“You did a marvelous job, and I’ll have the credits for you tomorrow. If you plan on selling the juice, why not use my stand? I have plenty of room, and you could buy the cups you’ll need from the stand a couple of stalls down.” Mrs. Gatoroid liked both youngsters and had to commend them on their entrepreneurial spark. Plus, she had always wanted to see how a juice stand would work alongside her fruit. She made a mental note to put the saltier fruits out front tomorrow. She waved to the kids and returned to work, happy now that the work was completed earlier than expected.
When Armi arrived home, she remembered she had forgotten Geddon again in her hurry that morning. She wouldn’t be surprised if Geddon was very upset with her. She would be.
“Geddon, you should be mad at me for forgetting you, yet again?” Armi whispered as she slowly opened the door to her room.
Not really, I’ve been busy. I have uncovered several jobs that you and Conrey would be able to perform. You could charge a much lower rate than others, but you would still make enough to purchase the antigravity sled you want Conrey to have. By my calculations, it will only take four years and three months.
“I hate to break it to you, but I will be an old lady by then.” Armi smiled at Geddon. “Conrey and I have a business already, thanks to Mrs. Gatoroid. You will never guess what we are going to sell tomorrow.” She had a smug smile on her face that dared Geddon to answer correctly.
You will be selling fruit juice, I suspect, but that’s only a guess on my part.
“How in the heck did you come up with that? You smug bit….” Armi threw her hands up and jumped onto the bed beside Geddon. With her hands behind her head, she stared at Geddon with a quizzical expression.
I take it I was correct?
“Yes, you were. How did you do that?” Armi asked more politely this time.
You have fruit stains on your jumpsuit and I calculated the probability of how you got them, knowing that you would be seeing Mrs. Gatoroid at some point. Therefore, it seemed a good choice to pick fruit juice.
“You are amazing, you know that, Geddon? I love you for your mind, even though you do have Empress Bethany Anne’s body.”
It’s a small artificial version of her body, but I agree. Just remember that my incredible intelligence will not be able to help you if you keep leaving without me.
The next morning Armi was once again up early, but this time she grabbed Geddon before she went to pick up Conrey.
“You ready?” Armi asked her friend when he answered his door.
“I guess,” Conrey replied in the same dull, lifeless voice he’d used since his mother had died.
You know she will always be with you. You carry her DNA in you. Geddon told Conrey, using the stations floor speakers, as he followed Armi to the rotunda.
“I know you’re right, but it’s not the same. If we had only been a couple of minutes earlier, we could have saved her.” Conrey’s expression was troubled.
“Listen up, you hair-brained bistok reject, enough with this what-if crap. We did all that we could. Nothing short of a miracle would have saved your mother. She died trying to get others to safety. Remember what the investigators said? You should be proud of her. I am.”
Armi poked Conrey in the chest as she rattled off each point, then softened her voice and grabbed Conrey by both arms. “You need to let go of your ‘what if we had been a little quicker?’ If your mother had had more time, what do you think she would have done with it? Run to safety?” Armi shook him, then stepped back to wait for his answer with her arms crossed on her chest, leaning to one side and giving him dagger eyes. It was Armi’s signature look.
This time, Conrey thought about what his mother would have done if she’d had more time, and what he came up with put a smile on his face.
“She would have saved even more people,” he replied with more jubilance and energy in his voice. Armi smirked and let out a snort, then did an abrupt about-face, and they continued their trek to Mrs. Gatoroid’s stand.
As they prepared the juice, they wondered how the heck a pink fruit and a yellow fruit could produce a purple drink when mixed. Mrs. Gatoroid started spouting off chemical combinations that would make that happen until Armi tuned her out and focused on mixing the combination of pulp and sweet berry juice making a heavy syrup like liquid.
Mrs. Gatoroid recommended diluting the thickened contents with water, which had an added benefit of increasing the amount of juice they could sell.
Both Armi and Conrey had been pleasantly surprised to find a table set up for them and a few rows of empty cups stacked to the side. They put the purple juice on the table in a metal dispenser Mrs. Gatoroid provided them that had a glass center so that they could see when it was getting low.
