Strangers at the Door

by Dan Eaton

  That was why I was rushing around at work, trying to get the place cleaned up so I could meet my parents at Sandy’s new home. Unfortunately for me, whatever job that had been running on the Vertical Machining Center (VMC) today had left behind a mess composed of sharp metal chips and a fine, almost sand like black material that left dark smears on whatever it touched. Sandy had provided me with gloves and a plastic suit to help keep me clean. Before I had the VMC cleaned up I managed to tear a hole in the suit above my elbow, though I ended up with a clean machine and no bloodshed.

  I got myself cleaned up and then left the shop for Sandy’s. I headed west down the corridor that led to the cafeteria and then walked all the way across the cafeteria to the southern end where I could exit. When I was walking across the cafeteria, I saw the Hayens eating together and waved at Evelina. Exiting the cafeteria, I went through the doors leading to the Viewing room stairway and then took the stairs down to the Grand. Once into the Grand, I walked east along the corridor until I came to the second set of living quarters past the entertainment section. Sandy’s door was the first on the right.

  I had just rung the doorbell when Sam showed up beside me.

  “Bryce, did you see anyone in the hallway on your way here?”

  “No, Sam. Why?”

  Before she could answer, the door opened and Sandy said, “Hey Sam, hey Bryce. Don’t just stand there, come on in.”

  I stepped in, however, before I could say anything to Sandy, Sam said, “Bryce, how did you walk here?”

  Sam had a serious look on her face and Sandy looked puzzled.

  I said, “What’s going on, Sam?” and then told her about leaving Mussconny Machine and walking here.

  “You didn’t make any stops along the way did you?”

  Before I could answer, a concerned looking Sandy said, “What’s up, Sam? Why are you asking Bryce so many questions?”

  She looked back at me and I said, “I saw the Hayens eating in the cafeteria and stopped just for a second to wave at Evelina. Then I came straight here.”

  She said, “Did you see anything unusual after you left the entertainment section?

  I shook my head no.

  Mom and Dad had noticed the three of us by the door and had wandered over to see what was going on. Sam gave them a nod and then turned her attention back to me.

  “Bryce, I need you to empty your pockets for me please.”

  I had no idea what was going on, when Sandy gently said, “Do as she asks, Bryce.”

  I went through each of my pockets, though I didn’t have anything in them so there was nothing to take out. Sam then patted me down like I was hiding something.

  Mom spoke up then and said, “What the heck, Sam? What’s with searching Bryce and giving him the third degree?”

  Sam gave us all a long, concerned look and said, “I followed mostly the same path as Bryce did on my way here from the office. When I passed through the first residential section I saw there had been some vandalism to one of the doors there. I didn’t see anyone in the passageway, but Bryce had to have been right in front of me and I didn’t pass anyone until I got here and saw Bryce.”

  I got a cold feeling in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t like what Sam was saying, however, Mom and Dad were downright angry.

  Dad said, “Sam, are you accusing my son, of vandalism?”

  Sam regarded both of my parents for a moment and then said, “No, Desmond. I’m not. I’ll need to investigate further before I accuse anyone, though Bryce is a suspect. On my way to the party I came across some mischief, hey. The paint was still fresh and I didn’t pass anyone after I left the entertainment section until I saw Bryce at the door.“

  Mom said, “Bryce wouldn’t do something like that. Your investigation will show that you missed something. I don’t know why you even suspect Bryce.”

  Sam answered Mom and Dad, yet she was looking right at me when she said, “I’m sorry. I have to suspect Bryce because the door that was vandalized is the door that belongs to the apartment the Zhangs will be moving into. Someone painted a racial slur across the doorway and Bryce’s feelings about the Chinese are well known. Everyone at the UN welcome party saw him refuse to even meet the Zhangs.”

  Sam’s words stung. Mom and Dad looked like they were about to erupt, although Sandy spoke first and said, “Sam, I’ll vouch for Bryce any day. You don’t really believe he would do that, do you?”

