Starbird Murphy and the World Outside (27 page)

When I got home from school, Io surprised me by giving me a jean jacket with a gold eagle patch sewn onto one pocket. “Covers a bleach stain,” she said, having me turn around to check out the fit. “It was from the free box at work.”

I wore it when Europa and I walked to the café that evening for the mandatory staff meeting. Io stayed home with Kale and Eris, who were both asleep before we left. Cham and V had worked the evening shift, so they were already there.

“How's school?” Europa asked as we walked. “Are they turning you away from us yet?” The damp air was being forced around by a north wind, a warning that winter was coming. You have to wear a lot of wool to live in the Northwest; otherwise the chill can make it all the way to your bones.

“No. I mean, it's fine,” I said. “I guess.”

“Down here in the states, you act casual about Outsiders, but it's not casual. EARTH doesn't want us being friends with them.” She pulled her scarf down away from her mouth so it wouldn't muffle her voice. “I hope you aren't making friends.”

I touched my hand where Rory had held it at lunch, thought about Ben being in the café office. “No,” I said. “I just hang out with Cham.”

“Like Cham's much better. Have you seen him do anything to make you think that public school is corrupting him?”

“No,” I said, “nothing.” What was it about being on the Outside that made it easier to lie?

“Well, even if it wasn't school, it could be happening at home. Io is a bad influence, and V isn't a true Believer. I don't think non-Believers should be living in Family houses, do you?”

I had always thought that non-Believers shouldn't stay in the Family. But when I said, “I agree,” it felt like another lie.

“Good. At least we can count on you to do the right thing.” Europa put an arm around me as we reached the café, where the
CLOSED
sign had already been flipped.

 
 

While the people on shift finished their closing duties, the rest of us arranged chairs into a few rows for the meeting. Family members are good at pitching in without being asked or directed, and soon all eight of us were seated for the meeting with tea and coffee cups. V stood up.

“Here's the update on Ephraim. His doctors confirmed that he has pneumonia and he's probably had it for a while. They would release him if it was just that, but they're investigating problems with his liver and possibly kidneys. I posted his visiting hours in the office.”

“What about the medical bills?” Sun's voice was deep. He sat at the back of the group, closest to the windows, while V stood in front of the counter. His muscular arms were folded across his chest and he was leaning back in his chair.

“We're not sure, to tell you the truth.” V seemed to carry the weight of the world for a second. “I called this meeting so we could change the schedule to cover Ephraim's shifts and some of mine, so I can work in the office.” V ran a hand through her long, dark hair. “We need to hire another waitress, too, so if you know anyone who could be cool with the Family, we need them.”

Devin said, “I know someone.”

“I don't want another non-Family member,” Europa said.

“That's hiring discrimination,” said Felicia.

“You're allowed to run a family business,” Europa shot back, “and I don't care about your Outside laws.”

“Hold on, Europa, we do care about laws,” said V.

“Well, I'm not taking any more shifts.” Felicia turned sideways and propped her feet on the spindle of Cham's chair. “I can't make tips on weeknights if it's dead in here.”

“We should close more hours,” Cham said.

“We need more money, not less,” Sun replied.

“There are whole hours when no one comes in.” Cham turned to face Sun. “We're wasting money just having the lights on.”

“So we advertise more, not close up more.” Sun's voice rose.

The talking speed picked up. It was hard to keep following who said what.

“Are we ignoring the elephant in the room? Is the café going under?” (Paul.)

“Yeah, aren't we already broke?” (Sun.)

“Where did you hear that?” (V, hands in her hair.)

“Ephraim would only say, ‘It's all good.'” (Devin.)

“Maybe that's all he would say to you.” (Sun.)

“Is the café seriously going under? Because I need to find another job.” (Felicia.)

“No one said the café is going under—” (V, interrupted.)

“But we do need to figure out how to get more business, or it will.” (Sun, interrupting.)

“What did Ephraim tell you?” (Paul to Sun.)

“I can work more shifts, but I would need more child care.” (Europa.)

“Then someone at Beacon House has to do the child care, which is like having another shift.” (V, visibly frustrated.)

“I know it's work. I'm doing child care along with laundry, cooking, and cleaning.” (Europa, also frustrated.)

“Work out your freaky commune business at home.” (Felicia, throwing up hands.)

“Why are you even here?” (Europa to Felicia.)

“Europa, please don't.” (V.)

