glossy polish. Round tables scattered about the dimly lit room were draped in heavy white tablecloths and adorned with crystal glasses and silver cutlery. What looked like actual candles stood in the centre of the tables—but I was sure they couldn’t be real because the law prohibited open flames inside the Dome. Any open flame would be too much of a fire hazard. But the flickering glow from the candles was still real enough to make sparkles of light dance on the crystal and silver.

A camera crew was set up to broadcast the president’s arrival. Some of the dinner guests were already seated at the tables while others still shuffled in. Our supervisor told us to stand along the back wall with our backs straight and our arms at our sides. The president would be the last to enter the room, and we, along with the rest of the guests, would have to salute him.

It took forever, but finally everyone was seated. The national anthem began to play, heralding the president’s arrival. The sound of chairs scraping across the floor filled the room as everyone stood to attention for the arrival of President Damien Holt.

The whole thing was all so pompous, yet I was excited by the thought of seeing him for real. I glanced over at Summer, and I could tell she was excited too.

The front of the room was hard to see with so many people in the way, but I was tall and standing on my tiptoes gave me a partial view. I saw the president enter and was struck by how short he was. The patches of grey at his temples stood out in stark contrast to his otherwise dark hair. He took his position at the head table and waited for the music to end. When it did, everyone in the room snapped their right arm straight up in a salute then quickly placed it over their heart—a gesture meant to show support and demonstrate obedience. The room was silent until the president cleared his throat.

“We are here tonight to toast this young man, Jack Kenner.” Damien Holt patted the back of the man standing beside him. I recognized the bridegroom from the interviews I had seen on the television in our common room. It was hard to tell from this distance if he was as handsome in person.

“In two days he will be joined with my most prized possession—my daughter, Leisel. This will mark the first time in the history of the Dome that the Holt and Kenner families will be united by marriage. And one day, Jack, you will occupy the Presidential Office with my daughter at your side. Together you will lead our people into the next century.”

The crowd clapped, and a cheer went up.

“I won’t lie to you, Jack. It won’t be an easy task for you and my daughter. These are turbulent times. It has been almost three hundred years since the enemy dropped nuclear bombs across our lands. Almost three hundred years since our people were forced into the bio-dome to seek refuge from the fallout of those bombs. And almost three hundred years later, here we all stand.” He paused to look around the room, giving an air of drama to his words. “A testament to our strength and power. Despite our enemy’s best efforts to annihilate us, we continue to survive!”

All the guests were clapping again, shouting “President Damien Holt” at the top of their lungs. The bridegroom was no exception. They all seemed a little crazy. Then the president raised his hand, and the crowd immediately fell silent again.

“I know there have been rumours, my friends. Rumours that our food is running out and that it’s time we moved out of the Dome and back onto our lands.” He paused again, this time pointedly looking at some individuals in the room. A few men shifted uncomfortably. “Who here thinks that I would let my people starve? Who here thinks that I do not know whether our land is arable yet?” Another uncomfortable pause as he waited for anyone fool enough to answer him. No one did. “I have always been honest with you. And I have always been open about the samples the drones bring back to us, and they are still radioactive! Going out there is not an option!”

The president was yelling so loud that it hurt my ears. The bridegroom continued to stand beside his future father-in-law, vigorously nodding his head in agreement. Holt straightened his tie and then smoothed back his hair in what looked like an attempt to regain his composure. He took a few deep breaths.

“These vicious rumours are causing unnecessary apprehension, and they must cease before hysteria results. Already there has been unrest in the Pit because these falsehoods are leading our friends down there to believe they are being treated unfairly!” The president drew his lips into a tight line and balled his hands into fists. “Did we not open our doors to all those civilians who came to us seeking shelter from the bombs?”

The crowd nodded their heads and a few yelled, “Yes!”

“And do we not continue to provide shelter, despite their growing population and despite their growing demands on our food and water supplies? The Dome is capable of providing enough for everyone if we continue to live sustainably. So I say to our neighbours in the Pit that we must all do our part to maintain harmony and balance within the confines of our refuge!” As he spoke, his voice became steadily louder until he was yelling again. The guests shouted their agreement, giving the president their full support. He held up his hand to silence them once more.