“Mrs. Gatoroid, you shouldn’t have. Thank you very much for doing this, but it’s too much.” Armi narrowed her eyes. “How much for all this? Did the money we made yesterday cover it?” Armi held her breath as she waited for Mrs. Gatoroid’s answer.
“Oh, my dear, the cups were only a couple of credits, and the table I’d left here ages ago and completely forgot about it until last night. Don’t worry; you still have plenty of credits coming your way.” Mrs. Gatoroid walked by her and patted her on the shoulder with a motherly grin and slight squeeze as she continued forward to greet new customers.
“How much for the juice?” a Noel-ni of middle years asked Conrey, who was behind the table getting the cups set up.
“A credit a cup,” Conrey told him. Armi noticed a credit recorder behind the row of cups; Mrs. Gatoroid thought of everything.
“You think that’s for us, Geddon?” Armi asked her doll.
Yes. There is no other reason for it being there other than to receive payment for your purple passion juice.
“’Purple Passion Juice.’ That’s hilarious—I like it. Hey, Conrey! How about we call the stuff Purple Passion Juice?” Armi laughed as she threw the credit reader to him.
“Sounds good,” he answered in the usual monotone voice, catching the reader and finishing the sale. She was going to kick his ass if he didn’t cheer up. Armi growled but quickly plastered on a smile as more customers came over to buy their purple juice.
By the end of the day, repeat buyers were coming back to purchase more. Both Armi and Conrey were ecstatic. Conrey was even smiling. “Mrs. Gatoroid, can you tell us the number of sales we made today?” Armi asked her with a greedy look that was more playful than real.
Mrs. Gatoroid smiled at them and punched a few buttons on her wrist holo. With a huge grin, she told them, “Final count is two hundred and twenty credits. Congratulations! That is an impressive first day. It usually takes more time to build a clientele that large.” Mrs. Gatoroid nodded and kept smiling at them as she read off the numbers.
At this rate, you will make the amount you need in…
Armi cut off Geddon’s reply. “Don’t say anything to Conrey. It’s a secret, so no blabbing,” she whispered to Geddon, leaning toward her doll’s ear so that Conrey would not hear. Conrey was currently taking the table they’d used to the back as Mrs. Gatoroid closed up shop. Being a Noel-ni, he had exceptional hearing.
Sorry, my mistake, Geddon whispered back, using the speaker imbedded inside the doll.
Mrs. Gatoroid winked at Armi. “I’ll keep the secret. No worries, dear.”
Chapter Four
Unexpected Results
After dropping Conrey off, Armi skipped the rest of the way home.
“Mom, guess what?” Armi started shouting even before the door was open. Her mother was at the makeshift stove as she always was. She’d told Armi that since the station was always cold to her, this was the only way she felt warm.
“What, my little miracle?” her mother asked as she turned toward Armi.
“Guess what Conrey and I did today? You will never believe it! We made two hundred and twenty credits selling juice,” Armi told her mother with a huge grin.
“You what?” Delani exclaimed with a total
look of disbelief. “How?”
Delani just stared at Armi with her mouth open. After a few minutes, Armi got a little worried. “Are you ok, Mom?” Armi asked with concern in her voice.
“Mom, we worked with Mrs. Gatoroid, and she helped set it all up. You see, she had these fruit things that needed to be drained, and Conrey and I asked if we could do it, and then everything just fell into place.” Armi hoped her mother would snap out of whatever trance she was in and at least talk to her now that she had explained.
“Armi, you made two hundred credits in one day?” Delani put a hand to her face, “Oh, my, that is incredible. How old are you again?” her mom asked her with a nervous laugh.
“You know how old I am; I’m seven. Don’t be silly.” Armi grimaced and shook her head.
“I’m being silly? A seven-year-old girl makes more money than all the men on this space station, and you tell me that I’m being silly?”
