I listened to the clicks of her heels on the tiled floor. She had a perfectly paced walk. Each step was exactly 0.8 seconds apart. Yes, I timed it. The iconic red bottom heel of Christian Louboutin was the only type of heels she wore. They demanded to be heard, they craved the attention.
Perhaps it just made women feel powerful. Or I just focus on irrelevant facts to store that information. I guess that would be my flaw. I needed to know everything. No, no I’m not saying I’m perfect. I’m just as flawed as any other human in this world or parallel world…
The point is, I’m happy with who I am. I’m not satisfied yet though. I still need to learn so much more, there can’t be an unknown in my life.
I looked up as she took her 11th step which was the distance from her desk to my office. Yes, I counted. I watched as her blurred figure tugged at the hem of her skirt and lifted her hand to knock on my frosted glass door. It was frosted white so that no one could watch me work. I guess that was due to my slight paranoia. Two quick knocks ended the silence and she opened the door.
“Mr Nova we are ready for the first test run.” Alveera Rose stated and gave me an excited smile. She was even more excited about the project than I was. Which was odd. I funded this 57 million dollar experiment, which was equivalent to the price to launch a rocket. In all the years she has been my assistant, I’ve never seen her this interested in one of my projects.
“Right,” I replied after clearing my throat. That was a habit. The throat clearing. So I never had to face the embarrassment of having an unclear voice. It was now 10 minutes to 4 in the afternoon, as planned. I could see the flashes of lightning in the approaching clouds. A thunderstorm was on its way. Perfect.
I got up and walked over to Alveera. She was a good height, 5.4 feet with her heels on. She had curly chestnut-brown hair and hazel eyes. Her eyes changed colours depending on her mood. Not dramatically. She didn’t have blood-red eyes when she was angry, or anything like that. When she was happy or excited as she is now, they were a soft brown. Anger made them turn a fiery green and sadness or worry was a cool mix of brown and green.
I sighed and grabbed my jacket. What if this goes horribly wrong? Three years worth of work will all be for nothing.
“Sir if I can add,” Alveera remarked as she placed her hand gently on my arm, “You have put so much effort into this project. I know you doubt yourself, and question yourself a lot… if it doesn’t go as planned that’s okay. We will pick it up from where we left and continue.”
I looked at her and smiled. She always knew exactly how to make me feel better.
“Thank you,” I responded and placed my hand over hers for a second. Her hand was so warm, I almost didn’t want to move away. No, pull yourself together. I am her boss. I have shoved any sort of attraction I feel towards her deep down, and I will continue to do so. This was not part of my plan, falling for my assistant could not happen.
I stepped aside and pulled my arm through my jacket sleeve. Then walked out of my office and listened to the clicks of her heels as she walked behind me.
I rented out Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 for 5 years for this experiment. My team has been living in New Zealand for 3 years now. I moved their families here also, Alveera only had her Dad left. He’s full of these amazing stories and we spend time renovating old cars as a hobby when I have free time. Alveera seems to keep her distance when I’m with her Dad. It’s for the best. Our relationship is complicated enough, yet also simple. Maybe I just think about it way more than I should. Neither have us have indicated we feel anything for the other, that’s how it’s going to stay.
My team and I stay in this apartment complex near the facility. It’s nothing luxurious but it is more than enough to live happily. Being friends with your team has its advantages, we work well together and help each other out a lot. No one is selfish; we all put in an equal amount of effort.
“Mr Nova welcome.” My chief scientist greeted. Matthew Lowe was an excellent physicist who specified in cosmology. Three months prior he lost his 7-year-old son, Olly. His wife Iyla had left him alone for 10 minutes while she made lunch, which allowed him to slip out the back door and run into the road. The truck that was transporting the equipment for the project could not swerve in time and sadly, Olly was hit. His little body was crushed and his skull was shattered by the impact.
“Matthew, how are you, my friend? Glad to see you back at work.” I replied and patted his back.
