Eugenia part 30

Read part 29 here!

I was surprised at how normal Suri and Michael seemed when we met up with them the next day. If not for the slightly ragged clothes and lack of tattoos, I would have mistaken them for any other citizens.

Suri was built like an older version of Julie; small and thin. She had shoulder length straight brown hair and friendly blue eyes. Michael was bigger, almost Andy sized, with short black hair and kind brown eyes. They looked as relieved as I was when we shook hands.

At first, we just swapped stories. They were both impressed that I’d known Gruber, the original outlier, and I was equally impressed by the way they’d managed to hide in plain sight. As the conversation died down and concerns about where the three new outliers would stay, Malia, who was standing by, spoke up.

“You know, I could use some help in the shop. I’m not getting any younger.” We all stared at her, and she smiled knowingly.

Julie’s eyes suddenly widened. “Malia, can I see your tattoo?” Luke and I exchanged even more confused looks. Malia smiled and complied, and Julie studied the small, colorful circle for a moment.

“I’m going to need fine tipped permanent markers and a protractor.” She finally announced.

“Wha-oh.” Decklan nodded to her. “I can get that with my employee discount at the grocery store.”

Finally, I was catching on. “Malia, you’re a genius.” She bowed her head slightly, accepting the compliment.

“I wouldn’t push our luck, though. I’ll hire two of them. Making this work with three people is pushing it.”

Jon nodded. “One can stay with us. We still have plenty of room. I mean, the couch isn’t taken yet…” The people living in the apartment all chuckled, myself included. “So who wants to stay hidden?”

Luke spoke up. “I will. Meg and I can stay at the apartment and work out other places to look.”

Decklan muttered something under his breath, and Julie looked at him in wonder. Emma, who was sitting on Julie’s lap, yawned. “Can I go play piano soon?”

I reached out my arms for her, transferring her to my own lap. “Yes. We just need to figure a couple more things out.”

“Ok.” She snuggled into my shoulder. Luke looked at me curiously.

“My sister. Long story.” He nodded and smiled his dazzling white smile.

“What else will Suri and Michael need to work here?” Decklan cut in.

“Birth certificate and New California ID. That’s what they asked for when I used to hire people.” Malia answered for him, lighting a cigarette. I pulled Emma closer, not wanting her to breath in more second hand smoke than she had to. It was the one vice I couldn’t stand.

“Why did you stop?” I asked, distracting myself from the smell.

“Couldn’t afford it, monetarily or safely. If someone found out I was part of any type of resistance, it could be dangerous.”

Nodding, I looked around the room. “So how do we propose to make these documents?”

“I know a guy.” Decklan said, looking sheepish. Raising my eyebrow, he sighed and continued. “When you’re sixteen and bored at a fancy private school, beer is about the only thing that will keep you sane. Me and a couple friends used to get fake Ids from this guy on 17^th street. Suri, Michael, I can pick you guys up from here after school tomorrow and we’ll pay him a visit.”

“How do we know he won’t squeal?” Luke asked, concerned.

“He owes me one. And as long as you pay him, he doesn’t care who you are.”

“Then it’s settled!” Jon stood up, placing himself between Decklan and Luke, who had been leaning closer to one another, frowning. “Luke, would you like to stay here tonight, or come home with us?”

“I think I’ll stay until Suri and Mike get jobs. There are atlases here that I can use.” He nodded to me and winked. I felt myself blushing and shifted Emma higher on my hip to cover it up.

“See you all tomorrow.” We waved and left the bookstore through the back exit, piling into Jon’s car. Thankfully, there were still no cameras in that alleyway. It was one of the few blind spots left.

Continued in part 31