Sherry saw Kara in the hall when they were walking to lunch, just as Michi elbowed her.
"There's Kara. I wonder how she's getting on?"
"Unless she's shut up about the lerkkal, probably not that well." Sherry hesitated, debating whether or not to go talk to Kara, then they were past and she couldn't. She sighed.
"Did you notice what the teacher didn't talk about in history today?"
"Considering that one hour isn't enough to cover every subject in the universe, no. What did you notice missing?"
"Duh." Michi rolled her eyes. "We're doing current events and she didn't mention the seperatists."
Victor cleared his throat. "Considering that not everybody here wants independence, how should she cover it? For or against?"
"How about neutrally?"
Michi laughed. "Who is really neutral? For a journalist, you don't know much about bias. Besides, I haven't seen a word about it in any of the big papers. I think they're still hiding, keeping their heads down."
"And how many of the teachers are actually seperatists? I mean, the UN chose them, sent them here, and pays them. For all we know they could be making lists of people to watch. Spying on us, even, and reporting us to their bosses if we do anything suspicious." Victor glanced around and lowered his voice. "And they might watch us especially, since we're new, and see if anybody asks us to join a seperatist cell, so they can start spying on the organization."
"A cell? I thought cells were little living things that made everything alive?" Shannon frowned.
Victor shook his head. "Well, that too. But I'm talking about how a big group that's going against the government is organised. Like an independence movement. See, the government is going to try to sneak people in as spies, and to keep the spies from learning too much or to keep one person from being caught and tortured and telling all the secrets, the big organization is split up into tons of tiny groups. None of the people actually know each other, except for an anonymous contact who passes on their instructions and the other people in their cell. That way only like three people can be outed if there's a spy in a cell."
"Huh. Sounds complicated."
"Yeah, but if you hold a big meeting with everybody at once, a spy can see everybody and have them arrested. Or even tip the cops off to the time and place so they can arrest everybody that shows up."
"Good point. You've been thinking about this for a while?"
"That's how it's always done in books, every story that's had a resistance in it or is about a colony fighting for independence."
Sherry rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but in stories everything happens for a reason. In real life, random stuff happens for no reason sometimes. The whole cell thing sounds like a convenient way to not have too many characters."
"No, it's real! Just because it's used in fiction doesn't make it automatically wrong," Victor said.
"Uh huh."
"Just wait. I bet they're using some variant on the cell system."
Michi laughed. "And you'll find some way of claiming that whatever it turns out to be is based on the cell system, right?"
#
"Customers greetings," the little box on the counter said.
"Hi Zelks," Janet said. She looked at the group clustered behind her. "Oh stop gawking, guys, he's not going to bite." She wrote on her bookreader and it played some strange scratchy noises. "I just told him you were new to Velfard and I was showing you where to get the very best kafzert, which is kind of a pastry he makes. And he makes the best in town, too."
"Appreciation, recognition, best customer visits."
Janet laughed, turning a little pink.
"Well, that was English, but it didn't make much sense to me. What did he mean?" Sherry said.
Janet cleared her throat. "First he acknowledged my compliment, then called me his best customer. I, ah, come in here every day for lunch. Kafzert is way better than what Mom packs me."
"Friend is friend. Kafzert, taste." Zelks held out a plate with bite-size pieces of pastry on it.
"Thank you, Zelks." Janet bowed, and took the plate. "Free samples, sweet."
The group gathered to one side of the little shop, out of the way of the other customers. Everybody grabbed a taste of the kafzert.
"So why does his translator machine talk so funny?" Michi asked.
"Because we haven't figured out their grammar yet. All we have is word translations, and to hear my parents talk we should be grateful we have what we do. Mom told me twenty years ago they still hadn't figured out words like 'best' or 'appreciation.' I guess it's hard to get words for things you can't point at. So you still have to do a bunch of translation in your head to get the meaning out of the random words."
"This is really good," Sherry said. "What's it made from?"
