Meteorites, p.1
Meteorites, page 1
METEORITES
By W. D. Robinson
CHAPTER ONE:
"And if you turn your attention here, you'll see the rough orbit of Alpha-Centauri as it orbits not only its star, but also the supermassive black hole in our solar system." The crowd murmured: some inspired, some slightly bored by the speaker- a tall, dark-haired man in his twenties. "That's all the time we have left I'm afraid. If you come back tomorrow, we can take a closer look at these exoplanets, and any potential life on them. Any questions?"
A little girl raised her hand.
"Yes?"
"Life on other planets.. Like Aliens?"
"Yes, Like Aliens." Xeno smiled, he loved it when people asked questions though, this time, all he could think about was the coffee machine in his office. It was one of those mornings where he found it hard to resist its siren's call. "Any other questions? No? Thank you all for your time." His office was situated just under Mars in the scale model of the solar system in the planetarium- large coloured celestial bodies which he often critiqued for being inaccurate- and passed the plaque of the head of the Astronomy Department. "One day." He told himself.
Xeno looked over the top of his desk as he walked in. Messy, though it was, he found a kind of quiet organisation in the neat piles of museum paperwork that littered the fringes of his table- much like the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter in the solar system. The contents of his desk seemed to orbit his desktop computer, the background of which was some picture of him at the university graduation party from a few years prior. He took a moment to look at himself in the photo. His hair was messy, and longer than the short style it was in now; he was dressed up in a dark crimson suit. It was a rarity to see him at such events now, and he only dressed up somewhat presentable when he had some kind of work event. Speaking of, wasn't the quarterly museum party coming up?
His gaze drifted to the photo of him and his family that had long since been turned to lay on its face. Xeno couldn't bring himself to put it upright again. He briefly glanced outside, waiting for the crowds to disperse. Talking to them while presenting was fine, but a conversation outside of that didn't pique his interest.
After everyone had left the planetarium, he set out to find Dr. Aruda. Despite her status as a senior member of the Astronomy department, She'd probably be in her office in the botany part of the museum, given that there weren't enough offices in the astronomy wing. When asked, she'd said that she "didn't mind moving".
He walked past the displays in the hallway leading away from the planetarium- some were professional, others were there as a result of competitions they had sent out to schools. It was a strange juxtaposition to see advanced astrophysics calculations next to planets made of ping-pong balls, complete with googly- eyes. Xeno secretly thought that some of the crafts from schools threw off the esteemed atmosphere of the department, but the head of Astronomy, Dr. Carmazan, was adamant that they stay- and she wasn't a woman whom you wanted to disagree with.
The botany department was next to the astronomy department, and the two shared a common room, where most of the staff were when they weren't giving speeches or conducting research. Aruda's office was just on the right.
Xeno knocked on the door, before coming in at her command.
Dr. Aruda was a small woman, no more than five feet in stature. Despite this, she was fiercely intimidating. She had short black hair that was slightly greying at the roots, tied into a clean bun at the back of her head, and was wearing a green dress with little flowers stitched onto the hem. Despite her fifty-something years of age, she had hardly any wrinkles. Though she was many years Xeno's senior, when he had first joined the museum, she had taken him under her wing and shown him the rules.
It was mostly her that informed him of museum goings on, like how What's-his-name and Who's-she-again from Biology had split up, and then got back together, and then split up again. Despite her very formal, put together exterior, she had a penchant for workplace gossip unlike anyone Xeno had ever seen.
She was the main person who informed him of the deep hatred between the Astronomy and Palaeontology departments. Something to do with a prank war a few years ago? He had assumed she was biased against them because, apparently, one of the pranks had been blamed on her when it had first started, and she had almost gotten sacked by Ms. Pepper.
Dr. Aruda hadn't told him this herself, however, he'd had to find it out from other people. She got cagey whenever her prior involvement was brought up. Still, when Ms. Pepper realised she wasn't the culprit, she got a ten percent raise at the end of the quarter. Not a bad trade off, Xeno thought.
