Page 17 of Kranow (Brides of the Mylos #4)
Marley couldn ’ t help but steal admiring glances at Charlotte as they worked. The woman was simply amazing, being warm and friendly, as well as beautiful and insanely talented as an artist to boot. The two women had a large roll of craft paper stretched out upon the floor, the edges weighted down picture books and whatever else they could find. Charlotte ’ s ebony curls slipped over her dark brown eyes and she tossed her head to clear them away. Marley chewed her lip, feeling inadequate as she watched Charlotte ’ s hand move quickly, the pencil within her grasp creating a Mylos shuttle coming in for a landing beside a large building with seemingly little effort.
Marley stood abruptly. “ I ’ ll be right back. Our lunchroom area has a replicator. I know they can make small non-food items as well so I ’ m going to see if they can make us some headbands so we don ’ t paint on our hair or something. ”
Charlotte lifted her face and met Marley ’ s gaze with her own. “ That ’ s a good idea. And this lock of hair is starting to drive me bananas. ”
“ I hear ya, ” Marley agreed. Her own hair had gotten into her mouth a few times as they crouched over the paper working. She decided to see if she could replicate a couple of no tangle rubber bands as well. Moments later, she found Xeranos not only could create what she wanted with their replicator, but in classroom cameras meant he could match the headband fabric to what Charlotte was wearing. Quickly finger combing her own hair into s ponytail, she returned to their work area and proffered the soft fabric headband to Charlotte.
“ Wow! How did you get it to match my tunic? ” She asked.
“ Xero used the classroom cameras to look at your outfit and replicated the pattern, ” Marley confessed as she began to braid her ponytail.
“ Oh. I ’ m still getting used to the whole ‘ computer can see you thing ’ . It still kinda creeps me out if I think on it too hard, ” Charlotte confessed as she took the headband and adjusted her hair beneath it.
“ I know what you mean, but then I think of all the CCTV cameras back home, and then I'm okay with it. I start to feel safer because I know that unlike those, some part of Xero is always monitoring so if anything happens, help can be sent right away. ”
Charlotte looked thoughtful at her words. “ True. I guess it ’ s a tradeoff. Still kinda creepy, though. No offense meant, Xero. ”
“ None taken, ” the AI responded. “ I would be most surprised if it was otherwise. Your animal ancestors would have developed strong survival instincts, including an awareness of being watched by predators. ”
Charlotte ’ s lips twisted into a wry grin. “ You ’ re not saying that you ’ re going to hunt me down, now? ”
“ Not unless you are lost. Are you intending to get lost? ”
Marley and Charlotte regarded each other in surprise. “ Did Xero just crack a joke? ” Marley whispered. Charlotte nodded her head in reply.
“ I think he did, ” she whispered back.
“ Ba da bing! ” Xeranos said. “ You can catch my next act right here the next time we speak. ”
The two women laughed. “ Don ’ t quit your day job! ” Marley teased the AI.
“ Don ’ t worry. I know I can ’ t trust anyone else here to do the job right. ”
“ On that note, I think it ’ s time for some coffee. Then we can start coloring this in, ” Charlotte said, referring to the mural they ’ d drawn.
“ Sounds good to me. Markers or paint? ”
“ I think paint would be quicker to fill it in but it takes a while to dry. ”
t “ What if we paint the grass and sky after using the markers to color in the buildings, vehicles, and people? ”
Charlotte stood up and stretched. “ Good idea. Then we can leave it to dry overnight and pin it to the board first thing in the morning. ”
“ Yeah, ” Marley replied, turning to join her coworker as she walked to the door leading to the corridor. ” We ’ re not having coffee here? ”
“ After being so hard at work in there all this time, I think we ’ ve earned a change of scenery, don ’ t you? There ’ s a mess hall just up the way a bit if we take the elevator. We can grab something to eat as well. I ’ m starving. ”
“ Sounds good to me. ”
“ Let ’ s not celebrate just yet ” Charlotte quipped as they walked down the corridor. “ We need to see what they ’ re serving first. ”
Marley laughed. If Charlotte was going to be like this all the time, work was going to be a hoot. The mess hall turned out to be a small one, and it was serving dishes from across Mylos. The two women gingerly selected foods that the servers recommended.
Charlotte sat down and picked up her fork, selecting a small purple chunk of meat. She took a tiny bite then said, “ It ’ s not bad at all. Kinda tastes like roast pork. ”
Marley tried the grey stringy looking mass on her plate. “ Kinda like a cross between chicken and pork, ” she announced. “ But still not nice to look at. ”
“ Chicken! Now you ’ re talking! How about tomorrow afternoon we go to my place, and I ’ ll make us some jerk chicken using my family ’ s recipe? We can talk shop while I cook, stuff like picking which books we ’ ll read the first week and what kind of related activities to offer the children. You can take some of the food home to your man afterwards. ”
Marley ’ s heart jumped in her chest. She was being invited to her home to do friend type things! “ It ’ s a date! ” she beamed.
“ Good! ” Charlotte took another bite of her food and talk turned back to the art project they ’ d just left behind.