Part Two - 02 (2)

‘It's called conversation,' said the long-armed girl.

‘Why doesn't he eat his chocolate?' Missy said. ‘He's just holding it.'

Rick turned to her, then held out the chocolate still in its wrapping. ‘Here. Perhaps you'd care for it yourself.'

Missy laughed but backed away.

‘Look,' said the long-armed girl. ‘This is like a friendly encounter, okay?'

Rick glanced quickly at Josie, who was staring at him, her eyes filling with anger. The next second he'd turned again to the guest girls.

‘Friendly. Of course. I wonder if it would please you all to hear I like bug movies.'

‘Bug movies?' someone else said. ‘Is that like a genre?'

‘Don't taunt him,' said the long-armed girl. ‘Be nice. He's doing okay.'

A voice said: ‘Yeah, he's doing okay,' and several people giggled. As Rick turned quickly towards them, Josie reached forward and took the chocolate from him.

‘Hey, everyone,' Josie called out. ‘I want you all to meet Klara. This here's Klara!'

She was signaling to me to come closer, and as I did so all the eyes turned my way. Rick too looked at me, but only for a second, then he walked off into a small clearing beside the corner desk. No one seemed to pay him further attention because they were now looking at me. Even the long-armed girl had lost interest in Rick and was staring at me.

‘Now that's a smart-looking AF,' she said. She leaned towards Josie in a confidential manner, and I thought she was going to say something further about me, but what she said was:

‘See Danny over there? First thing he comes in, he announces how he got detained by the police. No greeting, nothing. When we told him he had to greet correctly first, he still doesn't get it. Just keeps boasting about him and the police.'

‘Wow.' Josie looked to the boys on the modular sofa. ‘So he thinks it's smart to be a criminal?'

The long-armed girl laughed, and Josie became part of a shape the five girls made together.

‘Then his brother over there gives it away. Too much beer, that's all it was.'

‘Shush. He knows we're talking about him,' someone said.

‘So much the better. The cops found him passed out on a bench and took him home. And he's telling us like he was arrested or something.'

‘No greeting, nothing.'

‘Hey, I didn't hear you give Josie a greeting just now, Missy. So you're just as bad as Danny.'

‘I did. I said hello to Josie.'

‘Josie? Did you hear my sister greet you when you came in?'

Missy became visibly upset. ‘I did say hello. It's just that Josie didn't hear me.'

‘Hey, Josie!' The boy called Danny – the one on the sofa with his leg extended over the cushions – was calling from the rear of the room. ‘Hey, Josie, that your new AF? Tell her to come over here.'

‘Go on, Klara,' Josie said. ‘Go say hello to those boys.'

I didn't move at once, partly because I'd been surprised by Josie's voice. It was like the one she sometimes used when talking to Melania Housekeeper, but not like any voice she'd used before to me.

‘What's up with her?' Danny got up off the sofa. ‘Doesn't she take commands?'

Josie was giving me a stern look, so I began to make my way towards the boys on the sofa. But Danny, who was taller than anyone else in the room, came swiftly through the other guests and, before I was even halfway to the sofa, grasped me by both elbows, so I could no longer move freely. He looked me up and down, then said:

‘So. Settling in?'

‘Yes. Thank you.'

One of the other boys from the sofa at the rear shouted: ‘Hey! She speaks! Rejoice!'

‘Shut up, Scrub,' Danny shouted back. Then he asked me: ‘So what do they call you again?'

‘Her name's Klara,' Josie said from behind me. ‘Danny, let go of her. She doesn't like being held that way.'

‘Hey, Danny,' Scrub shouted again. ‘Throw her over here.'

‘You want to see her,' Danny said, ‘get up off that sofa and come over here.'

‘Just throw her over. Let's test her coordination.'

‘She ain't your AF, Scrub.' Danny's hands were still tight around my elbows. ‘You need to ask Josie about something like that.'

‘Hey, Josie,' Scrub called. ‘It's okay, right? My B3, you can swing her right through the air, lands on her feet every time. Come on, Danny. Throw her over onto the sofa. She won't get damaged.'

‘So uncouth,' the long-armed girl said quietly, and several girls, Josie included, giggled.

‘My B3,' Scrub continued, ‘she'll somersault and land clean on her feet. Back straight, perfect. So let's see what this one can do.'

‘You're not a B3, right?' Danny asked.

I didn't reply, but Josie behind me said: ‘No, but she's the best.'

‘Yeah? So can she do what Scrub says?'

‘I have a B3 now,' a girl's voice said. ‘You'll see him next meeting.'

Then another voice asked: ‘Why didn't you get a B3, Josie?'

‘Because…I liked this one.' Josie said this uncertainly, but then the strength returned to her voice. ‘There's nothing any B3 can do Klara can't.'

There was movement behind me, and then the long-armed girl was standing beside Danny. He seemed to feel both excitement and fear to be near her, and let go of my elbows. But now the long-armed girl gripped my left wrist, though not nearly as roughly as Danny had been holding me.

‘Hello, Klara,' she said, and looked me over carefully again. ‘Now. Let's see. Klara, will you please sing for me the harmonic minor scale?'

I wasn't sure how Josie wished me to respond so I waited for her to speak. But she remained silent.

‘Oh? You don't sing?'

‘Come on,' the boy called Scrub called out. ‘Throw her over. If she can't coordinate, I'll just catch her.'

