Four Years

Brad and Sam - Image by Nicole Connors

Bradley Fisher never believed in anything, until one night he runs into an old friend he hasn't seen in four years who wants to show him all of the wonderful things she has learned...

Written by Eric Rawlinson. Illustrated by Nicole Connors

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Sometimes, when you least expect it, the most amazing things can happen that will change your life forever. Bullshit, right? I know it sounds cliché, but it's true. It's happened to me. Don't get me wrong, I understand the skeptics among you, probably better than you understand yourselves. For a long time, I wasn't a believer in... well, anything really. Religion, magic, science or just life in general. But as you can guess, there's a story coming, explaining how that all changed for me and if I haven't scared you away already, let me tell you it.

I wasn't a very good kid. Not saying I was a bad kid, but I was at the point where a step either way would have me set for life. Or so I thought. Okay, I desperately wished. I didn't know what I was doing with my life and quite frankly I never really thought about it. I just didn't really care about anything. I was a loser, a loner, bullied and easily manipulated into things I didn't want to do. And that's basically how I got into trouble that night.

The trouble isn't the important part. Let's just say it involved a dare, alarms and a group of angry men chasing me through the upper class part of town. I wasn't too familiar with the area, but I was a fast runner and I lost them pretty quickly. I had enough distance between us that they couldn't see me, but I could still 1hear them screaming for my guts. So I decided it was time to hide.

The houses in that part of town had iron fences with and signs informing me who would kick my ass should I happen to break in. But I didn't want to break in; I just wanted to hide for a bit. So I picked one with a big hedge behind the fence, climbed over it and dropped into a garden. This is where my story really begins. Okay, not really. See, the story really begins years before that with a girl; Samantha.

Samantha, or Sam as I called her, and I were friends in middle school. Sort of. We were friends in the sense that I hung out with her at lunch and recess. She and I had different classes and lived in different parts of town so we didn't spend too much time with each other. Our friendship involved her talking a lot and me sort of listening. We never saw each other much outside of school. We were the outcasts. All we had were each other. To everybody else, she was the crazy one with weird ideas and I was the one who hung out with her.

Sam spent all of our time together talking. She used to talk about things like magic and science and about how they were really the same thing. I never understood anything she said, but back then I never really understood much about magic or science. Magic was something that girls who wore too much black talked about. And as for science, how the hell was knowing what an isotope was going to help me get a job. Science was all intellectual nonsense and magic should be left in books.

Then one day, a few weeks before graduation, before we went off to high school, Sam stopped showing up to school and I never saw her again. I often wondered where she went and what she was doing. That had been four years ago.

Now some of you are asking what the hell does this have to do with running and hiding. Some of the brighter of you can probably see where I'm going with this, but I need to explain that so you can understand what happened next. I didn't move from my spot for a long time, peeking through the little bits of hedge and watching the guards run around like idiots trying to find me.

That's when a girl behind me called, "Hey!" Almost gave me a heart attack. I turned around quickly and not only did I see the girl, but I also saw the house. The house was lit up like a firefly and there was music pounding somewhere in the backyard. A party must have been going on. The girl's face was in the shadow. I guess I should stop saying girl. Even then I guessed she must have been more my age, almost twenty. I didn't say or do anything.

"You've crushed my flowers." She said, sadly. Typical, thinking about plants before worrying about the possible psycho standing in front of you. I started to run away, until she said, "Don't move, you're making it worse." So there I was, trapped between a woman and a hedge, waiting for a couple of guys from the neighbourhood to give up on looking for me. She tilted her head for a moment, stepped forward and gasped. "Bradley?"

Since I've yet to introduced myself, my name is, in fact, Bradley. Bradley Fisher. I was eighteen at the time. I couldn't tell who she was and I didn't think I knew anyone around in that part of town. So how did she recognize me? Then I remembered only one person called my Bradley. Everyone called me Brad except her. And when the light caught her brilliant orange and pink hair, it meant it could only have been... "Sam?"

It was Sam. She was older, obviously. Taller and broader, her face was sharper and her figure was heavier and more defined. But when she turned her head and I caught a glimpse of her devilish smile, it was undeniably her. “Bradley!” She glomped me, giggling in my ear as she held me tight. Sam gives the most amazing hugs in the world. Ever. Warm, snug and safe. She was wearing perfume. A very... nice perfume,. She was dressed in a black dress suit. She had always hated dresses.