  Sam turned to Sandy and sadly said, “Sandy, I don’t want to believe Bryce did it. I’m not saying that Bryce did it. I’m saying I have to consider Bryce a suspect because he had motive and opportunity, hey. If I go through the evidence and find he did do it, well, his parents aren’t going to be the only ones that are sad about it.”

  Sandy nodded and Sam said, “I’m going to have to take a rain check on seeing your place, Sandy. I need to get back to work now.”

  Sandy showed Sam out and then came back to us.

  I said, “Thanks for vouching for me. I didn’t do this.”

  Mom said, “Sandy, I’m sorry this has messed up your party. If you don’t mind, I think we’ll head home now. I don’t feel like partying anymore.”

  We walked slowly back home except for the residential section where the vandalism was. We had to hurry through there as there were a bunch of people gawking while Sam supervised a maintenance crew covering up the door. I had a sinking feeling as I realized by morning the gossip mill would have everyone believing that I had done this. The ironic thing was, I thought my Mom had a good point about not blaming individuals for the actions of their governments and after seeing how Mei felt in the Viewing room about being marooned here on the Moon, I really felt no ill will towards the Zhangs. They were just as much victims as I was. If I could have gone back and re-done the UN Welcoming party night I would have been happy to meet the Zhangs.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Season of Discontent

  Good morning fellow NLH residents. It’s Wednesday, November 3rd, 2038.

  In Habitat News, congratulations go out to Denali Aerospace for the successful completion of the first test flight of their CLT-SB. The CLT-SB landed at 01:27 this morning. Initial reports from Denali indicate the mission achieved all of their test goals. Denali currently sees no problem with completing their test flight and obtaining final flight certification within their target date of January, 2039.

  Security reported there was vandalism last night, to a door in the apartment block just east of the entertainment section. Security is continuing to investigate and asks that anyone who saw anything suspicious in that area yesterday evening to please report it.

  In financial news today, on the Lunar Stock Market shares of Mussconny Machine are trading steady at $30.95 a share, Mussconny Fabrication at $34.07 a share, Hotel Whipple shares are at $31.00. O’Reilly’s Shellfish Company is up at $25.58 a share and CDB Farms is trading at $25.81 a share. MM Brewing is at $2.66 a share, and Daniels Designs is at $2.33 a share. Psuche Neural is at $12.62 a share.

  Willie stared out at the hotel lobby and wished things were a little busier tonight. He had the Desk shift until ten and on quiet nights the time just dragged by. It was another all too peaceful evening at the hotel. Mr. Zhang came down about 7:00 to sit in the lobby, as he did most evenings since he and his family had arrived at the Habitat. They were staying at the hotel until their apartment in the Grand was completed. Mr. Zhang brought along his chess board and like many nights, his daughter Mei accompanied him. Since nothing else was going on, Willie walked over and said, “Good evening Mr. Zhang, hi Mei. Doesn’t look like you’ll be scaring up any takers for chess tonight. It’s been pretty quiet this evening.”

  Mr. Zhang looked up from setting up his board and said, “Hello Willie. Even if there is no one who wants to play, getting out of the room and enjoying this open space is very nice. I’m still not used to how little space people have here at the Habitat. You have been here for over a year now. Have you gotten used to it?”

  Willie th
ought about the question for a second and then said, “You get used to it and things do improve. When we first got here, the biggest spaces were the main cafeteria and Grand Avenue. It seemed pretty confining, however, since then, they opened the Grand and they expanded the cafeteria. I expect they’ll be opening another segment of the Grand before too long. It was six months before we got to go outside in one of the shuttles. I think, once things get settled, you’ll probably spend a lot of time going out to the accelerator site. Just getting to see a change of view is a real treat.”

  Mr. Zhang laughed and said, “Thank you Willie for not making a FNG feel too bad.”

