Chapter 16: Life Back on Earth

The trip took even less time that I had expected. Soon Lara and I were on Earth, and back at my old apartment. It looked just as it did before I left, before my attack. My floor safe was closed and undisturbed, but I knew the letters and notes were gone. I discovered that we had only been gone four weeks, not five weeks as I had thought. I introduced Lara to Earth culture including food, clothes, and I even taught her how to drive my car. The marks on my wrists were fading fast and I was sure by the start of school, no one could tell I had ever been hurt, physically. I got my land-lord to let me move a two bedroom apartment telling him that Lara was a long lost half-sister from my father, when he was in high school. We claimed she tracked me down wanting a relationship with me, as my father and her mother were dead. This was why I had been gone for the last four weeks without giving anyone any notice. Maybe it was because I was such a good tenant, or he was just taken by Lara's natural beauty, but he let me move, without increasing my rent or asking too many questions. My new apartment didn't have a kitchen island which I was grateful for.

Next was to get Lara the necessary paperwork so she could get a job. She wanted to work as near me as possible and I knew we needed a new campus security person so it would be a perfect fit. Now, I wasn't always an honest person, but for the most part, I am a good person, and I know the value of friendship. During college, I had started typing essays for a bit of side cash and in doing so met up with some shady characters who, when necessary, were willing to help me out from time to time. I wasn't someone who took advantage of this service often, as I rarely needed it, but now I had a serious need. With a few phone calls, and a small amount of cash (less that it might cost someone else), we had all the necessary paperwork to prove that Lara, now Lara Stone, was a citizen, a resident, and legally eligible to work. I won't lie, her choice of a last name stung, but since she couldn't use mine without it looking too suspicious, I accepted her choice. She said she chose Stone as her last name because of how much Oliver meant to both of us. My next step was to use what little influence I had to get her a job. As it turned out, my principal loved her and was more than willing to make her the newest member of the school's campus security team.

For the next year, Lara and I would carpool to and from work together. She became the students' favorite on the security team, especially when she had to break up a fight between two very large boys by picking them up and carrying them to the office. A picture of this somehow found its way into the yearbook. My principal was a man of his word. I got to keep the literature elective and the advanced English class. I was busier than I had ever been before. I taught creative writing, poetry, classic literature, Shakespeare, and so much more. I couldn't remember when I had worked harder or loved it more. Keeping so busy helped me ignore the pain deep inside my heart. It was only during those occasional down times that I had when I would dwell on the loss of Oliver. I even got permission to have my students perform two plays, 'A Christmas Carol' in the winter and 'The Diary of Anne Frank' for the end of the year.

However, there were challenges for me that I had neither expected nor anticipated. It seemed everywhere Lara and I went, I was seeing Oliver, or men who I thought were Oliver. I even chased one poor man for several blocks convinced it was Oliver, until Lara pulled me off and I realized it wasn't him. We started referring to these events as 'sightings' and it got to where if I had one, I'd tell Lara right away and she'd tell me why it wasn't Oliver. Usually it was the eyes, but occasionally it was other features, like skin tone or hair color. Sightings would trigger nightmares and it was rare that I didn't cry myself to sleep.

My self-imposed isolation also fed the rumors that Lara and I were lovers. The rumors circulated around the school, but I just ignored them. I knew the truth, I knew who had my heart, and whom I loved. Lara finally dispelled this rumor when she was seen kissing a man she'd met one night at a local bar we went to for a drink. It was nice to see her smile and pay attention to someone else, besides me and I didn't object when she asked to go on a date one night. I had research reports to grade and the idea of a quiet evening at home sounded good to me. Finals were in a week and the papers were the culmination of a year's work my students had done, and not having Lara here would allow me to finish much faster. I was wearing my yoga pants and an old t-shirt that I had cut the sleeves and collar off when the phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Alexis Perry," said a scratchy mechanical voice. It had a familiar tone to it.

"Yes?" I said.

Click. I looked at the phone and checked. Dead. 'Damn!' I grabbed my cell phone and called the phone company. A pre-recorded voiced said that they were aware of problems in my area and they were working on it. I wished I knew who called. I checked the caller ID but it said nothing. I figured it was part of the glitch with the phone so I went back to my papers. Lara returned from her date just after midnight and was just glowing. She quickly told me that her date went well and she tried to call but the phone wasn't working. I told her about my mysterious phone call, how when I contacted the phone company I got the message that said they were aware of the problem, and trying to fix it. We both concluded that the caller was probably just trying to sell me something and we headed off to bed.

I finished grading my papers, administered my finals, and watched my students perform a play I taught them. This school year was everything I had hoped it was and more, and yet, I still wasn't happy, and I knew why. I had everything I had ever wanted in my career, but not someone to share it with. I mean, Lara's a great friend, and she's been every bit a loyal guardian, but she wasn't Oliver.

The last day of school was much different for me as an eighth grade teacher. Instead of being in the classroom keeping kids entertained, I was on the field with the kids at their promotion ceremony. Lara was nearby escorting parents to their chairs and I escorted my literature students to the field. I had been asked by the student body to give a brief speech at the ceremony, and I couldn't say no. Normally, this meant I was to sit on the stage, but I wanted to escort my students to the field, so I when they called me up, I walked the same way my kids would when it was their time. I smiled at the audience, took out my speech, and began.