Morning all, ready to jump into May? Yeah me neither, still here we are. So timers set and off we go to see what comes from the brain this morning.
Huh. That went a little different than I planned. No complaints but not quite where I expected when I started.
Thursday, May 1st: His eyes were itchy from lack of sleep.
His eyes were itchy from lack of sleep. How long had he been awake? He couldn’t remember. He knew he needed sleep. He had been studying for hours, interspersing study with walking around his small room so that he could get his blood flowing and wake himself up. Only to sit down and study some more.
He knew another round of pacing wasn’t going to wake him up any further. He needed rest. Jim tunred off the light and in the darkened space he moved to the bed and flopped down. He closed his eyes in relief.
And lay there closed eyed in the dark. Information circled through his mind. Information he would need on the test in the morning. ‘I also need sleep for the morning.’
He remembered an old breathing exercise designed to still the mind and calm him down. Such things were frowned upon here. They weren’t part of the curriculum and anything not part of the curriculum was to be ridiculed as inferior, unworthy. Still he knew it would help. \He set the ridicule he knew he should feel aside, and used the steady breathing trick to send himself to sleep.
The alarm woke him and he bolted awake. His deep sleep trick worked and against all odds he felt refreshed despite the few scant hours he managed. Jim rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he sat up./ He was still dressed but his uniform was far from pristine. He stripped and tossed his clothe4s in the basket as he moved to the small bathroom and shower he could call his own. It wasn’t much. There was a toilet, a sink and a shower stall that was only a few inches wider than his shoulders. Still it was all his and even the fact that he had to clean it himself didn’t detract from the pleasure of having the space for his own.
He used the toilet and then, naked, moved to the shower. He didn’t bother with the hot water, using the icy droplets of the cold water shower to blast the last sleep from him. Once clean and awake he stepped out of the shower, toweling himself off. Once no longer scattering droplets, he wrapped the towel around his waist, brushed his teeth combed his wet hair flat in regulation fashion and applied deodorant.
He had never grown facial hair as fast as the others, a legacy from his lineage. It had been a source of amusement for the others, but today it meant that he would not need to shave. He took the small savings in time and moved back into his room. Having thought ahead, he had an extra uniform pressed and ready to go, specifically for the final tests of today. Technically he had made certain several were pressed and ready to go before he began studying, not wanting to worry about his clothing while studying. He lined the garments up ready and waiting, the plastic dry cleaning bag keeping the clothing pristine.
He dressed, taking care that each element was in its place. He would pass the tests and none would call him an uncouth barbarian for his wrinkled clothing or missed buttons. As ready as he could be, Jim left his room. The door held no lock. Those living in the dormitories were supposed to have no personal items and they were allowed little privacy. Their rooms could be inspected at a moment’s notice by anyone on staff.
As his familial connections were different than many of the others, Jim had frequent inspections to make certain he was not harboring any inappropriate items from home. Jim never had any physical items. All that he brought from home were the mental conditioning and lessons that he did his best to pretend to the others he didn’t have.
Shrugging them aside for the day, Jim walked down the corridor. He locked away anything that wasn’t regulation as he moved. Today he would pass his final exams and be released. Then certificate in hand, he would finally be able to breathe again.
Ten til Midnight 