Kingdom of Cages(46)

“I’ve heard that too.” Now he shrugged. “It might even be true, but I wouldn’t count on it.”

Silence again. Chena watched somebody on the jetty haul a fish out of the water on the end of a string. “So why do people let them? Do all this?” It was a question that had been growing inside her all month, and she hadn’t even started finding any answers to it.

She glanced back at Farin. He was watching her. Did he like what he saw? Maybe he did, or maybe he just saw a kid.

“You’re from the station, right?” he asked. Chena nodded. “I’ve heard about how things are there. Why do people let the superiors push them around?”

“I don’t know,” said Chena, thinking of her mother and how they had to leave. “Because they can’t stop them, I guess.”

Farin turned up his palm to say there-you-go. “It’s the same down here.” He paused and then said, “The other thing is that the system here really does work. Enough news comes down the pipe that we all know what’s going on out in the Called. As bad as it is here, almost everybody agrees it’s worse everywhere else, or at least that’s what they tell themselves.”

Chena was silent. She couldn’t think of anything polite to say.

The corner of Farin’s mouth curled up. “You’re right. It does stink.” He popped the last of the bread into his mouth. “I’ve also been told it’s a very common situation.” He looked at his empty palms and then wiped them briskly together, dusting the crumbs off.

“Well, that’s my lunch break. I’ve got to get back or I’ll get docked.”

“You work… there?” asked Chena. “You’re an actor?”

“And a singer, and host. It’s a pretty good living.” He folded the cloth and laid it in the basket. “I enjoyed this, Chena Trust. I hope we can do it again.” He smiled his warm, golden smile and Chena felt her whole self smile back.

“Sure. Maybe… I’ve got a day off again next week…”

He nodded. “I’ll look out for you. Ask whoever’s on the door to find me.” He stood and paused. “And if you bring a pint of raspberries with you, I’ll pay for them.” He paused again. “In fact, would you take a message back to Offshoot for me? I’d pay for that too.”

“Sure!” She stopped short of saying, Anything. It might sound… weird. Childish.

He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a pen and a small notebook. He thought for a moment and jotted down a few words. He folded the paper into thirds and wrote something on the blank side.

“Here,” he said, handing it to her. “If you could give that to Pari Sakhil, I’d appreciate it.” He dug his hand into his pocket again and handed her a positives chit.

“Oh, you don’t…” She held up her hands. “I mean, I’ve got to go back anyway.…”

“I’m glad to know you’re willing to do me a favor.” He took her free hand and folded it around the chit. “But if you want to make yourself some money, Chena Trust, don’t ever do something for free when the customer’s willing to pay.”

Slowly she drew her hand back. “Do you want an answer back?” she asked, ideas flitting through her mind and forming into hopeful possibilities.

“Very good.” He nodded with satisfaction. “An answer and a pint of raspberries, and I’ll pay for both.”

More ideas. Chena felt her spine tingle with the strength of them. “And if somebody had a message for someone here and I needed to know who they were… ?”

“Now you’re thinking. I could probably tell you the names and homes of most people in Stem.” He picked up the basket. “I’ll see you soon, Chena Trust.” He saluted her briefly, flashed one more smile, and turned away to stroll up the boardwalk.

Chena watched his back until he disappeared around the curve of a dune. Her hand began to tighten around the note from sheer delight, but she stopped herself before she crumpled it. This paper stuff was not as flexible as a sheet screen. She looked at the chit and read the positive code. He had given her enough to pay for half the bike rental, for just a message.

There were possibilities here. She might be able to make this work. If other people were willing to pay for errands and messages … if she could make one trip every day, and bring back as much stuff as she could carry…

Except she couldn’t make one trip every day. She had to work, and they might not be going to school yet, but Mom hadn’t stopped insisting they try to learn something, as she put it. Unless Chena could figure out some way to free up her days, this was going to stay nothing but a set of really good ideas.