Singular

by Larry Buenafe

  9

  W e weren’t sure which room “Mr. and Ms. Jones” were in, but from the sound it seemed that they were on the same side of the hall as us. It occurred to me that, due to my enhanced senses, I would probably be able to hear them. I concentrated for a moment, and I could tell that they were three doors down based on Mr. Harutyunyan’s breathing pattern. I told dad what I heard, and he patted me on the head. “That’s my boy, with the long blond hair.”

  “But dad, this is a wig, it’s not my hair.”

  “I know, Lukey, it was just a joke.”

  “Oh, ok.” I don’t always get jokes, it’s one of my weak spots.

  “Well, come on then, let’s shoot through, they’ll be stoked,” said Benji.

  Dad poked his head out the door, and, seeing no one in the hall, we tip-toed down and tapped on their door. A high, nasally voice asked, “Who is there?”

  “Bloody room service,” Benji declared.

  For a few moments there was rustling behind the door, and Mr. Harutyunyan swung it open, smoothing his hair with his left hand.

  “But… but… we are on same boat?”

  “Well, yes, that seems obvious,” said dad. Behind Mr. Harutyunyan was Ms. Houng, also attempting to straighten her hair, her eyes wide and mouth forming a surprised “O”.

  Dad and Benji made eye contact, and it seemed that some kind of understanding passed between them that was beyond me. “Well, well, well. I reckon maybe this really is Mr. and Ms. Jones,” said Benji, a tickle in his voice.

  Chuckling, dad added, “I had my suspicions, but it seems they have been verified. And such a… an unusual couple, I would say.”

  Mr. Harutyunyan and Ms. Houng seemed mortified. “Listen, it not what you think,” Ms. Houng chirped.

  Benji was bent over at the waist, slapping his knee with glee. “Oh no? I tell ya, mates, I reckon it’s not what we think, it’s bloody worse than that! Oi, this is rich, this is! What ya make of it, John-o?”

  “Listen, who am I to begrudge a couple’s happiness,” dad deadpanned.

  Mr. Harutyunyan and Ms. Houng both looked down, sighed with embarrassment, and finally gazed at one another. Then, they giggled. And laughed. And guffawed. Dad and Benji joined in, but I had no idea what was so funny. I paced up and down the hall in frustration, and dad called, “Luke… I mean Lucinda, come here. I’m sorry, I’ll explain.”

  Dad realized that I was about to protest; he stopped me with a shushing motion and pointed up toward the deck of the ship. This, I understood. “Look, we’ve already made enough racket. Let’s go in, it’ll be a bit more private,” he whispered, and we all piled into the room of “Mr. and Ms. Jones”. It was tight with all five of us in there, especially the immense Mr. Harutyunyan.

  “I did not anticipate us ending up on the same ship at all, but at this point it would be more suspicious to make changes than it would be to just ride it out. Do we have any reason to suspect that there are any undercover operatives among the crew?”

  There was a moment of thoughtful pause, and Benji said, “I don’t think we’ve seen enough of the bloody crew to know yet. What ya think a’ this: we find out how many there are on board, and we each take a fourth and get ta know ‘em. I reckon they’ll give us some signs, like wearin’ those aviator sunglasses, or havin’ overly neat haircuts.” As usual, Benji became more animated as he spoke, his hands pantomiming his words.

  “Is good, I like,” said Mr. Harutyunyan, Ms. Houng nodding in agreement.

  “Ok, not bad… how do you propose we determine how many crew members there are?” asked dad.

  “Uhhh, why don’t you just ask Mr. Alexy?” I offered.

  Dad grinned and Benji slapped his thigh one more time. “The simplest plan is often the best, eh? I’m sure we would have come up with a complicated method involving an algorithm of some kind, but you’re right. In fact, why don’t you ask him? It’ll give you a chance to practice your girl voice.”

  “I don’t like that idea at all… plus, I don’t have a girl voice. I don’t think so, anyway.”

  Dad looked at Benji, who shrugged and said, “S’ worth a try. I reckon they’ve gotten far enough by now.”

  “Lukey, the nano-machines that comprise your body will eventually merge with all of your biological parts, helping maintain them and keep them in good working order. It is likely that some have reached such places as your vocal cords, which gives you some control over your voice that you did not have previously. It’s also why your senses are sharper than they were in the past. If you concentrate on sounding like a girl, for example, you can sound like one. Go ahead, try it.”

