Escape to New Atlantis

4 New Kid in Town

Catalina

"Just because you and Cat love babysitting, it doesn't mean I do! Helpless little newbies suck the soul right out of my body!" Our mother patiently waits while my older sister, Delia, finishes her rant.

Just about everyone on New Atlantis knows Mother. She's Millie Ortiz, the person responsible for recruiting every new worker the city requires. People become acquainted with her online, and once they get here, she's the smiling face of New Atlantis helping them settle in. When the new arrivals have teenagers, Mother turns them over to us, so every kid on New Atlantis knows Delia and me.

That's how I met Saanvi. Last year, her father was hired as the new police chief and Saanvi was assigned to me. Her older brother, Rohan, to Delia. Saanvi and I clicked at once, and now I have the sweetest, craziest best friend ever. As for Delia and Rohan—let's just say if one fell off the city into the ocean, the other might be conflicted about tossing out a life preserver.

Mother's smooth, and she's wise to the ways of my sister. "I'm only asking that you be hospitable to one of my oldest and dearest friends; moreover, to her son. You two used to play with Sawyer when you were little, before we moved to New Atlantis. And don't worry about your soul being sucked out, Delia—since they're in the same grade, Catalina will be Sawyer's primary contact. So, can I count on you to be pleasant just long enough to greet them?"

Delia's drama is pretty much exhausted. "Sure, I'll be nice, even though I have absolutely no memory of the guy."

I doubt she's being honest because I remember him well. He was always a lot of fun, and he had the biggest head of hair I'd ever seen. He always carried around a stuffed toy—a scrawny cat without a tail—and I can nearly remember its name. Oh yeah, Twinkles. Who could forget Sawyer with big hair and Twinkles with no tail?

"Oh, and girls, don't be shocked when you see their apartment. It's a long story, but I'm having to put them into one of those old units being moved to make room for the golf course expansion."

"The haunted ghetto?" I say, using the common nickname for the area. "What did your friend do to deserve the ghetto?"

"Trust me, the choices were there or back to the states. So please, avoid any terms like 'haunted' or 'ghetto.'"

The three of us get ready to greet the Landrys. I wear a peach top with matching outrigger and sneakers. Delia goes with lavender and looks way better than I do, but that's nothing new. Mother is wearing what she calls her uniform: a light blue linen suit with deck shoes. She says Daddy may catch up with us later, but it's unlikely: he's in IT, with a schedule that drifts with the whims of systems.

We take an autonomous electric rideshare—what Daddy calls a glorified golf cart—to the heliport. Yes, you can walk anywhere on New Atlantis in less than half an hour, but the rideshare has an air conditioner. If we walked in this humidity, we'd arrive as lumps of soggy peach, dripping lavender, and sloppy baby blue. Besides, rideshares cost nearly nothing.

A tiltrotor lands precisely on schedule. It takes a minute for the propellers to spin down, then the hatch opens and out steps a dignified woman and a teenage boy. A beautiful boy, and that's an understatement. As Mother runs to hug Olivia, I whisper to Delia, "I'll bet you're glad you won't have to babysit him."

"Oh, shut up." And we go to greet the newest Atlanteans.

First impressions are important, and the Landrys make great impressions. My take: these two people are natural fits for this place.

They have little luggage, but then the rideshare has little room. Delia is being uncharacteristically gracious when she says, "Since I won't be staying with you for dinner, and the library is only a short walk away, it's best I leave you now." She gives a brief hug to everyone, even me, and walks away. Sawyer's eyes seem to follow her a bit too long, but I'm sure that's just my imagination.