Brightly Burning(25)

Miss you,

George


Even though George hadn’t asked me how I was doing, I was itching to share my latest news, so I dove into a reply before breakfast.


Dear George,

That film does sound interesting, and I’m glad I don’t have to care for seven children. It’s been a relief just being Jessa’s teacher, as opposed to full-time caretaker. I know I mentioned to you that I thought it was really odd that her dad, the captain, stayed away for such long periods of time, and I couldn’t imagine why. Well, get this—?he’s not her dad; he’s her brother! And he’s not much older than we are. I think that rules out your Mari mistress theory. I still haven’t met her, by the way.

He’s . . . interesting. I was expecting someone kind of terrible, to be honest, given what some of the crew had said. He spends months away from his ship, leaving his baby sister in the care of his employees. Plus, the luxuries on board are mind-blowing—?as soon as he arrived, meat was back on the menu. I had chicken for the first time in six years, and it was incredible. I guess I thought he’d be like my aunt Reed—?spoiled, selfish, and cold. But he was kind of nice to me. He’s lending me a book. Like, a real one. This place is weird.

It’s also pretty creepy. I’ve been hearing things, and yesterday I had to fix a ship problem that I could swear was the result of deliberate tampering. I didn’t say anything, though, because they’ll probably think I’m paranoid and send me home if I do. Let’s just hope nothing else breaks and this was just a fluke.

Miss you too,

Stella


At breakfast, I found real bacon.

“This is the best thing I have ever tasted in my life,” I said, cramming two more slices into my mouth before anyone else could arrive to judge me. There was no risk with Lieutenant Poole, who had consumed no fewer than six slices in the last five minutes herself.

“Hmm,” she hummed while chewing. “Captain’s home, so the menu’s changed. Always better when he’s here.”

“You don’t usually eat here for breakfast,” I said. “It’s nice to have a chance to talk to you.”

Lieutenant Poole shrugged. “Considering the finer spread, I thought it would be opportune to dine in. I hear you repaired the airlock yesterday all on your own. Good job.”

“Thanks,” I said, going a bit warm at her praise. She offered it more readily than Jatinder ever did. But it seemed she wasn’t done.

“It’s lucky you are a quick study. Imagine if the captain had returned and the oxygen malfunction hadn’t been fixed. Or if someone turned off the warning alarm.”

She knew. I didn’t know how, but she did. Lieutenant Poole didn’t seem upset; on the contrary, this seemed more like a test. But the captain had told me to keep things between us, so I did.

“I had good teachers aboard the Stalwart,” I volleyed back. “And Rori helped supplement with ship manuals and troubleshooting guides.”

Poole smiled, the first time I’d seen her do more than grimace. “Well, I am happy to have you on board. Have a good day.”

She sidled off, a to-go plate of bacon in hand. I got the message loud and clear: I had kept the secret. Good job. Like ships passing in the night, a moment later Xiao appeared, though I noted she took no bacon. Come to think of it, she hadn’t had any chicken last night either. “No bacon for you?” I asked.

“No, I prefer to remain vegetarian,” Xiao said. “The conditions aboard the meat ship EntenGEN are questionable at best, and I’d rather not spend my evening chained to the lavatory.” She took a seat next to me. “Besides, soon enough the captain will be gone again and meals will be back to normal. And how did your chat go last night?”

“Well, I think.” I chose not to mention that I’d accused the captain of being a teenage father, after he’d insulted me. Twice. “We talked about books, mostly.”

“Oh, that’s good. Nice, safe topic. Listen, Stella,” she said, sounding just a touch nervous, contrite. “I should have briefed you about the captain before he arrived, but yesterday everything came so fast, and I neglected to do so, and for that, I apologize.”

“There’s no need to apologize, Officer Xiao,” I reassured her. “Everything went fine.”

“Yes, that was fortuitous. You must have caught him in a good mood. But the captain has bad days too, and there are topics you should never broach. Such as his parents.”

Was this a good time to tell her I had already done that very thing? Hugo hadn’t seemed that upset, though, so I kept quiet. It’s not like any of us liked talking about our dead parents, but maybe it was different because I’d asked him orphan-to-orphan.

“Just remain professional, and circumspect,” Xiao continued, not missing a beat. “When in doubt, tell him how Jessa is doing. Because if there’s one constant about the captain, it’s that he loves his sister dearly.” She paused, checking her tab for the time. “Where is that girl? She’s never late for breakfast.” Xiao tried her comms, first attempting to hail Jessa, then asking Orion to run down to her quarters and look for her. The persistent frown on Xiao’s face told me Orion hadn’t been successful.

“Do you want me to go find her?” I found myself volunteering.