Page 35 of Eat My Moon Dust
“What are those?” Tahavir asked.
“I guess you’ve never seen snowflakes,” I realized. My spats had always lived in the jungle. “Humans cut them out like this for theirKrismis.”
“What’s that?”
“A winter festival Tinsley’s organizing.”
The spats counted snowflakes as we left the lobby, and by the time we made it to the school pod, I was exhausted with keeping them on task. The human spats were outside playing during a break when we approached, and an adult woman with straight black hair and black eyes waved, hopping down the pod steps.
“You must be Mr Fareshi!” she said, meeting us on the footpath. Little bells on a headband just like Tinsley’s jingled as she dipped her head in greeting. “I’m Jihae Jeong, the teacher you spoke to via message?”
“Nice to meet you.” I smiled, putting three of my hands on my brood’s shoulders. “These are the spats.”
She nodded slowly. “Reha, Ladh, and Tahavir,” she said, nodding to each of them. “You can call me Miss Jeong, okay?”
As their new teacher led them up the stairs, Ladh and Tahavir raced to join her, but Reha stayed beside me, her mane inert to keep from projecting how nervous she felt. I crouched down next to her and picked up a little stick, scribbling in the dirt.
“Nervous?” I asked, squinting into the sun.
“They must all hate me already,” she croaked, gripping my tabard in her much smaller hand.
I grunted. “No one out here seems to,” I mumbled, looking around at all the human children. There were maybe a dozen, playing with throwing discs and hand-held balls. When we looked around, plenty of them were watching us, but when our eyes met, they waved and smiled. “I bet if you apologize and explain what happened to Rambir, he’ll forgive you. He seems like a good spat.”
Reha blinked, the pink speckles beneath her coral eyes heating up. “Do I have to?”
“No, but not doing it is worse. You’ll think about it constantly, and trust me, it sucks.”
“Maybe…”
That was the most I could ask of my daughter just then. Standing up straight, I brushed my lower hand over her mane and gave her a pat. “Go on then.”
Miss Jeong leaned out of the pod door and motioned to Reha to join her. Another familiar face–Pom Pom–leaned out to say hi.
“Hey!” She was wearing a boa of silvery tinsel around her neck and a blue headwrap with snowflakes as she waved a pink toy wand with glittery ribbons exploding from the tip. Rambir looked over her shoulder, also waving. “Can I skip work today, Hunar?! We’re doingKrismiscrafts this afternoon instead of material science!”
I crossed my arms as Reha sped up the stairs and pretended to think about it. “Fine, but bright and early! You can help me with the festival after you make up on inventory.”
“Aw, hell yeah!” Pom Pom disappeared back into the school and Miss Jeong clapped her hands with a stern look on her face, shooing them inside.
When I turned towards the hangar, I let out a breath.
Time to trust. I’d never had to leave them somewhere with other people since technicallyIhad been the other people during my visits over the years. With any luck, my brood would avoid another diplomatic disaster like the playfield.
Seas help me if they didn't.
13
?TINSLEY?
I blew a sweaty curl from my forehead as the tangerine sun, Surya, peaked in the sky. It was time for lunch at the hangar, and there was no way I’d miss it. Panties burning a hole in my bag or no.
What if all the guys could smell them anyway?
I stopped, my heart in my throat, staring at the open doors, the little transport ships, the shelving units, the big ceiling fans. Holiday rock music wafted out of the metal dome as the pilots moved deliveries in and out of their transpos, drones setting them down in orderly rows along the walls. I checked that I’d latched my bag just one more time, then gathered my courage and walked inside.
Piro was the first face that turned my way. He waved, escorting a crate towards the door with his holotab open. “Hey, Tinsley!”
“Hey!”