“What’s wrong with that? I want to help Conrey, and this is a way to do that. It’s all legal and everything. At least, I think it’s legal. Mrs. Gatoroid wouldn’t steer us wrong.” Armi had a little doubt in her voice. Geddon had taught Armi about ethics a few months ago after the bombs went off outside the rotunda. Geddon had wanted to strike while the iron was hot. It made sense to Armi how people should care about what their business practices did to others. Armi was thinking of that when her mother motioned for her to come close.
“Come here, Armi. I want to hold you and stop you from growing up.”
“That’s absurd, Mom. How can you stop me from growing up?” Armi had a puzzled expression on her face, but her mother just smiled and pulled her into a smothering hug.
There is a way to make it so that Armi will grow very slowly. A Pod-doc could make the nanocytes slow your aging process and extend your life by a number of years.
“Thank you very much, Geddon, but I don’t think that will be necessary. I want to grow up and be as beautiful as my mother.” Armi scolded Geddon. The look on Delani’s face after Armi’s confession was priceless. She had tears in her eyes as she rocked them both back and forth.
“Oh, my little girl is all grown up. I love you so much, Armi. I wish you didn’t have to get older, but that’s life.” Wiping away her tears, Delani held Armi at arm’s length and gazed at her, trying to memorize every inch of her.
“I’ll come tomorrow when you go back to Mrs. Gatoroid’s,” Delani told her daughter, looking down at her.
The next morning Armi got up early and met her mother in their kitchen corner, where they had a warm cup of tea together. Armi leaned Geddon against the warm pot.
“That pot is not too hot for you, is it, Geddon?” Armi asked her doll with a little smirk.
You know the answer already, Armi. My housing is built with a nano-polymer that repels heat and dirt.
“Isn’t this a wonderful morning? We should make time to have tea together more often.”
“I would like that too, Mom.” Delani reached across the table and squeezed Armi’s hand. They smiled at each other as they finished their tea and got up to leave.
They found Conrey already outside his door waiting for them with not quite his normal—at least lately—sad look on his face. There was a little more life to his features today.
“Hey, Conrey, how are you feeling this morning?” Armi asked him, as he gave her a strange look.
“What? You’ve never asked me that before. Are you feeling ok?”
“Oh, shut up. Let’s go. My mom is going with us so she can see our operation for herself,” Armi told Conrey, holding Geddon in one arm and puffing her chest out, proud of their recent accomplishments.
“I hope you don’t mind, Conrey, but I’m curious as to what you’re actually selling.” Delani knew Conrey had been hurt emotionally and still needed to heal. She didn’t want to hinder his healing in any way, so she spoke gently.
“No problem, Mrs. K’tanhly. it’s rather boring anyway, and we could use the company.” Conrey continued walking toward the rotunda. Delani just smiled, thinking what a polite, grown-up young Noel-Ni he was.
Like the day before, Mrs. Gatoroid had put the table out, the cups stacked, and the reader ready.
“Good morning, Mrs. Gatoroid,” Armi greeted the silver-haired women. She was old—that was evident—but how old, Armi hadn’t a clue. She had fine lines around her eyes and mouth, as well as a few age spots on her hands and arms, but not many. She was distinguished-looking, but Armi couldn’t figure out why she thought so. She wore the same jumpsuit as everyone else, but on her, it was like a business suit. Armi looked at her mom. “My mom came with us today to see what I’ve gotten into.” Armi smiled at her mother and went over to help Conrey prep the morning drinks.
“They are great kids. You should be very proud of her.” Mrs. Gatoroid pointed at Armi as she leaned toward Delani to talk.
“They certainly are, and I am very proud of Armi. With Norn gone so much, I would have gone crazy by now without her.” Delani felt a little foolish letting a piece of her home life escape and sheepishly turned her eyes downward to avoid looking Mrs. Gatoroid in the face.