"Hello, Xeno." She said, oddly stoic. "What brings you into my office?"
"Can't I just come in and talk to you?" he challenged.
"By all means." She replied. To the average person, it would have seemed that she was being cold towards him, but Xeno knew that this was just how she talked to people- friend or foe.
"Well.." Xeno was struggling to think of a conversational topic. "You know when you got your PhD?"
"Yes?"
"Did you have to change that on your birth certificate? Like, your name, I mean?"
"No, I don't think I did. I hardly think I was born a doctor." She chuckled, already warming up to Xeno's presence in her office.
This kind of easy friendship is what made Xeno's early days at the museum bearable, when he'd just graduated Uni and was still figuring out how life at the museum worked.
Xeno looked over at Dr. Aruda. She had sat down and was continuing her work on her computer. He looked around her office. Compared to his messy, disorganised office, hers was neat as a pin; there was a single, half-full coffee cup on her desk whose only neighbour was her archaic computer, which Xeno was certain was older than he was.
"You didn't come in here just to ask me that, did you?"
"Nope, but I was curious." Xeno said, grinning. "I've got ages until my next tour, so I thought I'd stop by here."
She rolled her eyes, smiling. "Have you thought about what you're going to wear for this year's Museum party?"
Every year, after work, everyone from each of the museum's eight departments would come together for a party in the main hall of the museum. It was unbelievably boring, in Xeno's opinion, but it was part of a unique workplace culture at the museum that everyone had begrudgingly accepted.
"I was going to wear my red suit. You know, my-"
"Your graduation suit?" Snorted Aruda. "Forgive me, Xeno, but you've worn it for almost each and every workplace event since you came here. Don't you think it's time to change it up slightly?"
"Why would I change it when it's fine how it is?" Xeno asked. "Wait, do you think anyone else has noticed?" He tried to keep up an organised exterior at the museum- he was still gunning for that promotion, after all.
"Of course not, Xeno." Aruda pursed her lips. "It's not like Ms. Pepper pays the Astronomy department much heed, anyway. Much less your manner of dress."
"That's not true, I'm sure she pays us a lot of attention." Xeno replied.
Suddenly, the doors of Dr. Aruda's office burst open, slamming on their hinges.
CHAPTER TWO:
"Xeno, Ms. Aruda, I-"
"That's "Doctor Aruda" to you, Jess." Aruda half-joked. She was fiercely proud of her PhD, and wasn't afraid to show it.
"Right." Jess rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Anyway, It helps that you're both here, can you believe Ms. Pepper's email?"
There was a brief, uncomfortable pause.
"Don't tell me neither of you have checked your inbox for the last thirty minutes." Jess rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I'd expect this type of thing from you, Dr. Aruda, but Xeno, I thought better of you." She shook her head and tutted with mock disappointment.
Aruda began to chuckle, joined quickly by Xeno, and Jess cracked a slight smile before she seemed to remember herself, and her face darkened.
"No, guys, it's actually really serious." She said, "Look, I don't know how to say this, but.. Ms. Pepper's just sent out an E-mail that one of our departments is going to get.. cut." Her lips pressed together until they formed a line, and she shifted uncomfortably.
Xeno's heart dropped. Surely she was joking? Or, perhaps, a misunderstanding?
"Why?" Aruda demanded. The smile was gone from her face, replaced with a look of intense worry.
"Something about a lack of funding. Apparently, they're still deciding who they're going to cut, but they told us all to prepare ourselves. She should decide by the end of the quarter, apparently." Jess started playing with a lock of her auburn hair, as she often did when she was stressed.
The older woman frantically clicked the space bar on her computer. When it finally flickered on, she opened her email and saw the top one, labelled "URGENT" From Ms. Pepper- their boss and the head of the museum.
As she opened it, Xeno walked behind Aruda's desk, and read the screen alongside her.
