“Oh, uh…”
Belatedly she fumbled with the paper menu—another sign this place was more casual than the Luxx—and looked down at the listed dishes. Just like the night before, a daunting list of foreign-sounding words met her eyes—none of which meant anything to Imani.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I’m not from here so I don’t really know what any of this is. Maybe I should just get some fruit.”
“You can do better than that,” J’are objected. “Unless you really just want fruit?” he added, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, I mean, I’d like to try something else but everything I ordered from room service last night was just awful.” Imani shivered when she remembered the decapitated, roasted pigacorn head and the screaming, bleeding cheese.
“Let me try ordering for you,” J’are suggested. “I bet we can find something you enjoy. And we can get some fruit for a backup, just in case you don’t like what I pick.”
“Okay.” Imani smiled and passed the menu to him. “Go for it.”
“All right. We’ll have the terkle cutlet, a bundum salad and some w’resh bread to share. Oh, and a bowl of fresh fruit,” J’are told the server. “With sparkling fresha to drink.”
“Very good.” The server noted everything down. “Everything will be up in a minute.”
“Thanks.” J’are nodded at him as he sauntered off. “This is one of the few places in the city where free males can work,” he told Imani. “I think it was another reason Mother Hownow liked to bring me here—she wanted to show me that not all males are bodyslaves.”
“I can’t wait to see what you ordered us,” Imani told him. “I don’t know how much you remember about last night, but it seemed like every single thing I’d ordered from the room service menu was terrible.”
“If you ordered from the Luxx’s menu, you were probably being served premium fare—that’s much fancier than everyday food,” J’are told her. “I have a vague memory of you getting upset—what did you order?”
“Well, let’s see…” Imani counted things off on her fingers. “One thing I got turned out to be a bowl of bugs. And then there was the decapitated, roasted head. And the screaming, bleeding cheese…” She shivered. “Ugh—all of it was just disgusting.”
“Mother Hownow never liked fancy food either,” J’are told her comfortingly. “I promise what I ordered is very plain. Oh, and none of it is still alive.”
“Thank you,” Imani said gratefully. She really was beginning to get hungry by now. It had been a long time since dinner the night before—which had only consisted of two pieces of fruit, at least for her.
Luckily, it didn’t take long for the server to bring the items J’are had ordered. They were served on bright green plates, that matched the tables and chairs, which made the food itself really stand out.
The cutlet was a deep red with grill marks. It tasted a little bit like a spicy hamburger steak, which was nice—Imani didn’t like things too bland. There was also a kind of bread that reminded her of the zucchini bread her grandmother used to make from the fresh zucchini she grew in her own garden. It was studded with crunchy turquoise nuts and had a sweet, moist texture that melted in her mouth the moment she took a bite. The salad looked a little bit like purple kale but had the flavor of broccoli and cheese, which Imani loved. And the sparkling drink was pale blue and tasted delicious.
“This is wonderful!” she exclaimed, after she’d tried all of it. “So much better than all that weird stuff they served at the Luxx. I’m beginning to be glad we were kicked out!”
Speaking of which, she really needed to send a report about everything that was happening to Commander Sylvan. He would be expecting to hear from her, Imani knew.
Pulling her tablet out of her carryall cube, she typed him a quick message detailing their second court appearance and sent it off. She didn’t put in anything about the two assassination attempts because she felt that now that she and J’are were in a public place, they were safe.
She didn’t want Commander Sylvan to worry and think he had to send in some kind of extraction squad, which she knew would complicate the Kindred’s political relations with Yonnie Six. So she only said there had been some “complications” and that she hoped she would be finished and ready to leave Yonnie Six very soon.
“How long do we have until our court time?” J’are asked, as she finished sending the message and put away her tablet.
“Um…” Imani looked at her watch. “Plenty of time still—four and a half hours before we have to be there.” She looked around the restaurant. “I don’t really want to sit here for that long but I think it’s better to stay in a public place so I guess we’re stuck.”
“But we’re not stuck in the restaurant,” J’are objected. “Why don’t we go swimming?”
“Swimming?” Imani asked. “In the, uh, the anti-grav pool thing you were talking about?”
“Of course. Haven’t you ever been in an anti-grav pool before?” J’are asked, raising an eyebrow.
Imani shook her head.
“Nope. All our pools on Earth most definitely have gravity—that’s what keeps the water in the pool. Why—is it hard to swim in a pool with no gravity?”
“It’s fun.” J’are’s eyes glowed with excitement. “I haven’t been since I was a young one. Do you want to try it?”
“Well sure—why not?” Imani smiled. It had been a long time since she’d been swimming herself. “Oh, but I don’t have a bathing suit,” she added, frowning. “And neither do you.”
“That’s all right—we can buy them in the changing room. They have a bot that specializes in fittings.”
Imani wasn’t sure about that, but the swimming did sound fun.
“All right,” she said. “Let’s try it.”
“Okay then—come on.” J’are grinned. “I think you’re really going to like it.”
Twenty-Four
