Project Geek ~ Chapter 4
Hello awesome nerds and happy Sunday everyone!
I was deliberating whether I should upload this post or not, but after writing for three hours straight, I thought I ought to share this new chapter of Project Geek with you. Back in August, I uploaded the first chapter of this NA Contemporary/possibly Dystopian new writing project of mine and some of you said that I should give it a go.
I did. At least for a little while. But then TAC‘s characters started calling me back, begging me to edit and revise and polish the Guardian of the Auras and start working more seriously on the sequel and so I put Project Geek aside. After all, I did not have a clear picture of what I wanted to do with it.
But as TAC‘s first instalment is being released in February 21st, 2019, and I’m halfway through working on the sequel, I thought I should offer myself a little treat and write simply for pleasure. Especially since the two main characters of this new project were not shutting up during the past few days.
So, here I am, or actually Zac is, with the forth chapter of this story, which, as it appears to be, it’s going to be a mash up of Beauty and the Beast and The Devil Wears Prada.
I suggest you sit back comfortably everyone and… enjoy!
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Chapter 4
ZAC
“Welcome to Mummy’s! Table for one, I presume?” a brunette, Golden-Ratio-following chick chirps, rushing towards me.
Still, it’s that other girl, the non-Phi one, to whom I can’t help but stare at. And even though she’s not beautiful, or at least our society claims she isn’t, to me, she looks… hot! With that blue dress of hers, the red apron with the little muffins, her red cheeks, those big, brown eyes and her long, brown hair tied up in a ponytail, she seems way more real than any other person inside the coffee shop. Way more real than myself included, though this couldn’t be that difficult anyway. For instead of hiding in a dark corner of Mummy’s, she wears her non-Phi physical appearance like an armour. The funny thing is that she’s not even aware of how bright that armour shines.
“Uhm… Yes, miss. Thank you,” I murmur, the moment the non-Phi girl comes to stand right across me.
“Good afternoon,” she muses, her voice a bit harsh, compared to the other brunette’s melodious one. “Let me guess… One iced hot chocolate to calm you down and a piece of Black Forest cake. Life’s always better when chocolate’s involved. Don’t you agree?”
It’s hard not to smile at what she just said, especially when the Golden-Ratio-following brunette next to her seems like she’s about to explode. She may have the beauty, but the non-Phi girl seems like she’s the witty one.
Snap out of this, Zac! The non-Phis are the reason why you’re a sitting duck right now, dude.
“I am so sorry about this, sir,” the Golden-Ratio-following chick says. “Just give me a moment to deal with this… crisis over here and I’ll get back to you in a moment.”
She grabs the non-Phi girl, sinking her manicured nails deep inside the other girl’s pale flesh, and pulls her to the other side of the shop, behind a grand counter, in an attempt to hide her from the clients, I cannot really tell. The Golden-Ratio-following chick has turned a vivd red, talking and glaring at the other girl, standing inches away from her. And again, it’s the non-Phi girl the one that surprises me. She doesn’t move, she doesn’t flinch. She just stands there, pure apathy apparent upon her not-so-perfect face, staring at the beauty before her. The next moment, she turns around and heads towards the patisserie’s kitchen once again.
I only have seconds to avert my gaze, before the other brunette walks around the counter and comes towards me once again.
“I’m terribly sorry for what happened,” she purrs, her blue eyes still looking stormy. “My sister doesn’t seem to understand that some things are better left undisturbed.”
“You sister…”
“The baker to whom I’ve been talking to…” she starts. “I know, it’s quite hard to believe that we’re related,” she goes on, and I can only imagine how puzzled I probably look to her.
Quite hard indeed, I think, the non-Phi girl’s face popping up inside my head once more. Not her whole face really, but her eyes. Those big, brown eyes that looked deep inside mine, not really staying at my physical appearance, but looking straight into me.
“Anyway,” the Golden-Ration chick chirps. “Let me lead you to your table and take your proper order.”
She turns around, heading towards a small table at the front side of Mummy’s, and I follow her, taking a deep breath before opening my mouth to speak again.
“Actually,” I start “I’ll get what your sister proposed. She may not be a doll, like you are, but I do hope she knows her job.”
“Oh, trust me, sir, she does. Both the baking and the business administrating part,” the brunette chuckles. “We wouldn’t be the best patisserie in town if she didn’t. And she wouldn’t be here…”
I smile faintly as the Golden-Ratio-following chick heads towards the coffee shop’s kitchen. At the sound of her last words, I cannot help but wonder… How alike that non-Phi girl and I truly are?