“We can continue to grow strong, but it is up to each and every one of us to make that happen. And the marriage of my daughter to this man, Jack Kenner”—he patted the bridegroom on the back—“demonstrates that our life here can be every bit as good and beautiful as human existence was before the bombs. I can’t think of anything more inspiring than to see two young people in love joined in holy matrimony with all the possibilities the future holds before them. They are the embodiment of hope. And it is with these sentiments that I invite all of my people to take a day off from work and celebrate Leisel’s day. I have authorized the wedding to be televised. And for all those who think we are on the brink of starvation, I give a feast. It will be a day of celebration! A day to rejoice in all that we have to be thankful for!”

He reached for Jack Kenner’s hand and held it high in the air. The guests were going crazy. Shouts of “Long live President Holt!” went up. I heard a few people giving their praises and congratulations to the groom. I could only imagine the reaction in the Pit now that the rumour of a feast was confirmed.

It seemed like an eternity before the two men finished patting each other on the back and the president took his seat. Everyone else followed suit. The camera crew packed up and left. Our supervisor ushered us back to the kitchen and ordered us to start taking the food out to the guests.

The girl in front of us turned to look at Summer and me. “Since you’re new, I’ll help you out.” She was the same girl I’d spoken with downstairs. “You’ll be assigned a number when they give you a tray. Go out through those doors and find the table with your number on it. When you serve, you put the plates down gently between the cutlery in front of the person at the table. Usually you serve ladies first, but this is a bachelor party for the groom so there are no ladies here tonight. When everyone at the table is finished eating, clear the plates away. Then you can serve the next course.”

“Thank you,” I said. I had no idea it would be so complicated. “I’m Sunny, and this is Summer.”

“I’m Wynd,” she said, and gave us a halfhearted smile.

We were each given a tray holding four plates. We had to balance the tray on one hand so the other was free to set plates down. I was afraid I would drop it, but when I focused on just putting one foot in front of the other, I made it to the dining room with no trouble. I’d been assigned table nine. I searched out that table and headed toward it.

There were twelve men sitting there, all oblivious to my arrival. I set the plates down at each place setting just as Wynd had told me. No one complained, so I assumed I was doing it right. I expected them to start eating right away. I would. The food looked and smelled delicious. But they just continued talking among themselves, ignoring both the food and their server. My tray empty, I made my way back to the kitchen for more. My tray was refilled with four more plates, and I returned to table nine. Still no one had eaten. How could they ignore all that food? It was taking every bit of my will power not to eat it myself. I delivered the plates and went back for more. When I’d served all the plates, the men finally began to eat. I joined the other servers standing at the back of the room as we waited for our tables to finish.

While I was waiting, Wynd told Summer and me that the bourge ate their meals in courses. Tonight the first course was salad, the second soup, the third a plate of meat and vegetables, and the fourth—and final—dessert. It was going to be a very long night.

With each course I served, it became harder and harder to ignore the smells wafting up from the food. I was practically drooling. I was certain that the sound of my stomach growling was loud enough to be heard over the din of conversation and music. But on and on they ate. I delivered a full plate and took it away only half empty. Finally I served the last course—dessert. It looked scrumptious.

“Listen up girls!” our supervisor called out. “After you finish cleaning off your assigned table, wait by those doors for further instructions.” She pointed to the doors we’d come in through earlier. “Once you’ve been given something more appropriate to wear for the evening, you’ll be brought back to the dining room. Under no circumstances should you approach any of the men. If someone wants your company, he’ll let you know.”

Nausea rose up inside me. I’d been hoping this part of the evening would never arrive. Summer looked worried too, although she tried to hide it when she caught me looking at her. Glumly we picked up our trays and went back into the dining room to clear tables. This time I kept a close eye on Summer. I didn’t want us separated again, so I matched my speed to hers. When we were finished clearing, I walked just fast enough to get behind her.

Summer walked through the doors, stopping to place her tray on the racks provided for dirty dishes. The small alcove leading to the kitchen gave us a precious moment of privacy.

“Don’t leave my side tonight, Summer.”

She turned to look at me. “I’ll try, Sunny. But I’m scared.”

“So am I.”

She stepped aside to allow me to set my tray down, and as I did she plucked a tidbit of leftover dessert from one of the plates.

“Summer, what are you doing?” Stealing food was never tolerated. She knew that. I almost dropped my tray onto the rack.

She opened her mouth to say something, but a muffled noise signalled that we were not alone. A jolt of panic went through me. Without thinking, I snatched the food out of Summer’s hand and popped it into my mouth.