“Oh, Bradley, Bradley, Bradley! What are you doing here?” She always insisted on calling me Bradley instead of Brad. It drove me nuts.

“Wha..? What are YOU doing here?” I asked right back.

“Oh, silly Bradley,” She still didn't let me go. But I didn't mind. I could have stayed in that hug forever. “I live here. This is my school.”

School? It was a big building, but it looked more like a mansion, with balconies and big windows and pillars, and surrounded by hedges about six feet tall. The music still played, and I could hear people chatting. The lights were on in every window and shadows passed back and forward in some of them.

She broke the hug and beamed at me. I didn't think about it at the time, but she wiped some tears away, “Hey! Come with me! Let me show you around!” She pulled me with her. “Oh, wait!” She stopped me before I could react. She bent down and blew on the tramples flowers. They slowly rose back to attention, as if she breathed life back into them. She smiled, then pulled me along with her to the mansion.

“How did you just do that?” I asked.

“Oh Bradley, I see you're still asking the wrong questions after all these years.” She grinned. She was always smiling. It lit up her face, especially with her beautiful teeth. She took me on her arm, as if I were her date. “Come on, let's get some nibbles.”

That's how it always was with her. I was never in control, just always along for the ride. Not that I'm complaining. I allowed her to guide me away from my world filled with men with bats and into hers. As we walked closer, I could hear music and the chatter more clearly. “What's going on?” I asked.

She shook her head, yet she answered. “My graduation party. Our graduation party. We're celebrating four long years of study, hard work, and achievement.” She giggled. Obviously it was a motto. “Come on, I'll introduce you around.”

She pulled me around to the back of the house. There were a lot of people there that night. Less than a regular school, but there were a lot of people. A band of musicians playing instruments, some of which I didn't recognize. One of them was even playing a computer. People were dancing along the floor that extended from the patio and into the house. The backyard, I guess that's what they call it, was filled with little buildings and greenhouses. Some school, I thought to myself.

Sam pulled me through the crowd until we reached a bar, where a robot was serving drinks. A series of glass cylinders were wrapped around his waist, filled with the various liquid he served. A light on his head glowed orange, as did the one on his chest.

“Two apple juices please.” Sam said to the robot. I couldn't take my eyes off it as it started pouring drinks. I was trying to figure out how he worked. He had a bunch of metal tubes running through his arms and into the cylinders, which pumped the liquid up the tubes and squirted them out of his long thin fingers. A finger for each drink? It was too cool. But how did it understand what was being ordered?

“And who is your date this evening, Miss Samantha?” The robot asked.

I almost jumped out of my skin. It talked! And not like a bad computer program either. It talked like a person!

Sam laughed. “Oh! Bradley, this We-And-I, Master Ramsey's valet and school's omni-man. We-And-I, this is Bradley Fisher, my dearest friend.”

“Ah! A pleasure to meet you at last, Mr. Fisher.” We-And-I nodded, as he poured my drink, “I hope you enjoy the festivities. Master Ramsey will be down shortly.”

“Oh dear.” Sam smiled, adjusting her suit, “Better look ready then. Good evening We-And-I.”

When we were out of earshot, I had to ask. “Is he an AI?”

“No, he's a ghost.” She took a long sip from her glass of juice. She must have been teasing me, or so I thought. “One of the many inside of him. Master Ramsey discovered that it would be easier to ask ghosts if they wanted a physical form and build a construct for them, rather than create an AI from scratch that knew everything a human did. We-And-I has a dozen ghost in him, a doctor, valet, mechanic, gardener, hairstylist.” She patted her hair.

I shook my head in wonder. “How did he do that?”

Sam rolled his eyes, “Still with the wrong questions. Come on, I'll introduce you around.”

The house wasn't really luxurious inside. But each room was different in its own way. One room had desks and chairs, another was full of plants. One would be neat and tidy and the next would be completely covered in spray paint, with spray paint cans piled everywhere. She showed me around the whole building, clinging to my arm the whole time. She would talk endlessly about this and that, about what went on where, and about what she learned. I'm sure I didn't understand any of it, but it didn't matter. It felt good having her near and listening to her talk like nothing had changed.