"To all museum staff and personnel; It is with a heavy heart that I announce that we at Willowheath Museum will be forced to say good-bye to one of our departments. Unfortunately, we have faced a severe slice in our budget, and can no longer afford the rich plethora of specialties at our museum.
This email is being sent to avoid any sudden fear or shock when the time comes for a department to be cut. The decision will be finalised at the end of this quarter, in November. I am terribly sorry for any pain caused by this, but the good of the museum must come first.
With Regrets, Zara Pepper."
After a moment's pause, Aruda looked up at Xeno from where she was si tting.
"She can't do this. Not after how hard I've.. We've all worked at the museum. I knew her when she inherited it, she can't.. she can't."
"I agree." Xeno replied, looking at Jess. "Are you sure this isn't a prank or something?"
"Not sure if you've caught on, but I know about as much as you do." She looked away. "I've barely worked here for two years, I hate that we might have to leave."
Xeno started to tremble, though he hoped that it was imperceptible to the others. Working at the museum had been his dream job since he was nine or ten, how could it potentially all be gone?
"Well, here's hoping that it's the Palaeontology department that gets cut, eh?" Dr. Aruda nudged Xeno with her elbow, trying to make light of the situation. There had been tension between the Palaeontology and Astronomy departments for goodness knows how long, for reasons seemingly only fully clear to Dr. Aruda. Not that anyone was brave enough to ask her for clarification.
"Yeah." Xeno forced a chuckle. "I mean, you never know, this could be a win for us, right?"
"I'm not so sure." Jess replied. "I mean.. What if they try something funny? You know what I mean?"
"You're right. Keep an eye out, you two." Dr. Aruda warned them. She was almost like their mother at the museum. "Stay out of trouble, I mean it." Her brow furrowed as she said the last part, and she looked away.
"We will." Jess replied. "I promise."
"Yeah." Added Xeno, but his mind was racing. How could Ms. Pepper do this?
"By the way, Xeno, what are you going to wear to the work party? It's coming up, you know." Jess stated.
"Our jobs are on the line, and you're worried about what I'm going to wear to the work party? How on Earth is that relevant right now?" Xeno asked, amused.
"I think that it's especially relevant right now, considering everything that's going on." She looked at him almost incredulously, her green eyes squinting with confusion. "Do you ever think about what you're wearing?"
"I was going to wear my-"
"Please don't say your graduation suit, Xeno, I'll seriously punch you."
"If it isn't broken, don't fix it." Xeno shrugged. He liked his red suit, and finding another one in a week would be too much hassle anyway.
"Well, I say that it is broken." Jess stated, smiling subtly. "I think that your clothes are the first impression someone has of you. Didn't some Roman guy say that? The clothes maketh the man?"
"I thought it was Shakespeare." Xeno replied. He hadn't paid much attention in English, anyway. There's no way Shakespeare actually meant everything that teachers extrapolate from his plays, right?
"Whoever said it, it's true." Jess said. "Besides, if we all look well-manicured and put together, maybe Ms. Pepper will think that we actually are. We don't want to be the worst-dressed there, I bet you didn't think of that one."
She had him there, he hadn't thought of that one.
Taking his silence as an opening, she jumped at her opportunity.
"We can go to the town centre this weekend, to get you something new to wear in time for the party next week. How does Saturday at one sound?"
"I'll think about it." Xeno replied, dazed.
She rolled her eyes in annoyance, she knew as well as Xeno that when he said "I'll think about it", what he actually meant was "when hell freezes over".
"Well, you'd better think about it quickly. The offer's there, anyway. I'm getting my stuff ready for.." She trailed off, seemingly rethinking what she was going to say. "Uh, Anyway, I'll see you soon. I've gotta sort out everyone's timetabling for next week." Since she'd gotten promoted to astronomy shift manager, her organisation had gone into overdrive. Despite her being perfect for the job, Xeno couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy whenever he remembered, what with her having joined the museum a couple of years after him.