“Tut, tut, nothing to be shy about. Torcellans are drawn to each other. We aren’t meant to be alone for any length of time. Especially you, with your empathic abilities. I’m surprised you don’t tie your husband down, so he doesn’t leave.” Mrs. Gatoroid knew that Delani worked as a negotiator for the businesses on the station and that her empath abilities made that possible. What most didn’t know, including Mrs. Gatoroid was that those abilities were handed down Delani’s ancestral line starting with a distant grandfather who was saved by the Empress after she gave him some of her blood.
Delani looked up and smiled at her. “Thank you for that. I miss him dearly, and if I knew it would work, I would definitely tie him down.”
Delani was enthralled by the number of customers. She didn’t usually read others on the station unless she was negotiating, but she would make an exception since it concerned her daughter. She observed that those purchasing the juice were often somewhat lethargic, but after drinking the juice, they had energy to spare.
Delani walked over to Armi and touched her arm to get her attention.
“Yeah, Mom, what’s up? I’m a little busy, ya know.” Armi wasn’t trying to be rude, but the line was building, and she was hard-pressed to keep it at a reasonable length.
“I know, dear, but answer me one question.” Armi nodded as she continued giving out drinks and making the sales. “Did these customers buy your juice yesterday?” Armi looked at the line and recognized half-a-dozen customers from the day before.
“Yes, there are a lot of repeat buyers. That’s good, isn’t it?”
Delani lifted her shoulders to indicate she wasn’t sure. She had an idea of why they were back but wanted to investigate a little more.
“Mind if I take a cup?” Delani asked Armi.
“Sure, Mom, here ya go.” Armi handed a fresh cup to her mom and went right back to handing out purple juice to a small army of yawning Noel-nis.
Chapter Five
The Answer
Delani didn’t waste any time. She took the lift to the floor that was home to the scientific community on the station. She’d done favors for a few of the doctors and wanted to cash one in today.
The sign read, Dr. Flannery, Specialist in Organic Chemistry. The office was pleasantly heated, and there was a scent of flowers in the air. The smell reminded her of running through fields of wildflowers as a child.
“Mrs. K’tanhly, what a pleasant surprise. How may I be of service?” An elderly Torcellan gentleman in a white lab coat greeted her, coming out of the labs in the back.
“Thank you, Dr. Flannery. I could use your expertise on something my daughter has gotten involved with.” She held out the cup of juice to the doctor.
“Hmm, isn’t your daughter quite young? Seven or eight, isn’t she?” the doctor asked with a faint tug at the corner of his mouth.
&nbs
p; “Yes, she most certainly is. I’m afraid of what she’ll be doing when she gets a little older.” Delani gave the doctor a tired but open smile, saying without words, “My daughter may be the end of me.”
“All right, then. What do we have here, and how can I help?”
Delani nodded and began her explanation. “My daughter has combined two different fruits to create this purple juice.”
“Leave the sample with me, and I’ll run some tests. Come by tomorrow, but not too early. We seniors need our beauty sleep.”
Delani chuckled and promised she wouldn’t arrive too early.
Delani got the shock of her life that night when Armi told her how much they had made that day.
“You what?” Delani yelled. Armi covered her ears because her mother was so loud.
“Sorry. Sorry, dear. I didn’t mean to shout so enthusiastically, but can you blame me? Two thousand credits in a single day?” Delani sat down hard on her makeshift bed and cradled her head in both hands.
“I thought you would be happy about Conrey and I making so much,” Armi said, looking confused.
“Dear, it’s not that I’m not happy for you, but I think I know why you’re selling so much so fast.” She took a couple of deep, slow breaths before trying to explain what she surmised to her young daughter. It was easy to see Armi as a lot older than she was, but there was no denying that she was just a seven-year-old girl growing up way too fast.
“The customers just arriving to buy your juice were tired. I mean very tired, lethargic to say the least. Then, after they drank your purple juice, they had an overabundance of energy, and they couldn’t wait to get to work.”
She paused to gather her thoughts. “Armi, what I’m going to suggest is only an initial theory, but it’s a very good one. The chemist I took your juice to this morning agreed with me even before he had any results.”
Tales from the Kurtherian Universe: Fans Write For The Fans: Book 3 Page 13