“There aren't going to be
any
shifts if this place goes under.” (Sun again.)

“How bad is it, V?” (Paul, concerned.)

“We do need to make more money.” (V, reluctant.)

“How much do we need?” (Sun.)

V locked eyes with me. I was the person who had seen the books. I actually knew how much we needed. I knew it was my turn to talk.

“I would like to make a suggestion.” (Me, standing up.)

Maybe there was an uncomfortable silence that stretched across the room like a piece of string, or maybe I was just terrified of what I was about to say next. I had been working on it since lunch.

“What if we have the apple pressing here instead of on the Farm? We could sell the cider and pumpkins and baked goods all weekend. What if we use it to attract more customers to the café?”

I could almost see that silence pulled tight across the room. It vibrated for a minute like a guitar string being plucked. Felicia's laughter made it snap.

“Can we dress up like scarecrows and play banjos for tips?” she sniped.

“I like your optimism, Starbird, but there's a reason Family businesses usually fail,” Paul said.

“The last thing we need is more Family hippies here.” Sun shook his head. “You're talking about bringing the whole Farm to the city.”

“People are already afraid to eat here because they think we're a cult,” Cham added.

“Cham, don't you ever use that word again!” said Europa.

“I'm just saying what people think.”

“It's not what I think,” said Europa.

“It's what I do,” said Felicia.

I could feel my cheeks turning red. I was the farm girl again, most of my experience in a chicken coop. But I didn't let myself give up. “A gallon of organic apple cider sells for fourteen dollars at the co-op. But ours would be made fresh that day, so people would pay more, especially when they'd get to help make it. Last year, we made 175 gallons in one weekend. We would also sell cider by the cup, plus vinegar and farm produce, not to mention the additional café business. Even after expenses, I think we could make a lot of money.”

Devin spoke up. “It's true, it is hard to get organic apple cider. Most orchards were treated with arsenic in the pesticides, so it's difficult to get them certified. Our neighbor works at the co-op.”

“We could set up the press in the vacant lot, along with a farm stand,” said Europa. “It would be like a Family reunion.”

“We have to do
something
to make additional money for the café, and it's really not a bad idea.” V took a deep breath. “Lots of people do come here because we're organic.”

The silence string came back, thick as a ship's rope this time.

“We'll take a vote,” V announced. “All those in favor of throwing a cider pressing, raise your hands.”

Four hands went up: V, Devin, Europa, and me. That left four down: Sun, Paul, Felicia, and Cham.

“Stalemate,” said Sun.

My cheeks were still hot as a campfire. “What if I take care of all the work? I'll call the Farm and get Gamma and Iron to agree to it. I'll call Family members in Seattle and Bellingham and get volunteers.”

“I'm not doing any extra work.” Felicia unfolded her arms just so she could fold them again.

“Isn't the pressing already planned for this weekend? They've probably been picking apples and inviting Family members. We can't possibly get this thing together in three days,” said Sun.

“That's the good part,” I said. “They've already made the plans—all we're doing is changing the location. I'll put flyers up. It won't be any extra work for you guys, unless you want to help.”

“I change my vote,” Paul said. “I'm going to help Starbird.”

“I'm helping, too,” said Devin.

V smiled widely at that. “I'll help,” she offered, “if I can.”

“I'm not coming out of the kitchen,” said Sun.

“Yeah, me either,” echoed Cham.

So it was decided. I was throwing the Free Family Café's first ever apple pressing.

 25 

W
hen we finally closed up the café for real, a drizzly rain was falling outside, and the grassy patches along the concrete had turned into sopping sponges. Raindrops hung from every branch and streetlight. We walked past the grassy lot next to the café and then home.

As we got back to Beacon House, I called Gamma Lion on her cell phone, expecting a difficult conversation. I was disappointed in that. She was easy to convince.

“I've been wracking my brain for moneymakers this fall, and was thinking of adding another roadside stand. But you're right, Seattle is a bigger market. Still, this weekend is practically here. I'll have to talk to Iron and make sure the press can be moved easily enough, and maybe get Caelum and Indus to plan the hauling.”

Hearing Indus's name turned my tongue to metal. Indus would come to Seattle. Indus would see me in my new element, maybe think of me as “really Seattle.” Unfortunately, it would probably mean seeing Lyra Hay, too.

