I just need a little help. I selected my science fiction-ish story, as I already had a fairly good start on it. I have ever only written for the sake of writing, never writing for a certain audience or anything like that. I just like to make up stories, basically. Usually what happens is I get very bored at work and I start thinking and eventually have a whole story unfolded so I write down everything I can remember about it.
So what I need help with is finding out if the story is any good at all. Maybe it's a boring story and I don't realize it. (I hope not because I have about 7 chapters that I have written so far, haha) Maybe it's awkwardly written. (Ok, well what I'm going to post in this blog is a rough edit, so I know it's got some awkward parts which I am still working on). So here it is. This is just the first chapter, a very little part of it.
If anyone can get through this first chapter and tell me what they like or don't like about it, (and please be brutally honest, I don't want to try to e-publish something that is horrible.)
Chapter 1
Kira sighed and patted her dusty oiled up gloves on her ripped work pants. She pulled each glove off, one finger at a time while staring at the unsightly contraption she had been hired to fix, in front of her.
"Frustrated much?" A cheerful, female voice behind said from behind her.
Kira giggled and rolled her eyes, instantly picturing the face that accompanied the voice.
"Hi Arianna," she said, emphasizing cheerfulness in her voice. She turned to greet her childhood friend.
Arianna had gone to study further her education at the prestigious Southbrooke University, which was unfortunately half a world away. Arianna and Kira had kept in touch, although not as often as Kira liked. She had learned through the years enough to know that Arianna was popular there, but that was practically all she knew of Arianna's college life. She stared at her friend, reflecting on the day Arianna had arrived back to the little town they grew up in, Hammerton, from college. Kira had been hammering away on a new invention she was building and piecing together. The invention was simple, tiny metal puppy powered by gears and levers, when her little sister Mae had run to tell Kira that the dirigible was landing bringing the college students home. She had gathered up her little half-built toy, affectionately named Ichi, and headed to the docks to watch as the students disembarked from the huge airship. She remembered feeling a small shock as as Arianna had stepped off of the ramp. This girl looked nothing like her old friend, who had excitedly left Hammerton 4 years ago. Arianna's long copper hair, partially bleached by the sun, cascaded in ringlets down her back and her emerald eyes sparkled in the afternoon sunlight. Arianna's fashion had changed dramatically. Once a "jeans and overalls" girl, now Arianna wore a tight fighting corset secured by lacing along the sides, over a shirt with billowy sleeves. The edges of the sleeves were marked with beautiful embroidery, which matched her flowing skirt. A petticoat with light ruffles peeked out from the bottom of the skirt, and she wore high heel boots which Kira imagined must be difficult to walk in. A miniature top hat perched carefully off the side of her head, completing Arianna's look. Kira thought Arianna looked out of place in this little dusty, dry little town, and she felt suddenly self conscious of the oil and grime on her cargo pants.
"Um....Hello Kira!" Arianna's voice rang out, breaking Kira from her thoughts. "Earth to Kira!"
A clanking sound signaled the arrival of Ichi tromping towards Arianna's general direction. The thing didn't actively pick where it wanted to go, as it had no brain nor many inner workings. The toy just worked randomly.
"Ichi-chi!!" Arianna squeeled picking up the metal dog. Arianna had loved it since the moment she had stepped off the dirigible, and spied it in Kira's arms. It was unique in this little town, there were not many toys like it. Ichi let out a small puff of steam from behind its head as Arianna held the dog out in front of her, looking at it. It's legs had stopped moving once it was picked up, due to a series of balances Kira placed carefully inside the body. The mouth of the metal toy clanked open and shut, probably just a slight malfunction as it didn't normally do that, but Arianna took it as a sign that the toy was talking to her.
"I missed you too, Ichi-chi." then she set it back down with a clank. The levers came back to life and it tromped off elsewhere.
"Kira, you're so good at what you do! You must make me a little friend also sometime! Or, maybe you can teach me how to make one. You know, I took several semesters of Mechanics as an elective so I could see why you wanted to do something so....well....physical. I still don't…really…" Arianna trailed off.
