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“Okay,” Minerva said, digging in.
While Bo grilled her big sister after each bite, April took a second to look around the room.
Whereas Bo’s room was messy and covered with her own artwork, Minerva’s was neat and tidy. If her father lavished her with gifts, the evidence was hidden.
The walls were covered with posters of all different kinds. There was a popular alternative band’s album cover, a black and white drawing of a dragon, a space-scape of the system, and a single colorful print of an airship over a park.
Her desk was equally tidy, with only a game disc and her holo-reader on the surface along with her school things.
The holo-reader had a leather case so worn that it looked older than its owner. This was clearly a girl who loved to read.
“Are you reading anything for fun right now?” April asked, handing the girl her mug of chocolate during a brief break in Bo’s questioning.
“Couple of things,” Minerva said, nodding with a spark of joy in her eyes.
“Anything I would have read?” April asked.
“Probably not, but who knows?” Minerva said.
She picked up the reader and swiped to the library list, then handed it over.
“Careful with the case,” she said. “It was my mom’s.”
Oh. That explained why the family with everything hadn’t bought the girl a new case.
April took it gently, noticing how scratchy the edges were where the leather had pulled away from the frame.
The list of books was magnificent.
“I actually have read some of these,” April said fondly. “The Stowaways, wow. And the Halfway Home series. Holy cow, those were good books.”
“You read those?” Minerva asked, sounding surprised.
“They’re brilliant,” April said, nodding. “The idea of being a space pirate is amazing enough. But a royal being dumped in space as a so-called test, and getting into the pirate business? Priceless.”
“And the empress isn’t even the best character,” Minerva said.
“The ship,” they both moaned happily.
The ship in that series was biological and self-aware and a fan of dry one-liners. It was one of April’s favorite book characters of all time.
She scanned through the rest of the list. It was impossible not to notice a theme, a theme she probably should have noticed just looking around the room.
Like her little sister, Minerva was obsessed with flight.
April tucked away that information to think on later. Maybe that interest could get Minerva out of her cocoon a bit.
“I guess I should get back to my schoolwork,” Minerva said when the plate and mugs were empty.
“Sure,” April said.
“Awww,” Bo moaned.
“Maybe we can have a snack with Minerva after school tomorrow,” April suggested.
“Sure,” Minerva said. “That would be nice.”
Bo grinned.
“Okay, then, I guess we’ll see you at dinner, unless you finish up early,” April said. “We’ll be in Bo’s room, building airships until then, right Bo?”
Bo crowed with joy and dashed out into the hallway toward her own room.
April wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw a brief expression of envy on Minerva’s face as her sister disappeared.
Minerva needs company too,April told herself as she followed Bo to her room. I will help her find reasons to come out of her room.
