13 Degrees of Separation (75 page)

He guiltily looked at the clock, he had just under two
hours to get lunch. But first he found out about the Anvil college. Something
told him Penny would quiz him about it when he got to the bar.

He was glad it was cheap, but dismayed by class prices and
the schedule. The only way to attend would be one class at a time, and he'd
have to pay for it out of his tips. That meant he would have little to save.

Which was another thing, he needed to get his banking sorted
out, and find out when he was going to get paid by Rick. He frowned and then
got up and got dressed. He had to go eat and then report in.

...*...*...*...*...

Penny nodded to him as he came into the bar ten minutes
early. She smiled to Rick, who snorted but didn't rise to the bait. Penny
finished taking an order, passed it to Rick, then came over as the lad made his
way to the back door.

“Did you find everything you needed?” Penny asked quietly.

He nodded. “Yes ma'am, I did. Thank you.”

“Hotel?”

“Yes ma'am.”

“Did you remember to eat?”

“Yes ma'am,” he said with a smile. “This time,” he said.

She chuckled. “Yeah, sometimes I forget too. I see you've
got better shoes on,” she said pointing to the worn but clean shoes he had on.
The ship slippers he had worn the previous night had given him a few blisters.
He wasn't looking forward to rubbing them or breaking them today. “Good. It's a
slow night, payday is on Friday. Most of our business is Thursday through
Sunday. Or a game if there is one on.”

“Okay,” he replied with a dutiful nod.

“You'll get it figured out. Did you look into the college?”

“I did a little. I was reading some of the history of the
system,” he said.

She looked at him and then nodded. “Good for you. Play
tourist sometime too kid, it's not all work here. You have to play sometime,”
she said.

He nodded.

“Just don't be stupid and drink or gamble your money away.
Work on the college.”

“I intend to ma'am,” he said.

“Already trying to get rid of him Penny?” Rick called.

Penny looked at her husband. “Unlike
some
people, I
want him to better himself. He has the potential,” she said. Suddenly Jerald
felt like he was in the middle of something. He looked from one to the other,
unsure of what to do.

Rick's eyes flashed but he smiled. “Right,” he drawled.
“Which is why you married me,” he said.

Penny pouted, hands on her hips. Rick just smirked,
cleaning his glass. Finally she dimpled, coloring slightly. There was something
there, some unspoken thing, Jerald realized. His parents had done it when they
had been alive. He shrugged.

“Get to work kid, table two needs looking after,” Rick said
gruffly.

“On it,” Jerald said, ducking into the back for his apron.

...*...*...*...*...

When his shift was over Jerald asked about manning a shift
behind the bar. He was dirty and tired, but he knew he could handle the job.
The problem was it was boring and demanding. Rick looked tired. He was the only
bartender. The waitresses had replacements, well, all but Penny, but Rick
didn't have a replacement.

“You think you can handle my job kid?” Rick asked, clearly
amused as he crossed his arms.

“I think I can handle it,” Jerald replied, holding his
ground.

“Well, think again. Oh I wouldn't mind the break, but you
have to have a liquor license to be a bartender here kid.”

“You do?”

“Hadn't gotten that far?”

“No,” Jerald admitted, shaking his head.

“Well, look into it kid. For now, I'm beat. Time for some
loving with a beautiful woman,” he teased, pitching his voice to his wife.

She turned, dimpling but she had a feisty look. “What? You
seeing some hussy I don't know about?” she demanded.

He chuckled, coming over to grab her. He slowly wrapped her
in his embrace and then kissed her. She giggled, she was a head taller than
him. She put her feet on his and he shuffled around, doing a slow dance as they
held each other.

Jerald watched them for a brief moment before he turned
away, giving them their privacy. He finished the bar cleaning, shined the
brass, then showed himself out.

...*...*...*...*...

In the morning he had a quick breakfast, shower, did a
little exercise and then looked around. He found the Laundromat, he wasn't
happy, but he paid to have his meager clothes cleaned. He needed to get more,
having three outfits was obviously not enough here.

While he waited for his clothes to dry he looked into the
banking issue. He made note of the nearest bank in his sector of the station.
It wasn't necessarily the best, but it had the benefit of being nearby.

He also looked into the liquor license. It took a bit of
research, but he finally found out what he wanted to know.

He could pass for the permit if he paid for it. That was
annoying, having to pay to get a permit to pour beer. What were they thinking?
He grunted in irritation.

Since he only served ale, beer, or moonshine at the tavern
he could do so once he passed the permit test. Then if he wanted to continue or
get his full license he would have to go to bar college for bartending. He was
intrigued by the very idea, going to college to learn to pour alcohol? When his
shift started he talked to Penny and the others on his shift, both patrons and
staff. The Anvil college had a small bartending class, but to get the full
college experience he had to go to the college on 12Baker. He found out it's on
a small agro colony. There were only a hundred people living there, the rest of
the space was for the massive grain fields used to make bread or liquor. They
also had massive vats for yeast and making beer, all in caves hollowed out of
the asteroid. They used gene engineered crops and hydroponics, but still needed
light and space for the plants to grow. The habitat was under the surface
farms.

Last year the crops had been destroyed by a solar flare.
The intense radiation had seared the crops, irradiating them into wilted ruin.
That explained why the price of alcohol had tripled he realized.

The course was a month long, you had to pay for everything
while there, and it was quite expensive. He frowned but then set the thought
aside to finish his shift.

...*...*...*...*...

On Monday he went to the college, first thing. He signed
up, smiling to the older lady who had helped him through the sign in process. A
young girl poked him after the nice older woman had left. “You know who that
is?” she hissed at him.