I couldn't even tell you how many people I met that night. She must have introduced me to everyone. There was a huge age range, but she introduced everyone as 'a student'. The youngest couldn't have been more than eight years old while the oldest could have been eighty. The only one that I can really remember was Katherine. Katherine, or Katty as Sam called her the rest of the night, was hot. Really hot. Deep brown eyes and skin the colour of coffee with cream. It didn't help my hormones that she wore a dress that might as well have been a bikini with a skirt.

My throat went dry as we approached this beauty and Sam stopped right. “Bradley, this is Katherine, my roommate and fellow student. Katty, this is Bradley Fisher.”

“Ooo, 'the' Bradley Fisher?” Katherine took my hand with a sly smile that made my heart pump. She turned to look at Sam. “The fates seem to love you, dear one.”

Sam beamed at that, holding me tight. “Not from what I hear. I've heard a rumour that you might be picked for the apprenticeship.”

Kat's smile was still in place, but her eyes narrowed. “If I recall correctly, that 'rumour' included five candidates, and that one of them happened to be you as well, Samantha.”

“Oh really?” Sam smiled, putting a hand to her chest. “And I wonder who exactly Master Ramsey will choose? The talented young sorceress in a conservative black suit, or the scientist dressed like a skank?”

Oh god, I thought, my heart pumping for an entirely different reason. Please don't let me get into the middle of this.

Katty's face went rigid. “You know better than anyone he doesn't choose based on marks. He bases his decision on skill, ability and character.”

“It's a good thing he doesn't base it on fashion sense.” Sam prodded.

Katty's eyes widened and she stomped her foot. “You're so not worth it! Why he even chose you for a candidate, I'll never understand!”

“Same way he chose you!” Sam snapped back, “He had to pick someone!”

I started to back away when both girl started to laugh. Sam broke her strangle hold on my waist to embrace her... friend?

“Seriously, Kat, I know you're going to get it.” She squeezed Kat, “Good luck.”

Kat looked over Sam's shoulder at me and nodded, “Good luck to you too.” Then she whispered something into Sam's ear. Sam gasped and mockingly slapped Kat across the face. They giggled again, but when Sam turned back to me, she was blushing.

“What was that about?” I asked.

“Wrong question dude,” She sounded breathless. “Come on, Ramsey will be down soon.”

“Who is Master Ramsey?”

Sam rolled her eyes, but she smiled, “'Doctor' Ramsey is a scientist and a wizard. He believes that magic and science are the same and he's been working for years to mix the two together.”

“I don't understand.” I said.

“That's because we've been taught wrong. They tell us magic and science are two separate sides. People don't like science because it doesn't believe in anything. It just knows things. And anything it can't explain doesn't exist. People don't like magic because they need to explain things, quantify things. They're afraid of what they don't know. The truth is magic and science compliment one another. Proof and faith. Where one lacks, the other fulfils .”

“And what have you been learning?” I asked.

Sam smiled, “To know when I'm asking the right questions.” She stuck out her tongue. Then she sighed, “I've been learning everything.”

“Everything?”

“Everything.” She nodded. She straightened my jacket, “You can learn a lot in four years if you ask the right questions. Science, magic, life, the universe, everything...” Her hands lingered on me. She opened her mouth to say something else, but a chime rung through the room and everyone raced towards a stage.

When Sam said that Dr. Ramsey was a wizard, I thought she was over-exaggerating. So when I saw the tall hooded man, wrapped in a cloak with a staff as tall as he was walk onto the stage, I almost laughed. And I would have, save for the fact that the man scared the shit out of me. He was hooded and veiled, his hands looked robotic and his wizard staff was wrapped in cables, charms and fixed with USB ports. He stood at the very edge of the stage and bowed to the crowd.

“Greetings students and apprentices.” His voice was electronic, like a smoker who had their voice box replaced, “It has been four long years. You have all done well and I am proud of each and every one of you. But we all knew this day would come. Many of you longed for this day, while some of you wish you could stay longer. But the day has come, when you will all go out into the world and use your knowledge and skills to the best of your abilities to make this world a better place, as it is your sacred right and obligation as a human being to do so.”

He wheezed as he breathed in deep. “And yet, for one of you, your training has only begun. As you are all aware, one of you will stay on for the next four years as my personal apprentice. Many of you have strived all four years for that goal. All of you know your goals and all of you have your reasons. Many of you would make good candidates. But only one of you is perfect.”

