The ringing of the portable communication device's alarm clock bringing Mac out of sleep, and made her curse. She reached out towards her old wooden bedside table, in order to turn off the shrill sound, but she couldn't find it. She felt around in the air, searching for it, but te table simply wasn't there, so she finally opened her eyes, drowsy, and took a look around. For a few moments, the still dazed brain of the neurologist sent out an alarm message, not recognizing the furniture in the dimly lit room she was in. She sat up, while the alarm continued to ring, on that bed that was quite a bit larger than the one in her Faith Haven's room, and turned around to identify the source of the weak light that barely allowed her to see. For a few seconds, Mac blinked in disbelief, looking the space and stars on the other side of the window glass, until her mind finally woke up, and she remembered everything that had happened the day before.
"Oh damn..." She rubbed her hand over the face, huffing as her brain quickly putting together the pieces of the puzzle of the current reality. She remembered where the nightstand was (the real one, not the one back home in Faith Haven) and finally silenced the hateful alarm on her communications device. Then she turned on the light.
The light above the bedside table was bright enough to read in the dark when turned to full power, and it dazzled Mac at first. As her eyes adjusted she could see that she had left her 'Introduction to Human Psychology' book close at hand, and remembered that she had been reading in bed after dinner until she had almost fallen asleep. Her communication device indicated that it was 6:30 in the morning, and she knew that she had had left it around 1:00, so she had only managed to sleep for about five and a half hours. The neurologist would have liked to have had more time to rest but, as was often the case when she was immersed in her studies, the time had flown by and it had ended up being late in the morning.
Mackenzie looked out the window again, into space. The space landscape outside the Healing Heart was dominated by a star-studded blue-black hue that spread out before her, very different from that of Omicron Theta, which had that everlasting greenish-yellow background produced by the reflection of the white dwarf's light in the nebulas and dustfields. Mac smiled internally. She was just thinking about how late she had been studying, as if the words early and late were really anything more than fiction out there in the middle of nowhere. The ship was ruled by Sirius Universal Time, because it was necessary to keep a notion of time, but there really wasn't a real day and night.
The doctor finally got out of bed, and the first thing she did was take a good shower to help her face the new day. Mac had the imperative need to shower as soon as dawn broke, and when she couldn't do it she felt like she wasn't functioning at 100% for the whole day. She spent about twnety minutes after soaping herself up just standing under the spray of water, while her mental processes were reactivated, enjoying the extremely hot temperature.
This was a routine she tried to do every day, although still remembered how she had been deprived of doing it during the first year in Pygar, and much of the second. The beginnings of Faith Haven had not been easy at all and there was hardly any hot water, not to mention that it was rationed only for her consumption. It was not until almost the end of the second year since the foundation that the great underground river of water that could be made drinkable was located, and it was more or less around that date when a sufficient energy supply was possible to be established to heat at will.
Once she finished in the bathroom, she went through the kitchen to leave the cooking robot preparing a juice with a mango and an orange that she selected from the welcome basket, and headed back to her bedroom. Yesterday, she had unpacked and sorted her luggage into the room's closets and drawers before getting into bed to study, but she had left her trusty backpack on a chair next to the bikinis and towels she had bought at the Atrium store. She chose one of them, cobalt blue, a color she liked a lot, and a coral red towel with white checkered patterns that reminded her of the patterns painted on some Cretan tiles. She threw both items on the bed, then put the rest away in a drawer inside the main closet.
The neurologist thought that the last time she had gone to the beach seemed like it had been in another life. Gran Canaria had seas and lakes and Mac had had the opportunity to visit them in the years that she had lived there, on some of the few vacations that had allowed herself to take. But she hadn't set a foot on a beach, nor bathed in the sea, nor lay out in the sun for... more than eight years! As she chose what to wear today, Wilson wondered how the years could have passed so quickly. She had had so much work to do since the Bretonian invasion that her memory of everything that had happened in the last few years was a whirlwind in her mind. For the first time in a long time, this trip allowed her to stop and think about it and take a break from her hectic routine in the colony.
Mac knew there would be a leisurely moment on the beach, but it would be preceded by some therapy work, so she didn't know what to wear for each one. She also knew that Isa preferred patients to feel relaxed in the presence of mental health professionals, so she couldn't wear anything too serious. After some hesitation, she chose a formal shirt with blue and white vertical stripes, the kind you could wear with a suit, and black jeans with white sneakers. A look that was half formal and half casual. She put on her the bikini and her common clothes on top, put the folded towel in her backpack, and filled the rest with her Introduction to Psychology book, her portable communications device, and a thermos of cold water. Curacao was a tropical planet, and from what she understood, it had very hot temperatures, so it was better to be well hydrated.
She drank the juice that the cooking robot had already prepared several minutes ago, enjoying how the sweet, liquefied fruit refreshed her, and then checked the time before leaving, 7:13. Very early indeed, because she had arranged to meet Isa at Belle's at 8:00, and it would only take her fifteen minutes to get there. She didn't know what time Isa would arrive for the appointment, but knowing her, the psychologist would be punctual, or perhaps even arrive a little early, as was customary in many cultural canons in Sirius. In Bretonia, nevertheless, the correct thing to do was to arrive exactly at the appointed time, neither before, nor after. However, although Mac was more prone to that kind of Bretonian punctuality having grown up there, she wanted to get there with enough time so that when Isa arrived she would already be seated and with the breakfast table chosen. She wanted to make a good impression on her tutor, so that Isabella could see that she was very interested in beginning her studies, and that she felt very grateful to be able to do it with her.
