Starbird Murphy and the World Outside (20 page)

Ted handed a stack of index cards to Alex, who took one and passed the rest. Rory, Jake, and Danny started writing immediately. Kevin and Alex sat staring into space until Teacher Ted said, “Any question will do.” The popcorn was passed.

I had no shortage of questions. If I could really ask anything, like Ted said, I would ask,
Did I do the wrong thing by coming to Seattle? How will Indus act when I get back to the Farm? When is EARTH coming home?
If it could be anything, I would ask,
Where is Doug Fir?
None of my real questions seemed appropriate. I scratched something down and handed Ted my card.

“‘How many witches were burned in Salem?'” Ted read from the first card. “I'm guessing that's from Rory, our expert on the occult.” Rory was chewing her pinkie nail. She took it out of her mouth and waved at Ted. “Great for research. Let's avoid some sensationalism and say, ‘How many people were
accused
of witchcraft in Salem and burned?' The answer might be surprising.”

Rory nodded and wrote something in her notebook.

“Next question: ‘What is trench foot?'” Ted read. “That's got to be one of my war guys, Danny or Jake. I'm guessing Danny. Soldiers in most wars of record have suffered from trench foot. Great topic.”

“How was LSD invented?” Teacher Ted raised an eyebrow at the next card. “I'm guessing that was Kevin. An interesting answer, I'm sure.”

“Who killed JFK? Well, Jake, this might take a year of research instead of a day, but let us know what you find. Alex, I'll work with you on your question later because this one isn't school appropriate, so last question from Starbird. . . . What is homesteading?” Ted looked up and studied me. “Great question.

“Grab a computer. You have fifteen minutes to research and report back. Write down the facts so you don't forget them. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it also made her life more interesting.”

Everyone headed toward the bank of computers located at the back of the room, so I followed, with no idea what to do with one once I got there. I had used the Internet for the first time two days before. Luckily, Ted said, “Mind if I join your research team today?”

By the end of history club, I had done a Web search, visited four sites, and learned that homesteading was a program of the U.S. federal government that gave away land in the western states to white settlers regardless of what tribes were living there. Individuals could claim, or “prove up,” a certain number of acres as long as they lived on the property and had a working farm or cattle ranch.
Ownership is an interesting concept
.

Rory learned that no suspected witches were burned at the stake during the witch hunts in Salem. Instead, most of them were hanged.

 18 

W
hen I finally got home from school, I was starving and didn't hear anyone in the house.
Ephraim's probably asleep in the attic
, I thought,
and Cham is probably finishing his run
. Europa had the café shift, so Eris and Kale had to be with someone. I looked through the first floor and then climbed the stairs to the second. V's door stood open, and I could hear Kale's little voice babbling happily away inside. I looked through the doorway to see Eris sleeping on a mat on the floor, Kale sitting in front of a pile of perilously stacked blocks, and V on the bed collapsed onto Io's lap with tears streaming down her face.

“What's wrong?”

V gasped and sat up. “Hey.” She said, wiping the tears on her palms.

“We didn't hear you come in,” said Io.

“How was history club?” V stood up and sifted through a drawer until she found a cloth handkerchief.

“Why are you crying?” I asked. Kale ran over to me, so I picked her up.

“I have this issue with worrying. I get started and I can't stop, but I'll be fine. How are you?” V sat back down on her bed, and Io put an arm over her shoulder. As V wiped the handkerchief across her eyes, her eyeliner came with it, smearing black marks along her cheeks.

I put Kale back down in front of her blocks and started playing with them, too, helping her build the tower a little higher. “What are you worried about?”

“Nothing that you need to be upset about,” said V, sniffing.

“I disagree,” said Io. “She's part of the Family, too. Why do you act like you have to take all this onto yourself?”

“She wants to go back to the Farm, and she's only sixteen,” V said back. “She should just be a kid.”

“I'm not a kid,” I said.

“Well, you should be,” said V.

“I'm not even sure we're talking about Starbird anymore,” said Io.

“Ugh.” V dropped her hands into her lap and fell back onto the bed. “Okay, my mother's dead and my father's crazy. Can we psychoanalyze me some other time, please?”

“I'm not trying to be mean.” Io grabbed one of V's hands. “You know that.”

