Volunteer (Selected Book 3)

by Robin Roseau

  It became Amaryllis's turn. "Little human, I would make an offer." I looked at her, saying nothing. "If you become my vassal, I will protect you and help you to improve your play."

  "No thank you."

  "It is a good offer," she said.

  "I'm sure it is. No thank you."

  "Very good." Four moves later, she had moved towards me, not quite attacking me, but that would be soon. She then said, "Little human, I will repeat my offer. Become my vassal and I will protect you."

  "No, thank you."

  "If you do not, I will certainly destroy you instead. It is better to play as a vassal than not to play at all."

  "No, thank you," I repeated.

  No one else said a word. And sure enough, over the next two turns, Amaryllis removed me from play.

  And that was just fine with me.

  It was tradition, almost to the point of being a rule, that the vanquished were obligated to remain until the game completed. I sat quietly, not really paying that close of attention. It took time, but the game ended with Violet and Bluebell in a winning partnership. I helped to put the board away, and Violet suggested ice cream. We took orders, and then with Posey, three of us headed for the kitchen.

  "Are you all right?" Violet asked in the kitchen.

  "Peachy," I said. "If you want any vanilla ice cream, you should put some in your bowl."

  "Are you angry with me?"

  "No, but I'm not in a mood to flirt."

  Neither of them said another word, and we moved back to the living room, finding the others waiting. We passed out the bowls. Amaryllis was sitting on the sofa, and the only place that was available for me after Violet and Posey took their old seats was on the sofa with her. So instead I sat on the floor leaning against Violet's chair.

  I ignored the conversation but focused on my ice cream, soon finishing.

  "Skye."

  I looked up. Everyone was looking at me.

  "Will you be working for me this summer?" Amaryllis asked.

  "No," I said at the same time Azalea said, "Yes."

  Azalea looked a little surprise. Her tentacles began twitching. Amaryllis looked back and forth between us. "Which is it?"

  "No, I will not," I said. "I appreciate the opportunity."

  She looked at Azalea and began speaking BP.

  "No," I said firmly, interrupting. "If you are going to talk about me while I am sitting here, you will use a language I speak. If you want to talk about me so I do not understand, I will leave the room. What you are doing is rude, at least by human standards. As you are a diplomat, I would think you would know that. But maybe you don't care."

  Every pair of eyes settled on me. I did my best to ignore the Catseye while glaring at Amaryllis.

  "Well?" I asked. "Are you going to continue to use that language? If so, I will leave. Or you can ask me to leave, and I will do so. Speak English or Catseye, or I am leaving."

  "Well, well," Amaryllis said. "She has teeth. Blunt teeth, but teeth nevertheless."

  "You're extremely condescending. Is it intentional, or do you just feel so superior you can't help it?" I shook my head. "Never mind. I'm not this person. I'm not going to start now." I stood up and tried to collect bowls, but no one would let me have them, so I headed for the exit.

  "Skye Andrews," said Bluebell firmly. I turned to her. "Sit back down," she ordered. "Properly." She pointed to the other end of the sofa from Amaryllis.

  I thought about it. Finally I asked simply, "Why?"

  "Because I told you to."

  I thrust my chin out then turned on my heels and headed for the door, but I stopped when she said, "Because I'm asking you to." However, I didn't turn around. "Because doing what I tell you yields a better long term result than running away."

  I took several breaths then turned around, walked around the end of the sofa, avoiding the BP, and took a seat on the sofa as far from her as I could.

  No one said anything immediately. I stared at the bowl in my hands. Finally Amaryllis said, "If I had asked upon first arriving whether you were coming to work for me this summer, would the answer have been different?"

  "Yes."

  "What changed?"

  At that I looked up, right into her eyes. "I got an idea of what working for you would be like. I didn't care for it. I'll go back to waitressing before I'll come work for you." I turned to Bluebell. "May I go?"

  "No. Finish telling her what you want to tell her."

