The quickest way to complete her fractal geometry paper was to go to the Academy headquarters, which housed the biggest library in the Earth Conglomerate; a home to the latest technology and knowledge, the library had everything that Alex needed. However, as Alex was not a student yet, she did not have authorisation to enter the building – officially, that is – and she had to rely on her tried and trusted methods of visiting the Academy unofficially.

The headquarters were located on the far side of the Moon amongst a network of underground stations hidden from the Earthly onlookers. Spaceships travelled to the Moon every day carrying people and cargo, but there was a much faster and more inconspicuous form of transportation – the tunnels. Like highways they crisscrossed the Universe in intricate ways and were still poorly understood.

Even Alex did not fully grasp their mysterious nature, but it did not stop her from using them regularly. A lucky owner of a specially designed navigation device implanted in her right thumb, she exploited the tunnels freely without being detected by the authorities and often ventured into places that most people did not even know existed. She used her watch to locate the entrances to the tunnels and already had about a thousand of them in her database.

But Alex did not need to use her watch now. The nearest tunnel connecting Little Meadow and the Academy was located in one of the local cafés. Nestled inside a cupboard at the back of the shop, it was easily disguised and merely looked like a scratch on the wall. When Alex pressed her right thumb to it, the geometry of the cupboard changed and Alex’ body was sucked into the tunnel like a piece of rubber. She felt stretched and compressed at the same time and when she reached her destination, she was slightly disoriented; the whole trip lasted only seconds. Alex took a few minutes to collect her bearings and looked around: she was standing in front of the visitors’ registration office.

Just as expected.

Alex rummaged in her pockets and retrieved two worn out fingerprint samples imbedded on a piece of film. Then she closed her eyes and picked one fingerprint at random. She held it close to the mechanical identification arm that protruded from the registration booth and pressed it down. The fingerprint was accepted. With a sigh of relief, Alex pulled out the daily pass that came out and went towards the elevators.

Alex travelled two floors down and got out. At the end of a long corridor there was a spacious opening with chairs and sofas arranged along the walls and large double doors in the middle. It was an entrance to the library. Alex liked coming here. Often she would hide in some obscure corner with a stack of books and read them one after another; Alex was a very fast reader.

Today the entrance was crowded with students. They peered through the doors, which were left ajar, anticipating something. Curious to find out what was going on, Alex joined the throng.

Suddenly one of the librarians came out and raised his hand; Alex recognised him by the blue library robe he was wearing. When the crowd’s chattering subsided, the librarian cleared his throat and spoke.

‘The Descrambler is ready. You can come in and test it.’

A Descrambler? Alex mused excitedly. Must be some new invention. I’ve got to check it out!

Alex’ eyes sparkled. She could not wait to try out the device. However, as she started to make her way inside, she caught a glimpse of two figures dressed in black suits. The figures emerged at the opposite end of the library and were walking in Alex’ direction. They wore shaded glasses and looked very intimidating.

Great Supernova! I am so busted!

It suddenly dawned on Alex that her worn out fingerprint did not work after all (there was a first time for everything) and a silent alarm had been activated. Pushing against the ever increasing tide of students, Alex made her way back to the elevators and ran. She ran without paying any heed to where she was going; as long as it helped her to avoid capture, she did not mind where she would end up.

Finally Alex stopped and listened: she managed to shake off the pursuit.

Alex wandered for half an hour before she found her way back. Sneaking behind the objects that populated the building, Alex tiptoed towards one of the information stations and checked Sitho’s whereabouts.

Sitho Chetladze. Location: Warehouse, the display showed. Alex took down the details and went on.

The warehouse was full of people, cameras and props. A small stocky man, who looked like he was in charge, was sitting in the middle of the room, his eyes fixed on the three screens in front of him. Another man stood behind him, watching the screens over the stocky man’s shoulder. Alex studied the man who was standing and smiled – fortune was on her side again. She may have been in trouble earlier, but she just found her rescuer – Sitho.

Alex called out Sitho’s name. He raised his eyelids and frowned. Then he beckoned Alex to follow him to one of the warehouse offices located at the back.

