Dear Annabeth

Waking up from my sleep, I let out a silent yawn and stretched my arms above my head. Afterwards, I stayed in bed reading one of the many books from the shelf. One of the many books that were included was a recent book that had been published. The Bluest eye by Tony Morrison. It was a fascinating book that was really a game changer in the psychological genre. As I continued to read on, I felt a deep connection with the main lead Pecola as her struggles in her life were terrible. It made me think about how simple minded of a society we really are. We continue to judge endlessly on such high standards that seem so ridiculous. Beauty. Fame. Even people who are knowledgeable have been dragged beneath the ground. Such high pedestals that people tried to obtain only end up harming themselves.

People die. Death isn't something that should be played with. People really die. And to make such a world where if you aren't following a certain pattern or certain trend, then you are shunned is appalling. We humans have conquered the greatest tragedies in our lives. We have created beautiful landscapes and reshaped the world with our very own hands. Yet we allow such feeble words of those insecure of themselves to diminish our own reputations. Such foolery!

After finishing the chapter, I walked around the room for a while. It was quite a spacious room enough for me to walk freely without getting bored. Trying the handle every few hours to see if it would budge open, I began to note that the handle was able to move out of position quitter easily. It was an unusual thing as I wouldn't expect the scientist to miss such an easy mistake. So, I continued to be cautious so as not to pull it off entirely. Several minutes later, I sat in the middle of the room and began my meditation. It allowed me to keep my mind sane and gave me time to reflect and think about what to do.

Breath in. Breath out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

During the time I studied sociology , I learned quite a few various breathing techniques, and over time, I have gradually become an expert in that field. However, the boredom of sitting around in a confined room ate me up. My mind couldn't stand being idle for so long. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait any longer. As I was wrapping up my meditation, the speaker started to beep. Turning my head, I quickly stood up and made my way towards the speaker.

"Hello Annabeth." He said his mood eerily happy.

"What do you want?" I replied coldly.

"Oh, come on, we had a lot of fun, didn't we. You don't have to be the cold towards me." His voice, so mocking that it struck my nerve in the wrong way.

"Just get on with whatever you want to say." I said, not wanting to listen to him anymore.

"I wanted to have a conversation."

"About what?" I asked my interest being piqued.

"About humans."

"What about them? Do you want to discuss."

"Well, as a sociologist, you understand human interactions much more than I do. The science behind society. Our social behaviour. I wanted to learn more about it."

"And why do you want to learn about that?" I questioned warily.

"Knowledge. As much of a gifted person as I am, there are still things that I do not know about."

"Well, we behave very much similar to animal, I would say. Our behaviours or more so our instincts are much closer to primitive beings than we think." I explained. "Of course, we all know about our flight or fight response. However, when we pair that to society, we see much more resemblance with other species. We instinctively start to build our own pedestals. Our fight response kicks in if you would like to say. Some people, I think, forget that fighting isn't always about punching or kicking someone. We can fight with our words. So, when we meet people, we do two things. We portray ourselves as more dominant than the other person or act much more shyly. Never equally because I believe that we humans do not understand equality."

"Interesting, so what do you propose equality to be then?"

"It is hard to pinpoint an exact definition. However, I believe that true equality would be that we behave, verbalise, and treat each other with the exact same respect, attention, and standing. This, however, is something impossible. The first instance I see of this is that we behave much more differently towards our family or friends than we do to others. Being equal means we treat everyone the same, right? So then, why does our behaviour differentiate between a stranger and a companion?"

"Our primitive instincts."

"Yes, our fight instinct takes control. In front of our parents, we are much more submissive, but in front of a stranger, we appear more dominant. Of course, there are cases of the opposite or instances where both of those behaviours are present, but mainly, it is that format. Our friends, however, is something that intrigues me much more. We act as if we are on equal terms with our friends, but underlying beneath all the mannerisms, there are still the same two components. Submission and dominance. We just put forth this persona of equality with them and act as if we are not above or below them."

"An interesting thought. However, there are people with certain behaviours of acting much more egotistical or altruistic. So, what do we say about those people?"