Sam held my arm tightly and I could feel her excitement.

“My apprentice, please step forward.” A man I didn't recognize, some dude in his twenties, stepped forward and knelt at Ramsey's feet. “You have learned much. And you are ready to move on. I am proud of you.” He took an amulet from the dude's neck, and he joined the crowd. “My next apprentice will be Katherine DeLouise.”

I thought Sam would have yelled, “No!” but instead she erupted in to cheers with the rest as Katherine stood up to the stage. Tears were in her eyes as the amulet slipped around her neck and she thanked Ramsey with a curtsey.

The rest of the ceremony went on. It was mostly Ramsey talking on and on about the work to be done and of the coming years and that he hopes to hear of their work and so on. But soon he disappeared, the crowd dispersed and Sam raced over to Kat, pulling me along. She flung herself into Kat's arms, laughing. They laughed, and said how happy they were for each other and laughed some more in the way girls always do.

“I am going to miss you so much.” Kat said. “It's not going to be the same without you.”

“You'll be too busy to think about me.” Sam insisted.

“I'll never be too busy to think about you.” Kat assured her.

“Yes you will.” Sam murmured.

“Never, I promise.” Kat kissed her cheek.

And so on and so on in the way that girls do. Yet Sam seemed to be rushing it for some reason. She kept looking back and me and smiling. I know why now, but I was eighteen then.

“I got to go change and pack!” Sam said.

“I won't interrupt you.” Kat winked at me.

Sam pulled me away, “Come with me, you can help me pack.”

“I thought you wanted the prize.” I said, once we were out of earshot.

“What prize?” She asked, leading me up the stairs. The rooms here looked set up into dorms, with two beds in each. People milled about in rooms, talking to each other.

“The apprenticeship.”

“Oh, I don't.” Sam said. She opened a door and pulled me in. The room looked like any shared dorm room, with two desks, two chairs and two beds. Half the room must have been Kat's and Sam had the other. My guess was the side with the tidy bed and troll dolls on the computer was Kat's and the one with a huge action figure collection at the foot of the bed was Sam. I was right.

“Why?” I asked.

Sam gasped, “The right question!” She beamed and gave me another one of her full hugs. These were so much different then they were when she was a lot smaller than me. These were better. Warmer. And she smelled of that perfume. She pulled back eventually and pressed her forehead against mine. Then, with a sly look, she said, “Because I know my goals and I have my own reasons.”

She grinned, then bit her lower lip. “I'm going to have a shower and change. Why don't you wait here?” Before I could answer, she grabbed some clothes off of her bed and slipped into the bathroom.

I stood, listening to the sound of running water, wondering what I should be doing and how I got there. You're always asking the wrong questions, Sam's voice chimed in my mind. Whatever a wrong question was. So I decided to look at her action figures. It was quite the collection, I soon discovered, as it wasn't all action figures. It was action figures, photographs, books, movies and video games. They all stood or laid on a large crate covered with felt cloth at the foot of her bed. But they weren't all of one genre. At the back, on a shelf , stood Batman, his cape flapping in the wind. To his right stood Captain Jean-Luc Picard and on his left Bugs Bunny. Beneath them were a mixed group of characters, some of which I recognized, and some of whom I didn't. There were many books from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes to Sideways Stories from Wayside School. There were action movies and movies that were more like visual essays. There were prints of art, all signed by some artist, all beautiful and mysterious. The whole table was scattered with glass beads, candles and little charms. But what struck me the most was in the middle, propped up and framed were those pictures you got from photo booths. They were of Sam... and me.

There were four of them, as that's how they usually came. One was of us smiling, two of us making faces, and one of us embracing each other. I couldn't remember when or where this happened at first. Then I remembered the last time I saw her was not at school. It was at the carnival a few days before summer break. We had met by coincidence and she was so happy to see me, like she was now. I remembered more and more fully, how she insisted we ride everything, even the things I would have never ridden. How in the long line ups she would chatter to me like I would listen forever. She talked to me about how excited she was about something, but I couldn't remember what. We ate at every vendor and played every game. And we ended up in the photo booth and took some photos. How could I have forgotten? It must have been four years ago then. I looked at the pictures again, and saw that in the last photo was of her looking at me, with a look that reminded me of actresses in tragic romance movies and how they looked at their leading man. What did it mean?