Kira held up a hand "I know." she smirked. "Gears and Levers what the most boring class you took the whole four years you were there and you still don't understand why I find it so fascinating." she paused to wipe the sweat off her forehead. "I received your letter." Kira grinned, wiping beads of sweat from her forehead. The back of the bakery was sweltering hot, and yet Arianna was still wearing her fancy clothes, seemingly unfazed by the heat. Kira didn't understand how her friend was still standing and not passed out onto the floor. "So now you're all fancy and educated. And your degree? Medical Sciences? Or you're going to be at least." Kira cocked her head to the side. "Once you get out of this piece of k'so town."
Arianna opened her mouth to protest at Kira's sudden use of inappropriate language, but she quickly shut it when she saw Kira hadn't finished talking.
"Will you come to dinner at my parents house tonight Arianna? You've been back three weeks now, and they haven't had a chance to see you. You're like my sister, part of the family, and they've missed you!"
"Oh I would love you see them too!" Arianna said excitedly and grinned, flashing her perfect white teeth. She looked like she might have had them worked on while she was away. Kira didn't mention it, but felt a slight pang of jealousy.
"Can we invite Riley?" Arianna was babbling on, and Kira winced internally. Riley, Kira and Arianna had been good childhood friends. Like Kira, he wasn't born in Hammerton, but moved there when he was five and was constantly picked on by the other children in town. His ears that stuck out just a bit too much and his teeth had been a bit crowded, looking slightly too big for his mouth. Kids were cruel. Kira and Arianna had accepted them into their group, and from that point on the three were inseparable. Riley had since grown into his ears and teeth. He was now tall and strong looking, with bright blonde hair and dark brown eyes. He certainly didn't get made fun of anymore. After Arianna had gone off to Southbrooke, Kira and Riley became closer and Kira developed a little crush on him. She thought for a time that it might be reciprocated, but three weeks ago Arianna had glamorously stepped back into the spotlight, and Kira faded out. Over the weeks she had been back home, Arianna was beginning to pay more attention to Riley as well.
"Sure. I'll see if he can make it. He's supposed to be here, working on this machine with me, but he must have decided to take the day off instead." Kira gave Arianna one of her forced smiles, although she knew her friend would see through it.
"Oh you two are such gear-heads. It might be well and good for Riley, but maybe you should consider learning a more respected trade, Kira. This seems to be predominantly a man's job, anyway. This job is so filthy, and labor heavy."
"What?!" Kira exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at her friend. "Arianna, you know this just makes sense to me! Since we were young!" She threw her hands up in disgust. "You don't have to understand, but I don't have to explain my reasons for liking this work to you! I'll see you at dinner." Kira turned around to grab her wrench and continued to tinker with the machine.
"Oh, no." Arianna's voice took on sad tone behind her. "I offended you, Kira, I'm so sorry. I just meant to say...well...when I took the classes in college, I was the only female there and---"
Kira looked over her shoulder and eyed Arianna.
"I guess I'm just trying to say, you're so smart Kira. You could do so much more than just this." Arianna gestured to "this" which Kira was working on.
"Whatever." Kira waved her away. "I'm not mad at you." she said crossly.
*************************
"Mama and Papa Robinson!!" Arianna exclaimed, sweeping in the front door of Kira's moderately sized house. Once, it had been a small house, when Kira was much younger. As her parent's income allowed, they had added on and on…and on. The modest one bedroom, three room house, now contained 6 rooms, including a large family room and two bathrooms. A kitchen, with an attached dining room and three bedrooms made the rest of the house complete. Kira was sitting on the living room floor tightening the nuts and bolts on Ichi. It's moveable legs had become temporarily un-moveable, but Kira fixed the toy quickly.
"Well hello there little Arianna!" Kira heard her dad's deep voice say happily.
"Oh, my, look at you, all grown up!" Her mom followed, "And my goodness you look like royally! You didn't have to dress up for us dear, you know us."
"Kiki!" Arianna called into the living room, using her childhood nickname for Kira. "I've brought something for you!"
That comment got Kira's attention. She wondered if Arianna had reverted back into her "pre-college" self temporarily. Kira stood up and went to greet her friend as her parents went back into the kitchen to finish cooking dinner. She eyed Arianna's clothing choice, as she had changed since Kira saw her earlier. Arianna wore a corset which laced up the front with a short sleeved top under it. Her skirt was the same as before, and on her head was a wide brimmed hat with her old welding goggles which they had been given in high school fashioned around them. Arianna shoved a small yet heavy bag towards Kira as she walked up.
"The rest of my things arrived from Southbrooke while I was out visiting you today, and these were the first things I wanted to unpack."
