78 JACKANAPES (1/2)
At a child booth on the twentieth deck.
A cross-eyed kid was inside the booth, seated near the inglenook, but he wasn't eating anything like the rest of the children—all of whom were in germ-free clothes that not-so-nicely fit their lithe bodies. Today's menu had his favorite food, the vale sausage, but he was yet to put one on his plate.
”To speak fluently, you must work at using elision,” the governess—the quintessential part of the child booth—was lecturing kids with her mellifluous voice even when they were eating and playing. She secretly dropped translucent effervescent pills in water to make it all fizzy and made sure that the children found the bubbling water by a fortunate stroke of serendipity, so she could grab their attention and lecture them briefly about it.
”Look! There are bubbles rising in the water!”
”Eh? What's this, teacher? Can we drink it?” many children gathered near the bucket of 'strange' water and peered at it with big eyes. The pet peacock raised by everyone in the booth also came and peeked into the bucket.
”It's called bubbling water,” the governess expounded. ”This phenomenon happens when you inject gases into liquids. Soda also looks like this. Consuming this type of drink often will create problems in your stomach. That is to say, your belly will bloat, and you will burp and fart more times per day.”
”Aiyah! We don't want it!” the children spread out like chickens that feared their own crooked shadows. The peacock also ran off, flaunting its iridescent feathers.
”Hehe,” the governess laughed within herself. ”The tongue should indeed be feared more than the sword.” Then she ran after a selective group of children and professed to them, ”People with big bellies release a plethora of 'them' every day. So, learn the habit of watching out for the changes in your belly every single day!”
A child booth was a separate housing made just for children aged at or under seven years, and in some rare cases, eight years. Compared to a bread booth, a child booth was typically much bigger in size, and not just bread, but many other types of food were also made available to eat. Any deck usually had multiple child booths, but only one child booth on any deck was run directly by the authorities of the ship. This was called the Prime Child Booth. Every other child booth was run by private donations as still overseen by authorities themselves.
For the most part, children, who lost their parents or got abandoned, stayed in the chid booths, which also provided free accommodation. Their lifestyles in the child booths were not opulent by any means, but they weren't underprivileged either.
The only strict rule followed in the child booth was to not take food outside the booth and instead eat everything inside. This was done so that adults couldn't force children to bring them good food. If this rule was broken by a child, they would be sent away to another child booth, and if they repeated it three times, they would be kicked out, and no child booth on that deck would take them in anymore, thereby forcing them to leave the deck and move on to the other decks, the lower ones, in general, as they were too young to pass the deck tests. After all, a child born on the twentieth floor could freely travel to all the decks below that deck but had to pass the deck test of the floor they were born in if they wished to go to the upper decks.
”Beren, why aren't you eating anything?” a seven-year-old green-haired girl sat at the cross-eyed kid's table and gave him a demure smile, but he didn't reply. ”Aren't you forgetting something?”
”Just leave me alone, Lima,” Beren said in a disappointed voice.
”How can I? I just turned seven today. I'm at the same age as you,” she kept on talking, without reading the other one's mood. ”In a year, I'll be leaving this booth. Though I'm scared, I'm also excited. Aren't you getting fired up? As we promised to each other, we can explore all the decks on this ship, hear the Song of the Ship, and then see the world together! We should buy cakes for each other's birthday when we go out. We should see the blue skies and walk on the earth side by side. We should see snow and wet our feet with it. We should soak in the rain together and see the sunshine that follows it. We should visit a lagoon and play with the fish living there. Oh, and we should also go to that place where it rains silver. We should visit all the cities on land, skies, and seas. We should verify if Critter City is real or not. We should—”
Beren stood and ground his teeth in frustration, puzzling her. ”Lima, I don't think I can keep that promise. And this Song of the Ship… is just a myth.” Saying that he began to walk away. He thought back on how he promised her that he would always be with her whenever she witnessed a myth come true or something new and wonderful. And the memories only brought a shade of gray to his face. ”Look for another partner.”
Lima was left speechless and didn't move an inch while in her seat.
Another kid walked in and said, ”You should have let the funny-eyed one be, Lima. Don't you know that his mom died today?”
