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 Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:51 pm
 It was a pleasant day. The fluffy white clouds in the sky were nowhere near numerous enough to call it overcast, and Meredith, conscious of her pale complexion, tried and failed to stay in their shadows. She was conscious, too, of the gentle wriggling of the bundle in her basket. It (she, as a local had confidently informed her) seemed to dislike being put down for too long. She paused at the corner of the market square to stroke it, balancing the wicker basket on one hip and murmuring soothing nonsense to the creature in the cloth.
Being a mother was a demanding thing indeed.
Once the concealed Palui had settled down somewhat, Meredith readjusted her basket and headed for the book stall. Hopefully there'd be some decent classics there - the school's selection was woefully small, and her advanced English students needed something to sink their teeth into. She picked up a punnet of fresh raspberries on the way past, along with a large cucumber that was mostly for her friends in the back garden. They'd devoured the last one she'd given them in a matter of seconds. With luck her little companion, when she finally deigned to emerge from her bundle, would be equally easy to please.
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:16 pm
 Aurelie wandered through the market, daydreaming. Her thoughts took her back to when she was among the first tourists to make Palu Island a permanent home. She had originally come because she had enjoyed the warmth of the place and the idea of living on a tropic isle, but the island was more than that. The island was a wonder, a place for rest, respose, and reflection. What she liked especially, however, were those remarkable creatures native to it, the palui.
She adored her own palui, Sascher-tort, and took her with her to as many places as she could, though Sasha was not often less than fond of the outings, as they usually involved being carried in Aurelie's arms, which she hated. Sasch was not one to take pleasure in being held, though she would permit a human to stroke her fur, as long as no attempt was made to capture or contain her. If such attempts were made, Sasha could become quite squirmy and difficult to deal with. She was doing that at the moment, and Aurelie was sorely tempted to put the struggling palui down, but if she did so, Sasha would probably manage to get herself stepped on, which the palui also hated.
She made her way to the bookstall, which was always a depressing trip, but she made it whenever she came into town to purchase groceries. It was depressing because the stall rarely had anything new to read. She had covered the classics in several languages in her youth, and had since moved on to other books, particularly in the area of fantasy and science fiction. Her own private collection of books boasted more variety than the book stall, but she came every week, hoping to be pleasantly surprised. The problem was that reading was not a high priority on the island, and so books were hardly a commodity in demand.
With a sigh, she pushed through a sudden crowd and adjusted her hold on Sasha to emerge before the desired stall where - surprise of surprises - there was another customer, one who sported a palui bundle. She set her own straining palui down to investigate the bundle while she went to investigate the books with a stern warning to behave which she suspected Sasha would ignore.
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:46 pm
A little grey and white thing sneaked into the corner of her field of vision. Distracted, Meredith turned towards it. There was a Palui sitting at her feet, staring up at her basket. Probably after the raspberries - or, indeed, if her friends in the back garden were any indicator of the species in general, the cucumber. She looked back at it, feeling a little threatened by its stare but holding her ground nonetheless (because really, the thing was tiny and being afraid would be ridiculous).
"Whatever it is you want from that basket," she said, quietly but firmly, "you can't have it. I know your type - if I give you one raspberry you'll want another, and another, and before I know it I'll have to buy you the whole fruit stall. No. Not today, little fluffy thing. I don't care how cute you are."
Realising that she probably looked like a crackpot carrying on a one-sided conversation with a Palui, she blushed scarlet and turned her attention swiftly back to the books. Isherwood, Jerome, Kafka, Lawrence - aha! Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird, one, two...three copies, two different editions. Now if she could just catch the stallkeeper's attention...
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:47 pm
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 2:18 pm
Fey's note: no worries
Aurelie glanced over at the woman who seemed to be holding a conversation with Sasha and raised a discreet eyebrow on the side of her face which was out of the other woman's view. She snuck another slantwise glance at Sasha's new acquaintance and realized that Sasha was sucking in her already slender gut and trying to look wide-eyed and pathetic to get the stranger to take pity on her and feed her. Just because she was carrying fruits.
She shook her head and made a rising prrrt sound, calling Sasha's attention away from her unsuspecting victim. Sasha glanced at her over her shoulder, then shook her head and went back to her intent surveillence of her quarry, whose attention had wandered in a most unseemly manner. The slender palui gathered herself on her haunches and leapt to the countertop, stalking across the rows of books and placing herself in full view of the person who would be her new best friend if she would only share some of the tantalizing fruits in her satchel.
Shaking her head once more, Aurelie snapped her fingers and then turned one hand over, palm facing up, and wriggled her fingers. Sasha finally heeded her summons, but cast a reluctant glance back at the woman with the fruits. When she looked back, she saw that there was a bundle containing a young palui. Then her concentration broke and she streaked away from her Aurelie-human to investigate the palui-in-a-sac, which was fascinating beyond measure.
"Sasha-butt, stop it. Leave her be," she said sternly to the palui which was totally disregarding her.
"I'm sorry," Aurelie said to the older woman looking at To Kill A Mockingbird, while she tried not to sound irritated. She wasn't irritated after all. Not really. "She has no manners."
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 2:35 pm
Oh, thank goodness. The Palui had an owner. Someone to call it off! "Par for the course, from what I've seen," Meredith said with as much of a smile as she could manage, moving the basket (and therefore the bundle) deftly out of "Sasha-butt"'s reach. "There are about six or seven of them living in and around my back garden, and they've taken to begging at my kitchen window." She'd had to put up a blind to shut out the puppy-dog eyes. Damn her for being so soft-hearted. "I'm beginning to wonder what I've got myself into, moving here. ...Yes, just these three, thanks."
