A Time Of Innocence 2: A Small Circle of Friends

Author: Jennie McGrath

Notes: originally published in THE BIG B7 ZINE (1993)

by Jennie McGrath

"Avon, I need to speak with you."

The urgently spoken words warned him just in time. Moving quickly, Vila ducked behind a nearby storage container. Tension screamed within him as he watched Avon stiffen and turn to meet Blake.

"What do you want, Blake?" Avon sneered.

Vila sank further down, wishing he could disappear. This was not how it should be. These two men had been his best friends at one time. What had happened to the three boys he remembered so well?

No...It just wasn't right! He or Roj always won the award for best overall academic achievement. In the last five years, Roj had won the award twice, Vila three times. As usual, the two boys had won in their best individual categories; Vila for computer science and Roj for maths. They'd been playfully glaring at each other, waiting for the overall winner to be announced. Not that they really meant anything by it; as long as one of them won, their collective honor remained intact. Everyone in the nine to twelve age group gasped when the name was announced....

"Kerr Avon."
A slight, dark eyed boy rose and slowly made his way to the stage. Vila recognized the new kid he'd seen in programming class. Watching closely, Vila saw the nervous shifting of Kerr's eyes. Felt Roj start forward, when the boy stumbled slightly on the stairway leading up to the stage.
Something told him that an open offer of help would not be accepted by this proudly quiet boy. He laid a restraining hand on Roj's arm, then leaned forward to offer a congratulatory handshake to Kerr.
"Just imagine them with no clothes on." Vila grinned wickedly as he passed on his favorite way of handling stage fright.
"Yeah...think of old 'Cow' Carruthers naked!" Roj elaborated, with an exaggerated shiver of horror.
Confidence restored by the unexpected support, Kerr walked calmly over to the podium and accepted his award.

Vila rose from his hiding place in the cargo area and cautiously looked around. All clear. With a sigh of relief, he opened the case of Taurian Brandy he'd secreted behind Avon's precious computer components.

Swiftly, he left the lower decks, two bottles of fine liquor secreted in his clothing. He definitely needed a couple of drinks. The fighting had escalated between Blake and Avon recently. It was worse than ever. And it upset him more every time they started in on each other.

Because it never failed to prompt Vila's recalcitrant memory. After the many times he'd bragged about being impervious to the Federation's various mind-altering techniques, he found it rather disconcerting to remember all the little details of his childhood. A very different version of his childhood from the memories planted by Federation manipulators.

After over a year of life aboard the Liberator, Vila found that he was remembering more and more of his childhood friends. He would have preferred to remain in ignorance. Particularly considering the intimate details of Blake and Avon's pasts his memory had dredged up. It had become very difficult indeed, to face the two men, knowing that one of them remembered but never sure which one it was.

He needed to talk to someone. Realizing that this need could not be fulfilled under the present circumstances, Vila sought refuge from his memories in a bottle.

And he hoped.

He hoped that it was Blake, not Avon, who remembered. He hoped that their association would have a happy ending this time. He hoped that they would survive.

And, more than anything else, he hoped to be reunited with his old friends, Roj and Kerr.

END