Free A Vomit of Diamonds by Boripat Lebel Page B

all.
    “Ready to go back?” Sarah asked after
another five minutes had elapsed. “So soon?!” Balzac returned,
reluctant to move from the view despite feeling like his blood was
congealing from within. “Well,” said Sarah uncertainly, there was a
schedule to follow on the one hand; “A few more minutes then,” was
her final offer. This extension appeased him for the
moment.

X XIV
     
    The five disciples dropped off at the
guest house, Sarah proceeded on to the barracks and there prepared
to call it a night; for tomorrow promised to be another long drive
back to Canberra. Her recruits on the other hand joined their
fellow comrades in the living-room, whence another soirée was
extemporized. Biscuits and tea were provided, courtesy of the
Coonabara Observatory kitchen.
    Naturally, Madame la
Comedienne was the lady of her household; as involved as Madame Geoffrin of the rue Saint-Honoré when
presiding over her famous dinners on Wednesdays, whence the
intelligentsia of Europe flocked over to her salon to make love to
philosophy, and she, its head mistress, directed their thoughts as
a hypnotist influences the minds of others with mesmerism, or drew
out their opinions as a surgeon-in-charge extracts a tumor from the
brain. All this is to say that Maxine ensured conversations flowed in surplus, that everyone was
included and amply teased.
    “How did Dr. Macnamara react when he
saw you guys?” she asked the other group at large. “He didn’t,” was
one answer. “As in slowly,” another chimed in. “It took him a few
seconds to realize we weren’t you guys,” said a third. All present
chuckled in great good humor at this scene.
    “ I’ve finally gotten around to
watching The Big Bang Theory,” Maxine informed her circle later on;
“It’s hilarious!” Nobody objected. “Sheldon is such a character,”
chimed in a second year with curly brown hair, from the other
Coonabara group. “Actually,” Maxine thought aloud, turning to
address Bouchard with wide eyes; “You remind me of Sheldon
Cooper!”
    “ Yeahhh,” Minho protracted the
word, as if it all made sense now. “That’s kind of true,” Annika
agreed, seeing Bouchard in a new light. Perry smiled knowingly.
Meanwhile those from the other Coonabara group, who had not been
around Bouchard long enough to draw such comparisons, observed the
string of revelations and its victim with curious
interests.
    “ I’m sure I don’t know what you
mean,” Balzac responded with perfect aristocratic innocence. “Wait,
really?” Minho interjected, not picking up on the sarcasm. “Oh,
Minho,” Maxine dramatically sighed in acquiescence. The party went
on past one.
    “Perry?” Balzac called from his bed,
where he had tucked himself like in a cocoon; “Do you think we’ll
find an exoplanet with life on it during our lifetime?” This was a
question Zimmerman had himself on occasion pondered, thus he had a
ready answer; “The Kepler telescope has already found exoplanets in
the habitable zone,” he allowed, “and that’s just from looking at a
relatively small patch in the night sky. So yeah, I guess the odds
are in our favor. However unless we can actually send a satellite
over there to confirm its existence, we’ll never be a hundred
percent sure.” There was no response.
    “Do you ever feel like you were born
in the wrong century?” Balzac asked, after an interval had elapsed;
the image of stars sprayed across the night sky still fresh in his
mind. There was something melancholic in the way he asked that
question. “Is that how you feel?” Perry asked, his tone gentle,
wise and sympathetic. “Sometimes,” the other admitted with a grave
sigh; “I don’t know. Maybe Star Trek has corrupted me.”

XXV
     
    Come Sunday morning Sarah and her ten
followers departed Coonabara Observatory in their white van; most
sitting in the same spots as when they arrived. Minho, who had a
passion for all things soccer, started a conversation with Perry on
the