Kira smiled and mumbled a "thank you". She went to give Arianna a hug, but Arianna stepped back.
"I want you to know that I really am sorry for what I said earlier. I was thinking about it, and...I guess, really, nothing would smoothly without people doing the jobs you like to do." She grinned again, flashing her teeth. "Now, I want you to open everything in the bag before you say anything."
"Sure…" Kira shrugged, "Let's go and sit down in the living room and I'll open it. Mae is playing with Ichi in there."
"Ooooh! Mae-Mae and Ichi-chi!"
"She'll be happy to see you too." Kira smiled.
"I almost forgot, I have something for little Mae-Mae in that bag too!!"
Mae was poking and tinkering with Ichi, and barely had time to look up before she was swept up in a giant hug from Arianna.
"Hi Mae-Mae! You're so big now!" Arianna exclaimed. Mae had just been almost 10 years old when Arianna left for college, and now she was about to turn 14.
"Oh! Arianna!" Mae looked confused for a moment, then excited. "Wow, you look so pretty! You look like those Victorian ladies I've read about in school!"
They all sat on the ratty area rug in the living room, and Kira reached her hand into the bag to start pulling out things. The first thing she touched in the bag was in incredibly soft, fluffy...thing. Kira pulled it out and gave it a look, before it was promptly snatched out of her hands by Arianna.
"Mae-Mae! This one is for you." Arianna fluffed it out and set it on Mae's head.
"It's a hat." Kira said, finally recognizing the shape. It was a similar to a pageboy hat made out of some kind of fur-like cloth.
"They're very popular in Southbrooke." Arianna stated.
"I love it!!" Mae cried. "This is the softest thing I have felt in my whole life."
Kira reached down into the bag again and felt something else soft. She pulled out an olive colored pair of knitted arm warmers accompanied with a matching scarf. They had beautiful embroideries of dragonflies along the arms, and on the backs of the hands. Kira slid them onto her arms, reveling in the softness.
"Wow, Ariana, these are incredible...you didn't have to..." Mae snatched the remaining scarf out of Kira's arms and ran off into the kitchen saying, "Mom! Mama! Just look at these things!"
Arianna dropped her voice a little lower as soon as Mae was out of the room and said, "In Southbrooke, things like these are a dime a dozen, but I am glad you like them." She looked expectantly at Kira. "Your real present is in the bottom of the bag." She pointed in a downward sign with her finger.
Kira peered down into the bag and saw a black leather belt coiled up with a pouch hanging off the side of it. She pulled out the belt and opened the pouch, revealing a set of delicate titanium mechanic's tools. The set looked beautiful and ornamental, instead of functional. Similar to the scarf and arm warmers, the tool set was also etched with dragonflies. She removed the wrench, and turned it over in her hand. Kira could feel there was a strength to these tools.
"Do you like it?" Arianna asked tentatively, remembering the things she said earlier. "It reminded me of you. Strong, yet delicate." she gave a little smile.
"I love it!" Kira exclaimed, the words bursting out. She hadn't realized it, but she'd been holding her breath as she gingerly examined the toolset.
Arianna grabbed Kira in a hug. "I'm so glad!" She laughed excitedly.
There was a sound of someone at the front door and Arianna jumped up suddenly.
"Oh! I think Riley is here!" With a flurry of skirt and petticoat she rushed off to greet him.
----------------------------------------
Kira lay on her bed listening to the rain pitter-patter on the tin roof. It had started raining halfway through dinner, and Riley had graciously offered to walk Arianna home so as to shield her from the rain with his jacket. She sighed and rolled over on her side, staring at her reflection in the window next to her bed. 'I'm not totally ugly.' she thought. 'But compared to Arianna....' a forlorn looking young lady stared back at her. A strand of silvery hair fell down into her gray-blue eyes and she brushed it away. In the window she could see her little necklace glinting in the moonlight. It was something wore it always, as long as she could remember. The clicking sound of the gears in the clockwork necklace seemed to match her own heartbeat. Kira closed her eyes, listening to the sound.
Tock-tock-tock.
