Sylvia Chapter 15

[random_xtras]

"Ach... Mattie, be careful," urged Esther softly, her blue eyes bright as she watched what was happening on the floor by her desk.

"He's being careful." Sylvia glanced up from her textbook with a smile and watched as the baby offered his finger to a cooing and vibrating little green guinea pig nanopet. Then she winced as Miriam crawled over and flattened the pet with one hand to make it squeak.

"Nein. You must not do sat." The baby girl was lifted and scolded gently, then given a sharp pat on her diaper. "You must be kind to ozer sings."

"Ach!" Miriam put her hands to her bottom, then snuggled and wibbled, knowing that she was going to have to sit on her cousin's knee for a while and miss out on playing with the pretty little toy that Sylvia had brought for Esther and Hannah. "Babababa..."

"Ja, I know sat you're a baby. But you must still be kind." Esther patted her back and rocked slightly, her eyes on Mattias as he held his toes and looked up sympathetically toward Miriam. "Heh. It vill be fun to show zhe piggy to Hannah. She vill be so surprised, und sorry sat she decided to stay home today."

"Sat ist not zhe lesson ve're vreading," murmured the girl to the other side of Sylvia as she glanced over toward the guest in their history class.

"I know." Sylvia blushed. "But I already read that one, and the whole book's all so interesting."

"You vread it alvready?" The girl's eyes widened. "Do you zink you haf it by heart?"

"I... think so," said Sylvia cautiously. "German is pretty easy to understand. Do you need help?"

"Ach... I'm not certain. I understand sat zomesing vas important to zhe Europeans, but not vrealy vhat it vas, or vhy. Und zhey vere disagreeing about who should haf zhe zomesing."

"Pelts," said Sylvia soberly.

"Ja. But vhat...? I don't know zhe German vord eizer."

Sylvia looked down at the book, feeling a little sad for those long ago people. "Pelts are the skins from dead animals."

"Vhat? Nein, sat can't be vright!" Esther looked up with shock from refastening a button on Miriam's shirt.

"It is. My grandfather told me about it. The important people back then all wanted to wear hats made from the hair on the pelts, but I guess they thought that taking the whole skin was the best way to get the hair and send it back to their own country."

"Ach, yuck," said another girl. "Sat's even vorse zan sat adhesive diaper sing I saw somevone vearing zhe ozer day."

"Sticky film." Sylvia wrinkled her nose in agreement of the opinion of the latest popular fashion item.

"I don't vant to see sat much of somevone else ever again." The girl stuck her tongue out. "It seems vrude."

"Zhe dress from zhe time vhen zhey vore zhe beaver hair hats vas strange too." The first girl lay her book open to a drawing. "It doesn't look very practical or comfortable."

"Ach, Naomi, ist sat vhat all zhe vomen vore?" Esther blinked at the picture and then found it in her own book. "'Zhe daughters of zhe king'," she translated. "'Young orphans sent to marry zhe men'."

"That's what the more important women wore," said Sylvia, also flipping back to that picture. "And the really important ones left a lot of their chest uncovered, and wore flour all over their faces and hair."

Esther, Naomi, and the other girls near enough to hear all paused to stare with amazement. Miriam just chewed on her finger.

"I'm not joking. I've read all the old files on the infonet about it that I can access." Sylvia grabbed her computer pad, but then paused to look toward where the teacher was sitting and knitting behind her desk. "Oh, I guess we should wait till lunch time."

"Nein." The young woman looked up with a chuckle. "You're on topic, Liebling. Go ahead."

Sylvia blushed deeply. "May I use my computer pad?"

"Vhy not?" Dark eyes twinkled at her.

"Thank you, Tante Chang." Still red in the face, Sylvia turned back to her temporary classmates as she called up the files. "The country's name was France, and their kings used to take everything from the people, so not everyone wore the same kind of clothes..."


* * *


"I'm glad ve can dress nicely now, und sat novone here has everysing taken avay from zhem." Esther flopped onto her side under the apple tree that grew in the yard of the girls' school, her bare toes wriggling thoughtfully as she looked into the basket that held lunch for herself, Miriam, and Mattias. "Ach, Mattie, don't pull my curls."