***
“One iced hot chocolate and one piece of Black Forest cake,” a lovely Golden-Ratio-following young woman muses, standing right next to my table, a serving tray with my order in her left hand, her short hair sending a faint essence of vanilla and strawberries along my way.
“Thank you,” I say, smiling at her.
“Enjoy!” she chirps, smiling back and placing my order on the wooden, round table.
She’s ready to leave, when I reach across her, stopping her right where she is. She turns around to look at me, a funny, puzzled expression spreading upon her heart-shaped face.
“Is there anything else you need, sir?” she asks, smiling faintly.
“Yes,” I say and I regret it the exact same moment.
We stay in silence for a few moments, simply looking at each other. My stare flies around the patisserie and only then I realise that it’s just me and about a dozen other clients left in that peculiar coffee shop.
“So…” the waitress starts.
“Yes,” I say. “That other waitress, the brunette one…”
“To which brunette do you refer, sir?” she asks.
“Not the Golden-Ratio one,” I reply.
She smirks, clearly enjoying what’s been going on here. I hiss in a breath, deliberating whether I’ve come up with a brilliant master plan or a complete bullshit, before I pluck up the courage to speak again.
“I’m talking about that other girl, the non-Phi one,” I murmur, the waitress’s smile having turned into an actual grin now.
“What about her?” she asks, her green eyes glistening under Mummy’s lights.
“Well, I was wondering if I could speak to her in private,” I say, and the next moment I realise how that must have sounded to that lovely waitress.
Her smile instantly fades as she crosses her hands in front of her chest, staring firmly at me. It would’ve been better if she had slap me in the face. Instead, the waitress glares at me, her lips pressed together, forming a thin line.
“I’m sorry, sir, but I’m afraid this cannot happen,” the waitress says, whichever warm and gentle tone she’d used before being long gone now.
“Oh, no… You misunderstood,” I gasp, totally aware of how foolish I must sound.
Shit! Shit! Shit!
“Enlighten me then, sir,” the waitress says, her tone cold and professional, coming in complete contrast with her sweet face; for I swear I can smell the disgust pouring out with every word she just uttered.
I cannot blame her of course. That stupid government of ours is responsible. That and those dimwit stereotypes they’ve managed to establish over the years. As if a Golden-Ratio-following person and a non-Phi one cannot speak to each other in private, without the first one wanting to make a discreditable proposition to the latter. A proposition that has to do with prostitution, drugs or even murder.
And the Mayor wants us to work together, just so he can tame the rising riots, I think. How stupid is he anyway?
I look at the Golden-Ratio-following waitress firmly, just like she does, the cogwheels inside my mind turning frantically, as I think which will be the best way to express my proposal. A proposal that will keep my secret safe. That will keep me safe despite everything Father has threatened to do if I don’t comply.
“My name is Zachariah Hudson,” I start and I’m glad to see realisation slowly dawning at her face.
Being famous has its upsides after all, I think.
“As in the Zachariah Hudson? Of the Bewitched Ink publishing house?” the waitress asks, awe and surprise pouring out with every word she speaks.
“The one and only,” I reply. “I was wondering if I could speak with your colleague about a new internship program we’re planning on launching in a few months.”
“What kind of program?” she asks, her former polite tone coming back on the surface once more.
“We believe everyone has equal rights,” I start, having learnt by heart that bullshit of propaganda Farther wants us to use, just so to lure non-Phi people into that sham of a program. “Golden-Ratio-following and non-Phi people need to have the same opportunities, the same rights, the same wages, just as they have the same responsibilities and financial obligations. Which is why we’ve decided to start an internship program, in association with the local authorities, hoping to achieve equality in the long term.”
The Golden-Ratio-following waitress’s face glows as I finish my speech. I do not believe in not a single word I just uttered. Non-Phi people, they’re just a means to an end. And if that baker slash business administrator is as gullible as her friend is, then I’ll have my salvation after all.
© Victoria Moschou. All Rights Reserved 2019.
It is a rough draft and of course it needs a lot of editing, but it would mean the world to me if you guys could check the previous three chapters and let me know your thoughts and feeling regarding this new story in the comment section down below.
I may not upload that frequently about it, but do rest assured that I will keep working on it.
Thank you all for being here once again, awesome people! It means the world to me and i most certainly don’t take your presence here for granted.
I wish you all a very happy Sunday and stay tuned because… Today I’m gonna co-host along with Emma from emmmabooks the Lord of Shadows live show, at 4pm EST, on her YouTube channel! How freaking awesome is that? 