She knew she had always had the necklace, although she didn't know where it had came from or what it meant, or even what ran the constantly moving gears, but she felt like it was a part of her. The gears on the outside were set over a shiny yet hollow-feeling piece of metal. On either side of the movement were silvery-feathered wings. The necklace had never stopped. Not once as far back as she could remember. Kira was slightly curious of why the necklace never stopped it's incessant ticking, but not enough to take it apart. She feared that she might break it, and she couldn't stand the thought of losing the comforting clicks.
Kira thought back for a moment, remembering the story Mama Robinson had told her when she turned 13.
'Now you're old enough to know this, Kira, and no matter what you hear just remember that you're always our daughter. We had gotten a call from Hammerton Medical Clinic one night, about 11 years ago. You had turned up on the front steps with nothing but a few rags and this necklace you're wearing. The lovely Sisters' at the hospital put out an alert for you Kira, and while they kept you safe.' Kira vaguely remembered spending time with the Sister's at the hospital. They were kind to her, reading her books and keeping her safe. 'Eventually called us. They knew that we wanted children, but had such a hard time having them. The moment we saw you, though, we knew you were the child we had always waited for. And you've been such a blessing to us, even though you might never realize. Mae came as a surprise, yet a miracle to us 3 years ago, and she was a blessing also. We couldn't have asked for better children.' Kira's mother had given Kira a hug and brushed her hair back behind her ear. 'Your birth parents did love you Kira, they made this necklace just for you, even engraving your name on the back.' Mrs. Robinson flipped it over to reveal a large KIRA written in fancy writing with some symbols on under it. 'Someday, Kira, I almost fear your birth parents will come searching for you. Please don't forget us. We love you very much.'
Kira had shrugged it off. Her family was still her family, whether her parents were by birth, or had taken her in when she needed a home. She did finally realize why she didn't look much like the rest of her family. The Robinson's all had beautiful olive skin and dark hair. Kira had light skin and almost white hair, especially when the sunlight hit it. The only similarity she could find in her family was that somehow, Mae had the same gray-blue color eyes as Kira, which looked extremely striking against Mae's olive skin. She found it strange because Mama Robinson had hazel eyes and Papa Robinson had eyes that were so brown, they almost looked black. Yet somehow Mae had bright blue eyes. Everyone assumed Mae's unusual eye color was due to a gene which had laid dormant on one side of the family.
Lightning flashed outside, breaking Kira from her thoughts. She was slightly annoyed to not be asleep yet, so she twisted on the oil lamp next to her bedside and sat up.
'Probably just anxious about Ms. Bernie's machine...' Mrs. Bernie had the most popular bakery in Hammerton, and without the engine in the steam cooker running properly, the residents wouldn't be able to enjoy their morning pastries or after-dinner desserts. Kira smirked. This town would eventually be one cranky bunch if her and Riley were unable it, and fast. She glanced over at her toy, Ichi. Ichi was a word she had heard when taking a class on 21st century languages. It was a Japanese for "one". Appropriate because Kira was sure she might try to make more and improve on the design. The toy had stopped puttering around the room, it had finally run out of it's fuel oil.
She reached into her dresser and pulled out an old project, a necklace for Arianna, and rubbed a finger over it, wiping the dust off. She started when Arianna left for college, always meaning to finish it and have it ready for when she returned, but continually getting distracted by something else. She had made it to match her own necklace, as Arianna had more than once commented with a hint of jealousy on it. The only difference was that this one didn't tick. She couldn't quite figure it out, so Arianna would have to make do with a non-functioning "special necklace".
Kira leaned back on her pillow holding the necklace by the chain and letting it spin above her. Instead of wings, she had the gears of the necklace framed by a moon and a star. Kira heard Arianna's voice.
"Someday, we're gonna be up there you know." Arianna's voice was saying. It sounded foggy and far away. Kira glanced to the side and saw a younger version Arianna sitting next to her. She looked only 10 or 11. A young, gangly Riley was sitting on the sandy desert ground outside their town, and Arianna was pointing up toward the sky. Kira recognized the quarry, where the three had escaped to often when they were younger.
"Up there!" Kira heard herself scoffing.
"Up there!" Arianna repeated, turning to Kira. Her green eyes sparkled with the reflections of the stars above them. Then she pointed up again. "I want to go to that one!"
"You can't go to 'that one'.." Kira said. "We read about what happened to people when they used to try to go up there. Lots of them died."
"But if we go up there the demons can't get us." Arianna shuddered. "Only angels."
"There's no such thing as demons!" Riley piped up, with his squeaky prepubescent voice.