  So that’s why my hearing and vision are so sharp… and my sense of smell, although I wish that one was a little less powerful… Mr. Harutyunyan’s cologne is killing me… I did as dad directed, and said, “Ok, how about this?”

  There were slowly spreading smiles all around. “He’s a right proper Sheila, he is!” Benji snickered.

  “Very impressive. He sound just like a girl, look like one too,” said Ms. Houng.

  “Dad, do I have to? I don’t feel good about this.”

  “Look, it’ll be good for them to believe you are a girl, because it will help us stay under cover for our trip. It’ll be good for you, too. You need to make some new friends.”

  “Ok, I don’t get a lot of jokes, but I got that one. It’s called sarcasm, right?”

  “Well, not exactly. I do think you should do it, though. Just consider it practice.”

  “Ok, but what do I say?”

  Dad and the others provided me with a basic script and I trudged off to find Alexy.

  I reached the creaky, wooden deck, and there were three deck hands loading cargo nearby. They turned to look at me, but I did my best to ignore them while scanning the area for Alexy. I concentrated on my hearing, and soon identified his voice coming from the pier alongside the ship. Ok, if I’m going to do this, I might as well go all the way… I know girls and guys walk a little differently, so I did my best to copy how I thought it should look and strolled down the ramp.

  Alexy noticed me walking his direction, and a huge smile lit his face. “Hello, my dear… miss Lucinda, yes? What can I do for you?”

  He leaned casually against the handrail leading up the ramp, and it seemed to me that he was trying to flirt with me. Yuck! I’m not sure I’ll be able to go through with this for the whole trip to… wherever we’re going… In my best girl voice, I said, “Umm, hi, Mr. Alexy. I was wondering if I could ask you a question.”

  He held his hands up and said, “Please, please, call me Alexy. No mister, is too formal. We should be friends, yes? What is your question, dear?”

  “Oh, I was just wondering how many people are on this ship. I mean, how many… sailors? Ship-people? I’m not sure what you call them, sorry.”

  He giggled with delight. “Ship-people, that is adorable. There are sixteen including me, and if we include you and your papa and the other two new crew members, there are a total of twenty people on board. Why do you ask?”

  “Oh, I just like to get to know people, and if we’re going to be working together it makes sense to know how many. I guess I’m just kind of weird that way.”

  He chuckled again and said, “Is not weird at all. I’m sure you will have lots of time to… get acquainted.”

  Ok, this guy is definitely trying to flirt with me. That’s… it’s gross, that’s what it is… “I was also wondering if there are any other girls… I mean females on the ship? Maybe I can make friends with them if there are.”

  “Of course, would be nice for you. Unfortunately, there is only one other on board. She is one of the other new crew members. A lovely young lady, and her partner is a huge man who should be a big help with the tasks requiring muscle during our trip. I’m sure you’ll have time to get to know them, my dear.”

  I said, “Ok, well, thank you,” turned, and walked back up the ramp. I could feel his eyes on me as I went, though. Is this how it is for gir
ls? Man, I hope not… maybe I’m just overly sensitive to it since it’s a new experience for me…

  As I strode back across the aging deck, one of the workers loading produce waved to me, and I waved back without thinking. Now he’s going to think I’m flirting with him… man, this is complicated… I hustled back down the circular stairs to our tiny room and told the others what Alexy told me.

  “Sixteen… so four each, that’s not bad at all. I’m sure we’ll have moments where we are all together, and we’ll identify which four we will each target then. What time is it now?”

  Benji looked at his phone. “Seven fifty-five. I reckon we better get to our duties. Time to get changed, eh?”

  We walked back to our room, and in the tiny closet were three gray, full body work jumpsuits, the same as the deck hands were wearing. We got into them, Benji’s and mine being excessively baggy, I pulled my wig back on, and we all trudged back up the circular metal stairs to the deck, where waiting for us was Alexy, with several cans of paint and paint brushes.

  10

  W e painted for hours, working on the many rusty spots of the central structure (which I learned was called The Superstructure from my new friend, Sasha, the deck hand who waved at me.) He walked up to me while I was painting around the windows of The Superstructure (which I thought sounded like a home for Superman or something) and introduced himself, shaking my hand in a formal way. He was about my height, which is a bit on the short side for an adult. Athletic-looking, with an intense, hawk-like appearance, although very respectful and friendly, he kept calling me “Miss” as he described the various parts of the boat in his heavy Russian accent.