“You'll have to help call the Family members.” Gamma was still talking. “A lot of people are already planning on coming to the Farm this weekend. Ephraim has a copy of the Book of Names, so just start at the top. Some people won't like that we're making it a commercial venture instead of a Family gathering, but just remind them it was a commercial venture to start with.”

Gamma and I agreed that the apple pressing would be held on Sunday, giving the Farm until Saturday to collect and wash the apples.

“One more thing,” I said before Gamma hung up. “Tell Iron to bring our ceramic mugs with him.” It was a peace offering. He would know.

V was in the kitchen eating a late-night bowl of granola when I got off the phone. “I'll get you the Book of Names,” she told me, “but I'm not sure it's been updated a lot since EARTH left.”

 
 

The torture began at eight-thirty the next morning. With a hundred things on my plate already, Teacher Ted tried to add a spoonful of American history. How could I care about constitutional amendments when I was busy thinking about the list of things I would need Gamma to bring from the Farm? Luckily, we already had a nice setup for our roadside stand, including a white tent, tables, and hand-painted signs that said
ORGANIC PRODUCE
and
FRE
E FAMILY FARM STAND
.

When I walked into second period, Ben didn't look up or say hello. When we exchanged homework, the sheet he gave me back had my score of six out of ten but was otherwise blank.

The one I gave him back wasn't.

In the margin of Ben's homework (ten right out of ten), I drew a road. That was easy since it only required two straight lines with a dotted one down the center, and I had practiced drawing it the night before. The road continued down the page until it took a sudden right turn and headed horizontally across the bottom edge. At the turn, I drew an arrow and wrote,
BEN(d)
.

He smiled, on the edge of a laugh. I whispered, “Is lunch tutoring available today?”

 
 

In the cafeteria, Cham shot a few confused looks at me as I sat down with Ben, but he didn't approach us. I was opening my leftovers from the night before: pasta with foraged mushrooms and nutritional yeast. Ben had a slice of pizza and a soda. He stared at it like the pizza was talking to him and he was trying to understand the language it spoke. He stole a few awkward looks at me.

“I don't really need help on math,” I said.

“You got six out of ten today.”

“Well, I probably do need help, but really, I need your help with something else.”

“You need the accountant's son,” he said. “Okay.”

“No, I want you to draw something for me. A tree, I'm thinking, with lots of apples.”

Ben looked up.
Puddles.
He fished a notebook out of his backpack, and opened to a fresh sheet of paper. I had done some thinking after I talked to Gamma on the phone. I realized that if I was going to pull off the apple pressing in just a few days, I was going to need all the help I could get. So I decided to ask Ben and Rory. Even though they were Outsiders, they were the closest thing to friends I had. It's true that I was attracted to Ben, and I had practiced flirting with him, but I would make it clear to him that I just wanted to be friends. After all, Indus was coming to Seattle, and Indus was in my stars.

“You're not sitting with that curly haired, brooding guy today.” Rory stood at our table with her tray.

“Oh yeah,” I said, “he's my cousin. Here, sit with us.”

“Who's this?” she said.

“Ben. He's drawing something for me. It's a work thing,” I said.

“Hot.” She sat down and started her ring removal ceremony. “Oh,” she said, pausing on her pointer finger. Then she leaned over to me and whispered in my ear, “I think my period just started. Do you have a tampon?”

“A what?” I said back without whispering.

She looked at me, her eyes ringed in eyeliner like little planets. She leaned in again. “A tampon, like, for your period.” She held up two of her silvered fingers and made a sweeping motion.

“For your moon cycle?” I said, not whispering. Why would you whisper about that?

“Tell the world, please,” Rory said, throwing up her hands.

Ben was sort of frozen with his pizza half raised.

“What's the big deal?” I said.

“I'm just not trying to advertise it,” Rory said.

“Why do girls act so ducking weird about that?” Ben asked. “It doesn't make me uncomfortable or anything.”

“Did you just say ‘ducking'?” said Rory.

“I promised my mom I'd stop cussing,” said Ben.

“Well, I'm glad
you're
not made uncomfortable by my ducking menstruation. That really puts my mind at ease,” said Rory, throwing her napkin at Ben and leaving her tray as she ran to the bathroom.

Ben cleared his throat. “So, tell me more about this drawing.”

When Rory came back, I asked her a bunch of questions about the harvest festivals that her mom was doing. Then I told them both about the apple pressing but was careful not to add too many details about the Family, just saying, “the café” and “the Farm.”

“We can hang the flyers up at school,” Rory said.