  Mr. Zhang always gave Willie the impression he was very proper and now hearing the FNG slang coming out of Mr. Zhang’s mouth was kind of shocking. He spoke English with just a trace of an English accent. Mr. Zhang apparently notice Willie’s shocked look and said, “I know it’s a hard concept, but I’m really just another guy, Willie.”

  Willie gave a little laugh and said, “In that case, if you’re willing to work around my desk duties, I think we can play a game of Chess, if you’d like.”

  Mr. Zhang completed setting up the chessboard while Willie finished up a few things at the desk. While that was going on, Mei quietly spoke to her father in Mandarin. Willie liked hearing them talk. Mei was pretty quiet, although her face lit up when she talked to her father. When they’d been together at school, Mei hardly spoke, so this was like seeing an entirely different side of her. She was a Plain Jane compared to the girls in his class, yet she seemed shy and sweet and Willie enjoyed what little interaction they had.

  Mr. Zhang noticed Willie watching them and said to his daughter, “Mei, we are being rude to Willie. Please speak in English from now on so he can understand.”

  Willie said, “That’s not necessary Mr. Zhang, I really enjoy hearing you two speaking Chinese.”

  “Thank you, Willie. Mei and I will speak English in your presence. There’s an old saying about when in Rome, do as the Romans do. This is a small place and we need to do all we can to fit in.”

  Before Willie’s shift ended, they managed to get in three games in between interruptions. Willie found that Mr. Zhang played Chess quite well, although he finally managed to beat him in the last match. They chatted while playing with Mr. Zhang asking questions about life there in the Habitat and Willie, who found the accelerator fascinating, asking questions about Mr. Zhang’s role in monitoring the accelerator. The subject of Bryce came up and Willie tried to paint his friend in the best light possible. He was glad Bryce finally got a chance to have Nina for a girlfriend, though Willie had found her surprisingly possessive over Bryce. Willie never did get a chance to sit down with Bryce and hear the complete story of what happened out at LL1. He had to sadly admit to Mr. Chang that he really had no idea of what Bryce’s issues were with him.

  It was a couple of weeks after the incident the night of Sandy’s party and Sam still hadn’t found out who did it. It appeared I was her best and only suspect, yet she hadn’t formally accused me of anything and I think she would have if she could have. The rest of the habitat wasn’t so cautious. I’d been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion. School became depressing. It got so bad that at one point, Miss Gayle pulled me aside and offered to hold an assembly of both classes in the lecture room so I could let everyone hear my side of the story. I didn’t think it would help, so I turned her down, though I told her I appreciated the offer. As things stood, the original class supported me. The new members of the class were less than helpful. Blayze wasn’t sure if I did it or not. Jocelyn was sure I did it and would patiently explain why I was guilty to anyone who would listen. Ren, Charlise, and Irisa were willing to give me the benefit of the doubt, but not much more. Yang, well, I wasn’t Yang’s favorite person to start with and with this latest incident, he gave up any pretense of liking me. Of the younger class, only Meadow and Konner thought I hadn’t done it.

  It had been a long day at school and I was looking forward to a quiet meal with my parents before I went back in to work. I ended up getting a cheeseburger and fries with a glass of chocolate milk. I would have loved to have a Coke, on the other hand, I knew the supply ship wouldn’t be in for another week so there was no chance of that. Mom had a big bowl of gumbo and Dad had the Salisbury steak he enjoyed so much. I had just finished eating when Mom said, “Bryce, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

  I looked at her and slowly said, “Okay.”

  She continued, “If their parents will permit it, I’m going to hire Yang and Mei Zhang to work at the farm.”

  I just looked at Mom in shock and said, “Mom, Yang hates me. Please don’t do that.”

  “I know this is going to be hard, however, I think it needs to be done.”

  I just looked at Mom sighed, and said, “I don’t want to be around Yang. I think it’s a really bad idea. Why do you want to do this?”

