Special thanks to Rush Limborg for the January 2012 challenge theme, which is roughly similar to this month's challenge theme elsewhere on the web.
Aurellan Markalis goes on her first date, and learns that romantic partnerships are not as simple as she observed them to be. But while discovering how cruel adolescents can be towards their socially awkward peers, she also learns that acts of friendships can come at unexpected moments.
WARNING: May closely resemble your usual '90's sitcom or present-day teen angst drama.
Aurellan Markalis goes on her first date, and learns that romantic partnerships are not as simple as she observed them to be. But while discovering how cruel adolescents can be towards their socially awkward peers, she also learns that acts of friendships can come at unexpected moments.
WARNING: May closely resemble your usual '90's sitcom or present-day teen angst drama.
************
She often enjoyed being a loner. While her peers were out having fun on Friday nights, Aurellan Markalis spent her evenings viewing old Earth entertainment programs. In a time where people were spoiled by interactive holodeck programs, she saw a certain appeal in just watching the narrative and not being a part of it. She often looked at the universe through the eyes of a non-humanoid anthropologist.
Aurellan was viewing an episode of the 21st century television program, The Big Bang Theory, on a padd. That television series was about a group of four highly intelligent and socially-challenged young men whose lives were changed when they became acquainted with an attractive, yet intellectually-challenged, young woman they could only dream of dating. Out of all of the main characters, Aurellan identified most with Amy Farrah Fowler. The character was initially introduced as a female version and possible love interest of one of the original male characters. But as the character developed over time, she was revealed as someone who accepted who she was, but at the same time, longed for the social life she missed out on growing up. In this particular story, the oddball couple of Sheldon and Amy tagged along for a “girls’ night out” At one point in the evening, Amy and the two other women in the group began teasing Sheldon about how had never kissed a girl in his life. When Sheldon insisted that he was not at all curious about it, Amy then planted her lips on the lips of the blonde woman on her right saying, “Give me some sugar, bestie.”
Not that she ever envisioned engaging in “experimental lesbianism”, Aurellan often experienced a similar duality ever since she realized she was “different” from the other kids. She was placed into an accelerated curriculum program after her primary-school teachers and counselors concluded that she wasn’t being challenged enough. Without much of a social life, she could concentrate on her academic goals. At times, she did try to bond with her peers—the “normal” kids who were still in secondary school while she was a first year student at Cambridge University. But those efforts often led to complicated misunderstandings. Frustrated by these encounters, Aurellan found herself back in her flat, immersed in a form of entertainment that became largely obsolete in the mid-21st century.
Aurellan paused the playback and flung the padd on the nightstand. She pushed aside a lock of her blond hair while experiencing a sudden feeling of boredom. The usual Friday evening lost its appeal for some reason. While she valued consistency in her daily and weekly schedules more so than most of her peers, she often saw the value of being spontaneous, of living for the moment. But even when it came to be spontaneous, she still had to think through every single step. “Heck, if the ‘Sh-Amy’ could find each other,” Aurellan muttered, repeating an amalgamation of the names Sheldon and Amy so often done with romantic pairings of famed actors during that era, “then there’s someone out there for me.”
After she consulted the university directory, Aurellan contacted Gavin Durant, a young man in her organic chemistry class with whom she was well acquainted. While he was also a college freshman, Gavin was two years older than Aurellan. They had been lab partners on numerous occasions throughout the semester, both appreciating the other’s work ethic and punctuality. He was not at all intimidated by her superior intellect, nor was she by his older age or his Betazoid heritage. Aurellan could not say that about too many of her peers.
An adolescent human male greeted Aurellan on the video monitor with a boyish smile. His golden blond hair and lack of any visible facial hair made him look younger than seventeen years of age. The splotches on his forehead, a distinguishing feature of Lumerians, were barely visible, as he was only one-quarter Lumerian. “This is an unexpected pleasure,” he said with a very distinct southern English accent. “We’ve never spent much time outside of our organic chemistry class.”
“That’s because I have an unusual request,” Aurellan replied with a light grin. She never gave much thought, but now it came to her mind that while she lived most of her life in the British Isles, she spoke more of a Midwest American dialect of Federation standard. “I wish to arrange a rendezvous with you. Perhaps dinner at 1900 hours tomorrow.”
Her request was then accompanied by an awkward silence. As each second passed, Aurellan was almost certain that Gavin would turn her down. Or maybe he was still trying to absorb that a girl asked him out rather than the other way around. She was not always so great at interpreting non-verbal facial cues.
“Did your flat mate put you up to this?” Gavin asked with a confused smirk.
“No,” Aurellan said with a slight giggle. She exchanged very few words with her very extroverted roommate Phoebe. So why, oh why, would Gavin think Phoebe suggested it? “Why would you think that?”
