April Read Online Free PDF Page B

preach at her about junk food. The milk supposedly had all the antibodies and hormones filtered out now and was checked for viruses and xenoprions. It wasn't supposed to give you Beta Alzheimer's or Crohn's now, but her mom's generation still didn't trust it, feeling safer with soy milk.
    April ordered heavily, because her parents had done some significant gene tweaking when they had her. Her metabolism was capable of running at a higher pitch, with correspondingly increased physical capacity and nutritional requirements.
    Down below those who insisted there was a world shortage of food found her modification an abomination, snatching needed food from the mouths of the world poor. April had seen the hypocrisy of that even before her dad explained it. When the world's poor had something worthwhile to trade, ships full of grain would race each other to make deliveries.
    Her favorite cook and friend Ruby was working at the grill, so she took her time saying good morning, chatting while she waited for her double stack of pancakes, with four eggs over very easy on top. Ruby was tall and slender, with a dark chocolate complexion, shrewd eyes and long thin fingers. She was full of nervous energy, always moving. She was too old to have a gene-modified metabolism like April, but she appeared to be one of those people who run on a natural overdrive. She always chatted with Ruby and the exchanges had progressed as she grew older. If business was slow, Ruby would take her break when April came by and talk.
    She had no success at all getting information out of her dad the same way.For some reason her dad clammed up when she asked anything, yet he kept the files and schedules for supply and maintenance wide open on the com console at home, not even password protected. It must not seem important to him, but April could find advantage in knowing anything not posted to a public board.
    It was surprising how much you could infer about what else was going on in the station, just by watching what people ordered and April wanted to know everything that was going on. A desire increasingly frustrated, because people seemed to be clamming up more than usual the last few months. People were tense and seemed to be hoarding supplies. The supply schedule gave her something to trade Ruby for information. April let her know when filler freight, like gloves or hygienic wipes got bumped back a flight, so she could get extra before they ran out.
    It was a fair trade given the high quality of Ruby's news. Almost everyone ate at the cafeteria and Ruby was very observant. She was aware if a couple stopped coming in together, or someone started meeting a new person. She probably had her finger on the pulse of the station's social life better than anyone else April knew.
    Seeing Ruby made April remember how valuable her information had been, just a few month ago. What a mess things could have been without it...
    * * *
    Her dad and grandpa were discussing the possibilities for the new Chief of Security. Her dad held out with Mitsubishi for the right to appoint the job locally. The last fellow they'd sent up had never adjusted to the culture and he didn't want a repeat. She was in the living room supposedly reading, but following every word they said, being a snoop as usual.
    Both of them were favorably impressed with Eric Willard. April thought him a horrible sort of man. Well sure, he worked long hard hours, but for all the wrong reasons. He'd do just about anything to avoid going home. He couldn't speak three words to his own boy without a fight resulting and he didn't get along with Mrs. Willard much better.
    People like him were dismissive of children. After all why should he waste any courtesy on her? She had no power in his eyes. So he didn't guard what he said around her, like he would have if an adult had been close by. She had thus seen far too much of his true nature.
    It had been no big surprise when Ruby saw Mrs. Willard chat and flirt all touchy, with