“Hungry?” a woman asked from the shadows.

She pushed away from the wall where she’d been leaning and approached us. She looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t quite place her. She and I were about the same height, but that’s where any similarities ended. Her hair was blonde and her eyes looked blue, but all the makeup she was wearing made it hard to tell.

“Yes, ma’am. I’m hungry. But I know I shouldn’t have taken the food. I apologize,” I said. Summer bowed her head and turned her eyes to the floor like any good urchin did in the presence of the bourge. I did the same.

“You took the food?” she asked. “I saw everything. Your friend took the food and you’re covering for her. I think that’s sweet. What’s your name?”

I risked glancing at her and saw she was staring at me. “Sunny O’Donnell.”

“I didn’t mean to spy. Well, not on you anyway.” She laughed. “I was peeking through the door to see if my fiancé is behaving himself tonight. Sometimes he drinks a little too much wine.”

Did she say fiancé? I realized she must be Leisel Holt, the president’s daughter. My heart sank and panic rose up to take its place. Of all the people to catch us stealing food!

“He has behaved himself tonight, hasn’t he?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said.

“Really, there’s no need to be afraid of me. I won’t hurt you. Please, call me Leisel.” She sounded overly friendly. Summer and I gave each other a nervous glance. We were confused. “I mean, it might even be nice to make some friends. I don’t have many… being the president’s daughter and all.” She studied me, but I didn’t know what to say to her, so I remained silent.

“Most people think it must be the most wonderful thing in the world to be the president’s daughter, but it isn’t. It’s absolutely horrible! I don’t have any friends. I have to live my life in the public eye—always behaving myself and looking my best. And as if constantly having people look at me weren’t enough, there are rumours that someone wants to kill me. Can you believe it? Someone actually wants to assassinate me.” Tears welled up in her eyes. She looked pathetic.

I surprised myself by reaching out to take her hand. “That’s awful.” I wasn’t really sure what I was doing, but I thought if we showed her a little sympathy, she might return the favor and not tell on Summer for taking the food.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to cry.” She grabbed my hand as if it were a lifeline and held it tight. “I’m really trying to be brave. But it’s so scary thinking someone could kill me at any time.”

“I can’t believe anyone would want to hurt you,” Summer said. I wasn’t sure if Summer knew what I was trying to do or if she was just being her genuine, loving self.

Leisel considered her for a moment, but turned her attention back to me. “You’re both so very sweet.” She took a tissue out of her pocket and dabbed the corners of her eyes, careful not to smudge her makeup. “Oh, I must look awful. But I feel so much better. Thank you for listening.”

Seeing that she had stopped crying, I began to relax my hold on her hand, but she tightened her grip and refused to let me go. “We are friends, aren’t we?”

Her eyes seared into mine, waiting for my answer. “Of course.” I was confused by her strange behaviour.

The last of the girls carrying trays walked past us into the kitchen and gave us puzzled looks.

“I have an idea! We should hang out tonight,” she said, clearly meaning only me. “I like talking to you, and I really do think it was very noble of you to cover up for her.” Leisel looked at Summer but with no kindness in her expression. I got the feeling we were being threatened.

“I have to work tonight,” I said awkwardly.

“I thought you were almost done?”

“No, ma’am. There’s a party this evening.”

Understanding came over her features. “Oh right, it’s a bachelor party.” She seemed to ponder the dilemma for a moment. “I know. I’ll get Jack to make a request for you. He can take you back to his apartment, and I’ll meet you there.”

She looked pleased with her plan, but alarms were going off in my head. I had a really uneasy feeling about her, but I knew that if she wanted me to do something I would have to do it. There was no way I could refuse the president’s daughter.

“If you’re worried about your friend, I’ll see what I can do about getting her off duty for the night.”

I looked at Summer. She seemed worried.

“Okay,” I said. I had little choice. I was grateful that Leisel offered to send Summer home. It made the situation a little more tolerable.

“It’s all settled then. I’ll just go out and tell Jack, and he’ll come and get you when the time is right. We’re going to have so much fun!”

“Her name is Summer. Summer Nazeem,” I said pointedly, wanting to be sure she excused the right girl from work.

“Summer. I’m sure I’ll remember.”

She gave my hand a final squeeze before she walked out into the dining room. I heard a volley of clapping from the guests as she entered, then laughter.

