It Could Be Worse
Episode 6: Sleeping on the Job
By Sulia Serafine
[1-16-01. A Protector of the Small fanfic set in an alternate universe; all credit goes to Tamora Pierce. I'm broke, so you can't sue me.
Oh, one more thing: BAD LANGUAGE (I. E. cursing, swearing…). You have been warned!
I'd also like to thank those who gave me help with the character descriptions. If anyone else want to help me, please e-mail me at silverwLng@aol.com, okay? I'm finally getting around to working on my tiny website, and there's a new section for my Tortall stories. I'll tell you the address when I deem it worthy to be seen by you. Enjoy the chapter, I know you've been waiting for it! Please, tell me what you think. I'd also like to once again thank those who made ALLO a success. This one's for you.
P.S. Something I forgot! This Story takes place in 949 H.E, but it is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE! AND ANY IMPORTANT CHARACTERS OF THE TAMORA PIERCE UNIVERSE I HAVEN'T PUT IN YET WILL ENTER THE STORY LATER ON, AS MAJOR CHARACTERS, NOT CAMEOS. Thank you and have a nice day.]
Keladry turned off the car and leaned out of the window. Joren rode up to her on his bike. Before he spoke, she gazed wistfully at the black motorcycle, being reminded of her own. She wondered how it was doing in that garage of his friend's. How could she be sure? She'd never been to the place. There was only Joren's word to state its safety. He waved his hand in front of her face. "Mindelan?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry," she ducked back into the car. "Can you tell me why we're at an academy?"
Cleon woke up at the word 'academy'. He rubbed his eyes and clasped her shoulder. "Don't tell me we came home!"
She turned to him. "We didn't. We're at a foreign academy out west. Some cadets can't afford to travel to Tortall. That's why they created Maren Academy." She pointed toward three yellow towers in front of them. "It's almost an exact replica of ours in Tortall." She looked at her partner. "So, why are we here again?"
Joren lifted off his helmet. "While we're in Maren, we can stay at this academy instead of going to a hotel."
"What!" Cleon exclaimed. "I don't want to be staying here! Do you know how much of 'going back to school' this reminds me of?" He paused and grinned sheepishly. "Well, we never had yellow towers, but…"
"I don't want to be here either," Joren grouchily agreed. He shrugged. "But it's either this or spend more Nobles on getting three separate hotel rooms again. This academy will house us for free since we're on duty."
Keladry nodded. "I see. Well, I guess we have no choice. Let's get into the garage."
As they parked on the second level, a few cadets ran by with streamers and noisemakers in hand. They waved enthusiastically at the three, then ran on down the garage lanes. Cleon looked like he was about to join them but Keladry grabbed his sleeve. She scratched her head and listened to the noise of academy cadets' get fainter and fainter as they moved farther away.
"What on earth was that?" she whispered.
The other two men shrugged. They got their bags from the trunk of the car and headed to the elevator. Surprisingly, the clear elevator shaft was decorated by stickers and paint, reading, "Congratulations to the Largest Graduating Class of Maren Academy! Go 949 H.E.!"
"Well, I guess that answers our question," Cleon murmured, stepping into the elevator. "It looks like the whole place is celebrating… in its weird little ways."
Keladry yawned. "I could care less. Just give me a nice bed and ten hours and I'll be a happy camper."
"Why are you tired?" the redhead asked, clearly concerned.
"I've been driving this whole time!" Keladry reminded in frustration. "And then there's you." The elevator reached the main floor. They stepped onto the walkway and made their ways toward the Information Desk.
"And what do you mean, there's me?" Cleon called after her as he tried to catch up.
"Nothing," she replied. She greeted the secretary with a semi-friendly, semi-exhausted smile. "Excuse me, but we're from Tortall DJPF on a case out here and we need a place to stay."
The secretary, who was wearing a party hat, smiled happily at her. She was humming a song. "Oh, well of course! Any member of the DJPF is welcome to stay! Here, let me check you in," She scanned each of their wrists, continuing to hum. "Now, just scoot yourselves over to Dormitory Administration on the next floor and they'll assign you your rooms. Have a nice stay, and feel free to join in with the celebrating!"