"Papapapa," he murmured softly, intent on the bright hair. But then he blinked and grinned at her, unconsciously showing off the fact that he'd acquired another tooth since Sylvia had seen him last.

"Boof?" Miriam pointed at the basket. "Bababababa?"

"Yes. Me too." Sylvia looked into the neatly tied little fabric package that Grandfather had sent with her that morning as she'd set out to join her friends for a school day. "It would have been so uncomfortable to have to walk around with frames around your waist and on your head like that. And to not even be able to have a bath at the end of the day? Ohhh." She shuddered.

"You und your bazing fixation." Esther laughed without mockery and offered her a small purple fruit.

"Oooo. A Yancy tangerine." Sylvia took the treat gladly. "Thank you, Esther."

"You're velcome." Esther gave Miriam a bun to maul, and then sat up to hold Mattias and feed him his bottle as she bowed her head and murmured quickly but earnestly before starting to eat her own lunch. "So how are your oma and opa doing?"

Sylvia couldn't hold in her smile. "They're doing really well. Thanks for asking."

"Awww." Esther paused to munch on a piece of meatplant, then offered the rest of the bit to Miriam. "I bet zhey're cute togezer."

"Well... I never thought of them that way. But it makes me happy to see how much happier Grandfather is since Oma came." Sylvia finished peeling the tangerine and nibbled on one of the tart and sweet little sections. "Oma takes care of him like I can't, and now that he knows there's someone else to take care of me he's more relaxed." She blushed. "He was worried about me because I didn't have a mother figure."

"Awww," said Esther again. "Opas can be so cute sometimes. Especially vhen zhey're trying to take care of zheir loved vones. I vant to be a happy oma someday, vith a cute old husband."

"You need a young husband first." Naomi laughed as she walked over, then knelt to hold out a piece of dark coloured bread spread with a savoury smelling mixture. "Mutter packed an extra piece of zis for mein freundin, but zhey all haf some alvready. So I zought I'd see if mein ozer freundin vould like it."

"Aaach," said Esther happily. "Your protein culture spread has ripened alvready. Do you vant anysing in trade?"

"Nein. Only sat you share vith Sylvia so sat she can taste it." Naomi grinned and put the bread into the pale girl's hands.

"Vhat do you zink I am?" scolded Esther. "Vhat kind of girl doesn't share vith her friends? Sometimes you say zhe silliest sings, Naomi Strauss."

"Actually, nobody in the mainstream shares," said Sylvia quietly from where she sat blinking with surprise.

Two pairs of shocked eyes, one blue and one black, stared at her over two open mouths.

"It's because everyone has their own diet assigned to them, with their own ideal number of calories and nutrients," she explained. "I didn't know about sharing till I came here to visit."

"Vell..." Esther was obviously not sure what else to say.

"Ach. I'm glad to be an old fashioned veirdo," said Naomi. "Do you vant zis?"

Sylvia leaned down to take a long breath of the spread on that lovely dark sourdough bread, then smiled her shy smile. "Oh yes. This isn't animal based?"

"It's made from an ancient milk culture." Naomi settled down to sit on her heels. "I don't zink zhe meat based culture vould be good for you."

"You have one, then." Sylvia sat up with further surprise. "And you know about it."

"Ja. Zhe people vith blood type O need somesing meat based as vell as zhe meatplant," said Naomi. "Zhe culture vas started from a tissue sample taken from a live rabbit long ago, so nosing died to make it. It is like eating fruit, or zhe milk culture." She grinned slightly. "Ve're old fashioned, but ve're not stupid."

"I didn't..." Sylvia blushed and looked at Esther, uncertain as to whether Naomi's last statement was in response to something she'd said or implied.

"Nein. You didn't." Esther patted her knee reassuringly. "Naomi vants to be a doctor, so she's full of learning like sat. And zhe meat culture is only a supplement. It isn't somesing tasty to put on bread as zis is."

"Little pills for me to eat in zhe morning." Naomi nodded, her dark eyes holding laughter but no mockery as she looked at Sylvia. "Und to make faces over for my older brozer to laugh at."

"Actually, I was surprised that you knew because the mainstream people don't," said Sylvia quietly. "There are meat cultures, but no one knows about them. And the most expensive food that people can buy is actually an animal too."