"Yes there is!" Arianna protested.
"Those things are made up." Kira offered. "To make you be nice." She picked up a small rock and tossed it onto the dirt in front of them.
"We're outside the town. We're going to get in trouble! What if our parents send demons after us!" Arianna suddenly looked afraid.
"Demons aren't real!" Riley insisted.
"Yes they are! They're gonna come get us! We're out late and being bad!" Arianna cried.
Kira heard a heavy pounding sound nearby. "What…?" This wasn't part of the conversation she remembered.
"They're coming right now!" Arianna shrieked.
Kira sat up with a start, the necklace sliding off of her chest onto the bed. 'Oh. It was just a dream.'
She heard the pounding sound again and when it stopped, she still felt it in her head. "K'so..." she said sleepily rubbing her eyes.
Kira walked down the stairs still holding her pounding head and wrenched the door open, glaring at whoever would wake her up so rudely.
"Nice hair." Riley snickered, as she yawned again, forgetting to be lady-like and cover her mouth.
"Oh. It's you." She looked down at her pajamas and quickly stepped behind the door, hiding herself. She peered around the door at him. "What?"
"Mrs. Bernie is curious as to why you're not helping today? You know, with the project we're supposed to be working on?"
"What the hell time is it?" She asked, her eyes widening. Someone always wakes her up on workdays, but it appeared no one was currently home except for her. Kira glanced at the giant grandfather clock, ticking with it's perpetual motion behind her.
"K'so!" she spat. "Noon?!?"
"Augh, my virgin ears!" Riley joked, covering his ears, and with a great amount of sarcasm announced. "Never have I heard such words come out of your delicate little mouth Kira, what a shock."
Kira smiled in spite of herself, hastily trying to shut the door, which Riley promptly blocked. "Well excuse me, but don't you mind if I come in and wait for your slow self?"
"Yes. Go back to Bernie's. Tell her I'll be there as soon as possible."
"But she told me I couldn't come back with out you! She likes you working on her machines much more than me. I think she's sexist...." he trailed off, as Kira was already halfway up the stairs.
"Stay in the living room!" she called.
Kira burst into her bedroom and pulled on a clean, yet grease stained green coveralls and yanked on her wool fingerless gloves. She grabbed her protective goggles and pulled them around her neck then turned to run out the door, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She cringed.
"Ugh...." Her silvery, usually smooth hair was a puffy rats nest that stuck out on all sides, similar to Medusa's snake hair. Her normally sky blue eyes looked gray blue, and extremely bloodshot. 'How much sleep did I get?' she thought, pulling her hair into first a tight ponytail, then wrapping the tail around itself into a spiky bun. 'Or rather, how little?'
Riley was waiting downstairs, hovering near the front door. "Oh, Kira, Arianna mentioned she was coming down today to see if maybe you could teach her some things about what we know."
"Why?" Kira asked, making a face. She instantly regretted it, thinking of the new mechanics tool set resting on her dresser. "Ugh, I'm a bitch." she whined, then snapped her mouth shut. She was thinking out loud.
"I don't think so." Riley said.
'Obviously he missed the face I just made.' she thought, giving a slight eye roll.
"She just feels left out, I think. We three have been together since we were just young kids." Riley said.
They walked the next few blocks in silence. Kira noticed that there wasn't as much dust and dirt flitting about the cobblestone streets, and the air felt cooler. Possibly from the rain, the night before, but most likely a sure sign that fall was on the way. The rain, which had pounded so roughly on her roof during the night, had almost dried up. Water almost never stuck around in the desert town, it just evaporated back into the air or absorbed back into the dirt. The rare occasion of a "rainy week" did not even bring much moisture to the earth. The whole side of the planet was mostly a dry zone, Kira had heard from tourists and travelers that had come through the town. The booming metropolis's nearby would have still resembled a desolate desert if they hadn't been completely built up.
"So," Riley broke the silence, "Haven't you ever thought of maybe... getting the hell out of Hammerton?"
"To put it lightly?" Kira laughed. Of course she had. Hammerton was a dusty, dirty, dry burg on the edge of nowhere. The temperatures ranged from sweltering hot and dry in the summer, to unbearably cold and dry in the winter. The only places that might be worse to be stuck in were some of the outlying towns. Those towns had considerably less technology, even though Kira wasn't sure how that was possible. Kira's family had traveled when she was much younger, but once Mae the miracle was born, cash flow had become short. Money was one of the reasons Kira still stayed in her hometown. She helped her family with bills, even though she was now 23, and by all rights should have been off in college or on her own.
