Maysie's Galaxy ONC 2023

Adult World

Schematics was the easy part. Drawing them out was another. There were several different computer programs that Cleo had to teach her how to use to get the parts they needed to be built--and computers themselves were strange things. The vault room next door had several 3D printers and laser cutters: and each machine had its program that sometimes had to be customized as the machines didn't recognize each others' saved files. Pretty pivotal, for getting basic parts made, but some of the blueprints she was making of parts she needed required bigger manufacturing facilities. Those parts would take time.

While waiting, she spent her time studying everything she needed to catch up on in society and even started taking classes at the tiny, almost defunct college in Longyearbyen--met a few people her age, including a couple of very hot blondes that didn't even notice her existence. It was exhaustive, and now that she had people to observe, slightly boring. Having been Alder's whole world left these people with their own lives just not appearing to be into her at all. Maysie never knew that beyond survival and a lack of society, she would crave interactions so fiercely.

She was introduced to concepts like introvert and extrovert, and couldn't place herself, not even after taking tests. She missed the solitude of hard work without interference, but people were lively and sometimes entertaining.

It was strange to go to the only bar in Longyearbyen, but then, the town was only a 5-minute drive from the vaults. She went with either Cleo or Ethan at first, but some of the younger guards escorted her over time. It was a quiet place to drink in public and therefore didn't jangle her nerves the way her guards could when they moved around quickly. It got bad enough that she didn't go out anywhere with a few of them.

Frankly, Maysie was surprised that Cleo found her valuable enough to have her as protected as herself. The only thing that needed protecting was her nose from the smell of feet. (The old traditions of not bringing in coal dust in frigid homes, to keep from having to sweep and let the arctic air in still gripped this locality, but was strange when the entirety of the turtle was hot enough to make feet sweaty-stinky after a long day of mining.)

Ben was getting restless after her 4th martini--sweet drinks weren't something Maysie could get used to. Having grown up with very little sugar made sweets extremely difficult to take, although one of her earliest memories was about M&Ms.

It was when she thought about ordering her 5th that he finally said something. "May, all you do is drink, here."

"Well, yeah...what else am I going to do in Longyearbyen?"

"Next day off, I'm taking the train to Jatkasaari and meeting my sister at what used to be Hotel Clarion. It's changed hands a few times since the fall, but it still runs the Skyroom Bar."

Maysie gave a noncommittal shrug and ordered her 5th. Ben's suggestion had merit, but Ethan would probably blow a gasket over her deciding to go without him looking into it all.

The next day Maysie had a rough hangover, which Cleo gave her a tablet for. "Asprin and electrolyte blend. You ready for classes?"

"Ugh, no. Can't I just skip today?"

"Look, Mrs. Pulska is old, very old. She pretends the fall hasn't happened and she's a really good general professor. It's best to go--she'll have more respect for you. Besides, can't have all them hot young studs missing you?"

Maysie snorted. "I'm not falling for that one again. Besides, the guys there only talk to me for maybe 10 minutes straight--they aren't interested."

"Maysie...girl...10 minutes is a long time for a guy to not be interested. You're comparing people to your father again, aren't you? You do know you were his only outlet, right? If he had saved other kids, you wouldn't have had such long conversations, even with him."

"Yeah, and you traumatized me with Blue Lagoon and telling me what Sweet Home Alabama meant. I don't need siblings."

"Well, you're the one who said you wouldn't leave if you had somebody up there...playing Adam and Eve."

"My virgin ears!"

"Your virgin everything. Get going!"

Maysie promptly forgot Cleo's teasing as she ran into Ethan, quite literally. His long, dark fingers braced her shoulder to steady her, and took a step back. As usual, he had gum in his mouth because Cleo would fuss when he chewed up cigars in her lab. "You alright, May?"

"Ah..ha." Maysie could tell her face was hot--she didn't touch people often and she hadn't had a real hug since Alder passed--not many before then. Honestly, the last man who held her was the Yourban Maniac, out of necessity last year.

She knew Cleo was sleeping with him--that was the entire reason Ethan accompanied Maysie out this way. Cleo ordered Édouard to send this particular man to care for her needs if her "husband" insisted on sending her another "betrothed". All this bullshit on the paperwork that didn't mean what it entitled made Maysie's head spin something fierce.

He squeezed her shoulder to pull her out of her thoughts.

"Ah, yeah. Cleo is just teasing me about getting laid again."

Ethan's lips thinned--not a small feat--but he kept his thoughts to himself. Many times she caught them arguing over the nature of relationships when trying to explain their colleague's behaviors. He didn't like Cleo pushing Maysie into chasing after men and had said so on several occasions. The thing is, it wasn't Cleo doing all the pushing. "Ben asked me if I'd like to go to the Skyroom Bar in Jatkasaari."

"That idiot. It's not a sanctioned place, I have to bring half the guards with me and put him back on duty." Ethan took his hand from her shoulder as he rolled his eyes at his subordinate. "Tell you what, I'll let him go and we can meet with him out there the day after and he can be right back on duty. Sounds good to you Masie?"

Maysie nodded and left for college as unable to read his intentions as she ever did.