“Glad to be back sir. It was about time.” He stated and handed me a clipboard.
“Okay team, three years of hard work and we are finally here. 12 May 2021, the first test run for the Tanencha experiment.” I called out for recording purposes.
“The equipment before us will fire subatomic particles at an impenetrable wall. If all goes as planned, this amount of energy will tear a rip in the barrier of what we predict to be the multiverse. Creating a doorway from the observable universe to ultimate timelines. Also known as parallel universes.” Matthew explained to the video crew that we had present. They would record the test run for documentary purposes.
The day has finally arrived, I have worked on this theory for 12 years. 12 years dedicated to what we describe to be a ‘mirrored life’. This was my life's work, my desire to explore the unknown.
“Activation of the neutron detector in 3…2…1.” Matthew counted down. The team held their breath as Mr Nova pressed the red button on the control panel.
I felt Alveera step closer to me, I knew it was her since the smell of her perfume became stronger. I wanted to hold her hand. I wanted to have that comfort that even if this doesn’t work, she was still here. I forced myself to stare ahead, I couldn’t hint that I noticed her presence. Everyone stood watching in anticipation behind the tempered glass wall.
The lights started to flicker as the equipment drained the power. The turbine generated a few sparks and it looked like it was about to ignite a beam that would hit the wall. Then everything went black and the team heard the equipment switch off. The generators kicked in, and the lights flickered back on. It had failed.
No one made a sound. They all turned towards me and waited for a reaction. I continued to stare at the now powerless turbine. It had failed. We should have been patient, perhaps we needed more power… A loud crack of thunder erupted and Alveera released a small scream which made the team burst out laughing. I should have been there next to her. Why did I want to protect her? It was a storm. The thunder just gave her a fright. Why did I feel guilty?“The first run has failed. That’s unfortunate.” I responded after clearing my throat then added, “Alright then. You all have the rest of the day off, we shall discuss how to proceed tomorrow morning. Say around 10 am?”“Yes sir.” Was the last thing I heard before I walked out of the room. I didn’t even pay attention to recognise whose voice that was.My only chance was over. We needed the storm to decrease the surrounding air pressure and temperature. That storm wa
“Cuore, you are the under-boss of this family. Do you know what that means? You will take over once I pass.” The Padrino of Cosa Nostra fumed in Italian. “I am already 59. My time is almost over.”I crossed my arms across my chest and sighed, “Yes I know Dad. Please stop reminding me. I’m just trying to say that the family won’t accept me. Firstly I am a woman, and secondly, other mafia rivals will see us as weak.”“This family will accept you! They voted for you to be my under-boss, why won’t they stand by you once I pass? Rivals will always be rivals. Anger them more, let them underestimate us and try to start a war. They will lose, then that’s one less enemy.”“It’s clear I’m not ready to take over. I didn’t even see it as an advantage.” I groaned and jerked my hand upwards as if to hit my own face. I then walked over to my Dad and took his hands in mine, &ld
“Alexio will you be loyal to me even when my Dad passes away?” I inquired and sat up. The car came to a stop as we parked along the side of the road. He reached over and took off my sunglasses, then took my hands in his. “My Cuore, I am loyal to you. Not your father. I am loyal to you till the day you tell me to leave. I will always be here for you, in any way you want me.” He softly responded and leaned in to place a kiss on my forehead. “Thank you.” I blushed and pulled him closer to give him a proper kiss. He deepened the kiss for a moment then pulled away. “We can’t stop here for long.” He stated and started up the car. “Can I play some music?” “This is your car. You can do whatever you like.” “Oh yeah, right.” I giggled and grabbed the USB out of my purse. I plugged it in and put it on track 9. Montero (Call me by your name) by Lil Nas X started playing. I sang along to the song while we drove and Alexio joined in.
