Дэймон Найт: Orbit 13

Then corned supper-time, and it were rosbeef-a, what are yumyum, but thiseve, my heart were quicking so fast, I couldn’t hardly eat. Would he really come? Doed he really like me, or were he just pooching?

Finally it were time. Fun-time. The best time of the week. I doed my hair in fine curlies, and Judy letted me use some blue pawpaint. And Sally letted me wear her bestest tunic of red shinycloth, what she getted last year from all her points. I haved to for sure promise to be super-careful and not spill no punch-a on it. And I putted on some julies and some leggies and my queeny-pals said I were the most headhi queeny they never seen.

It were real hyster down in the aud. All the queenies from the whole commune was there and also a lot haved invited they tommy-pals from other communes and some haved invited they parents to come from the family-communes. Me and my queeny-pals hain’t invited our parents for a long time, though we keeped thinking to do it soonly. But no juice for that now.

I goed over to the door of the aud where folks was waiting to get in. The aud-mommy only letted invited folks in, to keep out freakies. Were he there? Were he there? My heart quicked along.

Yes, he were there! There he were! And he gleamed when he seed me. And I gleamed right back. And after the aud-mommy letted him in, we just standed there, gleaming for awhile.

Then the aud-mommy telled us to sit down and they showed a cartoon-prog what were real funny, about this dumdum cat, trying to catch this brainsy mouse, in the oldy days. And the mouse keeped on hitting the cat what gotted all grunchy and mangly, and other weirdy things what maked us hyster a lot.

And then we folded up the chairs, and all holded hands in a circle, and we doed folk dancies, like London Bridges and Here We Go Round the Rosy. But I couldn’t hardly give them no juice cause of Jonsy being right next to me and aholding of my hand, real tightsy, like no tommy never doed before, with his fingers slidded right up, between mine, and now and then a-squeezing and a-rubbing of them, so soonly my whole hand and arm was buzzering and I could feel the little brown curlies on his fingers, and rough places where his nails was bited, and it feeled so warm and good, like a platy of hot food-a.

And when the folk-dancy were done, and the aud-mommy telled us to line up for punch-a and cake-a, he keeped ahold of my hand, and still rubbing and squeezing, till I were near hyster and the aud-mommy finally noticed and said we was to quit, or I’d get demerits.

So we drinked our punch-a and eated our cake-a, and I were supercare not to spillsy on Sally’s shinycloth. And then the singalong started and it were playing “Hot Sunshine” and “Old Man Moses,” which was jolly-fine.

And then the aud-mommy readed us a special newsy-bill about how the white folks army were almost to Shanghai, what maked us gleam. But then fun-night were over, and all the guesties have to go away, what maked me feel super down, cept Jonsy gived my hand a quick, secret squeezy and whispered, “I got tickets for the ballsy on Wednesday. You wanna come?”

I getted so excity, I near hystered all over the shinycloth, and I said, “I sure does! That would be super-upper. No tommy never taked me ta the ballsy before!”

Then the aud-mommy helped him with his coat, and he gived my hand another squeezy and goed away. But I never feeled so headhi in my life, and I decided I were never gonna wash my hand again.

Oh, the week goed by so superslow. Smart-time, with cable-progs on how birdies used to grow in eggs, and how Eskimos used to live in the oldy days. And the singalong. And bruncheons. Sometimes the food-a were yumyum, and sometimes it were glumphy. Play-time on the roof, or the gym, with bangmitten or pingypong. Then supper. Then game-time in the aud, with checkers or bingo, and the singalong, and then maybe a movie-prog with tommies and queenies holding hands and kissing, what maked me real hyster to think I doed that with Jonsy. And chittering with my queeny-pals. And lights-out.

Most times them things is jolly-fine. And I was glad I isn’t one of them brainsy folks what thinks theys so upper, cause they gets to live in privapts, and eats real food sometimes and has privautos, and goes to privschools. They gots to spend all the day a-thinking and a-working and a-planning for the rest of us folks. They can’t enjoy theyselves allatimes, like me. Even the commune mommies, what thinks theys so upper with they points and demerits and linies. Even them can’t have as much fun, and doesn’t get tickets out much moren me.

But this week I were wishing now I were a little brainsy, so I could think of something else cept waiting to see Jonsy on Wednesday , what were filling my whole brain.

But finally Wednesday comed, and I were near hyster the whole day, for fear he wouldn’t come. But after supper, there he were, right at the door, and my heart roared like a rapid when I seed him. He showed the tickets to the door-mommy, so I could get a pass to go, and she helped me with my coat. Headhi! Two outings in one week! I hain’t never beed on so many. While we was walking to the rapid, he taked my hand again. My other hand, this time. What maked me hyster to think that now I couldn’t wash neither hand nomore. And Jonsy asked howcome I were hystering, but I wouldn’t tell.

And then he started to tell me how he weren’t brainsy enough for school, of course, but he were maybe enough brainsy to pass the test for the army, and then he could have a semipriv room and more tickets for outings, and stuff like that. And he were asking how I’d like to have a tommy-pal what were brainsy enough for the army.

And I said I wouldn’t like it, cause he’d have to work hard all a time, cleaning the streets and the rapid, and would maybe have to go to China.

But he said how most armytoms doesn’t got to go to China, cause they’s needed for all a jobbies here, what the robos can’t do. The brainsy folks beed able to make robos to do most jobbies, but not ones where they has to move around by theyselves, like cleaning up, or watching folks like the mommies and daddies.

But Jonsy said how he thought it would be jolly-fine to walk around all day, doing something important, instead of staying in the stuffy old commune, with the commune-daddies telling him what to do.

And I said I doedn’t like the commune-mommies, neither, but my queeny-pals was nice, and I sure hoped he doedn’t got to go to China.

Then the rapid comed. And he taked my elbow to help me on. And I hystered to think I couldn’t wash my elbow, neither. And there was two seats, what were a surprise, so we sitted down, and couldn’t talk no more, cause of the singalong, what were playing “Riding on the Rapid,” and “Old Man Moses.” But Jonsy putted his arm around my shoulder, what maked me get all red and sweaty, cause I could feel his muscles, all hard and strong, and his hand all a-rubbing of my shoulder. And my cheek a-leaning against his warmsy chest. I could feel the scratchycloth of his shirt against my cheek, and could even smell the soap and sweat and shave cream and other tommy-do, all mixed up, and a special, sugarsweet smell what were just himself. And I were feeling like a movie-prog star, until the rapid-daddy noticed us and telled us to quit it, or he’d take our numbers for demerits.

So we sitted up and gleamed through the singalong. And I figured I’d have to wash my cheek and shoulder, else I’d get all pimply like.

At the ballsy park was more folks than I never seed before. The propers all a time tell us why we gots to eat food-a instead of real food is cause there’s so much folks. But I never believed there was so much till now. I couldn’t count them in a week.