by Ann Christy
But that overall plenty aside, some foods were simply more expensive than others. Meat was always expensive and limited by the number of animals that could be processed, which was very few. Fish was expensive and a treat at all times. Olives, certain of the hotter peppers and eggplants ranged from very costly to a little bit more than average.
Other things like yellow squash and zucchini were cheap and plentiful. Any type of oil was very pricey, but in particular pig fat and olive oil were too expensive for regular use. Sesame oil came in just below the other oils. These were things that Lillian had grown up really appreciating when they appeared and had never taken for granted. Now they were part and parcel of their day and there was never a shortage. It was wonderful.
On the landing of level 34, they were stopped before getting to the stairs by a few race fans and one man who looked them over like he was checking for rot before buying a melon. At her quizzical look, Leo informed her that he was probably working for a betting business and somehow found out they would be given time off today. Lillian merely pursed her lips in disapproval and started for the stairs. Leo followed and they made their way to level 30, where they would separate for a while.
Lillian had sent two posts the night before, one to her mother and sister and the other to Forrey. Forrey was her lifelong best friend and an endless source of trouble. They had known each other since before they began school and had been caught experimentally kissing when they were in primary school. There had been school meetings with parents and a few tears, but time had proven out that it was just a phase as the school counselor had suggested.
At least it had been for Lilian. Forrey persisted in her liking for girls but was also afraid of where her affections lay and how that would impact her life. Currently, she had a special friend and was in a quandary over whether or not she should declare her intentions. It wasn't that it was forbidden, but it was often looked down upon, and it would present challenges. Lillian tried to provide a bit of calm counsel to her best friend, but that was hard. Everything was so fraught with emotional stress for Forrey. Her return post was full of worries about everything from her relationships to her shadowing progress.
Lillian knew Forrey's schedule like she knew her own and her return quick-post from Forrey confirmed she was scheduled to work in hydroponics and aquaculture during first shift and would arrange for time off as soon as Lillian arrived. As Lillian dashed off toward the double doors that would lead her to hydroponics and aquaculture, she remembered Leo and turned back. He was standing just off the stairs, but out of the traffic. He had a grin on his face and his arms were crossed at his chest. He was, of course, drawing the attention of almost every female within eyeshot.
She stepped toward him and he met her halfway to give her a warm hug. Over his shoulder she suppressed an amused smile at the many disappointed looks from the same watching females. When he let her go they checked the time on the landing clock and agreed on where to meet and when. His parting words were for her to kiss Forrey for him, those words accompanied by wiggled eyebrows and a naughty smile. He would never let her live it down.
Lillian blushed and frowned, which just made Leo laugh, and took off for the doors.
The soothing swoosh of water from hydroponics and that particular tang of fish announced that Lillian was getting close. She liked it here but so did a lot of other people coming into the workforce and getting a shadow spot here was difficult to do. Even though they had to kill the fish at some point, something no one wanted to think about, the whole system of aquaponics was one that was attractive as a potential job.
Lillian got her visitor pass after entering the main entry for the area and stood behind the glass viewing wall to wait for Forrey. Lillian heard the dim, faint bleating of the announcement system that must be calling for Forrey beyond the visitor area. She couldn't make out the words but the cadence of Forrey's name seemed to come through.
It was just a moment or two before she saw the rapid flash of green coveralls moving through the obscuring foliage that made up the hydroponics portion of aquaponics. As Forrey skidded around the last tank, she waved through the thick glass toward Lillian and she could see Forrey call out something over her shoulder.
Before Forrey made it into the visitor area, a small group of a dozen or so workers gathered in front of the visitor window and started clapping in good natured applause. Lillian was embarrassed and glad she couldn't really hear what they were calling out since it spared her from having to figure out some witty retort. Instead, she bowed to the little crowd and then mimed putting up her arms, as if to show her muscles.
Lillian and Forrey waved and the group wandered off to return to whatever tasks they had left. The two girls looked each other over for changes and rushed to tell each other everything important in their lives over the past weeks. For Lillian it was obvious what had changed but she relayed the shortest possible version and added tidbits no one else knew. Without Forrey, she had only Leo to tell these to and he was going through the same thing so it didn’t provide quite the same relief that telling Forrey did.
Forrey’s update was what Lillian really wanted to hear. She was proud of her and her cleverness. She had made high marks on two of the innumerable skill tests every shadow plods through for their chosen profession. Now she was working on health diagnostics for the fish, an area she enjoyed immensely, but it was complicated and required her best efforts.
The two young women almost the same height, but where Lillian had straight brown hair and amber eyes, Forrey had a head full of wild curls so dark they were almost black and eyes of the purest brown. Both girls sported the same sallow skin most people did, but Forrey's work in the hydroponics section had given her a stripe of freckles across her nose and cheeks and added a golden tone to her skin. It suited her well, Lillian thought, and she said so.