"Yeah, right," Joren muttered. "Let's go."
As they got into the elevator, they caught glimpses out the windows of the main floor to the courtyard. Everything was decorated. All the benches were painted. There were streamers covering the trees. Crowds of students danced and sang and hugged each other. Others stood up on the tables and waved flags and banners, all bearing the same message that they saw in the garage.
"They're so loud," Keladry said. "How can I sleep?"
"Well, I'm not sleeping," Cleon gazed at the crowd. "There are some pretty hot girls down there. And they're about to graduate." He nudged her with a goofy grin plastered on his face. "What do you think of that blonde one on the table?"
"Not again…"
~~
After getting their room assignments, Cleon promptly joined a mamba line going down the dorm's hall. Confetti was strewn everywhere and a few streamers landed at Keladry's feet. She waved goodbye to the redhead while chuckling at the site. They never partied like this at Tortall. And now she wished they had-- even if she was usually too busy to join in.
She blinked when she realized Joren had disappeared. His room was right next to hers, but no one was inside according to the intercom. She shrugged and went into her room. In one single motion, she threw her bag into the corner and collapsed on the single bed. Its soft covers were heaven. She grabbed a fluffy pillow and snuggled up against it.
"Day, after day of being in that car, this is bliss," she thought and drifted off to sleep.
"WOO-HOO!"
She bolted upright. "What the--"
"GRADUATING, GRADUATING!"
"Oh no. They're still here." She covered her head with the pillow, hoping to drown out the sound. Unfortunately, she could still hear the loud sounds. She got up from her bed, grumbling to herself, then found a pair of headphones in a drawer. She put them on and plopped back down onto bed.
"Everybody mamba!"
Keladry threw off the headphones. She could still hear them. The female officer sat up in her bed, her elbows on her knees, trying to think of something. She drummed her fingers on her chin, staring at the floor and listening to the noises outside. After a few minutes, she came to one solution.
"I'll search for a quiet place," she confidently said and stood up. Keladry yanked the thin blanket from under the bed covers and bunched in up in her arms. Then she grabbed a pillow and went out the door.
~~
"What are the chances that they'll be in the classrooms?" Keladry asked herself as she opened the door to the only unlocked room. She moved the desks together to form a hard, flat bed three feet off the ground. Then she lied down atop of it. It was tough adjusting to the stiffness, but she put most of herself on top of her large pillow.
Keladry smiled in contentment and closed her eyes. "Finally."
Drip. Drop.
She opened one eye and looked around. Then she closed it again.
Drip. Drop.
"Oh, this isn't funny…" she groaned.
Drip. Drop.
She got off her makeshift bed and looked around the room frantically for a pipe. There had to be a leak somewhere in the room. She turned on the light to the classroom briefly. Finding none, she turned off the light again. Then, she went back to the desks and tried to fall asleep again. Keladry closed her eyes tightly. "Please, please."
Silence.
"Ah…."
Drip. Drop.
"This isn't fair."
Keladry hastily got off the desks, moved them back into place, and left the classroom.
~~
As Keladry passed by the courtyard, she spotted Cleon.
Cleon-- dancing on a table.
Cleon-- dancing on a table with a blonde girl.
Cleon-- dancing on a table with a blonde girl and a painted bucket on his head.
"I don't even want to know," she said to herself and walked past. The crowds of cadets tried to lure her away from her mission of rest. Their loud music and colorful decorations were almost irresistible. A few called out to her to join them, but she politely thanked them and said no. She entered another building, passing the third mamba line she had seen since arriving there.
"Maybe there will be better luck in the library. I hope they don't mind."
~~
"You just go on ahead. I don't mind," the kind librarian told her. She was a woman in her late forties, having gray streaks in dark brown hair and large glasses dominating her petite face. Keladry bowed her head to her. She crept to the back and found an isolated table behind a bookshelf of sciences.
Settling down in one of the large reading chairs, Keladry thought to herself, "I think this may be the place."
As she closed her eyes, memories of her past flooded her.