“Sunny, what are you doing?” Summer asked in a terrified voice. “Why did you say you’d go with her? She’s a wackadoodle!”

“Ssshhh! Someone might hear.” I looked around to see if anyone else was lurking in the shadows. “We just got caught stealing food. You know we could be beaten to death for that. And didn’t you hear her say she’d get you off duty tonight? Not only are you not going to be punished, but you get to go home!”

“And you get left behind with her.”

“Do you really think I have a choice?” Her look of resignation told me she knew I didn’t. “Look, I’d rather sit around holding her hand tonight than being entertainment for one of those old men out there. And you get to go home. So something good is coming from all of this, right?”

“I don’t know about that, Sunny. I have a bad feeling.”

Summer didn’t often have a bad feeling about anything. I took her seriously, even though there was nothing I could do about it. “I’ll be fine, I promise,” I said with more conviction than I felt. “We should get back before we get into any more trouble.”

As we entered the main part of the kitchen, we came face to face with our angry supervisor.

“It’s about time!” she yelled. “Where have you been?”

“We were stopped by the president’s daughter,” I said. An idea was forming in my mind. I could still hear the crowd shouting out comments to Leisel, asking why she was at a bachelor party. There could be no question that she was indeed here.

“Is that so? And why on earth would the president’s daughter want to talk to you two?”

“She asked about her fiancé and whether or not he was drinking a lot of wine. She wanted to know if he was behaving himself. That’s all.”

She stared at us for a moment.

“You can ask her yourself.”

“Hurry up and get in line. You need to be back in that room in twenty minutes.”

Relieved, Summer and I hurried to join the lineup of girls by the door. We were the last to arrive. Our supervisor led us to a room where the rest of the girls were in various states of dress. Some were getting their hair done up, others having makeup applied.

A young woman took me by the arm as soon as I walked in. “I have just the dress for that hair.”

Someone else led Summer away in the opposite direction.

The woman with me picked up a floor-length emerald strapless dress. She motioned for me to get undressed. Once I had, she slipped the silky gown over my head. The bodice was too big for me, so she pinned it and then made a few quick alterations. I could tell it had been altered several times before.

She laughed. “At least I won’t need to hem it.”

I looked down. The hem of the dress hovered above my ankles.

She tapped her teeth with one fingernail as she stared at my feet. “With the right shoes…”

She left me for a few moments and then came back with a pair of sparkly high heels.

“They’re not too high—we don’t want you towering over all the men! But it will make the dress look like it’s been shortened deliberately to show off the shoes.”

I strapped the shoes on my feet and tried to stand up. I had seen women in the movies wear heels, and I tried to walk like they did. Satisfied with my outfit, the woman told me to go to the hairdressing station. I practiced walking in my high heels on my way there and almost twisted my ankle.

“Your hair is absolutely gorgeous!” the hairdresser said as she took the elastic out and let my hair fall down my back. “I’m tempted to leave it just the way is.” She pulled it this way and that. “Just a few curls to frame your face, I think.”

She took a hot curling iron from a holder and twirled locks of my hair around it. “There. You’re going to have a lot of suitors tonight.”

She sent me on my way to makeup.

The makeup artist examined my face carefully. “Let’s see.” She picked up a pair of tweezers and began plucking my eyebrows. It hurt. A lot.

“Sorry, hon. Normally I’d do this with wax all at once, but it would leave welts that wouldn’t have time to heal.”

Once she’d applied my makeup, I hardly recognized myself in the mirror.

Dressed and painted, I was ready to go back to the dining room. I didn’t see Summer anywhere, and I was relieved. I hoped she was on her way home.

I joined a small group of girls gathered at the door. None of them looked very excited to be there, although I could easily tell the newbies from the girls who had been there before. I wondered if the fear I was feeling was written all over my face, too. Although Leisel frightened me, I held out hope that she hadn’t changed her mind. An evening with her seemed less frightening right now than what else might be in store for me.

Someone led us back to the dining room, and it looked just as we’d left it. The tables were clear and the candles still flickering. A few girls, still in white uniforms, circulated with a bottle of wine in each hand. I looked around, wondering if Leisel was still there. Maybe she would come and get me herself.

But it wasn’t Leisel I saw. All dressed up in pink with an old man falling all over her, was Summer. She looked absolutely terrified.