'Hey how is your almost-mom?'
Joanna giggled as she hooked her thumbs around her backpack straps as she and Kate walked home; now that she was living with her grandparents, they had nearly the entire trip from Williams-Wood Academy to walk together. As Katie was a year ahead of Joanna, they would normally be catching up on the day's events - discrepancies in quality of cafeteria options, teachers who seemed to be short on caffeine, who was crushing on who and what those crushes meant for social dynamics and hierarchy. More and more lately, the conversation had steered towards the family dynamics that Kate had seen Joanna exploring on their spring break vacation off-planet where they'd seen Christine and Bones up close. Upon returning to San Francisco, Kate had joined Joanna's camp of cheering on the good doctor in his relationship so much so she'd started referring to Christine as Joanna's 'almost-mom'.
"Really good, she's been sending me photo updates on her greenhouse and I'm trying to figure out how to work them into a time-lapse holographic vid."
"You can always ask for help in my comm-tech class."
"I know, I just like keeping my family mine, you know?" Joanna's gaze dropped a little to the sidewalk. "My family's a little on the messed-up side and Chris is the one person who never fails to make my dad happy."
"Aside from you being his child he never stops bragging about."
"I mean like an adult, outside of being a dad," she explained, to which Kate nodded, "and it's nice to have her around for the stuff I don't wanna talk about with my mom, or that she just flat-out won't talk to me about even though I need help."
"Like that unfortunate incident in June?"
Joanna nodded, felt the twinge in her belly as she was currently experiencing what she understood to be part of her new female routine. "Especially stuff like that. My mom always says 'nice girls don't talk about private things' but then she'd turn around and get all dolled up for her date nights and tell me don't wait up, like I don't know what that means."
Kate rolled her deep-violet eyes. 'No offence Jo, but Mel's a real piece of…work.'
'Sad thing is, I'm supposed to think hey, don't talk trash about my family. You say that about my mom and I just go, yeah I know it's true, but if anyone comes at me like that about Christine and they'll be lucky to have teeth in the next hour.'
Kate wanted to point out that Christine actually treated Joanna the way a parent was supposed to but held her tongue as she figured there was enough of a mess inside Joanna's head over trying to sort out the changes of her family dynamics. Instead she gave her a little elbow and grinned.
'So, you think your dad will do that thing again where he takes you around on the portable palm holo and you can say hi to everyone? It was super fun watching you try to keep your cool around Chekov.'
'He has a girlfriend,' Joanna replied bashfully at the mention of the oh-so-sexy Russian-born Enterprise navigator. 'And he always thinks of me as just a kid. Bones' kid no less.'
'Well maybe getting into the Star Fleet Junior Extra thing will help with that. You'll be on a starship with your own rank and everything.'
'Diplomatic Enrichment Course,' Joanna corrected her, making the turn up her grandparents' driveway, 'but it's highly improbable I'll get picked, it's a really competitive program. Fifty three eligible schools in the quandrant and they only take about four hundred people out which works out to about one person chosen out of every eight who apply.'
'You're also a freaking prodigy at computer shit and just won two ribbons in robotics at a state-wide science fair.'
'Don't swear,' Joanna hissed, looking around, 'Nan's got ears like a bat, she'll hear your.'
True enough, the front door opened and Helen Barrett popped out on the front stoop to wave in welcome at her granddaughter. Her smooth ebony skin belied her seventy-two years on earth as did the ringing clear-as-bells timbre of her voice.
'Hello, Katie-swan!'
'Hello Nana B!'
'You coming with us to the Giants game tonight?'
'Not tonight!' Kate called back. 'My parents are dragging me to some opera thing with my dad's coworkers!'
'Sorry to hear it, you'll be missed! And stop swearing, it's bad for your teeth!'
Joanna snickered at her friend's expression that was half-baffled, half impressed and jogged backwards up the driveway. 'Bat-Nan, I told you! Never mess with a black grandma!'
'And you, get in here, you've got a holo-call on hold,' Helen told her granddaughter as she bounced through the door and dropped her e-book bag by the foot of the stairs.
'A holo-call?'
'Some handsome white boy in a yellow Star Fleet tunic named Kirk?' Helen's lips twitched as she tried to contain the grin at Joanna's horrified squeak.
'You put the captain on hold? He's like…that's Dad's boss! How cou- what were you th- where's the link?'
Joanna raced to the kitchen counter where the hold light on the holo-link's control base blinked a gentle orange. She smoothed her hair, thankful she was still in her school uniform so she appeared somewhat sophisticated, then pressed the button so a lightly shimmering holographic image of Kirk from the armpits upwards appeared to hover over the kitchen counter.
'Captain Kirk, hi, it's Joanna!'
'Joanna, how are things in San Francisco?' Kirk beamed a friendly smile that lost none of its charm over digital transmission.
'Starting to cool off for the fall but that means it's time for pumpkin spice everything!'
'Sounds delightful. I'm sure you're curious about why I've called.'
'I can guess,' Joanna said as a small glowing-green kernel of hope began to take root in her heart. 'Something to do with a certain academic program?'
'Nothing gets past you,' Kirk chuckled, 'and yes, consider this your official offer of acceptance into the Diplomatic Enrichment Program. You have been invited to participate in a hands-on course as a student apprentice on board a Star Fleet vessel. My Star Fleet vessel, as each captain is required to contact their prospective students.'
'That sounds like so much fun, of course I'd love to come and work on the Enterprise!' Joanna gushed, then turned around at Helen's cough. 'Sorry, right, Nana, please can I go?'
'Seeing as I've already filled out the permission paperwork while waiting for you to get in the house, I'd say you better go or else you've made me waste my afternoon,' Helen teased her, and Joana jumped on the spot, clapping her hands in glee.
'Oh yea! Oh, this will be so much fun! I'll get to see Dad and Christine, and Chekov and explore the ship and go to the holodeck and-'
'You're aware this is a school program, that you'll still have class hours to complete and co-op tasks?' Kirk told her drily.
'Of course, Captain, sir, but I don't think of working in Engineering as being in school.'
'And how do you know that's where you'll be assigned?' Helen inquired.
'Everyone always picks Protocol and Command or Sciences and I'm not good for bossing people around or dealing with squishy things like Daddy does, and besides, I just won two ribbons-' Joanna held up peace-sign fingers to emphasize her point '-at a state-wide science fair with the robotics club. That's no small cookies.'
'I think you mean potatoes.'
'Small potatoes are yummy, especially when you fry them or mash them.' Joanna smacked her lips together. 'You need any help for dinner?'
'I thought once Papa gets home we might go have dinner at the Galaxy to celebrate.'
'Cool, but-' Joanna cut herself short, narrowed her eyes. 'How long have you known this call was coming?'
'Child, please, you think I knew in advance?' Helen grinned, winked 'Of course I did, your daddy talked the program up to me when you first said you'd applied but it took me and Papa more energy to convince him that you'd do just fine on the space-boat if you actually got picked than to fill out a small novel of paperwork that came with the acceptance package.'
'Tricky. In that case, I'm inviting Katie and you can buy us both the classic burger combo with a milkshake upgrade.'
'Naturally.'
Joanna bounced again on the spot and then grabbed her grandmother in a fierce hug. 'A whole month on a Star Fleet ship! I can't wait! I'm going to go start on my homework so I can start making packing lists!'
Helen handed her granddaughter a mini-disc, beyond thrilled to see her baby girl coming more and more back to her usual bouncy self. 'Tell Katie first and see if she can come for dinner.'
'Right, right, dinner, then homework, then lists.'
