DETERRENT - Apply Fic

26

Harvey looks at the clock that will chime soon. It is five minutes until dinner shall be served. The work is almost over, but Harvey is unsatiated. He has begun to count down the days.

Benji comes down the stairs and blows the whistle. It is heard in the trellises, where other workers begin to whistle, and the noise is carried through the busy fields all of the way to the back of the vegetable patch. Titus throws down his shovel, and a dust of dirt sprays into the air.

Harvest season began that week, and they are more tired than usual. As such, it takes Titus far too long to walk back to the farm. Everyone else is sitting at the table when he begins to wash his hands. People begin to serve themselves with his arrival, and soon enough everyone is sitting and digging into the ribs on the table. They are sticky and sweet, tender as their muscles.

"Alright, so one week left," Benji says from the head of the table. "Here's the deal. Friday next week is your last day. So, just seven days left. They'll come and pick y'all up Saturday morning. Now, I understand y'all won't be free to go. They have some post-interviews and testing to do, but I don't know much about that."

One week. Seven days. Cosmia absentmindedly taps her leg seven times.

After this, they are free. Well, free enough. The terms of the NMCPP were clear. Quarterly follow-ups for the first year and then yearly check ins for the following four. A total of five years of supervision.

"What if we want to stay?" Gale asks.

Eurydice goes to kick him under the table and Norbu kicks her chair before she gets the chance. Titus leans in closer to listen.

"I've asked, and they said no," Benji says. "But, as far as I understand, they can't stop you from immigrating. You can pay for passage back here on boats. That's mostly how we send y'all food. There are some planes too, but that's right expensive, and they are meant for cargo, not passengers."

Gale wilts into his chair. His factory job, if he's even allowed to return to it, doesn't pay enough for him to live independently. He might even be required to move back in with his father. Gale can feel himself melting, even though this week the air is beginning to cool.

"We'll figure it out," Norbu laughs, gripping the back of Gale's seat. "Won't keep you away from George forever."

Gale feels his face redden.

"Well, I've invited him over for the bonfire tonight," Benji says. "A few other folks too, but people are too busy around this harvest time to come on down. So, you'll have your chance to thank him for his hospitality tonight."

Dinner in one hand, Benji rises from the table. He carries his plate out of the room. The others hear the creak of the stairs.

They chat about their day. Gale nearly decked a farmworker who was whistling to piss him off. Harvey tripped the bloke with his cane. Norbu's been running around flirting with some of the newer women, but they still fawn at Faris' feet. Soon enough, they are finishing dinner.

~~~

Rhiannon Rose sets up the bonfire. She usually appreciates the silence, but today Norbu is out there with her, listening to the radio.

"What's going on with you and Shark Tooth?" he asks, sitting upside-down in one of the lounge chairs. "I see the way you too look at each other."