Alida tugged a hairbrush roughly through Graycie’s tangled hair.
‘Ow, that hurts.’
‘Well, you went and got your hair all knotted. What did you do at Magda’s creche all day, rub your head around on the ground or something?’
‘No … ow!’ Graycie tried to pull away. ‘I don’t want my hair brushed.’
‘Don’t even try it. Get here.’ Alida grabbed Graycie by the collar. ‘If I don’t fix this hair you’ll look like nobody loves you.’ Now she really sounded like Mum.
‘Why are you so mean?’ Graycie broke free and wedged herself in the corner of the shack.
A wave of dizziness overcame Alida. She collapsed onto her bedroll. ‘I’m real sorry, Gray. I’m … just … so … hungry.’ Alida’s hands trembled. She reached behind her and grabbed the bag of nutrition bars Fairy Godmother Zaneela had given her and counted them for the bazillionth time that day. There were still only two left.
Graycie scooted over as soon as she heard the bag rustling. ‘I’m hungry too.’
‘How can you be hungry? You had one of these for breakfast and Magda would’ve given you some grub at creche.’ Alida hadn’t munched anything for nearly twenty-four hours. She had zero dosh left and the hubs were closed after the attacks so they couldn’t even collect their Nutri-Shake or water rations.
‘But that was hours ago,’ Graycie whined.
Alida grit her teeth and gave a bar to Graycie. Her guts seethed with an empty nausea. She held the last bar in her hand. She had no clue when the hubs would reopen. Graycie would need the last bar tomorrow.
Alida took a sip of water. Their water stash wouldn’t last them the week. Her mind stalled and her limbs felt heavy. She had to eat something. Soon. Their dosh would have lasted longer if Zave hadn’t kept asking for handout after handout.
Graycie ate her nutrition bar in two gulps. ‘Did you bring me any presents from the burbs?’
Alida pulled the head of a doll – its face all drawn on and its scalp covered in clumps of plastic hair with bald patches – out of her scavenging bag. She’d spent nearly all day in the burbs with Zave, hoping he’d get it through his dimwit skull that she was skint. They’d trekked for nearly two hours before they reached houses that weren’t totally picked over.
The burbs used to be fun for Alida. She once liked to walk around the ruins of houses and imagine what it was like for characters who lived back in the fossil fuel times. This time, though, it hadn’t been worth the water and energy they’d needed to make the trip. All they’d found was some cutlery and a couple of ceramic pots. They hadn’t even been able to flog them. With the hubs closed everybody was saving their dosh for grub.
‘Gray, you have to stay here while I go see Freel.’
‘Are you gonna get us some grub?’
‘I’m gonna try, but there’ll be zero for you if you make a fuss and get Odeene or whoever over here. Got it?’
‘Uh-huh.’
Alida put on her boots and a SunSuit. She had zero other options. After a day of walking the burbs with an empty belly, the last thing she felt like doing was making the half-hour trek to Freel’s joint. Her legs were rubbery and her head light. To top it all off she had her monthlies.
She was hot, sweaty and thirsty in minutes. Cramps thudded through her pelvis. All she wanted to do was crack the sads and curl up in Mum’s lap until Mum told her to pull herself together because crying was for littlies. But Mum would never say that, or anything else, ever again. Hell.
By the time she reached the main road her pubes, which were growing back after the Fairy Godmother had banished them, itched like mad. She put her hand under her SunSuit and scratched.
The road out of plastic-land cut through the Demi-Settlements and then over the burbs like a shiny black ribbon stretched over a rotting gift. Trucks zoomed past. Some of them beeped and the jerk drivers shouted nasty comments. She could have made some quick dosh right there on the edge of the road. She also could have ended up dead or chained up in some empty building. She gave them all the finger instead.
It was hotter on the main road. Heat blasted from the tarmac, and the whoosh of the passing trucks was the only breeze. The setting sun was right in her eyes. She kept her gaze on her feet and off the heat mirages that made her even dizzier. She didn’t even know if Freel would help her when she got there.
By the time she reached the museum Alida felt like a driedout piece of jerky. She worked her tongue to get some moisture into her mouth and allowed herself the titchiest sip of water. The lawn was so green. Alida imagined she would sink into it and be covered with cool water if she stepped off the path. Shame she couldn’t swim.
An armoured bus was parked out the front. Plastic-faces must be visiting. She hoped that meant they were going to reopen the hubs soon. Demis were grumbling that the attacks had been for shit-all. News from Freel’s camp had been non-existent, so all sorts of rumours had flooded in to fill the silence. The most popular one was that Freel had wanted to shut down LeaderCorp in the Demi-Settlements so that he would have a monopoly on supplying grub and water.