  I wonder if he would be this friendly to me if he knew I was a boy… I never knew girls had it so tough… it’s hard to know if a guy is just being friendly or if he has other things in mind… I remember my mom, who always told me everything, described how things happen between men and women… you know, the sexual stuff… I know she would never have lied to me, but what she described didn’t really seem possible, especially to a nine-year-old… it still seems weird and primitive, like there must be a more sanitary and effective method to make a baby… I don’t guess I’ll ever have to worry about that, though, not with a body made of nano-machines…

  “I hope you don’t mind my asking, Miss Lucinda, how old are you? Is hard to tell, and I wish to be the person of respect. You understand, yes?”

  “Sure, I understand. I’m fourteen.”

  He smiled but seemed a bit dejected. “I am sorry, Miss Lucinda, I am eighteen, much too old to be speaking to you. Is not proper. Please, excuse me for any offense.”

  Is it not possible for guys and girls to just be friends? I had no idea about any of this… it almost seems like… like girls have some power over guys, and if the girl was maybe not so nice, she could probably get the right guy to do all kinds of crazy stuff… of course, guys have a different kind of power over girls, mainly because most of them are bigger and stronger… that’s all too simple, though, there has to be more to it than that…

  I turned away from him and continued to paint around the windows. “I’m not offended. You were just telling me about the boat, right? There’s nothing wrong with that. Anyway, I better keep working or I’ll never get this done, and you probably have stuff to do too.”

  “Yes, is true. Please, one last question, though. Why do you come on this boat to work? You do not seem to be the kind of people who need to do this.”

  Hmmm… it almost seems like he’s asking that question for someone else, like he was told to get information from me… there’s no way he would believe the truth, so maybe that’s what I should tell him… at least part of the truth, anyway…

  I turned toward him and tried to give him my sweetest smile, although I don’t know how it really looked. “We’re criminals, fugitives from the law. We’re running from the government, and if you say anything, something bad will happen to you.” Then I winked at him.

  He looked befuddled for a moment, then laughed heartily. “You try to fool me, eh? Very funny. If you don’t want to say, is no problem. I promise, I will watch over you, make sure nothing bad happens, because we are friends. Is ok?”

  “Sure, that’s ok. You can’t have too many friends, right?”

  “Is right. Ok, bye bye, Miss Lucinda.”

  “See you, Sasha.”

  As he walked away, I turned to find the rest of the group watching me out of the corners of their eyes as they painted the railing. Dad waved me over, and asked, “What was that all about?” I described the conversation and told him I thought he was probably not someone we needed to worry about.

  “I’m still going to keep my eye on him, I don’t want him getting fresh with my little girl.”

  “But dad, I’m not…”

  I know, it’s just another joke.”

  “Oh, ok, I get it.” I didn’t really get it. I mean, I’m not really a girl, and dad knows it.

  It was soon time for lunch, and Alexy called everyone into the dining area, which Sasha told me is called a galley on a boat like this. I hadn’t eaten anything since leaving the hospital, but I didn’t feel hungry. I didn’t feel tired, either, which seemed strange, as the rest of the group was both of those things. Dad stretched his back and said, “I’m not used to this kind of labor. I’m sore all over, and I bet we could all use some sustenance.”

  “Yeah, mate. You reckon they’ll have any coldies down there? I could use one or five right about now.”

  Mr. Harutyunyan smacked his hands together, and in his ocean-deep voice, said, “I too wish for this. Five would be a good start, eh, Benji?”

  They both cackled and began play-fighting, which was quite a sight, Mr. Harutyunyan being more than twice Benji’s size. Ms. Houng hung her head in embarrassment. “Ok, children, settle down. We go to eat now, so you behave.”

  There were nods all around, and we passed through the superstructure and down to the first floor below decks to the front of the boat. The scent wafting toward us resembled sour vegetables, and it got more pungent as we approached. I was surprised by the appearance of the galley; It looked a bit like school cafeterias I have seen in old movies, with faded posters on the wall of what I assumed were famous people from the past, encouraging us all to drink milk. As we entered, I pulled dad aside and whispered, “What am I supposed to do? Can I eat?”

  He glanced around to make sure no one was within hearing range, and hissed, “Just eat like normal, but only a small amount. I know you have a hundred other questions but wait until we get back to our room. I’ll explain how things work then.”

