Mateo and Angela are sitting in the living room together, reading their
respective books from the library. Marie and Heath are out on the balcony,
having a private conversation. Though, it probably can’t be too private,
because any other resident could potentially hear them. A phone rings from
their bedroom. Upon seeing that the two of them don’t hear it, Mateo gets up
and goes inside. On the nightstand, he sees four phones lined up next to
each other on what’s probably a wireless charger. On top of each one is a
scrap piece of paper, tucked into the case, labeling them by name. Using his
newfound genius level intelligence, he surmises that the one labeled LEONA
is Leona’s new device. He answers it, and clears his throat. Then he almost
laughs, because he remembers that being a problem back when he was just a
normal person in the main sequence. The rational thing to do would be to
clear one’s throat first, and answer second.
“Leona Matic’s phone.” A bright light shines into the corner of his eyes. He
pulls his head away from it as fast as he pulls the phone in the opposite
direction. He didn’t realize that it’s a hologram. “Oh, sorry. I thought it
was audio only.” He didn’t even know holograms were a thing here in this
time period. They have some weird expectations when it comes to technology.
The little lady standing over the screen nods respectfully. “That’s quite
all right. Is Magnus Matic available?”
She must be talking about Leona. That’s his newfound genius coming through
again. “I’m afraid she’s unavailable, she’s at work.”
Apparently surprised by this, the woman looks all around her. “I’m sorry, I
was to understand she would be starting here soon.”
“Starting where?”
“Oh, forgive me,” she says in a horrified tone. “This is Magnus Petra
Burgundy of the University of Usonia Kansas City Astrophysics and Cosmology
Department. According to our records, Magnus Matic has recently requested
transfer from U of U Denver.”
“Oh, yeah, right, of course. Yeah, she’s just working part time in retail.
We were to understand it could take months for the transfer to go through.
We sort of had to move out here on late notice due to family circumstances,
so she just took what she could right away to support us.” No joke this
time, that was a decent lie.
“That’s understandable,” Petra responds. “We foresee her ability to maintain
her position, assuming it’s not too demanding, and still be able to work
with us. However, when we received the notification for the request, we were
quite ecstatic. Someone with her credentials and experience is exactly what
we were looking for in regards to a special project we’ve been struggling
with. I can’t say much over the phone, or to you, but we would be greatly
relieved if she could begin work here immediately.”
Really? What fanciful claims did the forger make on her fake background
documents? Magnus sounds like some kind of educational title, which he knows
Leona not to have achieved in real life. Hopefully it’s not something she
can’t fake her way through. “I imagine she would be happy to do that, though
I cannot speak on her behalf. We just got new phones, so she forgot to take
it with her today, but she’ll be back in the next few hours, if you would
like to speak with her directly.”
“Yes, we would. And I apologize if calling today has caused any faith
conflict. We know quite a bit about what Magnus Matic has accomplished in
her time at Denver, but she did not list any shabatica. We operate seven
days a week, but we respect our team members, and their disparate religious
observances.”
“Rrrright,” Mateo answers, not sure what a shabatica is, but sure that he’s
supposed to know. “I’ll give her the message.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
She just kind of stands there a moment.
“Could you hang up first? I’m not good with technology, she’s the smart
one.”
“Very well.” The hologram disappears.
Mateo spins around, and comes face to face with Heath. “You found the
phones?”
“Yes, Leona received a call.”
“Yeah, we bought them years ago. I don’t know why we bothered, it’s not like
it would have been urgent. But we stuffed them in a drawer, and kept paying
the data plans. I don’t know what kind of devices you’re used to, but you
don’t ever turn these off. They will last for weeks on one charge, but they
will eventually lose power. Even if you were to indeed switch them off, they
would trickle it away slowly. We forgot about them, then Marie remembered
last night, and rushed to charge them up. Y’all left before we could get
them to you.”
“It’s okay,” Mateo determines. “She’ll be back soon.” He starts to walk
towards him, like he’s trying to leave, but Heath doesn’t budge.
“One question.”
“Okay.”
“It’s going to sound random, but...do you like oyriri?”
“Do I?” Mateo asks as if it’s obvious that he does. “Do I?” he repeats, but
in a more genuine tone. “What is that?”
Heath pulls a hologram up on his own device.”
Mateo squints and turns his head into different angles. “That’s a
pineapple.”
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