  "I don't want to tell her a thing," I said. "I just want to go."

  "You don't like conflict," said Amaryllis.

  And so I turned back to her. "No, I don't. This isn't me. I'm a happy person. I'm friendly. I'm perky. Some people hate that, but I don't care." I gestured. "This isn't me. I don't want it to become me."

  "Perhaps I could speak with Skye alone," said Amaryllis.

  They all got up, but I said, "I don't think so."

  "Skye," said Bluebell. "Give her a chance."

  I turned to look at her. "I gave her all night."

  "Then it won't kill you to give her ten more minutes."

  They all filed out, Posey collecting my bowl and caressing me with a tentacle. Violet also offered a caress. But right now I wasn't happy with any of them, and I did nothing to return it.

  Once the room was clear, Amaryllis said, "I do not know what I did to anger you."

  "Seriously?" I asked, turning back to her. "You've been..." I shook my head then folded my arms and said nothing. "Say whatever you want. Bluebell told me to give you ten minutes."

  "Finish what you were going to say."

  "I don't think so."

  "Finish," she said firmly.

  "Fine," I said. "You've been a bitch all night. You're deeply condescending most of the time as well. You seem to delight in putting me in my place, and you repeatedly went out of your way to remind me of how stupid I am. And you know what? Maybe you're right. Maybe you are just that superior, and maybe I am that stupid. But you've got nothing I want that I'm willing to be reminded of it over and over. And frankly, if I'm worthy of the way you treat me, I don't know why in hell you would want me to work for you. I must truly be worthless."

  "I don't think you're stupid, Skye."

  "And you're a fucking liar, too."

  She blinked several times. Finally she asked, "Why do you believe I think you're stupid?"

  "I spent the entire night telling you I didn't know anything about the topics being discussed. But you demanded my opinion then when I grudgingly offered one, you accused me of having an immature viewpoint and later, a poor attitude. And I know I have an immature viewpoint. I'm 19. What sort of viewpoint do you expect?"

  "Skye, I wasn't trying to make you feel stupid. I was trying to show you the sort of issues you could expect to help with this summer."

  "By fetching your coffee, or whatever it is you prefer to drink?"

  "I'm sorry, I don't understand the question."

  "Well, what else am I qualified to do? I think we've demonstrated that amply tonight. I don't know a thing about any of this, so you certainly don't want me around for my expert opinion. Maybe you want me around to remind you of how much more superior you are than the average human. If so, you can find another human to feed your ego. I'm not going to do it. I'll go work somewhere I'm appreciated. Which, I suppose, means I should pick somewhere I'm qualified to work."

  "Skye, you're right. I am condescending. It is not intentional."

  That got my attention. "I'm listening."

  "It is so amazingly frustrating," she said. "Humans are just so incredibly stupid."

  "You're an amazing diplomat, Ambassador," I said, putting as much snark as into my tone as I could. "You know, most of us have wanted to meet you. You came down from the stars, and you charmed us all."

  "Not all."

  "Okay, fine. You charmed those of who aren't xenophobic idiots. I thought meeting you would be the highlight of, well, practically my entire life. Fine. You're smarter than we are. And
I see you don't let modesty get in the way of letting us know." I shook my head. "I don't want to be this person, but you get the worst of me." I climbed to my feet. "Humans have a term about wild horses dragging us. I don't think they allowed herds of wild horses into the United Nations, so you won't be seeing me again."

  "Please, Skye," she said quickly, standing and moving into my path far more quickly than she should have been able to. "Let me finish making my point."

  "I think you've made enough, don't you?"

  "These aren't difficult problems, but humans refuse to consider what is so incredibly obvious."

  "You're wrong again. Of course they aren't difficult problems. Most of them can be solved with money, and some of them don't even require that much. The rest can be solved if people would just stop being buttheads."

  "And yet time after time tonight, you gave me non-answers and said you know nothing about them. You begged off with excuses about how if the experts can't solve these problems, how can I expect a 19-year-old to do so. Why?"