‘Alex!’ Sitho opened the door, letting Alex go in first. ‘I was going to call you, but you decided to visit me in person. How nice of you to drop in. Did not break any rules, I hope?’

Sitho grinned; it was a rhetorical question.

‘Welcome to my new headquarters,’ he said, ‘actually welcome to my new life. I am a director now, making my first film.’

‘A director?’ exclaimed Alex in surprise. If she had not seen it for herself, she would have never believed it.

She looked around the room. It was a booth of five feet by seven and with all the things that were cramped inside it, the room looked like it was too small for two of them. There was an old desk in the middle, a few bookcases, an ancient computer contraption and an old style communication speaker on top of the desk. Paper books were piled all over the floor and it was hard to find a straight path from the door to the desk.

‘What kind of film?’ Alex asked.

‘Oh, nothing special. Just a documentary commissioned by the Establishment.’

Carefully watching her step Alex made her way closer to Sitho’s desk and sat down on a chair opposite him. ‘That’s great! But what about me? What about our plans?’

‘I’ll tell you in a minute. All in good time.’

Sitho pushed a button on his speaker and spoke into it. ‘Lily. It’s me. I’ve got Alex here. If somebody asks, she is here on my orders. Could you make us some tea plea – ’

‘No, coffee,’ Alex interrupted.

‘– one tea and one coffee please.’

‘Yes, sir, I’ll be there in a minute,’ replied the speakerphone.

‘You’ve got a personal assistant!’ exclaimed Alex. ‘How about that!’

‘Well, you have to make some allowances, you know,’ replied Sitho. ‘Being a humble director and all…’

‘A humble director? I’d say you are doing pretty well. Just tidy your office a little and you are all set.’

‘You think it would help?’

‘Of course! You’ve got some amazing stuff here. The clutter does not give them any justice.’

There was a knock on the door. Sitho’s personal assistant came in with a tray. She set the tray down, poured some tea and coffee and left in a haste. It was evident that she was very busy.

Alex waited a few minutes before speaking again.

‘So what about our plans?’ she asked anxiously.

‘Be patient. I’ll get to that. First, tell me about yourself. Any news? I mean other than waiting to be accepted to the Academy.’

‘Hmm…’ said Alex cheekily.  ‘What else are you expecting to hear?’

‘Like what’s going on with you and Lewis? Should I expect the wedding bells ringing?’

Alex’s expression suddenly changed. ‘Oh that…’ She hesitated. ‘It’s funny you should ask.’ She formulated her next words very carefully. ‘Lewis is actually going away. I mean, moving away. Permanently. This is what I came to talk to you about…’

‘I see.’ Sitho’s face indicated that Alex needed to say no more. ‘So he made it then…Finally! It’s about time.’

‘What do you mean about time?’

No answer.

There was a long silence, and Alex squirmed in her chair uncomfortably. Sitho looked at her without moving his gaze. It was hard to read his expression: confident and trustworthy; kind and humble; and yet simple and child-like. It possessed the kind of unremitting maturity which never advances into an old age but perpetually borders youthfulness of heart and mind. When Sitho realised that Alex did not appreciate his stare, he looked down at his untidy desk and fiddled with his fingers.

‘And your dreams?’ he finally said. ‘Do they still bother you?’

‘Yes,’ said Alex reluctantly.

‘Don’t worry about them. They are just visions.’

Remembering her last dream encounter, Alex trembled. ‘Yes, they are just visions…’ she muttered.

Sitho acknowledged Alex’ remark with a nod, but his expression did not change. She could have been speaking to a wall and would have gotten a better response.

Finally, Sitho pushed some buttons on his computer and looked up.

‘Alex,’ he said slowly. ‘You know every road has bumps and unexpected turns… Well, yours seems to be that kind of road. The Establishment has informed me that they have found you a foster home and you will be moving there in just a couple of days.’

Alex looked at Sitho in surprise. She definitely did not see this coming.  ‘A foster home? What do you mean? Why?’