“No reason,” Gavin said with an awkward shake of his head.
Now, Aurellan could tell he was holding something back. But she chose not to broach the subject, thinking it was uneasiness on his part. Of course, if the situation was reversed, Gavin would be able to see right away if she was being less than honest, which was the extent of his Betazoid telepathy. “So, yes or no,” she asked.
“Yes,” Gavin confidently replied. “How about the Rainbow Cafe?”
“Sure,” Aurellan said. “See you then. She then terminated the transmission while resisting the urge to squeal with excitement.
The Dating Game
She often enjoyed being a loner. While her peers were out having fun on Friday nights, Aurellan Markalis spent her evenings viewing old Earth entertainment programs. In a time where people were spoiled by interactive holodeck programs, she saw a certain appeal in just watching the narrative and not being a part of it. She often looked at the universe through the eyes of a non-humanoid anthropologist.
Aurellan was viewing an episode of the 21st century television program, The Big Bang Theory, on a padd. That television series was about a group of four highly intelligent and socially-challenged young men whose lives were changed when they became acquainted with an attractive, yet intellectually-challenged, young woman they could only dream of dating. Out of all of the main characters, Aurellan identified most with Amy Farrah Fowler. The character was initially introduced as a female version and possible love interest of one of the original male characters. But as the character developed over time, she was revealed as someone who accepted who she was, but at the same time, longed for the social life she missed out on growing up. In this particular story, the oddball couple of Sheldon and Amy tagged along for a “girls’ night out” At one point in the evening, Amy and the two other women in the group began teasing Sheldon about how had never kissed a girl in his life. When Sheldon insisted that he was not at all curious about it, Amy then planted her lips on the lips of the blonde woman on her right saying, “Give me some sugar, bestie.”
Not that she ever envisioned engaging in “experimental lesbianism”, Aurellan often experienced a similar duality ever since she realized she was “different” from the other kids. She was placed into an accelerated curriculum program after her primary-school teachers and counselors concluded that she wasn’t being challenged enough. Without much of a social life, she could concentrate on her academic goals. At times, she did try to bond with her peers—the “normal” kids who were still in secondary school while she was a first year student at Cambridge University. But those efforts often led to complicated misunderstandings. Frustrated by these encounters, Aurellan found herself back in her flat, immersed in a form of entertainment that became largely obsolete in the mid-21st century.
Aurellan paused the playback and flung the padd on the nightstand. She pushed aside a lock of her blond hair while experiencing a sudden feeling of boredom. The usual Friday evening lost its appeal for some reason. While she valued consistency in her daily and weekly schedules more so than most of her peers, she often saw the value of being spontaneous, of living for the moment. But even when it came to be spontaneous, she still had to think through every single step. “Heck, if the ‘Sh-Amy’ could find each other,” Aurellan muttered, repeating an amalgamation of the names Sheldon and Amy so often done with romantic pairings of famed actors during that era, “then there’s someone out there for me.”
***
An adolescent human male greeted Aurellan on the video monitor with a boyish smile. His golden blond hair and lack of any visible facial hair made him look younger than seventeen years of age. The splotches on his forehead, a distinguishing feature of Lumerians, were barely visible, as he was only one-quarter Lumerian. “This is an unexpected pleasure,” he said with a very distinct southern English accent. “We’ve never spent much time outside of our organic chemistry class.”
“That’s because I have an unusual request,” Aurellan replied with a light grin. She never gave much thought, but now it came to her mind that while she lived most of her life in the British Isles, she spoke more of a Midwest American dialect of Federation standard. “I wish to arrange a rendezvous with you. Perhaps dinner at 1900 hours tomorrow.”
Her request was then accompanied by an awkward silence. As each second passed, Aurellan was almost certain that Gavin would turn her down. Or maybe he was still trying to absorb that a girl asked him out rather than the other way around. She was not always so great at interpreting non-verbal facial cues.
“Did your flat mate put you up to this?” Gavin asked with a confused smirk.
“No,” Aurellan said with a slight giggle. She exchanged very few words with her very extroverted roommate Phoebe. So why, oh why, would Gavin think Phoebe suggested it? “Why would you think that?”
“No reason,” Gavin said with an awkward shake of his head.
Now, Aurellan could tell he was holding something back. But she chose not to broach the subject, thinking it was uneasiness on his part. Of course, if the situation was reversed, Gavin would be able to see right away if she was being less than honest, which was the extent of his Betazoid telepathy. “So, yes or no,” she asked.
“Yes,” Gavin confidently replied. “How about the Rainbow Cafe?”
“Sure,” Aurellan said. “See you then. She then terminated the transmission while resisting the urge to squeal with excitement.
