Native Tongue

by Shannon Greenland

  Parrot came out first, obviously trying to hold in a laugh, then Jonathan, holding his butt. Without a look in any of our directions he wiped his eye, stomped over to the elevator, and pressed the button. As soon as the door opened, he stepped inside and jammed his finger on the button. The door closed, and TL broke out in a laugh.

  It was the first time I’d ever seen TL do such a thing, and Parrot and I joined in with him.

  PT, physical Training, rolled around a few days later. I entered the barn and saw Parrot warming up and headed straight for him. “Hey, you. How’s it going in your language lab?”

  He smiled a little. “It’s a pretty cool setup.”

  I pulled my hair back in a ponytail. “You going to be ready?”

  “Not a problem.”

  “I wanted to ask you something.” I slid a folded piece of paper from my pocket. “I’m inputting some cave drawings from Argentina into my program, and I keep seeing this pattern of words.” I handed him the paper. “Does it mean anything to you?”

  Parrot studied the rows of letters. A couple of seconds ticked by. “How weird. This is written in both French and Spanish.” He pointed to this first word. “First word French, second is Spanish, alternating across the line in that pattern. Drop down to the second line and it switches out. Third line switches again.” He handed back the paper. “But that’s from the seventeen hundreds. They don’t use words like that now.”

  I folded the paper and slipped it back into my pocket. “I should have come to you days ago.” I’d wasted way too much time on that one aspect. Sometimes I forgot how valuable my team was. “Thanks.”

  “No problem.”

  “All right,” Jonathan graveled. “Spread out. Arm’s length between you.” Jonathan raised his arms to demonstrate, and winced, touching his upper arm where he, Parrot, and I had gotten another vaccine.

  I looked at Parrot, and we silently laughed.

  Used to the routine, my teammates and I took our spots in the barn/training area and went through our usual stretching drill. It seemed so empty with David, Piper, and Curtis gone to Egypt. And Tina and Adam were meeting with TL about something.

  “Okay,” Jonathan said about ten minutes later. “Balancing act today.” He pointed across the barn to where he’d set up what looked like an obstacle course with balance beams, square tiles suspended by ropes hooked to the roof, and a platform with wheels. “Parrot and GiGi will encounter all types of terrain in the jungle: rivers, trees, bridges, waterfalls, boulders. So we’re going to work out the kinks and fine-tune our equilibrium, while I give you some general information about the jungle. Very simply, you are going to traverse these obstacles without falling off. There are mats below you, so don’t worry about it if you do fall.”

  Ugh. Equilibrium was definitely not my specialty. Thank God for mats.

  “I want the lineup to be,” Jonathan continued, “Wirenut, Bruiser, Beaker, Cat, Mystic, Parrot, and GiGi.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief at being last as we all shuffled across the barn.

  Wirenut climbed right up on the balance beam. “Do we get bonus points for theatrics?”

  Ignoring Wirenut’s humor, Jonathan nodded to the beam. “Anytime you’re ready.”

  Being so agile, I knew Wirenut would do well at this. Bruiser and Cat would, too. It’d be interesting to see how the rest of us would do.

  Wirenut danced effortlessly across the balance beam, throwing in a couple of spins for show. He threw his foot out and touched the first floating tile, then the next, and then the next. Ten in all, pretty much sailing across them. He plopped down on the platform supported by wheels, faked like he was going to fall, and, with a silly snort, skipped across it. He did a flip in the air off the end, and then bowed.

  We all dutifully laughed and applauded.

  “When you’re in the jungle, or any other situation for that matter, you have to understand your strengths and weaknesses,” Jonathan said. “You can’t assume your team member will pick up your slack. You are the only person you can rely on.” He nodded to Bruiser. “Go ahead.”

  She stepped up onto the balance beam and shot Wirenut a dude-I’m-so-going-to-outdo-you look. Turning around, she did a series of backflips all the way down the beam and off, landing hands down on the first floating tile. She walked across the tile with her hands, keeping her toes pointed in the air, then landed on the wheeled platform in a split. She bounced up, caught air, and sailed off the other end.

  I’d seen her in action plenty of times, but her skill level still amazed me.

  With a cocky wink to Wirenut, she strutted past him, blowing her nails and buffing them on her shirt.

  “The jungle,” Jonathan spoke. “There is no other landscape like it in the world. Dense vegetation. Heat, humidity. Steep, mountainous terrain. Rivers. All of these things hinder movement. Restrict visibility.” He nodded to Beaker.

