All by Herself
Jellia knocked nervously on her ska-drek-a’s door.
“Come in!” Ska-drek called.
She went in and the two of them were in bed, reading. “Yes, Daughter?” Ska-drek asked.
“Oh, I’m so scatterbrained, I forgot to ask you at dinner, Ska-drek. I need to go into school early, tomorrow, for a med exam. Can you skim me?”
“No, not tomorrow, not early. You can just call your own skimmer. Schedule it tonight, and make sure you schedule it a bit early. Occasionally there is traffic or some-such and there is a delay. You do not wish to be late.”
She stared at him, as did Mother, but he went back to his wristcomp and so she backed out of the room. Her? All by herself?
She knew… she knew half the kids in her school came in their own called-skimmer. Most of them together with someone else along the way to cut the cost. But somehow she had not thought that she was old enough… somehow she hadn’t managed to wrap her mind around this.
She scheduled the skimmer for plenty early, and set her own alarm for even earlier.
She got up the next morning and raced downstairs, laying out breakfast, then raced back upstairs and freshened. Then she raced back downstairs and crammed her breakfast in, finishing just as her parents came downstairs. “Gotta go,” she said, and raced back upstairs to dress.
She went outside and waited, nervously. She was too early but, she was so nervous, taking her own skimmer!
It finally arrived and she got in. She had hardly started when her pad dinged with a request to share ride, but she was too nervous for that, and, besides, it was some lo-ska. Five minutes later it dinged again but, this time, it was a kesh from her class, a kesh from a lower class, so she accepted.
The skimmer pulled up to the house and the kesh came racing down her lawn… not at all as nice a lawn as Mother had and jumped into the skimmer. “Oh, good, I was hoping to share,” she said. “Skimmers are so expensive. I usually walk but I have med exam this morning.”
“So do I,” Jellia said.
The kesh pulled out her wristcomp and started frantically working, so Jellia supposed she had some school work to do. Jellia pulled out her own work and they were soon at the school.
They walked together to the med room and the tech, when they came in, said, “Clothes off, both of you, I’m in a hurry. Cynthia, you first on the machine.”
Jellia stood around awkwardly as Cynthia had her picture taken… or whatever that bright machine did. Then she had her own picture taken and had to stand around, very awkwardly, as the tech asked Cynthia some very embarrassing questions and then gave her an even more embarrassing lecture.
Then it was her turn and Cynthia frantically dressed, picked up her wristcomp and started working even before she was out of the door.
“Well, I think we can classify you this deca,” the tech said, after a few questions. “I’m going to call you sixty decas; subject to change over the next few exams, but I don’t think too much.”
“I’m sorry, I’m exo,” she said, holding up her wrist. When does that mean my en-e-drek-a is? I mean, when do I become one?”
“Twelve decas,” the tech said, “Plenty of time. I’ve copied your parents on my report, tell them to call me if they have any questions.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Jellia said, and walked out, her heart pounding. Twelve decas didn’t see that long to her!
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Von