“Um, no she never did give me her name,” he said, frowning.

“That's the dean you idiot!” the girl said, shaking her
head.

“It is?” he asked stupidly.

She giggled at his expression, covering her mouth. He
blushed, feeling his ear tips burn. “Um...”

“Either she was bored or amused by you. Either way kid,
count your blessings,” the girl said. She clutched her tablet to her chest and
left with only one backwards glance. He frowned after her and then picked his
new tablet up.

The tablet was student issue, something he had happily
discovered when the kind woman had pointed it out to him, amused by his
ignorance. She had also handed him several small chips, she had called them
flash sticks, and had tapped the tablet and then sternly told him to read the
school rule book. He had dutifully nodded. Now he understood why she had
emphasized that.

He had signed up for the basic freshman correspondence
course, taking refresher classes. Upon the woman's advice he'd taken junior
courses, they wouldn't earn him credits but they would ease him into college.
Hopefully he wouldn't get swamped. She had also pointed out scholarships. He
made a mental note to look into that. But first he had to get moving, his next
shift would be starting soon.

...*...*...*...*...

His first week of school was bewildering, now he had another
map to memorize, plus memorize methods to get to the college and to the bar
quickly. Rick had called him in to cover a shift, that had thrown him but he'd
done the job without complaint. When Friday came along he was exhausted but
elated, he'd survived both so he knew he could handle things. It was also his
first payday from the bar, he didn't have to live off his tips. When he
returned to the motel he paid for the following week and then went to study.

...*...*...*...*...

While in school he met a tattoo artist in training. The
girl Julie was covered in tattoos, some quiet elaborate. One was a holographic
portrait that popped off her skin. She explained it was powered by her body
heat, it was the latest rage.

He considered getting a tattoo, a lot of the patrons in the
bar and even Penny and Rick had at least one. But when he found out about the
cost and payment plan, he reluctantly decided against it.

Julie had smiled when he had demurred, and had found
another guy to be interested in.

...*...*...*...*...

He accidentally ran into a mugger when he got turned around
exploring the station. He managed to stay out of arms reach, but then a second
mugger popped up. “What's your hurry kid?” he laughed. It was an ugly, feral
laugh that chilled the lad. He knew instantly he was in trouble. He saw the
knife one had in his palm and that was all it took to make it clear he needed
to get out of there.

He turned and ran. The scruffy men bayed like wolves and
gave chase. He entered a main concourse, crossed the empty darkened area and
then dived into a hatch with a picture of a cat on the front. He slammed the
door shut behind him and leaned against it. There was a thump as one of them
men hit it, then a gloating laugh.

“We'll be waiting for you when you finish,” a voice called.

He got his bearings, it was dark, there was red lights in
the room, some furniture, carpet in odd places, and tapestries. One apparently
covered a hatch to another room.

He heard females chirruping and meowing. He wasn't sure
what to make of it. “It's a human!” a nearby voice said.

“What's a human doing here?” a voice asked.

“I smell fear!”

“I could do a human!”

“I could too, want to double team him?” another voice
called out.

“Sure,” the second replied with a chirrup.

“Down girls,” the proprietress said, coming in wearing a
red silk sarong. She was a leopardess, lean and tall, with grace beyond her
feline lineage. She eyed the human for a long moment. “Lost young man? Or in an
exploratory mood?” she asked, flicking her ears forward in humor.

“Um...” he looked around, still panting. He was in a
waiting room, that much was obvious now. A waiting room for Neo's judging by
the brown domestic male cat who had been grooming himself in the corner. The
male looked up with a sniff then went back to cleaning his coat. The brown and
black male ignored him, though his ears were flat. “Um... No... yes...”

“Which is it kid? You aren't our usual clientele,” the
Leopard churred, cocking her head as she drummed her fingers on her folded
arms. She stopped and gently stroked her cheek whiskers with one hand.

Suddenly he realized where he was, a cat house. A feline
prostitution house. He blinked, blushing. “I'm um, sorry to intrude,” he
stuttered, not sure what to do. He obviously couldn't retreat right away.

“Something is wrong,” the feline said, looking at him. “Out
with it,” she ordered. The male cat looked up in interest.

Something about her, her self confidence, the white in her
muzzle, the situation, he felt safe in her presence. Yes she was a predator in
more ways than one, but he much preferred her presence over the duo outside.
Something also told him she was a mother, and he felt oddly comforted by her
grass green knowing eyes.

He told his story to the patron and the leopardess. Her
tail thrashed, and her ears went back. She folded her arms, keeping the sarong
in place but also drumming her fingers on her arms. She wasn't amused, muggers
in the area gave her sector a bad rap, it drove away business by labeling it a
crime zone. She looked over to Rigby, the tom. He flicked his ears and
whiskers, clearly amused by the human's predicament but not by the idea of
muggers outside.

“Um, sorry, my name is Jerald Holmes, I'm ah...”

He told her who he was, how he was a college student
working part time at the bar. The bar name made her nod.

“You know Rick and Penny. You're the new kid they took
under their wing. Okay kid, I've heard of you.”

“You know them?” he asked, clearly surprised. Both cat's
snorted, flicking their ears.

“It's a big station but people get around kid. We all know
each other. At least the old hands do,” she said, flicking her ears in humor.
He blinked at her.

“Come on, I'll walk you home. Or at least out of the area.”

He felt embarrassed, like his manhood had just been
questioned. To be protected by a woman? He had been taught to be the protector.
He stood taller. “I can...”