  She climbed up with no showmanship to her at all. Holding her arms out for balance, she carefully made her way across the beam. Reaching out, she grabbed the ropes supporting the floating tiles and used them to wobble across. She jumped down onto the wheeled platform and stood for a second balancing herself, then crossed it and jumped off.

  Not bad. No doubt our cheerleading training for our last mission had helped her.

  “If you’re in a situation you’re not comfortable with,” Jonathan said, “stop and think. Ask yourself: What is my objective? What is my terrain? Is there an enemy nearby? Is there a team member nearby? How much time do I have to meet my objective? What resources do I have at my disposal?” He nodded to Cat.

  She climbed up and traversed the obstacle course, doing just as well as Wirenut.

  Then Mystic, who, of course, had to meditate to channel the balance gods before gracefully completing the course.

  Then Parrot, who seemed to perform a little better than Beaker, but not as well as Cat. I was sure his years of horseback riding gave him a natural balancing ability.

  “Lastly”—Jonathan looked right at me—“be confident with your movements. The jungle is no place to question yourself.” He nodded me to the balance beam.

  I walked over, going over everything Jonathan had just said . . . and felt a bit overwhelmed.

  With all eyes on me, I stepped up onto the balance beam. So far no one had fallen off. Mystic almost had at the floating tiles and Beaker nearly lost it on the platform, but they’d both managed to recover.

  Everyone knew I had exactly zero coordinated bones/muscles/ organs/ligaments and whatever else in my body. And I knew, just knew, that they knew I was about to really entertain them.

  I glanced over at them all lined up, trying to hide their smiles.

  “Whenever you’re ready,” Jonathan encouraged me.

  Taking a deep breath, I pulled my shoulders back, stretched my arms out for balance, and fastened my gaze to the end of the beam. Carefully, I put one foot in front of the other and made it all the way to the end. I turned to my friends with a “take-that” smirk.

  “Save that look until after the floating tiles,” Wirenut teased.

  Bruiser snorted.

  If I didn’t love them so much, I might have had to hate them.

  Grasping the ropes supporting the floating tiles, I placed my right foot on the first tile . . . and swung forward . . . then backward . . . and forward . . . then backward . . . The swaying motion made me dizzy, and I squeezed my eyes shut. Both my legs and arms began uncontrollably shaking.

  My teammates busted out laughing, and I fell flat on my face on the mat below.

  Sigh. At least we had a full-service hospital now. I suspected that Dr. Gretchen and I were going to be fast buddies.

  A couple Of days later I met Jonathan, Parrot, and TL outside the barn. Parrot stood with his horse, Carrot, beside him. And TL had a pretty brown one beside him.

  Off to the side was Dr. Gretchen, holding a doctor’s bag.

  I gave her an inquisitive glance.

  With a wink to me, she he
ld up her bag. “Just in case, GiGi.”

  I smiled weakly. Great. She’d been here only a week and already knew I pretty much needed her on call. Well, at least she addressed me by my name now.

  TL held up the reins. “This will be your mode of transportation in the jungle.”

  “Right,” I replied, clearly not looking forward to this.

  “Have you ever ridden a horse?” Jonathan asked, turning toward me.

  I shook my head. I mean, really, did they even need to ask?

  Parrot reached up and stroked his hand down Carrot’s muzzle. “Give her a pat.”

  Cautiously, I approached and reached my hand out to touch her muzzle.

  Carrot snorted and jerked her head away.

  I took a quick step back. “This isn’t going to work.” Clearly they were going to have to think of another way to transport me through the jungle.

  “It’s obvious you’re scared,” Parrot said. “She’s picking up on it. Don’t let her see that you’re intimidated. Take charge. Be confident. Be sure of your movements. You’re the boss.”

  “Easier said than done.” I took a fortifying breath and stepped toward her again. Quickly, with what I thought was confidence, I gave her a pat. Carrot just stood there and let me do it.

  Cool.

  Parrot walked around her, trailing his hand over her body. “Now this. Let her get used to your movements.”

  Following Parrot, I strolled around her, gliding my hand over her back and sides. Again, she just stood there and let me do it.

  Not bad.

  “Now mounting.” TL grabbed hold of the saddle. “Watch.” Standing on his horse’s left side, he grabbed the saddle horn, placed his left boot in the stirrup, and effortlessly jumped up and swung his right leg over. “Now you try.” He nodded to Carrot.