‘Not saying much.' The long-armed girl came closer and stared at my eyes. ‘Maybe she's low on solar.'

‘There's nothing wrong with her.' Josie said this so quietly, it was possible I was the only one to hear.

‘Klara,' the long-armed girl said. ‘Give me a greeting.'

I remained silent, waiting for Josie to speak again.

‘No? Nothing?'

‘Hey, Josie,' a voice said behind me. ‘You could have got a B3, right? So why didn't you?'

Josie laughed and said: ‘Now I'm starting to think I should have.'

This brought other laughs, then a new voice said: ‘B3s are so amazing.'

‘Come on, Klara,' the long-armed girl said. ‘A little greeting at least.'

I'd by now fixed a pleasant expression on my face and was gazing past her, much as Manager had trained us to do in the store in such situations.

‘An AF who refuses to greet. Josie, will you tell Klara to say something to us?'

‘Throw her over here. That'll bring her to life.'

‘Klara's got a great memory,' Josie said behind me. ‘As good as any AF anywhere.'

‘Oh really?' said the long-armed girl.

‘And not just her memory. She notices things no one else does and stores them away.'

‘Okay.' The long-armed girl kept holding my wrist. ‘Okay, Klara. Here's what to do. Without turning to look. Tell me what my sister's wearing.'

I continued to stare beyond the long-armed girl at the bricks on the wall.

‘Seems to have frozen. But she's cute, I'll give you that.'

‘Ask her again,' Josie said. ‘Go on, Marsha. Ask again.'

‘Okay. Now, Klara, I know you can do it. Tell me what Missy's wearing.'

‘I'm sorry,' I said, still looking past her.

‘You're sorry?' Then the long-armed girl said to the room, ‘What's that mean?' and people laughed. Then she glared at me and asked: ‘What do you mean, Klara? What do you mean, you're sorry?'

‘I'm sorry I'm unable to help.'

‘She's not going to help.' The long-armed girl's look softened and at last she released my wrist. ‘Okay, Klara. You can turn and look. Take a look at what Missy's wearing.'

Though it might look impolite, I didn't turn. Because if I did so, I'd not only see Missy – I knew of course what she was wearing down to her purple wristband and tiny bear pendant – but also Josie, and then we would have to exchange looks with each other.

‘I give up,' the long-armed girl said.

‘Okay,' Danny said. ‘Then we'll do Scrub's test. Just to please him. Phil, come here and help me swing her. Scrub, stay where you are, get ready to catch. This is okay with you, Josie?'

Behind me, Josie remained silent, but a girl's voice said: ‘Throwing AFs across the room. That's evil.'

‘What's evil about it? They're designed to deal with it.'

‘That's not the point,' the girl's voice said. ‘It's just nasty.'

‘You're being soft,' Danny said. ‘Phil, take her arms. I'll get the legs.'

‘What's that you have there in your pocket?' It was Rick who'd spoken and the room went silent.

‘What d'you say, friend?'

Rick moved through the guests, stopping a little to my right. He showed no fear as he pointed at the breast pocket of Danny's shirt. I'd noticed the object earlier – a soft toy dog small enough for the pocket. I'd seen children of seven and eight carrying such toys in their pockets when they'd come into the store.

As everyone shifted positions to see what Rick was pointing at, Danny raised both hands to cover his pocket.

‘A pet object, I'd say,' Rick said.

‘It's not a pet object,' Danny said.

‘I'd say it's your pet object. To help you feel calmer at gatherings like this one.'

‘What's this bullshit? Who asked you anything?'

‘If it's really nothing so special, perhaps you wouldn't mind showing it to me.' Rick held out his hand. ‘Don't worry. I'll take good care of it.'

‘Whether it's anything special or not, it's none of your business.'

‘Do please let me borrow it. Just for a minute.'

‘It's nothing to me, but I wouldn't hand it over to you.'

‘No? Not even a little peek?'

‘I'd never lend you anything. Why would I? You shouldn't even be here.'

Rick was still holding out his hand, and the room remained silent.

‘It couldn't be you're perhaps a little soft yourself, Danny?' Rick said. ‘At least, when it comes to cute little things for the pocket.'

‘That's enough! You leave Danny be!'

The voice belonged to an adult, and the young people around me shrank back as the woman came striding into the room. ‘And Danny's right,' she said. ‘You shouldn't be here at all.'

Then the Mother came hurrying in after her, and I saw other adults looking through the doorway into the Open Plan.

‘Come on, Sara,' the Mother was saying. ‘We don't interfere, remember?'

The Mother put an arm around the Sara woman, who continued to glare at Rick.

‘Come on, Sara. Play by the rules. It's for the kids to sort out.'

Sara continued to look angry, but allowed herself to be led away out of the room and into the murmur of adult voices in the hall. One of the voices said: ‘It's the only way they'll learn,' and then the adult voices receded, and there was silence in the Open Plan.

Danny was perhaps even more embarrassed about his adult's interference than he'd been about the small toy. He continued to cover his breast pocket with both hands as he returned to the sofa, his now slightly hunched back turned to the room.

‘Okay,' the long-armed girl said brightly. ‘How about we go outside for a while? It's turned nice out there. Look!'

A chorus of voices shouted approval, and I heard Josie's among them saying, ‘Great idea. Let's do it!'

The children filed out, led by Josie and the long-armed girl. Danny and Scrub left with them, and then there was only Rick and myself in the Open Plan.