  “Because we’re good people. I think Yang, his sister, and his parents are probably good people too. It’s all too easy to dislike strangers. You got off on the wrong side of Yang because of that. I want it to stop. I want them to get to know us and maybe, just maybe, you and Yang can mend fences some place down the road.”

  I thought about what Mom was saying and part of me agreed with her. I had gotten into the mess with the Zhangs because the actions of their government had caused me pain and threatened my friends and family. When they showed up at the habitat, strangers at the door, I couldn’t help myself from blaming them and I had acted poorly. I’m sure all Yang saw was some butt head, behaving badly towards his family and had no idea why I felt the way I did. I felt differently now, especially after watching Mei’s reaction in the Viewing room, yet part of me also thought being around Yang was a really bad idea. If you rub two sticks together, they don’t grow together. They just rub each other the wrong way and in this case, if you were unlucky, they might burst into flames.

  I appreciated what Mom was trying to do, although I still thought it was a horrible idea. I was doing everything I could to stay away from him in class and avoid making things any worse. I’d seen things like this escalate into after school fights back on Earth. I wasn’t afraid of Yang, on the other hand, I was afraid of the consequences if I got into a fight with him. I was already under a cloud because of the vandalism incident and I was pretty sure getting caught fighting would end up with me being deported from the Habitat. That would effectively end everything Mom and Dad had worked so hard to achieve here at the habitat. This was my problem and I couldn’t let my parents suffer for me screwing up.

  I looked at my mom and could tell from the determined look in her eyes that she was going to go ahead with this plan no matter what I thought.

  “Mom, I still think this is a mistake. If you’re going to go ahead with this please don’t force me to work with Yang. I can see that ending up very badly.”

  Mom gave a little laugh and said, “I wasn’t planning on starting you two working together tomorrow. That’s something for down the road when you’re both ready. Sandy keeps you busy enough that you don’t help out much with the day to day stuff anyways. I’ll have Myra and Adam work with them for now. We’ll figure out what to do with you two over the school breaks when we come to that bridge. Now, you go have fun with Sandy. Your father and I are going to go meet the Zhangs at Selene’s Bistro for dessert. Hopefully, Chef Patel’s good food can help us smooth things over and they’ll be open to their kids working for us and will accept our offer.”

  Mom and Dad gave me a hug goodbye and headed off towards the Grand. I head off in the opposite direction to Mussconny Machine. When I got there, Sandy was having a cup of coffee with a visitor. He waved me into his office and said, “Hey Bryce, meet Buddy Walker.“

  Buddy looked to be a tall skinny guy in his early thirties with thinning light brown hair.

  “Hi, Mr. Walker.”

  He smiled at me and said, “You’re that Burns kid that’s been standing up to the Chin
ese. You keep it up kid, don’t roll over for them like everyone else has.”

  Sandy frowned and said, “Easy there, Buddy. Bryce and I had a rough time being stuck out at LL1 while the crisis was going on. It took a bit to get adjusted once we got back. He doesn’t want to make any trouble with the Chinese. Right, Bryce?”

  I said, “Right. Sorry Mr. Walker, I may not be a great fan of the Chinese government, but I really don’t have any problems with the Zhangs or anyone else who is Chinese. People saw me react badly and just sort of ran with it.”

  Buddy said, “It’s okay Bryce. My mistake,” then while Sandy was turned away, he gave me a wink.

  The whole thing made me feel uncomfortable and Sandy had heard enough. He turned to me and said, “Buddy is working on a little side project and needs some material. Could you go check the scrap pile and see if there’s some three millimeter aluminum sheet in there? He needs a piece about twelve millimeters by thirty.”

  I dug around for a bit in the scrap file and found a piece that was just the right size. I took it in to Sandy’s office and laid it on the desk. I said, “That should do it. Sandy, I’m going to go get started on the VMC’s now. Nice meeting you, Mr. Walker.”