Light From Uncommon Stars(37)

“I see. So she lives in the computer and projects herself into the donut shop?”

“Wait? How did you know?” As far as Lan knew, creating a Shirley was far beyond the technical capabilities of this planet.

“Like in Star Trek, right?”

Before Lan could react, Shizuka whispered, “Should we be talking about all this alien stuff out loud?”

Lan pointed to her phone. A small blue light was glowing. “I’m scrambling our voices. Whatever we’re saying now sounds to everyone like Korean. My scans show that no one here speaks Korean, so we’ll be fine.”

The server came with their menus. She was older, definitely related to the owner, perhaps her grandma.

“Ann-ye-ong ha-se-yo,” she pronounced haltingly.

Lan and the server chatted for a while before she went back to the kitchen.

“What do you want?” Lan asked.

Shizuka looked at the menu. “Oh! They have Hainan chicken!”

“Hainan chicken? Okay.”

Lan began to order. However, Lan and the server apparently knew each other, for they started chatting like old friends. Occasionally one or the other would glance at Shizuka and laugh.

Eventually, the server took the menus and walked back to the kitchen.

“What was that about?” Shizuka muttered. “Was she laughing at me?”

“Only a little. Mostly she wanted to know how my aunt was doing. By the way, I also ordered some kidney and fried Chinese donut.”

“So, Lan, how are you speaking with them? Alien technology?”

“This gets your attention, and you never questioned why I speak English?”

Oh.

“However, perhaps we can install some Cantonese into that human brain of yours.”

“Don’t even go there. Remember? Star Trek?”

“Amateurs.”

“So says a starship captain who can’t handle changing lanes on Valley Boulevard?”

“No one drives a Prius in space,” whispered Lan.

The server returned quickly with their food. Shizuka looked at the steaming bowl of soup in front of her.

“Ma’am—” This wasn’t what she’d ordered.

But the server smiled and pointed at Lan.

“Lan, I said that wanted Hainan chicken.”

“I know,” Lan explained. “But do you see anyone eating Hainan chicken?”

Shizuka looked about the restaurant. Lan was right. Everyone was eating soup noodles. She should have noticed that. And since everyone was eating soup noodles, this place was probably using its best chicken to make stock.

So that was why the server had been laughing. Shizuka was slightly annoyed that Lan had simply changed her order. Sometimes, this whole starship captain thing could be overbearing. But the soup did smell amazing.

Shizuka took a sip and let out an involuntary sigh. Perfect mouthfeel. The noodles were chewy and slippery; the steaming broth was rich with green onion, fish cake, shredded chicken, and enough MSG to flog the taste buds into submissive bliss.

“So how have you been?”

Shizuka stared down at a tangle of noodles.

“Katrina?”

Shizuka nodded.

“What’s going on?”

Shizuka knew that Lan had neither the understanding, nor the context to follow what she was about to say. After all, she was literally a being from another world. But somehow, the words and feelings tumbled from Shizuka anyway.

“I don’t know what to do. She keeps time, but then she doesn’t. Her intonation is fine, and then it isn’t. And she still hasn’t decided how she wishes to hold her bow. She has the sound. But there’s no foundation.

“She lacks a proper repertoire. Other than Schradieck and some other pieces that she picked up at a used bookstore, she knows only gaming music and anime soundtracks. She says she learned over YouTube. YouTube?”

Suddenly, Shizuka stopped and pointed.

“Lan, your phone isn’t glowing.”

“Oh? Well, the scrambler drains power, so I shut it down after it was needed.”

“After it was needed?”

Quickly, Shizuka glanced at the other customers. A table of well-dressed high school kids conspicuously turned away to look down at their noodles. And a couple of them had instrument cases.

Crap. She hadn’t seen them enter. And now they had heard her discuss Katrina. Of course, Shizuka had no intention of keeping her student a secret, but she preferred to control how information got out, and when. Any student of hers would be an instant target, and Katrina, especially, was not ready for that type of scrutiny.

Lan fumbled with the phone, and the blue light returned.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had stopped scrambling us?” Shizuka hissed.

“I’m sorry,” Lan said hastily.

“I suppose that this must seem like rambling to you,” Shizuka said lightly.

To be honest, this talk did sound trivial. Lan was fleeing a Galactic Empire falling to the Endplague—and Shizuka was worrying about sounds made with a wooden box? Still, she had such a beautiful voice …

“Yes, but it’s okay?” Lan ventured.

“Well then,” Shizuka said curtly. “I won’t waste any more of your time.”

Shizuka grabbed her purse and coat.

“Shizuka, wait!”