"No, I'm completely happy here." Kira lied.
Riley laughed "You are a horrible liar Kira Robinson!" to which Kira grinned. He continued "Well, anyway, I have a job interview tomorrow."
"That's great Riley!" Kira was shocked, but she was genuinely happy for Riley. Doing odd jobs around town, quite frankly, was horrible. Occasionally they would go for months without a decent job. "Where at?" She finished.
"The airship Regional will be landing tomorrow." Kira could hear the excitement welling up in his voice. "I happen to know they are hiring for an engineer's apprentice!"
Kira stopped walking and raised an eyebrow in Riley's direction. "Engineer? Wouldn't you need to have some kind of formal training? We each only have a few classes at our local trade school under our belt. And it wasn't for Engineering. Mechanics is quite different, isn't it?"
"I'd just be an apprentice Kira. Not the real thing...at least not yet." He put his arm around Kira's shoulders and gestured with his free hand to the sky. "I'd have all the training I'd need right there. That's better than any classroom. That's the real thing."
"Well good luck Riley." she smiled up at him. "You're so like-able, they'll probably hire you on the spot."
They stood looking at the sky for a few moments when they heard a loud "Ah-hem". Mrs. Bernie had come out and was staring disapprovingly in their direction.
"When I said I to get Kira and don't come back without her, I didn't mean to take an hour!" The pleasantly plump lady looked exasperated. "You three haven't changed a bit in the last twenty years! Please, now, my bakery hasn't been able to open in the last two days, I can't afford to lose any more money!" Mrs. Bernie patted her sausage hands on her apron and little pieces of dried pastry and dust flecked off. Kira liked Mrs. Bernie, but she had to stifle a giggle at her appearance. Her poofy petticoat and round, frilly bonnet made her look so similar to the big balls of the pastry dough she kneaded every day. Kira caught a word Mrs. Bernie said.
"Three of us?" she asked.
"Your partner in crime is already back with my steam cooker." She stuck her thumb out over her shoulder, pointing to the back of the bakery behind her, and gave a big hearty laugh. "She looks quite uncomfortable and out of place, I might add.
Riley released his hold from Kira's shoulders and sauntered into the bakery past Mrs. Bernie, who was still glaring at him.
Kira giggled. "I bet she is." Then she grinned at Mrs. Bernie. "I'm so sorry to be late today. No one woke me and I must not have heard our big grandfather clock go off." She put on her best apologetic face. "That's one thing our ancestors were smart to have. Good old fashioned alarm clocks. I hear in the big towns, they're allowed to use a little bit of batteries and electricity. I bet they have them there." She started to walk past Mrs. Bernie but was stopped.
"Is something troubling you Kira?" Mrs. Bernie's face had changed from annoyed to concerned. "You've seemed very...distant...lately. No offense, dear child, but today you look just like hell warmed over."
"Ha. Thanks." Kira frowned. "Just didn't sleep well last night. I think maybe the rain?"
"Miss Robinson...I'm afraid you are a very bad liar." she smiled warmly. "I know your parents love you and are always there for you dear, but if you ever need an extra ear to listen, I'm hear for you." Mrs. Bernie patted Kira's shoulder. "After all, I've known you since you were this big!" to which Mrs. Bernie held her hands in front of her, palms facing inward as if she was measuring something very small. "Now, go on! Into the shop with you! I know you can fix my machine up nice today, and we can all have sweet rolls tomorrow!"
Kira smiled, but her mood was considerably dampened. 'Nothing like a pudgy seventy year old lady, who hasn't even brushed her hair in God knows how long, to tell you that you look like hell.' She gave a half hearted two-fingered salute and stepped past Mrs. Bernie and into the shop. Her mood lifted slightly as she stepped into the back room where Arianna and Riley were sitting and talking. Aarianna was dressed in a jumpsuit at least two sized two large and boots that fit similarly. She held a rusty, damaged wrench in her hand. From the neck up, though, she looked stunning, as per normal lately. Her long copper hair was held up by and in place by her brass protective goggles. She looked up as Kira walked in the room.
