Chapter 5 :

„Great,now we`re on the list of the most wanted students of the academy!“ meant Jim as he and Dolphy were catching their breath in the park.

Morph flew around them and chirped happily.

„Most wanted!Most wanted!“

Dolphy couldn`t prevent herself from laughing when she saw Jim`s exaggerated despaired look.

„Oh,I`m glad that at least somebody can laugh about it!“ he said with a slightly insulted voice.

„Hehe,sorry,but that was so hilarious!Carren`s look when Morph bit him and they way I brightened Vivian`s face!“ she laughed loudly.

Jim did his best to stay serious but couldn`t suppress a grin when he remembered what had just happened.

„Okay,I admit it was kinda funny.“ he said.

„Funny?It was hysterical!“ she yelled.

„What`s that?“

„Huh?Shall I get you a dictionnary?“

„No,not that.Listen!“ said Jim and both of them heard a familiar ringing sound.

„Awww,no,not again!“

Seconds later the two teenagers were running down the hallway on the way to their classrooms.

„Do you always come too late for the lessons?“ asked Jim.

„Only since I know you!“ grinned Dolphy and raced to one of the doors. „Hope the teacher won`t be too mad at me...“ she murmured to herself when she opened the door.

***

The lessons were finally over and the students went to their rooms in order to relax or to do their homework which their teachers loved to give them...plenty of it!When Jim entered his room he saw Dolphy already sitting at the table in front of the window and leaning over an exercise-book.She had an annoyed look on her face so he,curious as he always was,went nearer to her and looked over her shoulder.

„I won`t interrupt the lesson by not coming in time. I won`t interrupt the lesson by not coming in time.I won`t...“

Dolphy turned her face towards him.

„The teacher got very mad with me.“ she said with a cold voice.

„How often do you have to write that sentence?“

She showed him two sheets which were already full of it.

„Way too much.“ she told him.

Jim just sniggered at the sight of her serious face but quickly went over to do his own homework when she glared at him slightly annoyed.Well,he hadn`t thought it would be funny if HE was in her situation.

The rest of the day was quite unspectacular.After finishing their loads of exercises and stuff Jim and Dolphy went to the canteen for supper,then back to their room where they had a nice discussion about what the most useless subject of all was (math won the „contest“).

At night Dolphy turned from one side to the other one in her bed.She couldn`t sleep,there were too many things which were going through her mind,mostly what had happened in the last few days.After making sure that Jim was asleep she put on her jeans,took her blue jacket and sneaked as quietly as possible to the door,opening and closing it and then walked through the hallway,almost like a ghost.

The park was so beautiful at night.Although it was very dark the leaves reflected the light of Crescentia,giving the facility a peaceful atmosphere.Dolphy would have never dared to go alone in a public park at night but everything within the Interstellar Academy was quite safe so she didn`t have to worry about being killed by a crazy psychopath.Looking up at the stars now and then the girl slowly walked through the park.She loved the feeling of being alone.All alone with her thoughts.But that`s when she remembered the reason why she couldn`t sleep.It wasn`t the mocking of Carren and her former roommates,it wasn`t the punishment or the complaining from her teacher...it was Jim.She always had this strange feeling when she was with him.She couldn`t describe it.Finally there was somebody she could trust,could talk to and who seemed to understand her.But exactly this was what confused her.She knew him for two days,just two short days,so how could she trust him?Was she really so naive?Why did she move to him although she had never trusted men before?And why did he want her to share his room with him?She had heard the other students talk about Jim being one of those typical loners...That didn`t make sense!Was he planning something?And if yes,what was it?Why did he behave so friendly towards her,acting like he would have known her all along?Why? Hundreds of questions raced through her head but she wasn`t able to answer even one of them.Dolphy went to the little lake in the middle of the facility and looked at the reflection of herself.What did that guy want from her?She wasn`t anything special.Neither extraordinary pretty nor slim,running around in her old clothes and easily getting upset whenever anybody dared to criticize her.Maybe Carren was right,maybe Jim was really so despaired about having no girlfriend that he took what he could get and...

„Dolphy?“

She almost screamed and turned around shocked when a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.

„Jim!What-what are you doing here!?“ she asked nervously.

„I heard you leaving the room...“

´Great,I really have to practice sneaking away unnoticed.´ she thought.

Dolphy stared at the reflection of Crescentia in the water,it was so beautiful,so far away...

„Are you okay?“ asked Jim as he saw her absent-minded look.

„...Yes.“

The hesitated answer and the sad glint in her eyes told him that she wasn`t telling him the truth.

„Dolph,what`s wrong?“

„...Nothing.“

„Oh,please,I don`t believe you.“

„Nobody told you to do that.“

„What`s wrong with you?“

„You ask what`s wrong with ME!?“ she suddenly snapped at him.

Jim couldn`t do anything but gave her a dumbfounded look.

„The right question would be ´What`s wrong with you´ !“

„Me?Why the heck!?“

Dolphy just wanted to answer as Jim`s eyes suddenly wided with realization.

„Oh,no,don`t tell me it`s again ´cause of the whole room-affair,is it!?I really don`t understand why everybody makes such a fuss about it!“ he yelled.

„Stop behaving like you wouldn`t know what`s going on!“

„Going on?What!?You`re a girl and I`m a boy,we`re living together in a room,no big deal.What`s so bad about it!?“ he asked.

Dolphy didn`t believe his words but then she saw how he looked at her.His eyes weren`t angry or upset...they were confused like those of a child.

„No,it cannot be.“ she thought. „He can`t be this innocent...can he?“

„Well?“ he added.

„Why did you ask me to move to you?I`m more than unattractive and you don`t know me,so why?“

„You aren`t unattractive-„

„Yeah,sure.Just answer my question!“ interrupted Dolphy bitterly.