‘You parents are on a very long mission. You need someone to look after you.’

Alex folded her arms in defiance.  ‘Lizzie looks after me! She is the closest thing I have to a family! This is so unfair! The Establishment would never do this to me! Never!’

Sitho frowned. ‘Shush!’ he said raising his voice slightly. There is no way out. These are the Establishment’s orders, and whether you like it or not, you will be going. I did not believe it at first either, but I looked into it, and I truly believe you are going to like it. It’s a perfect match in every way. Mind you the officials have missed some crucial factors – don’t ask me how they did it, but this is why you will find your new home so pleasing. How should I put it? It has got a lot of character. The down side is that you will be moving far away and you will need a new counsellor, which is perfect since I can no longer fulfil my duties anyway.’

‘And my college work?’ Alex inserted hopefully. ‘Will it not suffer?’

‘Of course it won’t suffer. I believe your last paper was due today and the lessons are almost over. But if I were you,’ added Sitho mysteriously, ‘I would not worry about the paper either. I don’t think anyone would notice. Besides there are no more places left this year.’

Alex quietly disagreed but did not elaborate. Bringing up the Academy could open a can of worms which would be difficult to explain even to Sitho. Sitho was right: with the sudden move, it would be easy to out wriggle out of completing the assignment and still get the credit. 

‘And our plans?’ Alex said quietly.

‘Our plans? They won’t change. We’ll still be able to finish what we had started, with a slight delay perhaps, but that’s all.’

It appeared like Sitho wanted to say something else, but he didn’t. He handed Alex a small piece of paper and shrugged his shoulders. ‘Here are the details. We’ll catch up when you get there. Don’t contact me. I will contact you…after you’ll have settled and everything…’

Barely looking at the paper, Alex pushed it into her pocket and began making her way towards the exit.

‘And one more thing.’ Sitho held Alex back. ‘I’ve got a surprise for you.’

‘A surprise? You mean another one?’

‘Yes, but this time you are going to like it.’

He turned his computer monitor around and Alex saw Lewis’ admission ceremony, which was transmitting live from the capital; his acceptance letter came just in time. All of the Establishment’s officials were attending and Lewis happened to be standing right beside them. He was dressed in style as usual, complimenting the dark green colour of his eyes with a tasteful choice of attire. In his captivating eyes Alex recognized the same semi-assured look that struck her on the day they first met, although a wrinkle of sternness now overshadowed their ever-pleasing expression: he was proud to be an Academy scholar.

Alex sighed. ‘Thanks for letting me see him,’ she uttered on her way out. ‘He looks very handsome.’

Alex headed straight home. She was trying to come to terms with the news of the imminent move and did not notice the commotion in the reception area as she entered the house. When she stepped over the doorway, everything went dark, but then somebody switched on the light and a host of familiar faces sprang up to greet her. They all charged forward, shouting their birthday wishes and welcoming her in.

‘Common, you, guys!’ Alex grumbled. ‘You did not have to make it all dramatic. My heart is skipping a bit!’

Alex scanned the crowd and spotted Lizzie who blushed and then quickly blended into the crowd, making sure everyone had what they needed.

The festivities continued long into the night. Lizzie had brought enough food and drink to last them a week and excitement grew. Soon the party became a continuous chatterbox gathering. Guests were standing in circles everywhere, some talking loudly, some almost whispering about current Establishment’s policies, celebrity news, children, Establishment’s policies, holidays and Establishment’s policies again. Alex could not always discern what the guests were saying, but she found the whole picture of the party amusing: here in a relaxed atmosphere, her friends were themselves without any pretence and Alex’ only regret was that Lewis was not part of it. Then she looked back at the initiator of all the excitement. Alex doubted that the housekeeper knew about the move, but inadvertently she managed to organise not just a birthday party but the best going away present Alex could imagine. And whether Lizzie intended it or not, Alex was surprised. She looked at the housekeeper’s flushed face and gave her a smile of gratitude. ‘Thank you,’ she lip-synced.

Then she thought of Lewis again and wondered when and where she would see him again.