26 The Order of Tomorrow - Part II

12th March

Staghead, Artemis, Freehold territory

After getting back from the protest earlier today, me and Jaime were exhausted. We'd spent the last few days working non-stop, with practically no breaks whatsoever. Frank Scuderi's appearance at the rally was unexpected to say the least, and seems to be just about all most people can talk about.

As the jug finishes boiling, the doorbell rings. I look over to the couch, where Jaime makes no attempt to stand up.

"Can you get that? I'm still busy here."

Jaime groaned loudly, and rolled over onto her back. I turned back towards the kitchen and picked up the jug, though I could hear a few loud thuds from behind me, as Jaime pulled herself to her feet. The doorbell went again, as Jaime loudly staggered toward the door.

I hear the door open moments later, to the sound of Jaime saying, "hello!"

Then immediately afterwards I hear, "sorry, you weren't who I was expecting."

"It's fine. May I come in?"

"Please do."

The voice sounds vaguely familiar to me, but I can't exactly place it. It's a woman's voice, and I get the feeling that I should know it, but I just can't place it. Someone from Dunstan? Well, I'll see who it is soon enough.

"Would you like a coffee?" I call out from behind me.

"No, I'm fine thanks."

As I pour milk into the coffees, I hear the sound of at least one person, maybe two, sitting down on the couch. I made the coffee for her, and Jaime isn't even going to give up her seat on the couch for me? I sigh under my breath, then pick up the cups, and walk over to the couch. From the back of her head, I can tell that the woman is Asian, but that doesn't help me remember who she is. The vast majority of the people on the moon are Asian. As I move around to see the front of her face, I do, however, immediately recognise her. Chee Soon Mei of the first twenty is sitting on my couch. Well, I guess it isn't my couch, this is just a temporary apartment... but still. And even though I saw her from a distance and heard her speak today, this is something else entirely. Still recovering from the surprise of seeing Chee Soon Mei on the couch, I walk over toward Jaime to pass over her coffee.

As I do, Chee Soon Mei speaks, "you were sitting beside Jaime onstage today, yes?"

"Y-yes, ma'am," I say, a little flustered. It feels as if some statue has grown vocal chords, and started speaking to me. I think there was a movie like that. B*n St**ler was in it.

"Please call me Mei," she replied, shaking her head, "I don't like it when people say ma'am. It makes me feel like an old lady."

"Sorry, m... Mei," I say. I back up towards the wall, and lean against it. Because the room is only temporary, it only has the bare minimum furniture that every apartment in Artemis has. Meaning only the one couch. There's a few seconds of silence where nobody says anything, and for some reason the air feels a little tense to me, though I can't place why.

"Sorry, what's your name?" Mei asks me.

"Maria. Maria binti Osman."

Sorry about this Maria, but could I ask you to go into the next room? There's something important that I need to discuss with Jaime that I would rather didn't get spread around."

I see, so that's why it felt so tense. It seems that I've stumbled upon a secret meeting of the neighbourhood association. I'm about to say that I understand, and push against the wall to stand myself upright, when I hear Jaime speak.

"You don't need to worry, Mei. I trust Maria wouldn't tell anyone anything that you say here."

Huh? Does Jaime really trust me that much? That surprises me a little. Why would she trust me that much? It isn't like we've known each other for all that long. I turn to face Mei, and see that she is staring at me intently, most like trying to see if I seem trustworthy. Not that you could do that just by looking at a person's face.

"That's fine then. If Jaime vouches for you, then I'll believe that you're trustworthy," she says finally, after a few seconds have passed.

"Thank you," I say. To be honest, it wasn't important to me whether I was allowed to listen or not, it isn't a conversation that I'll be able to contribute much to either way. But I suppose it would be a shame to meet one of the first twenty, then sit in the next room, whilst she talks with my roommate. I'll have to thank Jaime for this afterward.