3
The dance was delayed
a week later than intended because, apparently, it was the time of the year.
One of the
oddities of the Trap was that all the females stopped having periods. At least that’s what we thought. I didn’t have girls rush up to me and tell me
whether or not it was their time, but I sure didn’t hear anything otherwise.
At the same time,
there were no pregnancies. I haven’t got
into it, Doctor, and I probably won’t, but yes, there was activity in the Trap that
should have led to babies, but it did not.
I thought it might be related to the lack of a normal cycle.
Now, a little over
a year later, it happened all at once, within about two weeks. Luckily, Mrs. Novik had kept the inventory of
sanitary napkins, and that part of it was taken care of.
I had been told
that women get quite cranky as their period approaches, and that is why they
couldn’t be President or other positions that required a level head. I don’t know.
I didn’t notice much of that. I’m
sure some might have existed, but not enough for me to note. In my time in the
Trap, I noticed more erratic behavior from men than I did women.
Mrs’ Novik pleaded
with my father to wait until it was through before he scheduled the dance. My father was chauvinistic enough that he
quickly acceded to her request. He
wanted to deal with that as little as possible.
No one had a grasp
on it scientifically, not even our brightest.
On the one hand, our food crops grew fast and robust, on some kind of
accelerated time table. On the other
hand, it was becoming more apparent than our own age processes had slowed. Our hair grew slowly. I was hard-pressed to see anyone who had
visibly aged, or grown in height. And
now, were women’s cycles going to be yearly instead of monthly?
Many things to
ponder. I was still a teenage boy (17
technically), and my worldview was still fairly self-centered. So, the scientific concerns of the Trap received
consumed little of my thinking time. Mostly
I was running a Hamlet style debate in my head as to whether or not to attend
the dance.
I did not feel
comfortable having “fun,” especially at a dance. I had no interest in moving on to another
relationship. I didn’t resent others'
relationships, like Ginny and Artie, but I had to be honest and admit it
heebie-jeebied me a tad. I wasn't sure
how emotionally music would affect me, especially if it were a song I connected
to Lisa. Yeah, I was going through the kinds
of mood swings that the guys were associating with the women and their ‘time.”
I also considered
that I had friends who cared about me and wanted me there. And I was, by nature, an observer, learning
about people as I watched them interact with each other. It helped inspire me in story direction and
developing characterization for The Sands of Loren.
So, I could stay
in my sleeping room, maybe the library, take a pass of the night’s activities. Or I could go, start to draw myself out more,
risk a gradual climb back into social engagement.
I emulated Hamlet
up until the very last minute, and then I made up my mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment