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CHAPTER FOUR
Maggie
Despite the late nightand weird sleep schedule, I didn’t need an alarm to wake up in the morning. I awoke at 6:00am station time, already abuzz with excitement about what was to come. There was a lot of work to do, but I was ready to do it. I rolled out of my bed and stood, carefully fixing the blankets behind me. I slipped the silk bonnet off my curls, tossing it onto the bedside table, and quickly shimmied out of my pyjamas before grabbing some clothes from my suitcase that was still open from my recent arrival. As I got dressed, I looked around the space that would be my new home. Because I wasn’t a temporary seasonal worker, I had a larger apartment than I knew Sophie had had when she’d first arrived here. There was my bed tucked up against the wall, a kitchen area, a living space with a small, plain couch, a coffee table, and a bathroom. I’d scored a bathroom with my own shower, which meant I didn’t need to use the communal showers in the residential block of apartments around me.
I eyed the small screen set into the wall near my bed, along with the empty cube beside it. If I wanted too, I could order breakfast from any one of the restaurants on the station through that screen, and it would be delivered right into that cube. It was a pretty amazing system, and I hadn’t gotten to try it yet. But I probably wouldn’t bother this morning. No, right now I just needed to be quick. I hurried into the kitchen, grabbing a protein bar from the bag on the counter, and an iced-tea drink from the fridge, brewed with Terratribe 2 lavender tea leaves. I chowed down on the protein bar, then chugged the tea drink. The cold liquid was refreshing, slightly sweet, and balanced with bitterness. Soon enough, the caffeine was circulating in my system, adding to the excitement I already felt. A quick laser cleaning of my teeth, a splash of water on my face, and a few minutes to care for my curls, tying them up in a protective bun on the top of my head, and I was ready to go. I’d had a shower when I’d gotten back last night, or rather, very early this morning. My skin flushed as I remembered the events of last night. The meal and the drinks at Archie’s pub. The conversation. The attraction. And then, falling asleep in my empty workspace, only to wake and find him there, like some kind of weird wet dream materialized. Holy Terra, he’d been good-looking, awash in the golden light of his pub. But there had been something more potently disarming about him in my bakery, quiet and huge in the darkness. Like he was some kind of upright, green version of a Terratribe 1 mountain panther that had padded into my midst. I groaned when I remembered how I’d hurled my dustpan at him before I’d recognized him. Luckily, he’d seemed as unflappable as ever even after I’d nearly taken his big handsome head off. He hadn’t been offended.
He said he’d help me...
That had to just be some kind of professional, neighbourly courtesy, right?
There was such an odd swirl of emotions inside me. I’d always been the independent sort, and the idea that some man I’d just met thought he needed to help me was almost an irksome one. I had my pride, and this was going to be my bakery. My baby.
But on the other hand, there was an unmistakable flutter in my chest every time I replayed the interaction I’d had with him.I’ll help you. He’d said it breezily, as if it had required no thought at all, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. But at the same time, there was a firm certainty to it. A weight. Like he’d come to an important decision and wouldn’t waver now.
I kind of liked that he didn’t want to waver about what he’d promised me.
I wonder if you’d be half so fluttery about this if he weren’t quite so easy on the eyes... And funny... And witty...
Whatever. This would be utterly professional. A gesture of goodwill between businesses. There would be many opportunities for me to return the favour, I was sure. I didn’t like owing people or having debts. Maybe I could help him further down the line somehow. Or maybe I could repay him with baked goods.
I bit my lip, imagining showing up at Archie’s pub with a big, beautiful cake for him. The Archie in my mind’s eye grinned, his warm, gleaming eyes swinging from my face to the tray in my hands before he dragged a thick, strong finger through the frosting and brought it to his mouth...
Holy hills of Terra, snap out of it!
I slapped my cheeks, hoping to drive some semblance of sanity back into my brain and bloodstream. Or, if I couldn’t do that, at least driveoutthe maddening image of Archie licking his glistening finger, his gaze heavy-lidded and trained on mine...
Before that image got completely entrenched, I shook myself and took a deep breath, yanking open the door to my quarters and letting it click shut behind me. I tapped my personal data tablet to it to lock it, then marched through the rest of the residential block.
The hallway was uniform, with door after door that led into quarters like my own. I passed them all, not giving any of them a second glance. I tried to ignore the fact that the only reason I had no interest in the other doors is because Archie had let slip that he lived on a different level than me. The shiny metal floor was smooth under my shoes. I’d chosen comfortable ones, breathable with decent-quality support in the soles, since I’d be on my feet working all day.
Soon, I’d exited the small, square block of residential apartments and had entered into the main ring of this level. It was much quieter here than on the shopping levels, but there were still some people out and about. An Hadorian boy and his mother, both with signature gemstones lining the skin of their brows (his pale pink, hers amber), went by me hand-in-hand. From around the ring, I saw others exiting residential blocks just like the one I’d come from, heading towards the centre to catch a hover-vator.
A thrill went through me, and mercifully it had nothing to do with my new grinning orc of a neighbour. This is what I’d been waiting for. Starting my new life here. It was so different from dreary New Toronto. I grinned, watching the round, transparent, egg-like hover-vators whip up and down the centre column of open air that connected all the ringed floors of the station.
It was going to take a while to get used to this place.
But not too long, I realized. I already felt like I was starting to settle in here, like this is where I was meant to be. Now that Gran had passed away, there was nothing for me back in New Toronto. Nothing in all of Terratribe 1 that held any appeal, especially since my best friend Sophie was living on Elora Station now.
Determination hardened my spine.All the more reason to make this work.
Now that I was here, that I’d tasted the beginning of a possible new life, Idid notwant to go back. I couldn’t.
I headed for the centre of the ring, stopping at the bars. Almost instantly, a hover-vator zipped down to a stop before me, vibrating ever so slightly with motion. The bars moved aside as the hover-vator opened, and I stepped in.
“Floor 1200,” I said, my voice echoing in the large, round space.
My stomach dropped, and a giggle bubbled out of my throat as the hover-vator zoomed upwards. The transparent round walls allowed me to look out as it moved, the other floors shining and melding into one another. It could take years, and I still wouldn’t have explored all the levels, all the amazing things Elora Station had to offer. The thought wasn’t an intimidating one, but a marvellously exciting one.
