Sherry held her breath, trying not to draw attention to herself.
John nodded, and handed the newsletter back to Michi.
Sherry sighed quietly, letting the air out slowly.
He hadn't said anything. Of course, she hadn't written anything controversial, just a descriptive piece on the lerkkal and their habitat.
"You should've pushed more," Michi whispered as they started making copies.
Sherry kept her head down and her eyes on the pages she was clipping together. "I wasn't sure how far I could go without-"
Michi sighed dramatically, and a few people glanced their way.
"Did that hurt?" Michi asked. "Does attracting glances or the occasional stare actually hurt you somehow?"
"No, I--"
"Do you really think the lerkkal are intelligent?"
"I don't know--"
"Stop waffling, Sherry," Michi hissed, and threw a newsletter onto the growing pile.
"There's something going on, I can tell that much. And from what I can see, somebody's trying to make the lerkkal out to be nothing more than animals. I just don't know why and that bugs me."
Sherry looked up finally, and caught Michi's eye. Victor and Steve, another newsletter club guy, were watching them, and looked away when they saw Sherry notice them.
"And?"
"And?" Sherry echoed. "I guess that means I do think they're intelligent."
"About time. Look, you have tons of research done, that would take me weeks to duplicate."
"I didn't--"
"You're the one with all the facts at your fingertips," Michi said, interrupting again, and Sherry sighed.
She hadn't done all the research. And especially now that Cathy couldn't do gymnastics, she was putting in the time.
"You're the one who is great at explaining things, and you're the one--"
"I'll give it to you. You want it written so bad, you write it. All my notes, all the connections I've found. Take them."
Michi stared at her for a few seconds. "If you didn't want to write it, why'd you do all the research?"
Sherry opened her mouth to reply, then closed it again. She'd never done so much research that wasn't for an article or assignment.
"I... just needed to know. And it got interesting." The excuse sounded pathetic to her own ears.
"Fine. Give me a copy of your research, and I'll write it up."