"Anyway." Jess began, turning on her heel. "I have to go and tell everyone else. I know for a fact that barely anyone checks their inbox in this department. Honestly, I don't know why I bother."
"Good luck." Replied Xeno, grimly. He knew that Dr. Carmazan, the head of astronomy, wouldn't take it well. He didn't want to be anywhere near her office when she found out.
"I think I should leave too." Xeno said, turning to Aruda, who had her fist covering her mouth, staring at the wall. She didn't say anything, just looked up and nodded, clearly deep in thought.
As he walked back to his office, his mind was a blur. So much so, that he hadn't even taken ten paces away from Dr. Aruda's office before the paranoia began to truly set in.
Where would he go if the Astronomy department shut down? It's not like he could work elsewhere at the museum, one of the main draws of Willowheath was that each and every lecturer was at least a university graduate in that field, with many having doctorates, so it wasn't like he could just switch.
It wasn't like he could go back to his dad's bakery? He banished the thought from his mind. That was a road he was never going to go down. Being so engrossed in his thoughts, he didn't hear the trundling of wheels just around the corner from him. However, when he rounded it, he was too late to react, and was hit by a trolley full of.. rocks?
He hit the ground with an audible "thump". Pain shot up from his back and elbows, which he had used to break his fall.
"I'm so sorry! it just got out of control, I thought it'd hit the wall and-" he began in an accent that Xeno couldn't quite place. Somewhere from up north, perhaps? He was talking faster than the trolley had been moving, his words jumbling together almost unintelligibly. While the pain from his arms was quickly fading, he found it was being replaced with stinging embarrassment from not having reacted sooner.
"It's.. fine." Said Xeno, much more rudely than he'd intended.
When he looked up to his assailant, he met eyes with a blonde man, around his height, perhaps a couple inches shorter. He wore a green jumper with cross-stitched dinosaurs on it- he was clearly part of the palaeontology department. For a brief moment, Xeno wondered if he'd created it himself- not that the craftsmanship was bad at all. He had a surprised look on his face, like a dazed hare, and had a hand outstretched for Xeno to get back up.
He didn't take his hand, getting himself back onto his feet. All he could think about was his department getting cut, as well as the tour that he was going to do relatively soon, and he sped off without a word.
"I really am sorry!" The unfamiliar man called at him.
In fact, it wasn't until he was back to the comfort of his office that he realised that he hadn't even apologised to the man, even though the crash was most likely predominantly his fault. He buried his head in his hands, his mind was a blur of red suit blazers, work emails and now, a new embarrassing memory, staying that way for a good five minutes as he re-gathered his thoughts. He really needed that coffee now.
CHAPTER THREE:
It was gone.
Xeno looked everywhere; from the deep crevices of his wardrobe to the bathroom to the kitchen. Despite the relatively small size of his flat, he always found himself losing his things. Especially his clothes, he found that he was always misplacing them. Could he have left it at someone else's house? He wasn't a stranger to afterparties, especially after the museum's big get-togethers. To be honest, he didn't much care for them, but he went for Jess and Aruda. He considered calling around, but he realised it would surely be too late and, if someone did have his suit blazer, it would have probably made its way back to him by now.
Cursing under his breath, he reluctantly began his morning routine. Combing his hair, brushing his teeth and washing his face, all the while worrying about what he was going to wear. As he pushed a loose strand of his jet black hair out of his face, he remembered he needed to go into town to run errands, anyway. He'd think about what to do while he was shopping.
As he stepped out of his flat and began walking through the hall, he remembered the blonde man whom he had bumped into the previous day. He briefly wondered if he was still thinking about him, too. He cleared his mind- why was he still on his mind anyway?
Xeno got in his car, a light grey Zoe he'd bought a couple of years prior off of a slightly shady car dealer, and set off for the three mile drive to Willowheath town centre. A couple of years ago, when he'd just moved into the flat, he'd used to walk into town. It had probably been better for his health, but Xeno favoured the convenience of his car which cut the forty minutes the walk would have taken down to five.