“Hey!”

Sam startled me back to the present. She stood in the bathroom door. She was clean now, though I didn't notice her being dirty and she was wearing street clothes. And she was smiling, “Whatcha doing?” She asked.

“Oh, uh, just admiring your action figure collection.” I answered lamely.

Sam sat down next to me on the floor, and picked up a figure which I hadn't noticed I knocked over. “It's not an action figure collection.” She explained, straightening him back into place, “This is my altar.”

I looked back at the action figure collection and it started to make sense how it was set up. Or my limited knowledge of magic anyway. But... “Batman?”

“Yep,” She stood up and sat at the foot of the bed. She looked like a witch over her altar as she leaned down over it. “I worship and pray to Batman.”

“But why Batman?” I asked.

She smiled more broadly and sighed. Was she blushing? “Because, for me, worship is more of a focus of energy. It helps me to understand what I believe in, what I understand and what I feel. All of these,” She waved her hand to represent the bounty on the altar, “They're all representations of beliefs and virtues that I strive for. Heroism,” She leaned over and tapped Batman, “Diplomacy,” She pointed to Captain Picard, “And cleverness,” The finger rested on Bugs Bunny. “They're all archetypes of things I believe in, so it's easier to believe in them, to feel them.” She smirked, “The rest of them just look cool.” She stuck out her tongue. And before I could think she yanked me to my feet and pulled me to the bed with her.

She sat me down right next to her. We were so close together, our legs pressed into each others. I was so close, I could smell her perfume. She must have put it on again after her shower. Now she smelt like shampoo and perfume. Sweet and breathtaking. She smelled really really nice. I had to shake my head and I realized we were gazing into each others eyes. She had the same look in her eyes as the photograph.

“Is that part of what you've been learning here?” I asked, not sure if it was too late for a follow up. I felt silly to break the silence.

Her look didn't change, “Yes, I've learned so much here, Bradley. I wish I could tell you everything l I learned here. I wish you could've been here with me.” She stroked a strand of hair away from my face and left her hand on my cheek. “It was wonderful. It told me everything I knew was right. Bradley, I was right about everything. And they taught me so much more. Everything is connected. Magic and science is all around us. It connects in ways you cannot imagine. It binds everything together.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You separate everything in the world into two. We all do. We're taught that there is what we can understand and what we can feel. And that they should never meet. And it makes the world confusing that way.” She was talking fast, and breathing heavily. She could get so excited over the smallest things. Then she bit her lower lip and looked away for the tiniest of moments. Then she looked back. “Like when I'm sitting next to you closely and I tell you how handsome you are and how much I've missed you.”

It was then I noticed that I hadn't been breathing. And in that moment, I didn't really care. If I breathed in, I would only be taking in more of that wonderful scent and I didn't know what my next breath would betray.

“We're drawn to each other, Brad.” She murmured. “I mean, we all are. Everyone's energies are drawn to each other. Scientists tell us it's just our need to reproduce.” She's stroked my cheek, “But that's only part of it. They don't look at the whole picture and focus on what they want to understand.” She tilted her head to the side, her smile shrinking, but she still smiled, “When I look into your eyes, and I think about you, about how much I've missed you and I... fantasize about you... and me... am I thinking about wanting to make babies with you?”

The pause between us was excruciating. She wanted me to answer. And so I gulped, opened my dry mouth and said “No?”

She smiled, “Of course not. So, why do I think about it? Why do I go against everything science tells me is so? Why does everything I understand,” Her hand worked its way into my hair. “Go against everything I feel?” She was so much closer now. I could taste her perfume on my tongue.

“Do you feel it too?” She asked.

A sharp knock came from the door, bringing me crashing back to Earth. I realized I hadn't been breathing since the last time I checked.

Sam rolled her eyes. She removed her hand from my arm, but she didn't move away. “Who is it?”

“It is I.” An electronic voice called. It sounded like the robot.

Sam sighed, “Come on in.”

The door opened and We-And-I stepped in. It walked rather well, for a robot. Most of the ones I had seen moved stiffly. The lights on its head and chest were pure white. “The master will see him now,” The robot said.

When We-And-I said that, Sam's face sank. The look she gave then broke my heart. It was as if she had lost everything. The she smiled a fake smile. It was the first time I had ever seen her do it.