  Parrot stepped back to give me room. I circled around her again, letting her feel my touch. I figured that would be the smart thing to do. Grabbing on to the saddle horn, I hoisted my left tennis shoe into the stirrup. With a grunt I pulled myself up . . . and slid right back down.

  Carrot sidestepped away, and I one-foot hopped to keep up. “Whoa, girl, whoa.” I glanced up at her, and she slanted me a haughty look.

  “Did you all see that?” I jabbed my finger at the horse. “She gave me a look.”

  Parrot laughed. “She did not give you a look. She’s picking up on your body language. Don’t hesitate at all. Walk up, put your foot in the stirrup, and go right up into the saddle.”

  Walk up, put my foot in the stirrup, and go right up into the saddle? I almost snorted. That takes coordination, and coordination definitely did not exist in my repertoire of gifts.

  “Don’t just pull up either,” Jonathan advised. “Use your leg muscle to push at the same time you’re pulling.”

  “Shouldn’t one of you be helping me?” Especially since they all sounded like such experts.

  “You need to do this on your own,” Jonathan commented.

  I looked at Parrot, and he nodded his agreement.

  I didn’t know why I had to do this on my own. Probably had something to do with me and Carrot bonding. My new BFF. Blah, blah, blah.

  Taking another fortifying breath, I stepped up to her side. I grabbed the saddle, wedged my foot in the stirrup, and pushed/ pulled myself up.

  My leg swung over, and I found myself sitting astride Carrot.

  She turned her head and winked at me, and I blinked. Now that definitely had to have been my imagination. Horses couldn’t wink, could they?

  “She’s proud of you,” Parrot said.

  “She is?”

  Parrot nodded. “Definitely.”

  I swelled a bit with pride.

  “Okay, now use the reins to tell her what you expect.” TL walked his horse forward. Gently, he tugged the reins to the right, and his horse followed his lead. Then he demonstrated the same technique going left.

  Looked easy enough. Wedging my right boot in the stirrup, I took hold of the reins. Carrot didn’t move.

  “Um, go?”

  “Give her a gentle tap with your heels,” Parrot instructed.

  I did, and she moved.

  Grinning like a goof, I carefully tugged the reins to the right, and she followed my lead. I went left next, and she followed.

  Quite pleased with this, I stroked my hand down Carrot’s neck. “You are the most beautiful, bestess horsey in the world.”

  Parrot chuckled.

  Who would’ve thought riding a horse would bring me so much joy. No wonder Parrot loved it so much.

  TL swung off his horse. “Now let’s have you try this horse.”

  “What? Why can’t I stay on her?” I nearly whined.

  “Because you need to be exposed to different horses.”

  “TL’s right,” Parrot agreed. “Just because Carrot likes you doesn’t mean all horses will. You have to get used to different personalities and learn to adjust your body language to fit each horse.”

  Reluctantly, I dismounted and made my way over to the other horse. I reached my hand out for a pet, and he snorted and reared up.

  With a sigh, I stepped back. This was not going to go well.

  A week later I walked into the conference room for our last meeting before the mission. We left for South America in one day, and I still had a few tweaks here and there to make on my translation program.

  Jonathan sat at one end of the long metal conference table, and TL sat at the other. Parrot had already taken the seat to the left of TL, so I rolled the one out to his right, David’s usual spot. I smiled to myself as I sat and swore I detected a hint of David’s cologne.

  Pushing back from the table, Jonathan stood. At our first mission briefing, I’d wondered what kind of leader he’d be. So far he’d proven to be just as confident and organized as TL.

  “Parrot,” Jonathan began. “How are things on your end? TL tells me you’ve been in your language lab working hard. We leave tomorrow. Are you prepared?”

  Parrot nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “Parrot’s been ready since last week,” TL chimed in. “He’s more than prepared. He’s going to do fine.”

  Since last week? That meant he learned four languages in three weeks. Jeez. Talk about amazing.

  “Tell us what you’ve been doing in your language lab,” Jonathan prompted.

  “Well, every day I start out by watching an hour’s worth of programming from the different regions that will be represented at the talks. I follow that up with one-on-one conversations over the telephone with the actual assistants who will be attending the talks with the chiefs, not only to get to know them personally, but for a real flavor of their dialect. I’ve been listening to recordings of the tribes themselves, the women, the children, the everyday activities. And I’ve been meeting via video conferencing with different historians, learning about the customs of the indigenous people I’ll be dealing with.” Parrot smiled a little. “I have to say, it’s a pretty darn cool lab.”

  I smiled.