"Ki-Ki!" she said excitedly, jumping up to hug her friend. "Now I can show you what I learned from my class in college! And maybe you can teach me more!"
"Gosh, you should learn something more respectable Arianna." Kira said sarcastically. Arianna looked down at the ground for a moment, then Kira smiled, elbowing her in the side. "I'm just joking with you, Arianna. So when did you change your name to…" Kira leaned it and squinted at the name tag. "Fred." She flicked Arianna's coveralls.
"Well..." Arianna started. "I found it in our basement. It was the coverall my older brother used when he worked part time as a fuel operator at the train station."
"Never knew too much about Fred." Kira shrugged. Fred had been much older and moved away when he turned 16, while Kira and Arianna were only in elementary school.
Arianna continued. "I had to sneak it out. I never could have asked daddy to buy me one in my size. You know how he feels about...well..." her voice got smaller. "This kind of work."
Kira felt her eye twitch. Arianna's parents were completely opposite of the Robinson's. She had always known them to be stuffy, bigheaded people. She started to open her mouth to comment, but was interrupted when Arianna brightly said "Let's get started!"
Kira picked up the rusty wrench and started loosening the bolts that held the faceplate on to the machine.
Arianna's face fell. "You aren't using the tools I got you? Kira you don't like them?"
"No, it's not like that." Kira grunted as she lifted the heavy plate down to the ground. "I was just thinking that, maybe for my first project with them I could make something special.
"Oh." Arianna looked confused. "But any kind of work that brings in money is special, don't you think?"
"More special than that." Kira gave her friend a toothy grin, as she started taking out the innards of the machine. "I thought I'd make you an Ichi of your own soon."
Arianna smiled a huge smile. "Really? I could have an Ichi-chi of my very own soon! You're the best Kira! The very best!" she turned around to Riley, who had been dozing off in a wooden chair that reclined against the back wall of the bakery.
"What? Hmmm?" He looked slightly startled. "Oh right, the very best." He gave a thumbs up sign, just as Mrs. Bernie poked her head into the back of the bakery.
"Riley Hunter!" she exclaimed. "I am not paying you to sleep on the job, boy!" Riley jumped up mumbling something unintelligible. He shuffled over to where the girls were looking into the machine.
"Oh, I think we have it under control Mrs. Bernie." Arianna piped up. "I think the main problem with this machine is the secondary valve spindle malfunctioned, and it caused a breach of pressure in the back port. The valve head on the right is slightly displaced, but once they're straightened out and a new valve spindle is put in...I think that will get it working again."
Kira felt her mouth slightly gape open in shock as she looked at Arianna. She noticed Riley was wearing a similar expression. Kira wasn't sure if she should be impressed that Arianna could identify the inner workings of the machine, or annoyed that she sounded like she just might be trying to outsmart everyone. She settled on an equal mixture of both. "You're half right Arianna. The valve head looks slightly displaced, but I replaced it two days ago. Maybe we'll just straighten out these levers and--"
"No, not that one." Arianna interrupted and reached through the machine, behind the levers and to the back of it. She pulled out a mangled piece of metal that looked like it had, at one time, resembled a working valve spindle. Kira was having a hard time deciding on which emotion would be appropriate. Arianna noted the look on Kira's face and hung her head again.
"I'm wrong aren't I?"
Kira reached out and took the mangled metal from Arianna. "No, no… it looks like that's what this used to be. A valve spindle. It's not broken though, just severely twisted out of shape, like it might have got caught between another lever in the back." Kira looked up at Mrs. Bernie. "We'll work on twisting it back into shape and reinstall it. Hopefully your bakery will be up and running tomorrow." She gave a half-smile, then looked down to start twisting it back into shape. At least Arianna hadn't used the phrases "doohickey" or "thingy" while giving the machine it's diagnosis.
"Wonderful!" Mrs. Bernie beamed at them. "I had better go tidy up the shop and get it ready for business again. Riley, you come help me, I think these girls have it handled."
She disappeared out the front of a shop, humming a happy tune. Kira found it vaguely familiar but ignored it and went back to twisting the metal on the valve spindle. Riley walked slowly out the odor grumbling, and Kira and Arianna shared a laugh.
Arianna watched Kira working on the spindle, and she said "I'm so glad both of them are gone. I have something that I...I wanted to tell you."
"Hey maybe you can start with telling me how you fixed the problem so quick."
