CLOUD NINE

Chapter 7

Alizeh returned home to find Nina propped up on her bed, a glass full of swirling liquid in her hand. Her face looked flushed and her eyes were wild but the smile on her face was indistinguishable. Beside her, Aileana dunked her glass in one gulp and reached out for the bottle of wine. The sound of loud music belching out through the surrounding speakers made the room reverberate with a jolly mood.

"Come on Aliz, join us," Nina shouted.

"We're celebrating her new job at the manor of one of the wealthiest at Cloud One," Aileana announced, pouring herself another drink.

"I don't drink." Alizeh bit her lips and forced a smile on her face, before making way to her bed, flopping down the bag and collapsing into the hard mattress. Her head was paining from all the music and from skipping lunch to attend her interview.

"What's up?" Nina scooted over, followed by Aileana, "Did you get the job?" she squealed, unmindful of the gloom on Alizeh's face.

"I'll work from home at a firm that writes online quotes and forwarded messages."

She sighed, getting up and running her fingers through her hair.

"And that is bad...very very bad" Nina hiccupped from the effect of the alcohol.

"Yes, it is. Now you should go to sleep, shouldn't you?" Alizeh looked at Aileana for help, judging her to be the sober one. Aileana shrugged, "She's upset about leaving us all. We were supposed to have a happy party but she went all mopey."

"Wait, she's leaving? Why don't I know any of that?" Alizeh sat up straight.

"Well, her job involves staying at the home of her employer. So she has to leave tomorrow to go to a different cloud. She's painting walls. She had a week's contract after which she'd be allowed to come." Aileana gestured to Nina, who had slid off the bed and was making her way to the bathroom.

"Oh! It's temporary then!" Alizeh gasped, "I thought..."

Aileana shrugged, "That she got a better job and you felt dejected because you haven't. But at least you have a steady job, bro. She doesn't."

Alizeh looked into Aileana's eyes, forming the next words very carefully. "You know I took the responsibility for you, right? So I have to take up a job that can feed us both and pay off the rent. My current job pays too less. I was worried about how to break the news to you."

Aileana reached for her hand. Alizeh didn't draw back but continued staring at her. Their interlocked fingers suddenly felt heavy. Alizeh gasped as Aileana lightly ran her thumb on the back of her hand. Their faces were only inches apart and a different kind of tension seemed to be heating the air between them.

"It's okay," Aileana said softly, "You tried your best..." and just like that, the tension was broken as Aileana turned around abruptly, clenching her fist, "It's not your fault that I'm unemployed. You know you don't have to overburden yourself," her voice broke, "I'll manage."

"I don't want any argument regarding that!" Alizeh's voice rose an octave, "I need you to be on this cloud, safe. I need to know you're here, with me." She took three steps towards her till they were face to face.

"And why do you care?" Aileana bit back.

"Because..." Alizeh stopped. Something shifted in Aileana's eyes, something hopeful. A thousand unspoken words seemed to be rushing between them, "I don't know. Just that I want you safe." Alizeh turned away and strode to the window.

Suddenly the lights dimmed, flickering once or twice and went out with a pop as the entire room was plunged in darkness. They both peered outside to see the entire cloud in a pool of black. Aileana gripped Alizeh's hands tightly. Her fingers were shaking.

"Are you okay? It's a power cut I think," Alizeh squeezed her hand for support.

Aileana wasn't speaking. Alizeh felt for her in the dark and found her entire body shivering. "Oh my God! What happened?" she gently wrapped her hands around the thin figure of the girl beside her. The physical touch made her nervous but this was a crisis. Something was wrong.

"I have a phobia of the dark. I begin to have palpitations..." Aileana's voice trailed off.

"Shhh, it's okay," Alizeh crooned, running soothing circles on her back. Her posture relaxed a bit as she melted into her, skin to skin. The touch felt so foreign to Alizeh but it was also warm and reassuring.

As if in a cue, a loudspeaker somewhere on the CloudWay blared to life.

"THIS IS A MERE POWER CUT, PEOPLE. SEEMS LIKE THERE WAS A GLITCH AT THE MAIN STATION. I WOULD ASK EVERYONE NOT TO PANIC. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION. WE'LL TRY TO SOLVE THIS SITUATION FAST."

"It's temporary then, isn't it Nina?" Alizeh heaved a sigh of relief.

No one replied.

"Nina?" Alizeh's voice seemed to echo in the empty house.

She rushed to the bathroom but the door was open. Nina was nowhere. The front door was ajar too.

"Did you see her leave?" she turned to Aileana frantically.

"No. When did she leave?" Aileana's voice trembled.

Alizeh debated whether to stay put or go out in search of Nina.

"Aileana, please stay here. I'm going to search for Nina," she grabbed her coat from the hanger.

"No!" Aileana wailed.

"I need to make sure she's okay. Please lock the door behind you," Alizeh ran out before her roommate could stop her. She felt bad leaving her alone but there was no other choice. Maybe staying alone would help Aileana conquer her fears of the dark.

"Nina," she called into the dark, "N-I-N-A-A-A-A!"

Only the wild gale answered her back. A faint trace of light lit up the horizon. She strained her eyes to see what it was. A spark shot up into the sky, like an arc of purple lightning and dissipated into the dark. A few more sparks followed, with the crackling of electricity rumbling like thunder in the sky. This was a rain cloud. Cloud Nine was a freaking thunder cloud and could incinerate all the inhabitants someday if the charge balance faltered.

"This isn't good," she mumbled as she made her way piercing the dark, the puny flashlight of her mobile device acting as the only guiding beacon.