"No idea. Zelks won't give out the recipe. None of the other lerkkal who make it will either."
"Not a very good translator," Shannon said. "I mean, if you still have to translate it after it's translated."
Janet shrugged. "You get used to it. It's not like it's that hard to figure out what they mean."
"So you can just write a sentence and your bookreader will translate it?"
"Words, yes. Sentences, no. Like when we first came in, I actually wrote 'new friends, show best kafzert, yours.' Zelks figured out what I meant."
"I'll have to remember this place," Sherry said. "But right now, I really should go help the Averys."
"Of Clockstopper Press?" Janet leaned forward.
"Yeah, why?"
"Oh, no reason. My dad gets his ads printed there. See you later, then."
"Cathy!" Sherry sat up straighter. "So you finally got to your new place?"
"Yeah. Actually, we got here last week, but there's so much to do between school and visiting the lerkkal and helping out with everything that I just haven't been near a phone in ages." the miniature Cathy on the screen grinned. ''I hear you're keeping busy too, working at a publishing place?"
Sherry tried to put on an annoyed expression. "You called Michi first?"
Cathy laughed. "No, I called Jess first. I called Michi second. I figured if I used the alphabet as an excuse, since my contact list is sorted alphabetically, nobody would get too annoyed."
Sherry stuck out her tongue. "And how did you know I wasn't annoyed at coming last on your list?"
"Well, you were grinning. Plus both Jess and Michi called and left messages."
Sherry covered her eyes for a few seconds. "I don't even have the excuse you do... I just haven't called anybody."
"Oh well. So, have you met any lerkkal yet? I hear there's some living in the city."
"Yeah, one that runs a little snack shop kind of place, and makes some really amazing pastries. I see him a couple of times a week. And another one that sells, um, stuff. Decorations, as near as I can tell, and other stuff."
"I've already gone to visit a lerkkal city. It was kind of tricky with the ankle brace, but I managed. Matt--he's the xeno--actually has a house in the lerkkal city that he stays at a couple of days a week. It's not much, barely more than room for a bed, but he can really get into their culture. I get to go with him as soon as my ankle finishes healing and meet them properly."
"Sounds like you're having a great time. Is there anybody else from the ship out there?"
"A couple, yeah, but nobody I really know. Besides, it's mostly farms out this way. We don't have a lot of neighbours."
"That kinda sucks. What about school? meet any interesting people?"
"It's almost all correspondence. Not enough kids out here to make a class, even if you squash three grades together. But I'll be in the city with Matt next week, so I can visit you guys."
"That'll be cool. We can show you around what we know and maybe bribe Janet to show us all more."
Cathy looked confused for a second. "Who's Janet?"
"Oh, someone in our class, she showed us a bunch of stuff and introduced us to Zelks, the lerkkal that runs the snack shop I told you about. She's pretty cool, I think you'll like her. Oh, how's the babysitting going?" Sherry pulled a half-smile.
"Actually, not so bad. The kid isn't a complete brat and I only have to watch him three days a week, for a few hours. Your people have any kids? I remember you said their letter said nothing about that."
"They do, but he's gone to Earth for university so basically no."
"Sweet deal."
"Yeah, I know." Sherry heard the front door open. "Oh, hey, the Averys are home. I'm going to have to help them with dinner."
"Helloooo," Sean said from across the house.
"In the living room," Sherry answered. She turned back to the phone. "Catch you later, eh? Make sure you let me know when you're going to be in town."
"Ok. Bye."
The screen turned grey and Sherry flipped the dialpad over it. She turned around just as Sean poked his head into the room.
"Hey, how's things? Let's get dinner going." His head disappeared again and she heard him walking to the kitchen.
#
Sherry stretched, enjoying the sun. It was so nice to sleep in.
She heard one of the Averys moving around downstairs and was tempted to just go back to sleep.
She yawned. Five weeks. Hard to believe she'd been here so long already. Even the collection of trophies and posters still in her room were starting to feel familiar.