”What?” Lima couldn't digest what she heard. She was busy in the booth, given it was her birthday. She stayed with the cook and made sure that the vale sausages were being cooked well because she knew it was Beren's favorite. She was immersed in perfecting everything to make the day as memorable as she can, but now, it ended up becoming an unforgettable day in an entirely different way.
Though the child booths offered good food, they never sponsored birthday cakes. Since nobody was allowed to sell most kinds of food on the lower decks, these children never got to taste cakes, let alone cut one for their birthday. If not for the adults talking about cakes, they wouldn't even be knowing about such things.
Now, after Beren had said those words, Lima couldn't imagine herself ever cutting a cake, much less the one that Beren bought for her. She couldn't help but feel at a loss, for she had met Beren's mother many times in the past. Even she didn't understand what was going through her mind at the time.
Meanwhile, on the twelfth deck.
A few seconds after Everna left the clinic, ”How is he looking now?” Mulyk asked aloud from outside.
”He...” Hundred, who was looking at Lirzod, couldn't believe his eyes as Lirzod's skin glowed greatly, ”he's shining like crazy!”
”Shining? Hmph, why wouldn't he?” Mulyk bit her lower lip. ”Just tell him to come out already!” A scornful voice beat against his eardrums.
”Uh,” Hundred fingered his ear, ”but he's not awake.”
”Huh? What do you mean?” Mulyk turned around and peeked inside only to see Lirzod laying on the bed. ”Why's he napping? Wake him up!”
”He's not napping. It seems he was forced into a deep sleep.”
”What?” she was initially discombobulated by his response, but then a knowing expression dawned on her visage.
”You told me to clean the room, didn't you?” Hundred said, ”Let him rest till then.”
Mulyk paused for a moment and then responded, ”I have no problem as long as you clean it well enough that no cockroaches come near this clinic for many months. Otherwise, you will have to work as my assistant for a year!”
”Eh?” Hundred's heart almost stopped. ”T-That's too much. How about a day?”
”Get to work. I'm not getting in until it's fully cleaned!” At that moment, Mulyk looked to her right, and Sariyu was drawing near on foot at a quick pace. After closing in, Sariyu entered the clinic without even glancing at Mulyk, which made her mildly snort, because what Sariyu did made it seem as if she was entering her own clinic.
777, on the other hand, was watching things from afar. If he got any closer, he was afraid that Mulyk would demand some coin for everything that had happened. Why's she standing outside? Is she waiting for me? He wondered.
”How is he?” Sariyu first asked Hundred and then looked at Lirzod.
”The jackanapes will not die, but he may need some rest.' That's what the monk said before she left,” Hundred put the broom into motion.
”Monk?” Sariyu was surprised a bit but then smiled. ”Did she call him a jackanapes? Haha, a fitting word for this presumptuous young 'un.” She then quickly got herself under composure. ”Ahem, can you brief me on what has happened?”
”Uh, sure,” Hundred hesitated because he didn't know what exactly to say, but Sariyu took a seat and kept staring at him as if waiting for him to start. I think it's better if I skip the awkward moments.
At that moment, Sariyu's stomach grumbled a bit.
”Was that...” Hundred gave her a doubtful look.
”It's my stomach,” Sariyu calmly replied.
A second of awkward silence passed in the room.
”And why are 'you' cleaning the room?” she asked.
He gave out a long sigh. ”A lot has happened.” He began to explain most of the events, and in the end, he managed to make her breath a sigh of relief, and that was when he understood that things took place the way she had wanted.
A few hours later.
Not far away from the clinic, two men were showcasing their skills with wooden swords while their pupils clapped in the background. They only had one customer, and it was 777. After they were finished with their display, the two men in decent clothes looked at 777 with a proud look.
”Wow! Superb, masters!”
”That was one of the best displays in recent times!”
The pupils, mostly young adults, kept on praising their two masters and made them lift their noses even high into the air.
”Not bad,” 777 said, ”but I don't think I'm going to join.”
”Eh?” everyone was shocked.
The two masters quickly cleared their throats. ”We'll reduce the fee by ten percent.”