They exchanged a few whispered words too quiet for me to hear, and then V sat up again. Kale kept handing me a block and then taking it away from me.

“The restaurant is failing,” Io said.

“Don't be dramatic.” V sniffed and rubbed her temples. “We just have bill trouble. I opened the café mail for Ephraim today, because he refuses to rest and I thought I could stop him from coming into work if I took care of it, and most of the bills were final notices. We barely have enough money to cover payroll. I had a feeling things were bad, but Ephraim was hiding it.” V flopped down on her bed again and threw up her hands. “Gamma's no help. I called her and she said that it isn't my job to open mail.”

Just then, Kale's tower collapsed, sending blocks across the floor and waking up Eris, who immediately started crying.

“Damn it,” said V, standing up and getting the baby to bounce him on her hip.

“But the café's so busy,” I said, collecting Kale's blocks, “especially weekends.”

“I know. I have no idea what's happening with the books. Ephraim is the only person who touches them.” V walked over to the window and kept bouncing Eris. “I'm going to go see if he needs his diaper changed. Please forget I said anything. It will just get me in deeper shit with Ephraim.”

When V left the room, Io scooted off the bed to sit with Kale and me. “She's only twenty-seven.” Io shook her head. “She shouldn't have all of this on her.” Io placed another block on Kale's fledgling tower. “Anyway, happier topics. How's school? Any boys?” Io lay down on her side, resting her head on one palm.

I wanted to tell Io that school was noisy, crowded, confusing, cruel, and hard. But I felt selfish saying that with everything V was going through. “There's a guy who draws pictures on my paper in math class,” I said instead.

“Ooh, an artist.” Io sighed. “I have a weakness for artists. You should flirt with him.”

“Flirt with him?” I wasn't sure I knew the definition of the phrase. I also wasn't sure I had the stomach to flirt with anyone. I looked down at the block in my hand and didn't build with it.

“Still thinking about Farm guy?”

I nodded. “I might go back. I think I'm going to . . . go back.”

Io sat up. “You just got here.”

“Maybe I belong there. I'm really a farm girl.” I heard Fern Moon's words in my mouth.

“How can you know who you are yet?” Io grabbed my arm a bit too forcefully. Kale stared at us. “It's always hard starting something new.”

“I'm just thinking.” I tried to pull my arm free.

Io looked down at her hand and let go. “Sorry. I just got super intense on you.” She lay back down on her side and added another block to the tower.

“Maybe you can figure out a way to see Farm guy without going back to the Farm. Maybe if he saw you in this environment, with your new hair and clothes . . . We need to create a reason for him to come here.”

I remembered the way Indus had described V as “really Seattle.” Maybe I was “Seattle” now, more worldly like Lyra Hay.

“But in the meantime, you should still flirt with the boy who draws you pictures. You've got to practice, right?”

Io, Kale, and I built the block tower three more times, knowing each time we built it that it was going to fall.

 
 

Cham got home from his delivery around six. V's mood had lightened, and V, Io, and I were in all in the kitchen with the kids making burritos for dinner. Ephraim was still in bed and had been sleeping all day, so Io was making him soup, while Kale stood on a chair helping Venus scrub vegetables. I chopped onion and garlic.

“Iron said to tell you that the holes are patched in the ceiling of the coop,” Cham announced as soon as he walked in from the foyer.

I clutched the knife like a weapon. “What?”

“And Fern Moon says that she wants you to come home for the apple pressing next weekend, and that little chicken coop girl said she wants to come visit you in Seattle.” Cham opened the door to the refrigerator.

Suddenly, I missed the Farm enough to cry. “Did anyone else say anything?”

“A bunch of people said to say hi.”

“Who specifically?”

“I don't know, like . . . everyone.” Cham waved an arm that wasn't holding a carton of orange juice.

“Could you try to remember names of your own Family members, Cham?” Io snapped.

“Why do I have to do everything?” Cham half yelled, causing V to throw the vegetable brush she was holding hard into the sink.

“Yeah, you really have to do
everything
around here, don't you Cham? I'm so sorry you're the one who has to work so hard!” she yelled back.

And then everyone seemed to be talking at once. Cham was yelling at V and Io was trying to get Cham and V to stop yelling at each other by yelling herself, and then Kale fell off the stool she was standing on and started howling until V picked her up and took her upstairs.