Forrey touched the bridge of her nose self-consciously. "I wear a hat now. I don't want to get all weird and peely like some of the others do."
"Well, keep the freckles. They look good on you," Lillian replied. "Can you leave?"
Forrey nodded and tucked her arm under Lillian's as the two left the area. Since Forrey lived with another shadow and that girl was off shift, they decided against going there. If she was anything like most teenaged shadows, she would be trying to catch a little extra sleep. All that was left was to take a seat on a bench to spend a little time talking and watch the people passing by on the landing.
The conversation was a good one and it felt like someone had poured a refill of energy into her frame while she listened to Forrey chatter on. Simultaneously, she felt like the burdens and worries she had been filling up with during her training were siphoned away. Friendship was a wonderful thing. When the clock on the landing told her it was past time to go, Lillian hugged Forrey and tried to put all her thanks into it. They parted, promising to see each other soon, and Lillian waved as she spiraled up until Forrey’s landing was out of sight. Then she hurried and put her mind to getting up to the Garment District, passing slower walkers to the left.
The passing kept her mind busy and it seemed almost no time at all before she found herself at the landing where the Garment District shared space with shopping booths and entertainment venues. The noises and smells of this area were unique and brought a smile to her face. She threaded her way though the booths and stands in search of Leo, not stopping as wares were called out despite the tempting goods on offer. He was exactly where he was supposed to be and, true to Forrey's prediction, he had two mother-aged women at his table. They appeared to be interrogating him with the serious ferocity of a mother in search of a good match for a daughter.
At Lillian’s approach, Leo caught her eye and gave her a beseeching look that set her to laughing. He was gripping several parcels plus his shopping sack to his chest as if he were afraid the women would snatch them from him. Or he was going to use the items as a shield against them, perhaps. She decided to take pity on him so she walked up to the table and slid an
arm around his shoulders from behind as he sat there. That put her head next to his and she dropped a chaste kiss on his cheek. "Hey, handsome. Have you found someone new in these two beautiful ladies?"
Both women looked at her with some combination of suspicion, surprise and the disappointment of finding a potential mate for their child just a little too late. It took only a second glance to give the game away because there was no mistaking the similarity of their features, right down to the cowlick, and the fact that they were both wearing racer shadow coveralls.
One of the women tsked at her in disapproval and said, "That wasn't nice."
Lillian plopped down into the empty chair and waved for the café worker, who had been pointedly staring, to come and take her order before answering. "I'm only teasing. Leo actually has a potential match already. She's just not here."
"I tried to tell them that!" Leo exclaimed, the barest hint of a whine in his voice.
"But I know he's a terrible flirt and probably gave you the wrong impression, didn't he?" Lillian continued as if Leo hadn't spoken. He spluttered and she ignored that, too.
The woman who had tsked her answered, a disapproving look tossed toward Leo in the process. "That's exactly what he did. My girl was just standing there, picking out some new hair bands and he started telling her how pretty this one or that one would look on her. What was I supposed to think?"
"For my girl it was a tunic. A tunic! If that isn't suggestive, I don't know what is," the other woman said, lips pursed at the thought.
"Leo, Leo. When will you learn?" Lillian asked, drawing his name out and making him wince.
Turning back to the two ladies, she said, "I'm terribly sorry about that and I apologize for him. He seems to think everyone in the silo must receive compliments and winks at least once per day." She put a hand up so that the two ladies could see her lips but Leo couldn't, and stage whispered to them, "He may look pretty, but he's not very bright." She finished by giving them a nod and a significant look.
Both of the ladies lost interest in Leo almost immediately and gathered their various parcels to make their exits. One woman immediately began calling out loudly for someone name Flower while the other actually thanked Lillian for saving her a lot of time before striding away, eyes raking the crowd for either her own daughter or the next potential mate for the girl.
The café worker, who she now realized was the owner based on his patches, arrived and she ordered a small cup of honey wine for herself and then another when Leo nodded he'd like the same. He asked if they wanted food and his expression gave her to understand that she really should order food if she was going to take a whole table for four.
She scanned the menu on his slate and then asked for a single order of corn cakes. It was almost the cheapest thing on the menu and his smile was equally cheap. It took just a moment to return with the wine, which was smooth and strong and sweet. The hot flat cakes arrived shortly thereafter. They were nice and crispy and she earned a real smile from the owner when she walked up and dropped a few chits into his tip canister and complimented his cakes.
Leo showed her the results of his shopping and Lillian was forced to admit he had done very well. He had gotten almost everything on the list and he did it without accidentally buying anything so hideous no one would want it, which was doubly good. There were still a few things left to purchase so they decided to get moving and Lillian led.
They selected some new kerchiefs with beautiful embroidery on them for both mothers. They got sleeping shirts of soft fabric for Leo's father and Clara. Clara's was especially pretty, with a design of little red hearts woven into the fabric around the neck and arms on a pale yellow background.