Back when she was enrolled in her own academy, she spent a lot of time studying in the library. She knew the fastest way to graduate was to ace every single one of her tests and get moved on to advanced classes. Some people spent ten years at the academy. Keladry wouldn't settle for it. Already, her parents had schooled her in the fundamentals as a young child. Now as a teenage cadet, she breezed through almost everything.
"Kel," her sister Adalia called. "Will you get your nose out of those books and come play with us? It's a beautiful day outside and you've finally come home to visit!"
"My fourth advanced placement exam is coming up," Keladry answered the taller girl when she looked up from her textbook. She was sitting in the kitchen of their house. Her parents and her other older siblings were out grocery shopping, so the only people that were in the house were Adalia, her brothers, Conal and Anders, and the rest of her little siblings. It was a large family, and every member had a job except the children and Keladry.
"You're going to grow up too soon rushing like that," Anders warned her as he shut her textbook in one swift motion. "I order you to go outside and fall asleep in the sun."
Kel smiled. "What, so I can get a sunburn?"
"If you don't, I'll play another prank on you," Conal teased, joining in on the fun of persuading her. He ruffled her hair and went out the door to her family's porch. Keladry gazed longingly at her textbook.
"I'd better not. The exam is very important," she said uneasily.
"Oh, fine. Let's go, Anders," Adalia said and tugged her brother out the door. Keladry bit her lip. She got up from her chair. She wanted very badly to be out there in the sunshine. The only sunshine she ever got at the academy was when she jogged around the courtyard for training.
"The sun gives me little freckles that I hate," she reasoned with herself and opened her textbook again, not knowing the real reason she was going back to work.
Keladry picked a random book from its shelf and read the title. "Self Defense." She scratched her head and flipped through it. It looked familiar. She'd probably read that one, too, with all her luck. She placed it back on the shelf. Hugging her pillow, she closed her eyes again and tried to blank her mind. She was so tired. She had to fall asleep. She just had to.
Cadet Mindelan, may I see your report on Foreign Governments?
Ah. This is very good. An almost perfect paper! I'll recommend you to the advanced placement teachers, yes?
You're an excellent example of respect and duty, Mindelan. You're excused.
Thank you for doing me that favor. I'll speak highly of you to Administration.
That's the fifth debate you've won, Cadet. Keep it up.
You wouldn't mind staying over the vacation to do this, would you? It may cut up to two weeks off your class work.
Bravo!
Excellent!
That was perfect!
Your technique is solid. I don't think there's much more I could teach you on this level. But, please, Mindelan, develop some variety. Your work in the training center seems to have turned into a recurring pattern. I think maybe, if you just took some time off from this busy schedule of yours and relax a bit, you can improve upon--
Keladry stood up. She couldn't stay in the library. And besides, the sound of the librarian chewing gum was rather loud when compared to her very own breathing or the sounds of the blanket rubbing against her clothing. Once again, she tucked the pillow under her arm and bundled up the sheets. "Time to go somewhere else."
~~
The cafeteria-- she didn't know why she even bothered checking there. Graduating cadets filled the place, drinking soda and socializing. She rubbed her temples in attempt to calm her head and continued on.
The training center-- too many loud mechanical noises of simulators and treadmills. She also couldn't stand the sound of punching bags being used. Not to mention-- the shooting range could faintly be heard from next door.
The Academy's Staff's offices-- too many communications screens, holo-screens, database-screens, and chatting employees to count. She quickly brushed past them and headed out the door.
The infirmary-- coughing people, beeps of various tools hooked up to complicated looking machines. The resident nurse apologized sincerely to Kel. Usually, patients were allowed peace and quiet, but most of the patients had their holo-screens on listening to the music channels or the news reports. Some cadets even visited the ill and injured, taking their noisemakers and party hats with them.
"Perhaps you can drop by in an hour? Maybe it'll quiet down before then," the nurse offered while walking Keladry to the exit.
"No, that's all right." She glanced at her pager. "It's already ten o' clock? It's ten o'clock at night? How long have I been wandering around?" She yawned. "I really need to find a place to sleep."
"Perhaps you can try the garage," the nurse suggested. "You have a car parked there, yes?"
Keladry blinked. "After all that time in the car-- the source of my exhaustion-- it may be my only refuge?"