  "Because there is one underlying problem. They require money, and humans are selfish. Everyone wants someone else to pay for it. Heaven forbid someone should have to give up that new car this year, after all. And as for people being buttheads, I don't have a solution for that. Now, would you please get out of my way?"

  I shook my head. "Who am I to talk about being selfish? I let my girlfriend and her family treat me like a royal princess, whisking me here and there, living a lifestyle only the richest of humans could approach."

  "From what I know about you, you work hard," Amaryllis said. "You were a waitress. That's not easy work. And your mother works very hard. Now, in school, you continue to work hard, getting top grades pursuing a difficult double major."

  "Yeah, about that. I think I'll skip the political science. I have a pretty strong feeling I'd hate it."

  "No!" she said firmly. "You have to."

  I folded my arms over my chest and stared up at her. I tried to put some glare into it, but I was glared out.

  "Can you understand my frustration? You all see the solutions, but you pretend not to."

  "That's not true. There are plenty of people who talk about the solutions, but the people with money have far more influence. People like me don't have any influence at all."

  At that she mimicked my posture and smiled. "Oh? Who is it you're talking to? Whose house are we in? And who kept your Testing results off the books until you were in a committed relationship?"

  At that I lowered my gaze and relaxed my posture.

  "I got you with that one, did I?"

  "Don't gloat," I said. "And I'm still catching up to what you just said." I looked back up. "I spent the first 18 years of my life sure I had no power and never would. And I still don't have power, but I do have influence. I don't know how much."

  "So, are we past this foolish idea you won't be working for me this summer?"

  "No."

  "Why not?" she asked, her words sharp.

  "Because it's ridiculous. You don't need me. You know what needs to be done. You don't need me to tell you. And if you do need a human to tell you, you should find someone who actually is an expert in the problems you're solving."

  "You're right. I don't need you for any of that. I am playing a long game."

  "How long?"

  "Decades."

  "I'm struggling to think more than a term or two at a time."

  "Which is why you are going to let Bluebell, Azalea, Jasmine, and me help with that, and we are all in agreement. Which, if you knew our history, you would realize was about as remarkable as the day we came into your skies."

  "Tell me what you want with me."

  "I don't need you now. I need you five years from now, or ten, or maybe twenty."

  "You want me to work for you for the rest of my life?"

  "No. Only a short while, actually. Tell me. If you were to pursue a life in, oh, let's just say politics, do you think it is even possible to have a better experience than working for me the next few summers?"

  "Who said I was interested in being a politician?"

  "Do you? Consider carefully. I don't want you regretting your answer."

  So I did, staring up at her. "Maybe working in the White House..."

  "Do you think you'd be following the president around if you worked there?"

  "No. I'd be shoved in some dark closet to stuff envelopes or something."

  "You won't be stuffing envelopes for me. Well, not very often, anyway."

  "What do you want?"

  "I've already told you. But let me put it together. My long term game, so to speak, is to improve humanity's overall maturity. What that really means is improving the maturity of humanity's leaders. The rest will follow, in time."

  "And so you want me."

  "Not just you, of course. But you came to my attention while in the presence of Azalea Beamer. You are one of exceedingly few humans who accept a Catseye hug and only the third I've seen who seems to deeply enjoy it. You speak Catseye as well as I do, and you've barely begun learning."

  "That just means I'm not a xenophobe."

  "No, it means more than that. It means you are a natural diplomat, far more than I am."

  "I'm just friendly most of the time."

  "Tell me you're not intrigued, Skye." I kept my mouth closed. She offered a human style smile. "I'll let you yell at me when I'm condescending."

  "In front of others?"

  "Of course not. But your job will be to follow me around. You'll have ample opportunity to berate me in private."

  "You know you make it sound like I'll be your little puppy dog, your pet human."

