Kapitel 60: I passed

Choosing a seat that was facing the big window, Lucy started to drum her fingers on the table. Her eyes were fixed on the menu that was on the table.

"What do you want to eat? Hmm… I think I will go with set A." Lucy slides the menu over to Mike and she raised her head to look at the person in front of him.

Mike pursed his lips as his hands traced over the menu over and over again. "I will take set B then."

Nodding his head in confirmation, Mike stood up and proceed to order their dinner over to the counter.

Lucy straightened her posture on the seat and crossed her legs leisurely.

Propping her right hand on the table, she leaned her head and looked out to the big window.

The USGS office is considered to be an off-limit area to the public, where authorized personnel were only allowed to enter the premise.

"Hmm… looking at the still hardworking people here, it does not seem like the world is going to end soon." They should be panicking on what to do on their last day on earth, but instead, they are here working as usual.

Glancing over to Mike who has just only arrived from ordering their food, Lucy asked. "Mike, is it true that the world is going to an end?"

Mike scrunched his eyebrows and gave out a bitter smile to Lucy. "Why, are you asking these questions again? We have been through the selection and all… Do you still feel like this is some dream or anything?"

Mike sat down in front of her and tilted his head forward to get closer to her face.

As Mike move forward his head their head was only about two-inch apart, and Lucy quickly put down her hand from the table and coughed awkwardly.

"It's not like I did not come to terms with reality yet, but looking at the scenario here in the USGS office, the people did not seem to have much reaction on the horrifying news at all." Lucy nudged her head to the outside of the window as she speaks.

Mike glanced his head slowly to the location that Lucy pointed. "Oh, you mean those people?" Mike waved his hand in annoyance at Lucy before he smiled and continued explaining.

"Those people have no lives what so ever, except to come to work and devoted themselves to the researches. Work is their family, and those bachelors probably consider their monitors and laptops are their wives." Mike raised his shoulders as he speaks about the scientists that have just passed by the glass window.

Lucy nodded her head and she smiled wickedly at Mike. "Ha, now I understand. You can explain the situation so well on behalf of them is because you are just like them, right? So, which one is your first wife? The monitor?" Lucy snickers as she drummed her fingers on the table again.

Taken aback by Lucy's questions, Mike snorted before he answered: "I am not that devoted as them, okay." Mike glared at Lucy before he glanced over at the counter.

Clenching the receipt on his hand, he glanced at the waiting number over and over again checking their order.

Mike stood up abruptly at the numbers on the display changed.

Lucy's gaze followed Mike as he makes his way to pick up their order.

"Ding!"

Lucy took out her phone and stares at the SMS she just received.

"Congratulations, you passed the preliminary physical health examinations! A comprehensive medical check-up is scheduled for candidate 105 at 9 am ..."

Lucy paused reading the content of the SMS as her face changed. Her happy face from teasing Mike just now was gone and it was replaced by the look of emptiness and baffled expression.

Clenching her phone tightly in her hand, Lucy bowed down her head as she felt her eyes stings and hot.

Soon after, her eyes welled with tears. Feeling the threat of her crying on the open space, Lucy controlled her breathing to hold back the tears from falling.

Not long after that, Mike came back holding a tray filled with two dinner plates complete two drinks.

Not wasting much time, Lucy picked up her plate of fish and chips from the tray and started digging in without speaking a word to Mike.

"Cough, cough."

Lucy choked on her food and she quickly dropped her cutlery with a clatter on the table, before her hand scurrying to find a napkin.

Mike saw Lucy was behaving rather abnormally after he left to pick up their orders.

He quickly handed her a napkin and pushed her drinks closer to for her to reach. "Hey, hey... slowdown! No one is fighting for your food."

Lucy wiped her stained mouth with the napkin and raised her head to sip her drink.

Mike saw the redness in her eyes and her nose tinge with pink. "You cried? What happened?"

Mike leaned closer to the table as he stretched his hand to touch Lucy's face.

Lucy pushed his hand away ruthlessly before handing him her cellphone.

"Read the SMS."

Mike took her phone without saying anything. He frowned as he read on the content before he looked up at Lucy. "You cried because you passed the preliminary?"

Mike stared at Lucy who has put up an invisible barrier around her. He felt the Lucy in front of him has entered some hybrid cocoon that she has invented herself whenever she is facing a problem. No one could enter or drag her out of it if she did not give her permissions to enter.

"Yeah... I have passed. Meaning that whoever missed the selection today, will not get a second chance to take the exam again." Lucy bowed her head and played with the salad on her plate with her fork.

"Who said that? Don't you know that people always reserve some spots for the people who suddenly can't make it at the end?" Mike stretched his hand and grab on Lucy's hand that has been playing with her food.

"Your family will be fine... they will come back and take the test. Don't worry." Mike spoke softly to Lucy, comforting her.

Lucy nodded her head weakly. She did not feel like arguing with Mike. She is afraid. Afraid that she will be the only one who goes to space while her family stays.

Sensing the discomforts in Lucy, Mike took out his phone before speaking to Lucy. "Hey, do you think if I passed?" Mike waved his phone to Lucy.

Lucy looked up and watched the phone that Mike has been waving. "How should I know. You did not check your phone?" Lucy frowned before she bowed her head and started eating her fish and chips again.

Her bad mood is all over the place. She poked her fish fillet like she is going to skin the fish again.

"Hmm, what would you do, if I failed the exam?" Mike sounded playful as he said the words to Lucy.

"If you failed, I would be the first to pack you into my suitcase!" Lucy swayed her fork in front of Mike's face with an annoyed face.

No, she could not lose another person. It is enough that her mother and Suzy to abandon her. While her father and Uncle Ben were out of reach stuck somewhere in Hawaii.

If Mike is not with her during her space travel, then she would thoroughly be alone.

Without her realizing, she has considered Mike as her family as the thoughts of Mike failing to go to space hits her.

Mike smiled brightly. "You better wish that I passed the test if not, I would die to suffocate in your suitcase then."

Mike swiped his phone in anticipation. There are a few messages notification on it.

Lucy's appetite was gone soon after Mike speaks up about the probability of him failing the exam. She waited anxiously as Mike checked his phone slowly.

"So, did you pass?" Lucy dropped her fork and put both of her palms on the table as her eyes fixed on Mike's phone.

Mike's action is too slow, and it is suffocating to watch him on the side.

Mike's face was emotionless as he raised his head and looked at Lucy. He nodded slightly and grinned.

"I passed."

Lucy jumped up from her seat and clasped her hand on her chest. "Thank god! I am not alone!"

AUTORENGEDANKEN
great1white

Ranting corner:

I appreciate it if you could comment on the story and leave reviews for me.

For someone who is not a native speaker of the English language, I feel that the 60 chapters that I have written are a big achievement to me, considering this is my first ever novel that I ever have written.

Well, sometimes I do feel stressed on how to develop the story to how I wanted it.

And yes, a novel and an essay, are totally different things. This is a challenge that I tried to overcome.

I hope my novel is trashy in my readers' eyes, and I thank you for taking the time to read it.

Love,

Great1White.

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