“That's okay. I have to pack anyway.” She stood up and turned to me. She opened her mouth to say something, then she stopped. “Come back before you leave,” She murmured. “Please.”

I didn't want to leave. I didn't know what Ramsey wanted and I didn't care. I knew it couldn't have been anything good. But I didn't want to leave her. Not after that. “What does he want with me?” I asked.

Her face fell again, but she shrugged, “If you're here,” She muttered, “It means you're a potential. I just thought...” She bit her lower lip, then she smiled, “Don't keep him waiting.”

I reluctantly followed We-And-I out the door and I looked back as long as I could before we disappeared down a corridor.

“I apologize, Mr. Fisher.” We-And-I said as we stood before two carved oak doors. We-and-I's lights suddenly glowed light green and it spoke in a different, very definite, masculine voice, “If it is any consolation, I personally would not have interrupted the two of you. She has waited so long, and their relationship is strained as it is.” Before I could think, the lights changed back to white and it tapped the door, which made a knocking sound louder than the slight tap should have made.

“Enter.” The electronic voice gargled.

We-And-I opened the door and showed me in. “Mr. Bradley Fisher, Master Ramsey.”

“That will be all, We-And-I, you may wait outside.” Dr. Ramsey sat behind a large wooden desk, piled high with books, potted plants, chemical instruments and three computer monitors. The room itself was pretty damn cool. It was part library, part laboratory, part green house and part office with books, plants and equipment thrown everywhere. But the strange thing was it didn't look messy. It looked like everything had a purpose and a function in their spot.

Dr. Ramsey was reading three different books and typing on a pad built into his desk. I stood, waiting to be noticed.

“Have a seat, Mr. Fisher.” Dr. Ramsey snapped his fingers and the vines that made up the floor suddenly jumped up and formed a chair. I was expecting something like this to happen, given how the evening had progressed, so I ignored it and sat down while he continued to ignore me. Or so I thought.

“So, Bradley Fisher,” Ramsey stood up and walked slowly around the desk towards me. “You have trespassed on my ground, disturbed my festivities and you have distracted one of my most promising students from her duties this evening.” He paused then continued, “However, your reputation precedes you. Sam tells me that you were one of her classmates from a long time ago, just before she came here...”

How could he have known that when she had spent the whole time I was there with me?

“...and you suddenly show up on the night of her graduation as a coincidence.” His eyes narrowed. “There are very few true coincidences in this world.” He stopped in front of me. “Show me your hands.”

I blinked. “My hands?”

Ramsey extended his hands towards me, expecting me to put my hands in his. So I did. Then he began to examine my hands, going over them with his own fingers and eyes.

“Hmm,” Ramsesy muttered several times before saying, “Interesting. Very interesting. I can see why Sam finds you so attractive.”

“How did you you know?” I asked.

“She also told me of your habit for asking the wrong questions.” Ramsey said, as if that answered it. He released my hands. “You have working hands. My people would have called them 'farmer hands'. They're big and strong. But they are unused.” He walked back to his desk and sat down. “So, Bradley Fisher, why are you here?”

I thought about it. “I was chased here into the garden. I jumped the gates, I don't know what this place is.”

Ramsey's shook his head, “No, that is how you are here. I want to know why you are here.”

This went on for fifteen minutes. I couldn't even tell you everything that happened. He kept asking me the same question. Why was I there? Why was I there? Sometimes he would ask it differently, or ask other things, but always coming back to why was I in his house. It just made me angry. Very angry.

“What do you want me to say?” I finally yelled, “Because I'm a coward?”

Dr. Ramsey raised an eyebrow. It was the first reaction I got. “Do you think you're a coward?” He asked.

I had had enough of his bullshit. I slammed a fist on his desk. “Look!” I yelled. “Why are you asking me this?! Why are you doing all of this?!”

Dr. Ramsey just sat in his chair, staring at me. But not the blank look before. It was like he was judging me. He seemed very surprised by my last question, like something had changed. He tilted his head to the side. I felt the anger rush out of me. I knew I made a mistake.

He slowly stood up. “I'm sorry.” He walked around his desk and stood in front of me. “You have potential. But you're not ready.” He put his hand on my shoulder. It was then I noticed that his hands didn't just look robotic. They were robotic. “But I encourage you to learn all you can. Ask the right questions. And, please, try again in four years.”

