Lyra: Sure, he just needs to call her via Skype.
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From Luke's diary
Luke: ... it's been very quiet lately, much more than I expected, actually. And...
As to contradict me, the door swung open, and one of the little girls in a yellow skirt rushed in to invade my room.
Luke: Wait, what...
Misty: (ignoring him) Hey, hi Serena! So you really are still in touch, cool!
Reaching unbelievable levels of cheekiness, Misty pushed me away from my chair to sit in front of the laptop, completely ignoring my protests to turn all her attention to her friend. I would like to say that I let her do it out of gallantry, but the reality is that Misty is much stronger than she seems at first sight.
Luke: Hey, that's unpolite!
Misty: I know, I know, she was your girlfriend... But she's also been my best friend since when we were in kindergarten, you know?
Luke: ...
And so the problems began.
Serena and I decided to keep in touch this way, with videocalls. For some reason Sim City was taking longer than expected to shut down the internet communication with New Sixam, and we took advantage of this delay to keep chatting, at least as friends.
But after the day Mistyfound out about us, she started to interfere with our calls more and more often. She said that the house where she lived now had not yet been connected to the internet which, given the priorities set by the housing division, it's at least a plausible excuse. Yet, it's not really the same when she participates in our calls too.
Misty: Sere, do you remember that impossible math teacher we had the second year instead?
Serena: (via PC) How could I forget him?
Misty: The teacher we got here is even worse, getting the diploma was a real challenge!
Serena: Oh, so you graduated too! Great!
Misty: I bet you were the best of your year without even trying instead, isn't it?
Serena: Well, I got some quite good grades, that's true.
Luke: Have you enrolled at any university, in the meanwhile?
Serena: Yeah, actually I just moved to downtown Sim City for this, I'm going to be studying in a campus not far away from here. The lectures are starting in just a couple of weeks!
Misty: I had no doubts, you know? Actually, this reminds me of when...
Misty talked all the time about the most various topics, and this way I was discovering so many things about their childhood that Serena had never even mentioned to me. This way we're talking about the situation outside New Sixam much less than I would like, but I can’t say I’m sorry to participate in this kind of more frivolous chatting, by time to time.
Serena: I miss you both a lot, you know?
A few days later ...
Misty: Tomorrow it's Serena's birthday, we should make her a present!
Luke: (suspicious) What do you have in mind, this time?
Misty: What about going to her place? I'm sure she would be surprised!
Luke: What!? And how do you think to reach Sim City without breaking any international agreement?
Misty: Come on, it's not such a big deal... I heard it from Lyra, your uncles have been going back and forth to Sixam's for years! They really sound like the kind of people who have a working teleport machine, for sure it would be a lot of fun and no one would even notice if we use a disguise!
In the following minutes, I quickly realised that Misty is quite stubborn, insistent and that she doesn't worry about breaking rules, because there wasn't any way to make her change her mind.
But she also made me realize that I was probably more desperate to see Serena again than I thought because, otherwise, I don't believe that I would have accepted to go to my uncles' place to ask for their help with this messy birthday plan.
Luke: Uncle, you see, we actually wanted to ask you about a certain thing, ehm...
Orion: The kind of thing that would annoy your parents?
Luke: Well... Actually, yes.
Orion: (amused) Tell me your plan then.
At this point everyone knows that we aren't allowed to leave New Sixam, and in particular not for travelling to Countries which have banned us from entering such as Sim City. However, for those few sixamians owing a working teleport device, this rule is often only taken as a suggestion. Teleporting to an isolated spot and then merging among humans when wearing a disguise can be so easy, that it's really hard to stop everyone from doing so. Ironically, Mr M. laws could have actually increased illegal activities at the hands of disguised sixamians, and from what the TV news report he hasn't realised it yet either.
I was still a bit nervous about the idea, but thinking about seeing Serena again was pushing my moral considerations to the background. Uncle Orion seemed sincerely amused by our plan instead, I can't say to be surprised about this. He quickly taught us how to use a decent disguise, and also how to use the teleport from his place to a small street next to Serena's new house.
Luke: This seems to be the address... It seems fancy.
Misty: A lot!
Luke: You really chose a weird face, you know?
Misty: (laughing) Did you give a look to yours, before coming here?
Luke: Apartment 5, here it is... I think.
After knocking on the door I immediately heard footsteps on the other side, and I nervously waited for it to open. Would Serena have recognised us? And would she have been happy to see us, or worried knowing that we weren't supposed to be there?
Then the door opened, and she stared at us for long moments it took for her to recognize us. She then proceeded to hug Misty tightly.
On the other hand, the greeting I received was only a nervous look from the distance instead.
Misty: Happy birthday!
Serena: Thank you so much! You didn't need to travel all the way to here just for it, really...
Misty: What a bit apartment, do you live here alone?
Serena: Well, actually, I should probably explain to you a few things. I...
(from the next room) ???: Ehi, did you invited someone?
Misty: What... Sere, since when you've a new boyfriend !? And why didn't you tell us anything?
Serena: Well, that's what I was trying to say, I...
We didn't stay for long, I couldn't stand it any longer.
Misty: I had no idea, I swear!
Misty said it abruptly, as she usually does, but of all the tones of voice I've heard from her, this may have been one of the kindest. She was pitying me, that's what.
Luke: She is moving on with her life, which is just what we had decided to do. I don't think there is much to say.
Misty: Okay, but we were talking to her every other day, I don't get why she didn't tell us anything before... It just seems unfair to me!
Luke: ... Let's just go home.
I was expecting any possible issue and problem from such an illegal trip, but not this.
I can't even describe precisely how this makes me feel. But I definitely don't feel happy at the moment, that's for sure...
Poor Luke. He went on such a dangerous adventure only to find an uncomfortable surprise. It's interesting that she didn't tell them anything about her new friend over their video chats. It's shows that they've really grown apart. At any rate, I hope that the travel restrictions somehow end... it seems quite scary to be locked in a place (or out of other places) and not allowed to move freely.
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