Sherry closed her eyes, then opened them again, sitting up. Cathy was going to be in town today, and she'd promised to be there to meet her. She checked her watch--late. She wouldn't make the bus, but if she hurried she might make it there not too late, by bike. She rushed through her morning routine, and ran down the stairs.
"Morning Sean, morning Sue, can I borrow a bike? My friend's in town and I'm supposed to meet her."
"When will you be back?" Sue poured herself some tea.
"Dunno. Well before dinner, she's leaving tonight."
"All right. Take my bike, and stay out of trouble."
"Do I ever make trouble?"
"I didn't say that." Sue looked over her tea cup at Sherry. "I said to stay out of trouble."
Sherry hesitated, then pulled her bookreader out of her schoolbag and put it in her purse. "Ok. thanks."
Sherry raced toward the centre of town on Sue's stodgy old bike, and pulled up to the bus exchange only ten minutes late. She coasted along the stops, zig-zagging between busses, looking for Cathy.
"Sherry!"
She jerked, then caught her balance and looked around. Two rows over, and at the other end of the exchange, somebody was waving at her. A few seconds later, she stopped and got off the bike. "Hey Cathy, sorry I'm late."
"No problem. Have you eaten yet? I'm starving, and some of those famous kafzert would go down really well right about now."
"No, I slept in. And I'll never say no to a Zelks kafzert." Sherry grinned and got off the bike.
They ambled down the road, watching the other people and chatting about whatever crossed their minds. There was a lot of activity, Sherry thought, but then maybe that was normal. Calgary had a lot fewer people out walking and stopping to talk on a given day, but then it had a lot more cars. And it was colder most of the year.
"Hi Zelks!" Sherry said as they walked in.
"Customers greeting," Zelks' little box said. "Kafzert, always. Yes?"
"Yes, kafzert." Sherry nodded. "I really need that translator program," she said to Cathy.
"Customer other, kafzert?"
"Yes, kafzert," Cathy said.
"Humans taste other, not." Zelks said something in his own language. "Same, same."
Sherry and Cathy grinned at each other. 'What do you bet he said something rude?" Sherry said. "Ok, Zelks. No kafzert today. You choose."
"No kafzert?"
"I really need that translator," Sherry muttered. "No kafzert, one." Sherry waved at the entire display.
"One anything?"
"Yes."
Zelks spun over to the display. He hummed and clicked happily and pulled a kafzert and something Sherry didn't recognise out of the display and put them on coarse paper wrappers.
"Kafzert and tekker. Money, four point two."
Sherry swiped her ID card and pressed her thumb on the screen. "Thanks, Zelks."
They sat at the bench by the window, and shared their snacks, listening to the mechanical "customers greeting" Zelks always said when somebody walked into his shop and the lerkkal sounds produced by the customers' translators.
A group of men in suits walked in, quite different from the usual casual weekend crowd who came and went. Their translator spat for much longer than usual.
"Best move along, kids," one of the suits said.
Sherry turned to look at them. Zelks was standing at his counter, arms open on the counter and near eyes open wider than she had ever seen them.
His hand moved shakily to his translator. "Best customers, leave now request."
Sherry stood up, leaving her half-eaten tekker on the counter. "Excuse me, but you're bothering Zelks. What's your problem?"
"It's not our problem, young lady, it's this creature's problem. Now I suggest you leave before there's trouble."
Cathy pulled on her sleeve. "Let's go, then."
"A wise choice." The suit turned back to face Zelks, who was now shaking all over.
Cathy pulled Sherry out the door. Sherry looked over her shoulder, and saw one of the suits waving his hands at Zelks.
"Look up the street," Cathy whispered once the door had closed.
A wave of people was forming, gathering up all the passers-by and heading right for them. Sherry squeaked.
"I saw them out the edge of the window. I don't think the suits have seen them yet." Cathy jogged across the street and started walking backward away from Zelks' shop.