Jim sighed.

„Alright,I`ll explain it but only if you listen to me.No interrupting,okay?“

„Whatever.“

"He took a deep breath and thought about how he could describe it the best.Searching for the right words wasn`t exactly one of his strenghts.

„Maybe it sounds strange to you but from the moment I first met you I had the feeling of knowing you for my whole life.I`ve been at the academy for several months now and I`ve never cared about being an outsider and having no friends.But...I forgot how cool it can be to have a friend...I just feared that living with those girls may destroy you,I know what I`m talking about.The children at school always made fun of me ´cause my family was very poor.I didn`t pay attention to it at first but they wouldn`t stop and my marks got worse and worse and I eventually landed on the „Most wanted“-list of the police...Well,okay,it wasn`t that bad,they just caught me sometimes for solar-surfing in restricted areas but I hope you get what I mean.“

„But why did you worry about somebody you don`t really know?“

„I wish I had an answer for this myself.It`s just that you and me have so much in common,I have never talked to somebody who did agree with me in so many things,no matter if it`s unimportant gossip about boring subjects or serious stuff.“

Dolphy still stared at him,not quite sure if she should believe him.

„Uhm,...okay.“ she said eventually.

„Now it`s your turn.“ meant Jim.

„Huh?“

„I`ve answered your question and now you tell me why you`re so suspicous.“

„It`s nothing special,I`m just moody.“

She gazed at the ground but soon looked up again after Jim had put his hand on her shoulder.

„Don`t tell me it`s nothing important ´cause then it wouldn`t be so hard for you to tell me.“

Dolphy sighed loudly,this guy really didn`t give in so easily.

„Have you ever had a best friend,Jim?“ she suddenly asked.

He shook his head slightly. „No,not that I could remember.“

„Well,I had a best friend,her name was Nadine.When she came to my class she was an outsider like me,I dunno why,but she was.We got to know each other and spent nearly our whole spare time together.I`ve seen her every day at school and when she was ill I visited her and we went out at least once a week.That was so cool!My other friends had never been so interested in spending time with me.She also told me that she liked my drawings and we had so much fun,we could talk and laugh about silly stuff for hours and it never got boring!“

Dolphy had to smile at the memories but her smile soon faded as she continued.

„But then she left school without even telling me, at first I thought she was ill.Some time later she told me the thruth,she wanted to get a job and spend more time with her new boyfriend.We saw each other only rarely but I loved those meetings ´cause I really missed her...One year passed and then I suddenly got a letter from her,telling me that she didn`t want to be my friend any longer ´cause I had always gotten on her nerves and she couldn`t stand me...She had just „accepted“ me as her friend ´cause she had no others.I was so despaired,I had told her everything,really everything,even very personal things!There had never been someone I trusted so much and for the first time in my life I had the feeling of being something special,that people could actually enjoy being with me...Hah!What a joke!“

She tried to laugh sarcastically but a suppressed sob was all she managed.

„That`s why I refused to trust you,I thought that-that you spent time with me ´cause you...had nothing better...that I was only a kind of temporary solution.“

Dolphy couldn`t hold her tears back any longer and turned her back embarassed on Jim.

„Sorry,I-I`m acting like a baby...“

„No...no,you`re not.“

Jim went nearer to her and lay his hands on her shoulders.Dolphy turned around hastily,not even knowing why she reacted so frightened.She did nothing but standing in front of him,staring in his deep blue eyes in which the light of Crescentia was even more reflected than in the clear water of the lake...at least she had the impression that it was like that.Those eyes,they were so beautiful...Wait,what was she thinking!?She didn`t know him long enough for having this kind of feelings.When she noticed that Jim was looking at her in the same dreamy but insecure way her heart started beating heavier and heavier.She exactly knew what was going to happen now.Why?She simply knew it.Her reason kept telling her that it was too early,too rashly but she didn`t listen to it anymore.All counterarguments forgotten she went nearer towards Jim,as near as possible.Her hands hesitantly touched his chest,her gaze never turning  away from his.He looked at her with a mixture of confusion,innocence and fear,also trembled a bit but didn`t budge...just like she did.Dolphy didn`t know how long they remained like this but suddenly she felt his lips on hers and his arms pressing her against his body.She closed her eyes and put her arms around Jim`s neck.Time seemed to stop.She had forgotten everything,her false friends,the mocking,the loneliness and the fear of being rejected one more time.All that mattered was what was happening right now.The kiss,the embrace,the escape from the cold dark night into his warm and comfortable arms.This feeling...safety. Nobody would hurt her,now that she was with him.Nobody would make her think again that she was useless.Nobody would divide her from him.Nobody.She wished this moment would never end,that she could simply stay in his arms forever.But then she noticed that Jim`s lips were leaving hers and that he was releasing her just a tiny bit.Suddenly she was scared,having no idea why.All she did was immediately hugging him stronger.

„Don`t let go.Please,don`t let go...“ she whispered to him.

She didn`t have to look up in order to see his friendly smile when she felt his arms embracing her softly and his hands gently stroking over her back.

The wind blew around the two teenagers,whirrling around some leaves and disturbing the night`s silence.But they didn`t care.The cold wind couldn`t harm them,they didn`t even hear it.Jim didn`t know for how long they had stayed there.He turned Dolphy`s face carefully to his and realized that she was sleeping.He smiled and put her arm around his neck.

„Let`s go back,okay,Dolphy?“

He couldn`t help but sniggered when she murmured senseless stuff about croissants and cocoa and reluctanly moved her feet to go with him.

Some time later the wind had calmed down and the park was peaceful one more time.The stars were sparkling and Crescentia`s reflection shined in the lake.There was no sign of danger anywhere...But the day would come soon enough...