"Und people eat zhem?" Esther's eyes were round again despite her heavy lids.

"Yes." Sylvia explained about momp pods.

"Sat... actually sounds tasty, zough I don't like sat zhe people are being lied to," said Esther slowly. "But a nice dinner of roasted eggs? Ach!"

"I vould eat sat." Naomi nodded. "But I'd share it, because even an O like me does not need sat much fat in my diet!" Then she looked thoughtful. "I vonder how our egg culture spread vould taste made vith zose eggs?"

"Fattening." Esther laughed.

"I'd rather just eat duck eggs," said Sylvia as she carefully broke the bread in half and set Esther's half on the corner of the basket. "The mother momp pod still dies to make her eggs, and... well, even if I didn't kill her that still makes me feel funny."

Naomi patted her on the arm, then gave it a gentle squeeze before rising. "Ach. Shhh. I had better get back to mein lunch. I'll see you later, girls und babies."

"Bye bye!" Miriam looked up from shredding her bun to grin and wave.

"Buh!" Mattias waved too, then patted his bottle gently, his dark eyes dancing.

Esther chuckled and nodded. "See you later."

"Bye. Thanks for the sandwich." Sylvia blushed and lifted her hand in an uncertain wave, then brightened at Naomi's cheerful farewell.

"Ach, vhere did zhe piggy go?" Esther looked around, then peered behind the lunch basket.

"Pig pig!" Miriam pointed to where the little cybercreature was digging busily in a pile of fallen apple leaves.

"Ach! Vhat did you say?" cried Esther with delight, but Miriam just grinned and munched on bun.

"She won't run away," said Sylvia, smiling as she shyly offered her piece of bread and spread to the baby girl and watched Miriam lean forward to take a very careful bite. "They're programmed to stay close to their owners."

Then she hesitated a bit before looking up. "You really like her, even though you and Hannah said you liked simple pets better?"

"Ja. She's too cute not to like, und green is so pretty. I'm sure Hannah vill like her too." Esther smiled. "I'm vreally looking forvard to going to zhe mall now, just to see all zhe funny pets und clozing."

"Actually..." Sylvia bit her lip and looked down uncertainly.

"Vhat is it?" asked Esther with concern as she absently took the piece of bun that Miriam offered her.

"Well... I don't really want to go to the mall anymore," confessed Sylvia. "From the pictures and everything I've heard about it... it just doesn't sound like much fun. I like the promenade, where the older people go."

"Is sat vhere you und your oma vent zhe ozer day?" Esther took the empty bottle from Mattias and then put him up against her shoulder to pat his back as he babbled softly and snuggled.

Sylvia nodded. "It's bright, and pretty. And the people will smile at you if you smile at them.

"You mean zhey don't smile at zhe mall?" asked Esther with surprise.

"I don't know. But I know they don't at Upper Aqueduct school. Smiling causes wrinkles, so it's supposed to be bad for your skin. The kids only smile at their favorite peers, and that's just this brief little flash of teeth."

"...Und zhey zink ve're veird." Esther shook her head, but her bright eyes held compassion and wonderment instead of mockery. "How can people zink such strange sings?"

"I don't know," said Sylvia, looking down at the food in her hands. "And I don't really know what is strange, and what's actually normal."

"Vell. I go look in zhe Bible to find sat out." Esther gently lay a sleeping Mattias down on the chamomile, and then reached for Miriam. "I know it's old, but it still says good sings. Like about marrying, und about caring for your family. Zoze are in zhere, so for me sat means sat zhey are normal."

"Because you believe it's God's book." Sylvia looked at her thoughtfully.

"Ja." She received another look of surprise. "You don't?"

"Grandfather and Oma do." Sylvia dropped her eyes again. "I'm still learning about the whole thing. But I think I'd rather believe in God than go to a temple and pray to the natives. That's silly. They're just people too, even if they are bigger and stronger than us."

"...Ja. Arcturus is just like any ozer young man sat I know. Funny, und sometimes silly if he zinks it vill make ozers laugh." Esther shook her head, then looked up as the school bell rang. "Ach! Help me vith zhe babies?"