  "Perhaps it does. But you'll become one of very few humans who can say she was a puppy dog to one of the BPs." I didn't answer that. "Skye, this is one of those times it is very difficult for me to avoid feeling superior and becoming condescending. This time, you're the one being short sighted, not those people who won't spend money to solve a problem. Are you really unwilling to spend a few summers following me around, knowing what it means for you long term, and in extension, what it could mean for the entire planet."

  "I'm not that important."

  "Not yet you aren't."

  "I don't have some need to feel important."

  "Which is all the more reason I'm giving this offer to you instead of someone who covets power."

  I made a face at that.

  "So, now are we past this refusal?"

  I put a hand on my hip. "Are you going to treat me with respect?"

  "If I ask your opinion, are you going to be honest with it?" Then she held out her hand. I stared at it for a while then finally clasped. She added her other hand, and I added mine.

  * * * *

  The term wrapped up quickly, or so it seemed. I earned A's. And then it was time to vacate the dorm. Lili and I helped each other, packing in between working on final papers. She actually finished one day sooner than I did, but she stuck around, and as soon as my final paper was turned in, we hauled both her gear and mine down to the car, stowing it away. I had offered to drive her to the airport for her flight this evening.

  We turned around and looked at the dorm where we'd lived together for the last nine months. She stepped to my side and slid her arm around my waist.

  "It was a good year," she said.

  "One down; three to go." I paused. "I wasn't a good roommate."

  "Because you were gone so many weekends?"

  "Yeah. I'm sorry about that."

  "Can I ask you something?"

  "Sure."

  "You're actually dating that alien, aren't you?"

  "Yeah."

  At my confession, I expected her to move away from me. Instead, she stayed where she was. But her next question wasn't that surprising. "Why?"

  "She's amazing, Lili," I said. "She's smart, and sexy, and I like the way she treats me when we're together."

  "Like giving you this car."

  "That's not from Violet,
" I said. "Simple things, things any girlfriend might do. I like the way she touches me. I like the way she is interested in what I have to say."

  "I don't know how you can let her touch you."

  "I want to ask you something, and then I'm going to explain something. If she were Black or Hispanic, would you say the same thing?"

  She was still for a moment then said quietly, "I don't know. Oh god, I'm a racist." At that she pulled away and wrapped herself in her arms, but I turned to her. She turned her back to me, but I set my hands on her shoulders.

  "Do you hate that I touch you?"

  "No."

  So I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her from behind. "Lili, the ETs saved my little sister's life. Without them, she'd be dead."

  "I didn't know."

  "And then they saved Mom's, too."

  "Oh." She didn't unwrap from herself, but she said, "I'm glad they're both okay."

  "Thanks. Let me ask you something else. You like guys, right?" She nodded. "I've been a terrible roommate. Did you have a boyfriend this year?"

  "I did last year," she said.

  "Did you have sex?"

  I wasn't sure she would answer, but then she nodded slowly. "I don't know what the big deal is."

  "Then he wasn't doing it right. Lili, if you have sex with a woman, she knows how to do it right. And sex with Violet..." I shook a little. "Mind-blowing, Lili. Absolutely mind-blowing." She didn't say anything. "I know it's a little shocking. I imagine there's a part of you that is thinking something like, 'It's not natural'. But that's what people say about gay sex in the first place, and some people still say that about a black person and white person together."

  We stood there for another minute or two, then she nodded. "This is why we didn't get closer, isn't it?"

  "And my being gone every weekend didn't help."

  She turned, and I let her go. She looked into my eyes. "I still can't stand the idea of one of them touching me."

  "You do know that you just got a rather lengthy hug from a lesbian," I said. "One who consorts with aliens. Do you feel violated?"

  "No." She smiled. "We should go."

  We talked about easier things during the drive. I only had to vaguely watch over the car, making sure it went to the public entrance at the airport instead of the entrance the ETs used. The car did a good job finding a place to drop Lili off. I got out and helped her remove her things from the car.