"Well, it can't hurt to try."
She nodded. "Thanks. I think I'm desperate enough to go and test it."
~~
She took the paint-splattered elevator down to the garage. She stepped off, nervously holding the pillow tighter as she walked down the lane trying to find the silver hover-car. When she arrived, another unfamiliar sight greeted her.
Joren polished his bike from where it was parked next to the car. He had changed out of uniform and now donned a dark red pair of coveralls that were covered with grease stains and dirt. He wiped his forehead, pushing his light blonde hair out of his eyes and resumed polishing the remodeled Black Knight.
"What do you want?" he asked without turning around.
She snapped back into reality. "Uh, I wanted to sleep in the back of the car," she answered. "The whole academy is filled with noise. I can't get any sleep. Do you mind?"
He looked over his shoulder to glance at her. "Do whatever you want. I don't care."
"Thanks," she said quietly and opened one of the four car doors. She slid into the back seat and rolled the window down to circulate air. She reminded herself to thank Cleon later. He had picked a very comfortable car. She settled her pillow and blanket down they lied down herself. All the while, Joren continued to polish his bike.
A few minutes later, Keladry found she could not sleep. It was quiet. Joren didn't make a sound-- not that he did it on purpose so she could sleep. He was only polishing. But the silence seemed to unnerve her. So, the Tortallian officer sat up and leaned with her elbows out the window. "What are you doing, Stone?"
He looked up at her with a blank expression. It was better than cold. "I'm just checking everything. The maintenance for this baby is tough. It's a classic."
She nodded. "So I see." She gazed fondly at it. "It's a real beauty though. You did a good job."
He stared at her for a short moment, then went back to checking the fuel gages. He didn't even acknowledge her compliment. That was Joren, though. She wouldn't expect anything out of him. Not that she cared.
"Did you remodel this yourself?" Keladry asked, trying to create conversation. If she had to be stuck awake, at least she was going to make something of her time-- even with the rudest man in the world.
"Maybe," Joren answered evasively.
"Neal and Owen told me you had this back when you attended the academy. You've had her for this long?"
He shrugged.
She frowned and sat back against her pillow.
"I thought you were going to sleep," he said minutes later. She turned to him, startled by the sudden stream of words.
"Uh, yeah. I guess. I really need to."
"Well, then, do it. You're sure as hell not sleeping tomorrow in the car and Cleon is not driving." His brow was furrowed in concentration as he tried to spot something hanging off the underside of his handlebars. He patted the compartments directly under the mini-database installed in his bike.
"What's in there?" she wondered.
"Are you going to sleep or not, Mindelan?"
She folded her arms. "Okay, okay. Back off. I'll sleep."
And surprisingly, she did.
~~
Author: So… very… tired… ugh. I think I'm just going to post this and sleep off two days before writing the next one. That is, unless I get a lot of reviews…You see, I won't be writing from Friday to Saturday because I'll be gone on a small fundraising trip. (Darn my generous spirit…) So, please, tell me what you think before then so I can write!
Closing Credits:
Special thanks to those who helped me with descriptions:
( Note: these people are VERY cool. Do not mess with them.)
Kestrel
Erin (Hyper Girl to the Rescue)
Sullychkk (Whose name is Caitie…)
And also to the people who volunteered to help with my web page:
FireLily
Jaelawyn Noble
And if anyone is good with fixing web pages, please e-mail me. My e-mail is listed at top.
AND…
The pages for Character Statistics.
*please note that these end with .htm and not .html due to some mistake upon my computer. I'll correct it someday.
http://www.geocities.com/silvrblade.geo/silverdragon/fanfics/futurekel.htm
http://www.geocities.com/silvrblade.geo/silverdragon/fanfics/futurejoren.htm
http://www.geocities.com/silvrblade.geo/silverdragon/fanfics/futureneal.htm
http://www.geocities.com/silvrblade.geo/silverdragon/fanfics/futureowen.htm
http://www.geocities.com/silvrblade.geo/silverdragon/fanfics/futurecleon.htm
And by the way, if Cleon's page pops up before the correct character's does, please ignore. Weird quirk I have to figure out, okay?