"I took a few college classes, I told you. I wanted to know what you knew." Arianna shrugged, "I figured maybe if it was something you loved to do so much, then I could love it and maybe be successful at it. But I was wrong. The only things I took from that class was memorizing the names and placements of some of the parts."
"Bullshit." Kira was serious.
"I'm not lying to you Kira. It was a lucky guess, but under any other circumstances, I'm dumber than a box of sticks."
Kira sighed and shook her head. "Why would you think that? No. You're smart. Look, you were accepted to Southbrook, made it through, graduated...." she trailed off and went back to tinkering with the valve.
"Can I tell you something? You'll be the only person I've told...well besides my family. They kind of pushed me into it."
"K'so!" Kira swore, cutting her finger on a stray wire.
"Please, Kira, listen for a minute!" Arianna grabbed the valve, demanding Kira's attention. "I don't have time before the ceremony to tell you all this, and I don't want you to be surprised."
Kira glanced up with slight annoyance at the valve, and sighed. "Okay, I'm listening."
Arianna bit her lower lip. "Ok, well, here it goes. I didn't exactly graduate from college with a degree in Medical Science. In fact, I barely passed with a Medical Assistant's Certificate."
Kira regarded Arianna with the same expression she gave Riley after he told her about the engineering job. 'What the hell is going on?' she thought.
"Well, once my father figured out that I...wasn't exactly cut out for college, he spent most of the time finding someone that would take me as a wife. He wants me far away from here. My brothers made it out and has a fine job, he supports himself. Fred makes enough to send money home and help out my parents, which seems to be all they ever wanted from us children." Arianna looked sad. "My father, well he found someone that would support me well, and I guess I can't complain about it too much. The man who has accepted to be my husband the lead doctor at a sought-after medical research company in Lorelei."
Kira dropped the valve she was holding. "You have got to be shitting me. He sold you! To someone you haven't even met, in Lorelei?! Lorelei is across the globe from here!"
"That's where I'll be going. To everyone here, I'll be considered a…." Arianna searched for the words. "Bio-researcher. Or, supposedly anyway. Unfortunately...I'm not allowed back here. My father will bring me back here only once, to announce my wedding and get the rest of my things. Then he will just tell everyone that I've been so successful in Lorelei, and I just don't want to leave. He's not very proud of me you see."
All of the bad thoughts Kira had about Arianna since she returned started weigh down like three tons of rusty metal. Kira felt absolutely horrified for her friend. Arianna noticed the look Kira had on her face. "It's ok Kira, I'm not blind. I've seen your little annoyed looks at me since I've got back. I know I act different now, but I'm just putting on a front. I haven't had a chance to tell you until now. It had to be now though. Or never. The ceremony less than a month away, bought fiancee is sending an agent to 'recruit' me. I've got to be scarce for a few weeks and pack most of my stuff up."
"What about Riley? You've been quite cozy with him since you got back. I kind of thought you and he would get together?" Kira asked, looking at the valve.
Arianna gave a silvery laugh and said "Riley? Oh no....It's just fun to flirt a little bit. It's my last chance. Besides, Riley's got his mind in other places." she gave a little wink at Kira.
"I'm not sure what that means."
"If I told you, it would ruin the secret!"
Kira felt sadness start to sting her eyes. She was never good with handling these types of emotions, which unfortunately led her to wear them on her sleeve. Her friend, whom she had assumed changed so drastically, had in reality not changed at all, and was now leaving to a place faraway. Kira might never see her again once they announce the wedding. 'Yep, here come the tears.' Kira yanked the remaining pieces of valve back into place and jammed it back into the machine.
Arianna observed her behavior. "I'm sorry Kira, I had to tell you now. I'm going to be reviewing my acceptance speech for Lorelei, and packing during the coming weeks. Or longer. My father won't be allowing me to spend much time with anyone until after the ceremony. I will get to see pictures of the creep that's "bought" me. I hope he's not....old. Or disgusting. I don't think he will be." Arianna shuddered, then looked up at her friend.
"Well." Kira hoisted the faceplate back up onto the machine and yanked the bolts back into place, feeling on the verge of tears. "I suppose we've both got our own projects to work on. See you when you have the time, Arianna." She quickly stalked out of the bakery, only glancing back long enough to see Arianna's hurt face. 'I'm such a bitch', she thought, before letting a tear rolled down her cheek.