  We proceeded to the back of a line of hungry ship hands, and as we waited, I counted twenty people in the room. So, unless Alexy was lying, everyone on board is in here now… As the crew got their food, which consisted of a foul-smelling stew of some kind and a piece of hard bread, they sat in small groups at tables scattered around the room. Some were speaking what I guessed to be Russian, a few others speaking a mix of Spanish and English. It appeared to me that about half of the crew were Russian, two who sounded like Benji, so I assumed they were Australian, and six who seemed Hispanic. As I scanned the room, Sasha caught my eye and waved again. I smiled but didn’t wave back.

  Mr. Harutyunyan, Ms. Houng, Benji, dad and I all sat crowded around a table meant for four, eating in silence, except for Benji loudly smacking as he chewed. I took a bite of the stiff bread, and although it was tough as a car tire, I was surprised when my teeth went right through it. I swallowed without chewing and it went right down with no resistance. I took one small spoonful of the stew, which tasted as bad as it smelled, but I didn’t gag or choke; it also just slid right down.

  Dad noticed the surprised look on my face, and he leaned in close and whispered, “You’re going to have lots of new experiences over the next few… oh, I’m not sure, but it may take a year or more to realize the full measure of the changes. Just keep quiet for right now, and we’ll have a good talk when we get back t
o the room. It’s so strange, you know; we’ve been planning for these past two days for such a long time, but still it’s been… well, overwhelming is too tame a word to describe it. And, we still have a long way to go before we can say we’re safe, so we need to stay on guard. Sorry, Lukey, I know you didn’t ask for any of this, but I just couldn’t fathom the thought of letting you go.”

  Dad’s eyes looked watery for a moment, and he patted me on the head. We continued to eat quietly, while the sounds of chatter in various languages and the clinking of forks and spoons filled our ears.

  11

  J ust after lunch the deck hands finished loading all the cargo, and at about one p.m. the ship left the dock and slowly proceeded out to sea. It was an interesting experience; I had never been on any kind of boat before and I thought we would be rocking from side to side, but I could barely even tell we were moving.

  Once we were away from the San Diego bay area the ship picked up speed, and we continued to work on our painting duties. We got to the end of our shift without any other issues, and finally it was time to return to our room (which I learned was called a cabin on a ship like this, thanks again to Sasha) and Dad and Benji fell onto the bunks, Benji on the top bunk and dad on the bottom, seemingly exhausted. I didn’t feel tired, though. In fact, I didn’t really feel much of anything, which was both good and confusing at the same time. I sat on the floor next to dad’s bunk, doing my best to be patient, and after a few minutes he turned to me. “Ok, Lukey, time for some more Q and A.”

  Benji’s face appeared over the side of the upper bunk. “There’s still a lot to say, eh, John-o? Lukey, I reckon in all this excitement you still ain’t got a chance to even look at yourself in a mirror, have ya?”

  I thought for a moment, and realized he was right. Dad smiled, and said, “Go ahead, take a look. I think we did a pretty good job, but you be the judge.”

  I snatched the wig off my head, stood up, and took three steps to reach the tiny bathroom, which just consisted of a toilet and sink in a small closet. I gazed into the mirror above the sink and thought, ‘well, that’s me, alright.’ I just looked like a bigger, older version of me from what I remember of being nine. A bit on the slim side, and I can see how, with my wig on, I could be mistaken for a girl, and a cute one at that. I don’t think anyone would describe me as ‘hot’, but cute, yes. My arms look thin but normal, and I have my dad’s ocean blue eyes and an unruly pile of russet hair up top, with no facial hair to speak of. I wonder if I’ll ever have any… the nano-machines might inhibit that somehow, although that would be ok with me… I don’t want to have to go through the hassle of shaving… wait a minute… I wonder if this hair is real, or if they’re nano-machines made to look and act like hair… I reached up and tried to pull one out, but it wouldn’t budge. That’s an awesome imitation… I would not have known it wasn’t real hair… I wonder if… I concentrated for a moment, and suddenly my hair spiked up in a Mohawk, pointing straight at the ceiling. Wow! That’s pretty cool and scary at the same time… if I can make my hair do that, what can the rest of this body do? I concentrated my hair back into its normal state, took the three steps back, and was sitting again next to dad’s bunk.