He thought about that, then said, “Yeah.”
And Original Cindy did something she hadn’t done for days: she laughed.
“I miss her too,” Sketchy said. “I wish to hell we’d hear from her — we were supposed to be out here, on this side of the fence, helping....”
“I know. I’m afraid maybe Max jus’ wanted us outta there, jus’ to protect our asses. I mean, we can’t hang around that toxic shit too long — Original Cindy don’t wanna grow no extra eyeballs or nothin’.”
He let out a mirthless chuckle. “I was... I mean, she’s...”
“Spit it out.”
“You were right, Cin — what you said at Crash that night, after... you know... after I found out about her. That she was... special.”
Original Cindy knew Sketchy was referring to that day in the not-too-distant past when he’d caught Cindy pilfering Max’s and Alec’s records from Normal’s files, to keep the documents out of the hands of government agents. Even Sketchy had been able to put together that Max and Alec were transgenics.
Sketch said, “You know what? Max is the best person I know... and she is the best friend I’ve ever had.”
Cindy nodded. “True that. Same for this one.”
“You know, I been thinking back on all those lunches with you and Max, Herbal and me, and I...” He swallowed. “I just wanna say... well, I...”
She kissed him on the cheek. “You said it nice and clear, Sketch.”
Sketchy’s face turned a lovely shade of fuchsia.
Normal strolled up to them. “You leaving the sisters of Sappho for this lump, Cynthia?”
Turning to their boss, Original Cindy said, “I’m not turning to the dark side, no — but if I did—” And she ran her fingers through Sketchy’s hair. “—my brother Sketch here would not be the worst catch.”
Brightening, the lanky messenger seemed to grow a couple of inches, in at least one direction.
“I’ll do my best to form no mental images,” Normal said. “Enough banter.”
He handed an envelope to her and a package to Sketchy.
“Bip bip bip,” he said.
Normal flashed the pair a quick grin, then put on a frown and went off to hassle the short-timers.
“Hmmm,” Sketchy said. “Is it my imagination, or does Normal seem to be softening here?”
Original Cindy shook her head and made a tsk-tsk noise. “That’s some scary shit, ain’t it?”
“More than my tender nerves can take.” Sketchy held up the package. “Well, I better get bip-bip-bipping... If you hear from our girl, you’ll let me know?”
“Bet your pasty white ass.”
“You know, you liking me doesn’t seem that different from when I sickened you.”
“It’s a fine line,” Cindy admitted.
Sketch smiled, shook his head, and headed outside to his bike.
Turning back to glance at Max’s locker one last time, Original Cindy looked farther down the aisle and saw that kid no one ever seemed to notice. What was his name? Bobby Suzuki? Tommy Nagasaki? Kid had less personality than Normal in his sleep.
Sitting in front of his locker, the kid glanced around, and apparently didn’t catch her watching as he pulled a bottle of pills out and unscrewed the lid. It looked identical to the bottle of Tryptophan pills that Max kept in her locker to control her seizures.
Slowly moving closer, careful not to be spotted, Original Cindy watched as he shook two pills out into his hand. He screwed the lid back on the bottle and stuck it in the pocket of his vest. She caught only a glimpse of the pills in the kid’s hand as they headed to his mouth, but that was enough for her to see the pills were just like the ones Max took.
Sliding up next to him, she asked, “Hey, Tommy boy — you stealin’ my girl’s meds?”
The kid shook his head emphatically. “No, no. I’d never hurt Max... And it’s Bobby.”
“So, if I check my main girl’s locker I’m gonna find her meds still in there?”
Now the kid nodded with equal enthusiasm. “Go ahead and look. I swear I didn’t take anything!”
Eyeballing the guy — God, what a nonentity! — Original Cindy moved over in front of Max’s locker and dialed the combination lock.
Opening the door, she looked inside and saw Max’s bottle perched on the top shelf, where it always sat, safe and sound. She picked it up, shook it, found it to be maybe three-quarters full. That seemed about right.
“All right, Robby,” she said. “My bad.”
“It’s Bobby... Can I go now?”
“No — not till you tell me why you’re takin’ Tryptophan.”
“It just relaxes me. It’s over-the-counter med.”
“Not in that quantity. Listen, Timmy — maybe you weren’t around durin’ the party we had the other day...”
“The hostage crisis? I was here. Don’t you remember?”
“Yeah, sure. Anyway — if you was here, you should know where I stand on a certain controversial issue.”
“I do. You’re Max’s friend.”
“And you’re...”
They both looked around to make sure no one was watching.
“Isn’t it obvious?” he asked.
Normal strolled by, like a hall monitor trolling for trouble. “You two still here? This is not Club Med, people. There’s work to do — get moving.”
They walked outside together and mounted their bicycles. She looked at the kid in the morning sunshine. For some reason, she felt like this was the first time she’d really seen him.
Why did she think of him as a kid? He could be twenty... or thirty... or...? Whatever, he was of indeterminate race, with full lips and black curly hair that reminded her a little of her own. Like Max, he appeared to be a mixture of all people, only his features seemed almost blurred compared to Max’s well-defined face.
Looking closer, though, he might have some Afro blood in him...
Together, they rode away slowly, her envelope stuck inside her vest, his package in a bag over his shoulder.
“I never told Max,” he said, “but, yes, I’m a transgenic, too.”
They rode side by side in the street.
“How long you been passin’?” she asked.
He shrugged one shoulder. “Since Max got us out of Manticore.”
“That’s not all that long... You seem to be fitting in okay.”
“That’s no problem for me.”
“You and Max are friends?” Funny, she thought, that Max would have a friend at Jam Pony that Cindy didn’t also know.
He nodded. “If it wasn’t for Max, I’d still be there. At Manticore.”
“But Manticore was burned.”
“I’d just be some more ashes.”
“I gotta say, man, you seem so regular, I woulda thought you were on the outside as long as Max.”
They paused at a light.
He shook his head. “I’m supposed to seem regular — that’s what I do.”
She shook her head. “It’s still not safe for you out here by yourself.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” he said with a sad smile. “But they’re all in Terminal City and I’m stuck here. What am I gonna do — march up to the gate and ask to be let in?”
Cindy thought about that. “There’s other ways.”
“You think?”
“I’m here, ain’t I?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, you saw what went down Friday.”
“Sure.”
The light changed.
“I was with her when she left, right? And we all ended up in Terminal City.”
“And you got out?”
“What do you think, chump? Do I look like a mirage to you?”
“Come to think of it, Sketchy went along with you and Max, too, didn’t he?”
She nodded.
“And that friend of Max’s — Logan?”
“You know him?” she asked, a little puzzled now.
“Seen him with Max before. Stops by Jam Pony sometimes.”