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Authors: Jennifer Gooch Hummer
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up.” Pennie noticed for the first time that Laraby had his. “That teen Administrator was gone. How did you get yours back?”
“I wired them with voice command.”
“Huh?”
“ Rule 345632. Fair Ones may add voice command to tool belts for cases of emergency .” He shrugged. “So I ordered the handy tool to unlock the lock from inside the locker.”
There was no time to be impressed. “Can I give the sipLips one of yours?”
“What? No . Do you know how much volunteer work and overtime I’ve had to do to get all these?” Laraby displayed his tools proudly. Pennie had never seen so many devices on a single Fair One. “I even have the frozen yogurt maker.” He pulled out a small metal device in the shape of a cone. “Makes delicious non-fat froyo with a push of a button.”
Pennie checked her stopwatch.
“Extravagant, I know. But I’ve had every standard Fair One tool since my first day on the job. I’d trade them all in for a 3 rd i-All, though. Continuous uninterrupted surround sound while retaining a perfect visual, regardless of the client’s speed. Imagine. No more losing audio contact when my client gets on his skateboard.”
“I hope you get one,” Pennie said quietly. Her lower lip trembled.
“Oh no. No crying. Look, penn 1 —”
“Pennie.”
“Pennie. I’m sorry I can’t help you.”
“It was a rule from the Manual , Laraby. The oath we took? I have to do everything I can to protect my client and that means protecting her from getting erased too.”
Laraby paused. She had a point.
“Fine. Follow me,” he said, activating his propellers and lifting a few feet off the ground.
Pennie, who had none, was forced to jog next to him instead.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
The air was starting to smell putrid. This was a side of Fair City that no one ever saw and now Pennie wished she hadn’t either. The sky used to be a clear gray all over, but lately it was becoming increasingly dark. And here, the sky was nearly black.
Pennie looked at her watch. 47:30:04 . “I’ve. Already. Lost. Half. An. Hour,” she panted. Jogging was not something a Fair One and her tiny feet should do.
A sudden gust of wind blew the dusty soot off the ground and into a frenzy. When the air settled, a Barely There diet bar wrapper swirled in and out of Laraby’s blades. He pointed to a sign ahead.
The Fair City Dump .
“The dump?”
“ Shh !” Laraby scolded her, landing perfectly and retracting his propellers.
When they reached the sign, the dump was full of trash but otherwise empty.
“Is anyone here?”
Laraby took something out of his tool belt: the froyo maker.
“Really? You’re going to make frozen yogurt now ?”
“They’ll come for the froyo.”
“Seriously?”
“sipLips can’t stay away from it.” He placed the froyo maker on the ground. “At least these sipLips can’t.” Laraby pulled out a flashlight. A green beam of light hit the small metal cone. There was a tiny puff followed by a white container.
Laraby picked up the pint and propelled himself over the first pile of garbage. He flipped the lid off and balanced the container on top of the trash.
“It’s better if I’m not here,” he said, propelling back to Pennie.
“Are they dangerous?”
“Let’s just say I have a history with them … but they won’t bother you. And here, if they whine about how that’s not enough, offer them an earpiece, too. I’ve got a few more where those came from.”
Pennie took the earpiece and slipped it inside her robes. “How long do you think I’ll have to wait?”
“They’re on their own time, so who knows. Good luck, Fair One Pennie. If you do get to Earth, remember to breathe. The more oxygen you take in, the faster you’ll acclimate and the less you’ll need to sleep. Which, by the way, is all you’re going to want to do. It’s brutal, that gravity.”
“Thanks, Laraby.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he warned, tipping his head to the
“I wired them with voice command.”
“Huh?”
“ Rule 345632. Fair Ones may add voice command to tool belts for cases of emergency .” He shrugged. “So I ordered the handy tool to unlock the lock from inside the locker.”
There was no time to be impressed. “Can I give the sipLips one of yours?”
“What? No . Do you know how much volunteer work and overtime I’ve had to do to get all these?” Laraby displayed his tools proudly. Pennie had never seen so many devices on a single Fair One. “I even have the frozen yogurt maker.” He pulled out a small metal device in the shape of a cone. “Makes delicious non-fat froyo with a push of a button.”
Pennie checked her stopwatch.
“Extravagant, I know. But I’ve had every standard Fair One tool since my first day on the job. I’d trade them all in for a 3 rd i-All, though. Continuous uninterrupted surround sound while retaining a perfect visual, regardless of the client’s speed. Imagine. No more losing audio contact when my client gets on his skateboard.”
“I hope you get one,” Pennie said quietly. Her lower lip trembled.
“Oh no. No crying. Look, penn 1 —”
“Pennie.”
“Pennie. I’m sorry I can’t help you.”
“It was a rule from the Manual , Laraby. The oath we took? I have to do everything I can to protect my client and that means protecting her from getting erased too.”
Laraby paused. She had a point.
“Fine. Follow me,” he said, activating his propellers and lifting a few feet off the ground.
Pennie, who had none, was forced to jog next to him instead.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
The air was starting to smell putrid. This was a side of Fair City that no one ever saw and now Pennie wished she hadn’t either. The sky used to be a clear gray all over, but lately it was becoming increasingly dark. And here, the sky was nearly black.
Pennie looked at her watch. 47:30:04 . “I’ve. Already. Lost. Half. An. Hour,” she panted. Jogging was not something a Fair One and her tiny feet should do.
A sudden gust of wind blew the dusty soot off the ground and into a frenzy. When the air settled, a Barely There diet bar wrapper swirled in and out of Laraby’s blades. He pointed to a sign ahead.
The Fair City Dump .
“The dump?”
“ Shh !” Laraby scolded her, landing perfectly and retracting his propellers.
When they reached the sign, the dump was full of trash but otherwise empty.
“Is anyone here?”
Laraby took something out of his tool belt: the froyo maker.
“Really? You’re going to make frozen yogurt now ?”
“They’ll come for the froyo.”
“Seriously?”
“sipLips can’t stay away from it.” He placed the froyo maker on the ground. “At least these sipLips can’t.” Laraby pulled out a flashlight. A green beam of light hit the small metal cone. There was a tiny puff followed by a white container.
Laraby picked up the pint and propelled himself over the first pile of garbage. He flipped the lid off and balanced the container on top of the trash.
“It’s better if I’m not here,” he said, propelling back to Pennie.
“Are they dangerous?”
“Let’s just say I have a history with them … but they won’t bother you. And here, if they whine about how that’s not enough, offer them an earpiece, too. I’ve got a few more where those came from.”
Pennie took the earpiece and slipped it inside her robes. “How long do you think I’ll have to wait?”
“They’re on their own time, so who knows. Good luck, Fair One Pennie. If you do get to Earth, remember to breathe. The more oxygen you take in, the faster you’ll acclimate and the less you’ll need to sleep. Which, by the way, is all you’re going to want to do. It’s brutal, that gravity.”
“Thanks, Laraby.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he warned, tipping his head to the
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