PART

  Next morning Mia woke up and saw him staring at her. He was sad. He smiled and tried to look happy, but she felt his hidden unhappiness. She wasn't happy either. She felt like being banished, like doomed. Going back to Warsaw made her feel bad, but she didn't want to go wild now. Mia didn't want to eat and she didn't want to drink a cup of tea. She didn't pack her clothes. She left them here, as if she would be sure to come back here on Friday.

  She dressed with the top, which he gave her some days ago, and which she did has not worn so far. Mia knew it would be a pleasure for him to see her with it. She was right. He looked at her with admiration and satisfaction. This top was like the one of Nelly Furtado in Promiscuous, bright and creamy, but quite longer and reached up to her hips. It was loose and had many flounces. In addition, it suited her jeans perfectly.

  Mia looked beautiful, but her eyes were sad. She didn’t want to leave her fairytale and go back to the reality. She tried to look happy and satisfied, but her eyes were dashed off. Julian noticed it from the very beginning and he felt the same way. He already missed her. It was so natural to adapt to the good coming into his life and it was so hard to say goodbye. Maybe it was his personal punishment for not appreciating every day so far. With her by his side, Julian got to know how precious time was.

  Julian watched her, while she was eating toast with jam. She tried to let the time pass slower, too, but she wasn’t able to realize it. Her moves were fluently, but unhurriedly. He wanted to remember every detail of her – sitting at the table and making a battle of persistence with her cup of tea. Later, as Julian opened her door to his car, she was calm. While they were on the road, they didn't talk. She still had some questions for him and he would happily know more about her. There were so many unspoken matters in the air that you could easily catch them. They felt the increasing gap between leaving the past and standing up for future. It was a strange feeling, as if they would walk slowly along a border. Unfortunately, there was no time for them. With every breath of Mia, they came closer to the end of a chapter that should never ever end.

  Julian held her hand all the time and he didn't notice that she had fever. She was already healthy because of his special sapphire-like ray therapy, but now she was so worried that she had a headache, which caused her fever. She wondered whether he would notice it by the colour of her shell. So far, he didn't say anything.

  He was driving too hasty and she couldn't make out where they were, because the pictures were changing too fast. His Mustang wasn't just fast; it was fast and furious, wild like a real mustang, although it was a high-speed machine. Julian overtook every car on the road and if she didn't know that he knew what he was doing she would think he was a mad and sick person.

  She tried not to concentrate on the road, because she felt upcoming sickness. Everything was passing by too fast. She was staring at her hand, that was laying on her knee. After some minutes, they already reached Warsaw. Julian slowed down visibly. Now she was able to look outside and see the buildings, trees, and every part of this city. Warsaw was waking up, but it gave a wary impression. Everything was so lazy leaving behind the last weekend and dopey coming into a new week. It didn’t take long and Julian stopped in front of the building where her apartment was. He said he would wait for her and take her to school. She should just take her school stuff. However, she denied.

  -Julian, I will manage it on my own now.

  He didn't answer and she closed the car door. Then he drove away very fast. She looked after him and although his car was already gone, she kept staring at the point where she had seen it for the last time.

  It was early in the morning. She felt so lost like never before. She felt so unreal in this reality. A piece of her was captured in another world. She felt like a spaceman who flew over the moon and back. Now he left his spaceship, looked at the sleepy, grey world, and discovered it anew. He had lost all colours of the world in the universe behind him. Mia thought about Julian. Apparently, he didn't like that she wanted to go to school alone. If she would tell him the whole truth, she wouldn't have to feel this way right now. She was the one to blame for it. She turned back and went slowly towards the stairs. When she was in front of her apartment, she felt that something was wrong. Mia didn't know what it was, but there was something queer here. The colours of the world were still missing.

  Finally, she stepped in and smelled some odd smell. She wondered what it was, but she couldn't define it. Maybe she forgot the smell of her own apartment. Or it was a new Mia, who came into this strange and unfamiliar apartment. She went into her room and took her school case. She noticed that the cameras were following her movements. She tried not to show that she was conscious about it. It didn't take long and she was outside again. Old Mia and new Mia didn’t like this place. She had to go out, leave this place and set her free. Before she even noticed, she was on her way to school.

  This week began horribly. It couldn't be worse – she thought when she sat on a bank in a park. It was too early to show up at school. She had plenty of time to use for nothing. She was angry. She had a feeling that something was going down the tubes. At least she hadn't any presentiment. This was the only good news.