Two of Freel’s goons stood on either side of the entrance, straight-backed with their hands clasped tightly over their privates and chins pressed into their thick necks. Smokes, the ultimate status symbol in the Demi-Settlements, hung from the edges of their lips.
‘I wanna see Freel,’ Alida said.
‘He’s busy right now.’ One of the goons took a deep drag.
‘Can you give him a message?’ Alida was tempted to touch the orange burning end of the smoke with the tip of her finger.
‘Do I look like a secretary?’ The jerk blew smoke in her face.
‘Come on. I just wanna have a quick word with him.’ Freel had been sending Ganya after her, hassling her to do another gig, and now that she was desperate enough she couldn’t get anywhere near him. ‘He’ll wanna speak to me. Just tell him Alida’s out here. I’ll wait.’
The front door beeped. The goon grabbed Alida by the arm and dragged her to the side.
‘Hey.’
‘Shut up a minute.’
Ganya and a couple of LeaderCorp goons stepped through the door first and then Freel emerged with another plastic-face, a Citizen with glossy, golden waves of hair that looked like your hands would slide right off if you tried to touch it. She was almost a head taller than Freel in tortuous-looking heels that reminded Alida how sore her own feet were. Freel and the Citizen were blinding each other with their super-white smiles. Alida wondered if that was how plastic-faces wrangled in the city, by shooting tooth-shine at each other until one of them passed out.
They all strode to the armoured bus and Freel and the Citizen shook hands before the visitors piled on. Ganya spied Alida and raised her eyebrows. Alida nodded.
The bus departed and Freel stood in the middle of the road until it disappeared. As he strutted back to the museum Alida wriggled out of the goon’s grip and moved into his path.
Freel smirked. ‘Alida. You look like shit.’
‘Well, things’ve been a bit tough with the hubs closed and everything.’
Freel rubbed his palms together. ‘That’ll all be changing very soon and I’ll be announcing some news to shut up all the doubters. Now, I’m sure you must be after some work.’
‘I’m considering it. Depends on what you’ve got.’ Alida suspected Freel saw through her tough act, but the alternative was to drop to her knees and beg.
‘I have something that would suit you. Tonight, actually.’ Freel tossed his shimmery hair off his shoulder and stood wide-legged like his balls needed more room than the average guy’s.
‘Tonight?’ Alida hadn’t expected something so soon. She thought maybe there’d be something later in the week and Freel would advance her the credits.
‘It’s tonight or nothing. Ganya will give you the details.’ Freel kept walking towards the museum entrance.
‘Hey. What about the dosh?’
Freel turned and came at her with his finger pointed and his voice raised. ‘No credits until you show up for the job. You’ve become a pain in my arse. Ganya tells me you hide whenever she comes looking for you. You’ll need to be more reliable and more professional if you’re going to work for me. This is your last chance.’
Freel stopped, his finger in front of Alida’s nose. She gulped and didn’t say anything. He was right. He turned and strode into the museum. Her legs buckled beneath her and she sat right there on the path.
Ganya put her hand on Alida’s shoulder. ‘How long since you’ve eaten?’
‘Yesterday morning.’
‘Eish! Wait out here. I’ll get you some rations and tell you about the job.’ Ganya helped her up.
Alida sat on the steps in the shade of the museum and rubbed her face while Ganya went inside. Her arms and legs trembled and cramps squeezed her insides like an augmented fist. She reckoned she might pass out on the trip back home.
Ganya came back out and handed her a bag filled with three water sachets, three Nutri-Shake sachets and three mixed insect nutrition bars. ‘Freel sent me the specifics of the job. We’ll meet at 10 p.m. Tunnels are blocked after all the explosions but we’ve got another truckie contact.’
‘Cheers. Um, Ganya?’ Alida ripped open a nutrition bar and took a bite.
‘Yeah?’
‘I have my monthlies.’ Alida grimaced. Mum had never told her what she did if she had a gig at that time of the month.
‘What do you use?’
‘A cup.’
‘That’s not ideal. I’ll get you some sponges.’ Ganya squatted down. ‘If you let us, we’ll take good care of you. Get you the contraceptive implant, give you ladies’ products and extra rations when we have them. There’s loads of perks working for Freel. He’s not as scaly as you think.’
Alida nodded. She didn’t want to be one of Freel’s girls. But they made it sound slicker than any other option she had. Maybe she could sort something else out when she wasn’t so hungry. She wanted Mum. Mostly because she missed her so much, and waking every morning to the memory that she was gone was a punch in the gut. But also because then Mum could’ve done this job instead. She was so bloody selfish. She brushed a tear from her cheek with her sleeve.
‘I might sit here for a stretch before I head back.’ Alida closed her eyes and chewed. She didn’t have the strength to move yet.
Ganya stood. ‘Come on. Get in the car and I’ll take you home so you can rest up before tonight.’