"Well, there are a few theories I have. One of them is that their brains are hardwired to act in a certain manner. Some people have been brought up in such a way that their brain sees itself as much superior. Of course, examples would be the rich. They would act much higher around middle class people and especially the working class. On the other hand, the poor would act much more modest or submissive as they know they are at the bottom of the food chain. I believe that as we have positions in society, we act accordingly to those positions, and in such our behaviours towards our friends begin to drift away from those equal terms we all talk about. We may belittle them or bully them during time at school for not being smart enough or not being athletic enough. That is because our brain is hardwired into thinking so, and thus, we drift from that false persona."

"Which isn't a bad thing." He added.

"Which isn't a bad thing." I agreed.

"Such an interesting concept of such a primitive response. Thank you for enlightening me." He was exceedingly kind and happy for conversing in such an intellectual conversation with me. I couldn't help but smile.

"Is that a smile I see Annabeth?"

"Shut up." I said, looking away. "It wasn't bad talking to you."

"Whenever you want to talk, just call out. I would be happy to converse with such a knowledgeable person."

My face gleamed with joy as I nodded happily. Finally, I could cure this boredom within me.

"Another thing was, I wanted to know more about you, Annabeth."

"About me? What do you want to know?"

"Anything. Your hobbies, your interests, any relations."

"Well..." I thought, sitting down on the side of the bed. "...my hobbies aren't that interesting. I enjoy reading books and archery."

"Ah! I have always admired archery. It is so fascinating to see such skilful precision."

"I haven't reached that level yet, unfortunately. But I practice every week."

"That is good. Continuing to polish on a certain skill helps us pass time, enjoy it, and also become better."

"Yes, I have won a few competitions which I am proud of I say so."

"What about your relations? Have you ever loved someone?"

"God forbid! I haven't had the time to focus on such things, and even if I did, it would be unwomanlike of me."

"We are nearing the 21st century. Ideals as well as expectations change."

"That is true, but I have always thought of myself as much older fashioned."

"Well, if I may say it again, your beauty never ceases to amaze me." His voice returning back to that seductive tone he used during my dream.

"M...me? Thanks." I said, my face blushing immensely. I could hear a chuckle from the speaker, which made me blush even more. "You do have a way with your words. I will give you that." I said, accepting the defeat.

"Thank you for that compliment."

"So are you."

"What?"

"You are handsome yourself." I said in a quieter tone.

"Much appreciated. It is a shame that you can not see my blush right now." He said with a chuckle.

"Don't worry, I shall get you back the next time we see each other." I said sternly, my competitive drive taking the best of me.

"Then I shall be waiting for that moment, Annabeth."

We continued to talk for what felt like hours. Our personal lives, the places we studied our friends and family. It had been so long since the last time I had such a hearty conversation with someone. It felt great. My body rumbled with happiness as with each word that continued on, I could feel myself drifting towards him more and more. But I didn't mind it. It was beautiful. The passion we had for our work, the talk and wisdom, the humour. It all fit in nicely.

And before I knew it, I had made a friend. Or someone even more than a friend. A best friend? No, I had a feeling, a small inkling that it was much deeper. However, I waved it off like a fly and settled on a friend. Several hours had passed, and my body began to become drained. I let out a few yawns in between our conversations, which I apologised for continuously, that The Scientist excused and didn't mind.

"It seems that your body has reached it maximum." He spoke.

"I guess so." I said a bit upset about the fact that our talk was ending.

"Don't fret about it. We still have many more days to talk. It is best if you rest now and allow your body time to heal as well as your mind."

"I guess you are right. It was really good to talk with you."

"Likewise, my dear Annabeth."

Dear?

I thought to myself. That word tugged onto my heart as I felt an unusual feeling inside of me. However, as I had been plagues with immense tiredness, my mind didn't have the capacity to take in what he had said. And so, I waved it off and got myself ready to sleep. Laying down in bed, my eyes began to slowly close as I heard him say one last thing before I lost my consciousness.

"Good night."