The doors opened and We-And-I walked In. “Take Mr. Fisher back to Samantha.” Dr. Ramsey said to the robot. And to me he said, “Good luck.”

By the time I got back to the room, the altar was gone and packed away. Her bed was made and covered with her bags. Sam was looking out the window at the lights of the party below. She was crying, but she wiped her tears away when she saw me in the reflection of the window. She didn't look away from it as I entered the room.

“How did it go?” She asked.

“He said I had potential, but I wasn't ready.” I answered.

She shook her head, “I could have told him that, that stupid bastard.” She knocked her head against the window pane.

I went to hold her, but I stopped. I motioned lamely to her bags, “Your parents going to pick you up?” I asked.

“No.” Sam muttered, “From here, I go to do my duty. I've trained for four years and all that time, I've been waiting for this day, without any regrets.” She hid her face from me.

“Where are you going?”

She shook her head, and turned to face me. “I don't know. None of us know until tomorrow.”

“So,” The words were caught in my throat. “When will I see you again?”

“You won't, silly.” She turned, shrugged and smiled. Why did she always smile at everything? Even when she was crying. “Now kiss me and play with my hair.”

My heart started to pump hard again. “Why?” I asked.

“Finally asking the right questions,” She smiled, but she sounded sad, “He has that affect on people.” She walked over and stood at arms length, “Because I don't want to regret not kissing you and letting you play with my hair.”

I didn't hesitate. We were in each others arms in an instant and we kissed. She tasted like toothpaste and perfume, but none of that mattered. All that mattered was in that moment I finally understood what I wanted in my life. And I wanted Sam. I wanted to be with her, to listen to her, to understand her, to feel her and to believe in her. Our kiss became more passionate as our hands start fondling each other. I did more than just play with her hair as we kissed, and she didn't stop me, almost encouraging my tongue to slip into her mouth and my hands to touch her. I loved her, I realized. I love her. I love her with all of my soul. I never believed in anything before in my life, but right then and there I believed in her. And I believed I wanted to be with Sam for the rest of my life.

And I would never see her again.

Tears burned our lips as she broke the kiss, “Goodbye.” She whimpered, “And I'm so sorry.”

“Sorry about...?” Then I fainted.

So as you could probably guess, I woke up in my bed the next day, left to believe that it all just a dream. Well, you'd be right. Sort of. All except the part where I'm left to believe it was a dream. If I were supposed to believe that, Sam wouldn't have slipped that picture of us together in my my jean's pocket. She gave me the one with her dreamy eyed stare. She had loved me all this time. How could I not have noticed? How could I have not known?

But that was the wrong question. What is the right question? I thought about it, then I knew. The right question was why didn't I notice? Why didn't I know? Because I was a kid. And because I wasn't looking. Because I didn't realize my own feelings, let alone the feelings of those around me. I didn't want to think about my feelings. I didn't want to think about anything. Why didn't I? That's a harder question, and one I would spend a lot longer trying to figure out.

That very day, I went back to Ramsey's house. But, surprise surprise, he was gone and all that was left was the big 'For Sale' and 'Open House' sign on the gate. I walked through the halls that I had left only a few hours before. They seemed so small and filled with life then. And now they were big and empty. No cool robot, no cyborg wizard, no altar of awesome and worse of all, no Sam.

“Excuse me, can I help you?” The real estate agent approached me, looking mildly annoyed in the way that told you they were pissed off you were there.

“Oh, sorry,” I said, trying to act like any dumb kid, “Hey, didn't there used to be a school here?”

The woman rolled her eyes, “More like a cult. Some sort of weird philosophy about mixing science and religion. It was all nonsense. They were the blight on the neighbourhood. This area is going to be so much nicer with sensible people living here. Now scoot. I have people who are actually interested in the house coming by.”

Like everyone else, she just brushed off what she didn't understand. And honestly, I don't blame her. After all, I was exactly like her. Except now I believed in something else. I left that building behind, but not what I learned there. I remembered what Ramsey told me that night. I encourage you to learn all you can. Ask the right questions and try again in four years.

I don't know where Ramsey went and I don't know what I have to learn to be ready. And I don't know if I'll ever see Sam again. But I'm going to try. After all, you can learn a lot in four years, if you ask the right questions.