The hallways and Atrium were already pretty full of people heading to work. Mac had to wait her turn for the elevator down to the floor where Belle's was, which made her a bit more of a delay than expected, but all in all it took her less than twenty minutes to get to the cafeteria. As she walked through the entrance she looked at the time again, 7:32. The place was pretty crowded with people having breakfast before work, so she waved to Belle with a smile and gestured to ask where she could sit. The owner pointed out one of the tables with a long padded seat on one side and two armchairs on the other. Wilson sat there, took off her backpack and set it down beside her, waiting for Belle to come over to take her order.
The owner finished doing something behind the counter and walked towards Mac carrying her digital notebook."Good morning! Dr. Mac, right?" Wilson nodded, surprised and grateful that Belle remembered her name. "You are Isa's new student, we met yesterday morning."
Mac smiled. "You've a good memory Belle, I'm impressed. With all the people passing through here everyday it can't be easy to remember all the faces and their names."
Belle made a modest gesture. "Oh, it's nothing, I've always been good at remembering faces. It's useful for the business." She winked an eye, amused. "Do you want me to bring you some breakfast?"
"I'm waiting for Isa, we're supposed to meet here for breakfast at 8:00, but I'm a little early, I'm afraid." Mackenzie looked around, just in case she saw the psychologist approaching, but it was really too soon. "I'll wait for her before ordering food, but if you can bring me a cappuccino I'd be very grateful."
Belle noted on her pad and nodded. "Of course. I'll bring it to you right now."
Once Mackenzie had her cappuccino in front of her, she took the book 'Introduction to Psychology' out of her backpack to read a little, while she waited for the coffee to cool down a bit, and for Isa to arrive. In two or three minutes the coffee was at a temperature the neurologist could tolerate without her tongue melting, and she began to drink it in sporadic sips, while holding the book with her other hand and continuing to read. She had barely noticed that time was passing, as it often did when she read attentively, when noticed someone stop in front of the table.
Wilson looked up to see Isa, looking rather worried, bowing to her in apology. "I am Sorry Mac I am too late, I have slept a bit longer than usual Today." The psychologist's face expressed deep regret. "I hope you haven't waited for too long. Let us Order breakfast and then I tell you how this will happen today. I am really sorry that I am late."
Mac closed his book and pulled out his portable communications device to check the time. 8:01 a.m. Then she looked back at Isabella. "Isa, you're one minute late. That can't even be considered as being late, please don't mention it." Then, seeing that Saito didn't seem very calm despite her words, she added, with a smile. "Punctuality is very culturally dependent, you should see how Cretans interpret it. Sometimes it seems that they consider it inappropriate to arrive at a social meeting less than ten or fifteen minutes late. I once asked my collegue Dr. Vasquez why this is so common for them, and she told me that for a Cretan to arrive very punctually to a place could be interpreted as a sign of excessive dependence or submission to the other person. However, according what she told me, arriving a little late would denote domination of the situation and a slight disregard towards the other person, which in their culture, it seems, is even polite." Mac shrugged. "I don't even know if all this is true or if she was just kidding me. Vasquez is very... funny sometimes, and likes to make fun of people. Maybe it's just a general bad habit, and not something cultural, but I can assure you that most Cretans won't show up on time for an appointment even under threat."
Isa must have been hungry, because she ordered a huge breakfast, which included everything from eggs and bacon to various pastries and sausages. The psychologist had no doubt anticipated that it was going to be a long day and that it would be necessary to gather strength. Mac's stomach growled at the feast and she prepared to enjoy it. She poured some bacon and egg onto her plate, ate a little, and cuddled Niki for a while, who had climbed on the table to request some caresses.
Once Wilson verified that Isabella relaxed a little with her caramel machiatto already in hand, answered her about the day ahead. "Yeah, I've some doubts about today." The neurologist took a piece of crispy bacon and bit into it with relish."I know that we're going to do the therapy session with the patients first, but I still don't know what technique you're going to use in it. I would also like to know who the patients are and what their mental history is, to know what we're facing." Mackenzie paused to cut off a piece of one of the sausages and dip it in one of the jams. "On the other hand, I don't really know what my attitude should be during the session, or what task I should perform. I imagine that for the moment I will just observe and take notes, since it's my first class, but if you need anything else from me, please let me know. Apart from being eager to learn, I'm also eager to be useful." She polished off the rest of the sausage and took a sip of her cappuccino to help it along. Then her gaze fell on the chocolate croissants. "Lastly, I would like to know how the rest of the day will unfold, to make my mental planning." She picked up a croissant and placed it on her plate, beginning to cut it with the knife and fork. Then she looked at Isa again and smiled a little embarrassedly. "Yes, I know, believe me, sometimes it can be overwhelming even for me, but my brain forces me to always have everything under control, I don't know how to just go with the flow. I need to have a clear idea of the daily agenda, or else... you know, a meteorite could fall on us." She shook her head, somewhat exasperated. "Well, that's how I am, all the time. I guess you'll get soon used to it."