The bell rang to end this horrific school day. Finally! Urgh, I hate school. It’s so boring and just a waste of my time. I felt so irritated, I just wanted to get home. Everything irritated me; the voice of my accounting teacher, the way my uniform felt against my skin, the pink pencil case full of permanent marker scribbles that the girl next to me had on her desk and the taste of my dry mouth. I craved a sugary drink. The cola refresh in the fridge at home was calling my name.“Taylen, Taylen. Drink me! Drain my blood!” I imagined it saying. It would cheer as I took it from the fridge and twisted open the bottle cap to release the sweet fragrance.I shoved my fat accounting book into my bag and got up to leave. My classmates broke into a loud chatter and all rushed out of the class."Social distancing please!" My teacher yelled then saw me through the crowd. "Taylen Nova, can I talk to you for a second please?" No! I replied m
I touched the bowl and cursed, "Fridge magnets that's hot!" Damn, how could I forget? I grabbed the dishcloth and placed the bowl onto the table. "Weeeeeeeee!" The spice cheered as it fell onto the noodles. I smiled and mixed it all together with a fork. "Hey, Mrs Cheese. Since this spice is cheese flavoured are you by any chance related?" "Why yes, that is correct." She replied. Me = big brains."Snap this is delicious!" I beamed and twisted more noodles around my fork. "Why do you taste so good today?" I asked but the noodles didn't reply. I shrugged and continued eating. "Mr Taylen, please close that fridge." The nanny ordered as she walked through the kitchen. She was half her original size and had a massive bobblehead! I laughed and stretched over to slam the fridge door shut. I looked down but my noodles were already finished. Sadness. The food had gone quiet again, the nanny probably scared them off. Oh well, time to
I picked up my favourite beauty blender and squeezed my BB cream onto the sponge. This golden colour shade matched my skin tone perfectly. I needed to make my Arabic skin glow for the cameras. I had clear skin that still looked young and hydrated, even though I was already 26. I was getting old.“But still so sexy,” I smirked and finished up the last touches to my makeup. Being a male model meant that I had to highlight the features that a camera could not see. Everything needed to be perfect, which it already was. My chocolate brown hair was shoulder length and full of volume. It was healthy and allowed the light to dance on its surface. My facial features resembled the ideal mould of a man. Even my royale beard enhanced how attractive I was.Don’t even get me started on my body. Even Allah will bow down before me. I had toned every inch of my body to achieve the warrior physique and now no one could pass my title of the sexiest man alive. I was decl
"Isla thanks for coming today," I remarked as we watched all the children leave."To be honest at first I was like he wants me to be around children? Then I thought to myself, I get to see my favourite person." She replied and offered me a wink. Isla and I had been good friends for a few years now, I felt like she was the only person that I could spend time with and not feel irritated."It's a pleasure." I laughed."So I need to quickly change out of this," She stated and started walking away. I wonder if she would like to hang out now? I remember the first time we met at a fashion show in Hawaii. The designer had based all his pieces on the element of fire. It was a spectacular event! Isla and I were put together as partners for the couple's outfits, and we just got to know each other better from then on."Tay!" I heard her shout which snapped me away from my thoughts. "Are you coming?"
Mr Nova’s POVI woke up by my desk in a cold sweat. It was still dark outside so I checked my watch. 2am. The page she had written on had absorbed some of my drool. I wiped my mouth and placed the page safely at the back of my journal.That was the first time I had dreamt of Alveera Rose. Now she had even entered my subconscious mind. I remember it was such a calm experience but I felt like I had just awoken from a nightmare. My heart was racing and I felt anxious. To this day, scientists could not explain why we dream. The threat simulation theory suggests that dreaming could be seen as an ancient biological defence mechanism. This would simulate potential threatening events and enhance the neuro-cognitive mechanisms required. Basically, in simple words, it allows you to be prepared for that situation if it were to occur in real life. That was just one of the theories, but it seemed to make sense. I shook my head.