Inconstant Moon - Default Font Edition Read Online Free PDF

kicked her, so she glowers.
    Kate whispers, “You have to stop snoring.”
    Maggie's eyes narrow. “I don't snore!”
    Kate nods. “Sure you do, I've got witnesses to prove it.”
    Maggie smacks herself in the head, “No way.”
    “Way.” Kate says, “Even the prof cracked jokes about it. Good thing you have nice little ladylike snores. If it'd been Elsie's honking he'd have fled screaming.”
    “But I don't snore.”
    Kate grins. “If you want I can get a show of hands.”
    Maggie holds up her hands in surrender. “No no no. Okay, shhhh, I believe you. So what's the assignment?”
    Somehow Maggie lives through the rest of her sleep deprived morning. Compensating with double doubles from the cafeteria keeps her moving, but she is in a fog nonetheless.
    Only as the school day is ending does she begin to feel conscious. A bit more wired than awake, but it will do.
    Oscar comes in trailing Jake and Kate. He peers at Maggie, then bends over, cups her chin, gently tilting her head back and forth as he examines her face in the afternoon sun. “Hate to tell you this, wee girl, but they're called ' the whites of your eyes' and not 'the reds of your eyes' for a reason.”
    Maggie wrenches her chin away and sticks out her tongue. “Sez you. It's the new look, Oz. Get with the program.”
    Kate says, “Maybe we should reschedule?”
    Oscar is firm. “Can't do it. If we pack it in, we make Linux look bad to all the noobs who might've switched.”
    “Oscar's right,” agrees Maggie, “We can't. Every
Ubuntu
group in the world is having their release party today. That's the point. I was just too excited to sleep. No way do we reschedule.”
    “You were playing Farmville, weren't you?” teases Jake.
    “Of course I was. But only because I couldn't sleep.”
    Kate rolls her eyes at Maggie. “How about this then, you nip home for a nap.”
    “No, no, no. It's my party, I gotta be there.”
    “Look at it this way, kiddo, if you sneak a nap you'll have the pleasure of being conscious for your release party.”
    “I'm awake now, I will be then. Don't worry. If I slap on some war paint I'll even look conscious. It'll be fine.”
    Kate asks “Gonna paint eyeballs on your eyelids like Captain Jack?”
    “Ha ha.” Maggie rolls her eyes
    Oscar's flipping though the school paper with a frown. “Wasn't Krystal doing publicity? I thought she said she'd get something in the paper.”
    “Yeah, I thought she had it all set up.”
    “Nothing in here.” Oscar lays down the paper.
    “Are you sure she's even coming?” asks Kate. “She wasn't in Gates'class this morning.”
    Maggie shakes her head. “You're right, she wasn't. I don't know. She said she would.”
    “Cheer up, girl, it will be fine. You know, Adam was saying that Canada's got a higher proportion of Linux users than the States. How cool is that?”
    Maggie grins at Kate, “Pretty cool. Look, save my spot and guard my coffee with your lives, 'cause I know I'm gonna need every drop today. Back in a flash.”
    Maggie heads for the washroom where she splashes water on her face. Yup, Oscar's right on the money. She could be the poster girl for a horror movie. Much more red in them thar eyes than white. Another splash.
    Coffee coffee and more coffee is just what this girl needs to get through the rest of the day.

chapter 6 . . .
    The double lecture hall in the
Arts Centre
is quiet but for the tapping of hundreds of laptop keys. Behind the lectern the English prof is skimming her notes to make sure that everything's covered.  She glances up at her audience. Smiling at the sight of all those students typing furiously, she she shuts down the PowerPoint presentation.
    “That's it for today. If anyone needs to see me about the assignment I'm back on regular office hours this week.” As the professor packs up her materials, a general exodus is underway in the cheap seats, as notebooks are shut down, and personal effects are gathered up.
    Mouse looks over at Eric, bent