The other odds and ends they picked up were gotten swiftly and at good prices. Lillian was a sharp bargainer and she knew it. Leo was simply too nice and accommodating to haggle like he needed to and he almost always paid more than he should unless there was a flirt-friendly woman doing the selling.
They stuffed all that they had purchased into both of their shopping sacks, relieving Leo of the parcels he had been juggling before she arrived, and started to make their way back down. They might have stayed and watched a puppet show or heard one of the poetry readings, but both of them were tired and wanted to head back so they skipped it.
At the lobby in 34, the attendant helped them with packing material, took their lift-post fees and relieved them of their packages in no time. Less encumbered, Lillian kept an eye and an ear out for Toby as they returned to the training area, but either he wasn't back yet or he was in his room already. It had become habit to remain aware of his location so she could be ready for whatever nasty comment might come next.
The pair went to the kitchen to fish around and see what tempting treats might be in there. The cook came in while they were pawing through and that made Lillian feel unaccountably guilty for some reason. She quickly backed away and closed the fridge door.
The cook just laughed and told them dinner would be ready soon if she wanted a proper meal. Lillian poured a cup of tea and watched the cook to see what he was making. It looked like a stew of some sort and when the man started tossing dried herbs into the pot the smells made her mouth water. Leo grunted and sniffed too, so she figured he was thinking the same thing.
After dinner, while they were helping to clean up the dishes, news arrived in the training room that wasn’t meant for her ears. Lillian heard the murmur of many voices approaching and stepped to the common area doorway to see all three primary trainers in deep conversation with two medics, including the senior medic who cared for them. They all wore frowns and didn't even seem to register her presence as they passed down the hallway in the general direction of the exit toward the public IT section.
Lillian wasn't trying to listen, but she couldn't help but hear them speak as they passed. She distinctly heard Zara ask the medic if he was sure it was a break and not just a strain and she heard the medic answer that this wasn't the kind of break you could mistake for a strain.
She turned to Leo and the cook, still chatting at the sink, torn between sharing the news and following after the trainers and medics. She decided following wouldn't look good so she interrupted their banter to share what she had heard. She also expressed her suspicion that it might be Toby, because who else would the trainers be so upset over.
The cook frowned, a deep crease forming between his brows, and said, "That's not good. If they have to bring in another runner that one will be very disadvantaged. You two have already had plenty of time to train. It wouldn't be fair. Are you sure it was the racer?”
Lillian considered before she replied. "No. Actually, I'm not. But if it wasn’t a racer, why would those three trainers and the racer medic talk like that about it?"
"Hmm," was all the cook replied.
"Lil, let's go find out," Leo broke in, a little too eager to find out what might have happened. The cook frowned a little at his tone and Leo recovered some by adding, "If it is Toby, we should be with him, to give him support, right?"
The cook's frown disappeared and an approving look crossed his face. Lillian struggled not to roll her eyes at Leo's patent falseness.
The cook settled it for them by saying, "No. He might be comforted by you but the medics will need his full attention if he has, as you heard, broken a leg. That is a terrible injury." He shook his head and clicked his tongue at how terrible it was.
No one notified them that night, so Lillian had to assume that whatever had happened was either very serious or didn't actually happen to Toby, yet in her mind she couldn't help but think it was. She had been keeping half an ear tuned to the noises, just in case Toby came back to his room, but he had not. It seemed to her very unlikely that he would risk coming back late after what happened before and she became increasingly convinced as the night passed and he didn't show up.
She couldn’t sleep and not just from the curiosity, either. She felt an unaccountable guilt about Toby, assuming he was the one injured. Neithe
r she nor Leo had ever done anything, other than not telling him about the wake-up calls, to deserve guilt for something that hadn’t even happened here, but that didn’t stop her from feeling it. His nasty comments and sly meanness had helped her to dislike him and she hadn’t wished him well.
During one of their practice sessions, when the instructors told them to run lengths and take their turns by slowing and making a wide circle rather than halt and change direction, Toby had pushed the boundary to decrease his times. At first he made just two big strides to make his own circle turn and slowed not much at all. This had shortened to an impressive halt turn that didn’t even pretend at the circle.
They had been warned that the circles were to decrease their risk of ligament injury and were for their own good. Lillian hadn’t been able to help the stray thought that came unbidden that Toby might pop a ligament while showing off and trying to get one over on them. It was thoughts like that which were keeping her awake now.
Through the night she heard the shuffle of quiet steps outside their doors and the slide of their old slates being replaced with new ones. She heard the sound of the bathroom door a couple of times as staff came and went. But she didn’t hear the sound of Toby coming back to his room. She wondered what that would mean for Leo and her. Would the race be delayed so they could get a third or would they go on, with just the two of them running.
She punched her pillow back into shape again and tucked the fur coverlet more tightly around her body as she hoped for sleep. It wasn’t until she rested her hand on the wall that separated her room from Leo’s that she could finally rest.