Chapter 2: Barbarians (Part II)

Elaine stood in front of the Atrium doors staring at the reflection of the buildings behind her in the glass. The Engineering building rose there from its shrubbery moat, stately and certain in the bright sunlight. Concrete sidewalk stretched away in both directions from her, and although she stood in shadow, she felt too warm in her outfit. Zach had warned that she might want to beat feet and get as far away from the Computing Commons as possible—lay low, he said—but she felt as if turning her back on the despoilment of her lab meant turning her back on principal.

The door opened to admit a pair of students—her image in the glass slewed grossly like a carnival fun-mirror, stretching her spectacles across a widening face, making her drooping shoulders broad, and mocking her dismay. The students didn’t even look up as they walked past. She paid them the same heed.

When the door closed again the reflection displayed another pale girl standing to her side—dark green hair pulled into a high, tight ponytail. Her expression tight, but that softened when Elaine glanced in her direction.

The green-haired girl smiled sheepishly. “Zach kicked me out.”

“You did hit him.”

Frog shrugged, a gesture that seemed to heave through her entire body like a muscular ripple. Elaine sighed. Francine Kermit, aka Frog, was the closest thing to Elaine’s best friend and confidant ever since they started college. She’d been a cheerleader in high-school, and while Frog had taken that life and thrown it out for a life as a career student in biochemistry, she still kept herself in shape with fencing and gymnastics classes. Elaine admired the cut of her muscles and resisted flexing one of hers just to imagine what it might be like to actually be in shape—or have shape, for that matter. Well. Scarecrow is a shape.

“They took my stuff,” Elaine said. It was hard to say it. Nobody had ever intruded into her privacy, her personal space. They’d managed to violate her sanctuary and throw her fragile world into total disarray in one deft act.

“I tried to stop them. Hadaly text messaged me and I was downstairs. You couldn’t believe the number of goons that showed up. I tried to call you…”

“Basement. No signal.”  The phone at Elaine’s hip chimed urgently. “Hang on a sec.”

She checked the display before flipping it open.

“Hadaly?”

Elaine made a motion with her head to Frog in the direction of the MU. Even in the shade of the Computing Commons, she was beginning to feel the heat. Plus, they’d just opened a satellite tea shop that sold Bubble Tea on the first floor, and she could use some vanilla tapioca and raspberry.

Together, they began to shuffle out into the sun, and down the concrete sidewalk.

Political signs touting various elements of the University’s Student Council sprang up along the edge of the sidewalk. Vote for Tom Barrett, he’ll help keep tuition from increasing next year. Vote for June Stead, she’ll bring a keener eye to the curriculum. Elect Emily Early: President. Elaine usually ignored the signs and their implications—it wasn’t like Student Council politics actually affected anything she cared about.

Right now the signs were just an eyesore, and another reminder that she had no friends in high places to help her out with this most recent blow to her ego and her livelihood. At least nothing on those computers was directly related to her class work. Otherwise she’d be royally screwed.

Hadaly chirped on the phone. “Your client moved up her appointment time. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Tell the computer thanks for the tip,” Frog said.

“Tell the amphibian wannabe that I’m not a computer,” retorted the voice on the phone.

“She can hear you,” Elaine said to Frog.

“I know.”

Eyes rolled, the phone shifted in her now clammy hands. “Can’t see the client. You know as well as I do, I don’t have an office. Thanks for the warning, by the way.”

“I can’t help you when you’re out of contact. You should really run the bridge when you’re underground or—”

“You can lecture me later. Right now, I want you to cancel that appointment.”

Frog jabbed her in the shoulder. “Don’t.”

“Why?”

“A bunch of goons just disrupted your life by busting into your lab and trucking off with your stuff. Without your lab, how are you going to waste your time?”

“Without my lab, how am I going to run a case?”

Elaine stopped dead in her tracks.

“Frack. Fragging. Fsck!” No lab meant no time on the SGI server farm; no time on the SGI server farm meant no compile time. And that meant: “I have nothing to submit to the Peltier Contest!” She felt sick to her stomach. “I’ve been working on that for months. It’s worth two grand, I was counting on winning that. It’ll go to Temple or Bale. I don’t need this.”

With an effort, she got herself moving again. The MU and its promised air-conditioning drew her along like hooked fish, tired from struggling against the line.

“You need money?” Frog said. “The case is it.”

Elaine agreed. Into the phone, she said, “When is the new appointment? Office or no.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to say. She’s willing to meet in the lounge at the MU in about five minutes.”

“What choice do I have anyway?”

“I’ll let her know you’re on your way.”