This last was to the stallkeeper, who took the books from her and slid them into a brown paper bag. With years of classroom practice under her belt, Meredith just about managed to divide her attention between the budding conversation and paying for her purchases. "Do you live on the island?" she asked, first hoping she wasn't being too blunt and then realising it was probably a stupid question. She's got a full-grown Palui, you idiot. It's highly unlikely she doesn't live here.
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:08 pm
Aurelie snatched a protesting Sascher-tort away from her hapless target and slung her over her shoulder, around her neck like a fur stole. It wasn't a good fashion trend for Palu Island, which was too hot and humid for fur to be a realistic, sensible thing to wear. Nevertheless, it kept Sasha from escaping.
"I've lived here since I graduated from college, two years ago. I've a nice little cabin off in the back of beyond which hasn't got a palui infestation, for which I'm largely grateful. I think I would drive poor Sascher-tort up the wall. She's a bit skittish and high-strung."
As she spoke, Aurelie skritched absently at Sasha's rump, causing the palui to make contented parururu noises and rub her chin against Aurelie's jaw. Aurelie rubbed back affectionately and then returned her attention to the conversation.
"You'll get used to it eventually. It's a nice island. May I ask why you want three copies of To Kill A Mockingbird? It's not that good."
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:31 pm
"I don't think any book is so good that one person needs three copies," Meredith countered calmly, trying not to allow herself to be bothered by the young woman's blunt and somewhat condescending tone. You've gone soft dealing with all the typical smiley island-folk types. She's not half so bad as a few people you knew back on the mainland. "They're for my English class to pick apart - I have my own copy back at my cabin, still scrawled full of notes from my college days. You know, back when dinosaurs walked the earth." She smiled mirthlessly. Getting in the jibe before the young woman could even think it was a two-fold tactic: one, it protected her from anything unkind that might be said in response, and two, it might cause enough guilt to knock the little so-and-so off her high horse.
...Maybe that was unfair. Chances were the stranger didn't realise she was coming across so badly. And she'd sworn she would stop doing this to people - coming to Palu Island was supposed to be a fresh start, and here she was going back to her old ways. It was the nerves. She hated being out and about. She hated crowds. She hated - no, no more excuses. You wouldn't treat your students like this, no matter how cheeky they got. All right, so the little madam could do with taking down a peg or two. Fair enough. But it's not your place to do that. Glass houses and stones don't mix well.
"You can have a raspberry," she said suddenly, impulsively, hoping to make amends. "Sasha can, I mean. ...Of course, you can have one too if you really want." She blushed a little. "I daresay I'll only be feeding most of them to the wildlife anyway."
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:54 pm
Aurelie wasn't quite sure what she had done to give offense, but she caught the less-than-pleased vibes, and couldn't help thinking to herself that this was the first dose of normal conversation she'd had since coming to the island. The Palu Islanders all tended to be so good and kind and generous. She liked them, but she wasn't used to them, even after two years. She had grown up in a world of false smiles and stinging witticisms. It wasn't exactly refreshing to be re-immersed in that world, but she could play that game if necessary. She hoped it wouldn't be. She'd never been much good at it. The only way she could be clever was if she had a computer keyboard in front of her and several days to come up with snappy things to say.
"She loves raspberries, but I think I'll pass, thanks. I'm actually fairly allergic to the things, so if you wouldn't mind feeding it to her, I'd be much obliged."
Sasha, sensing that food may be exhanging hands, and could be given to her, struggled to shift herself so that she perched on Aurelie's right shoulder. Aurelie gasped at her claws, a sharp intake of breath betraying her shock and pain. The wince which lingered after the sound had died proved that she was suffering as Sasha teetered precariously, reaching with one paw for the fascinating bag.
Through gritted teeth, Aurelie asked, "You're the teacher the Islanders are so excited about, then? I'm Aurelie Delacroix."
She spoke her name as though it meant nothing, and was not usually found on bookshelves in international chains. She was still used to thinking of herself first as an ambassador's daughter, and then as an authoress.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 3:30 pm
"Meredith," said Meredith, automatically reaching out to lift Sascher-tort from Aurelie's shoulder. She took care to unhook those sharp little claws. Setting the wriggling Palui down on the corner of the book stall, she dipped into the punnet and took out a few raspberries. "I wasn't aware I'd caused any sort of stir, honestly," she admitted, carefully feeding the raspberries to the eager little fluffball and cracking what was probably her first genuine smile of the day. Palui had a way with her, or so it seemed. They softened her. "I can't imagine it was that hard to find someone with the depth and range of experience needed for the job. All right, someone willing to move however many thousand miles might have been harder. But for goodness sake, this place is paradise - or what the media paints as paradise, anyhow, what with the sunshine and the waving palms and everything - who'd pass it up?"
Who indeed? Anyone with significant ties to where they were currently living, perhaps? Anyone with a settled family? A circle of friends? A nice house in a nice neighbourhood and a normal life? Perhaps it was fortunate that Meredith had possessed none of these things, and had quite literally jumped at the chance to move.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:35 pm
Aurelie sent an affectionate glare in Sasha's direction and gently yanked at her tail as she greedily gulped down the proffered treats. Sasha finished quickly and looked up at Meredith expectantly, obviously hoping for more.
"Now you've done it," Aurelie said, smiling. "You've definitely made a friend. It's nice to meet you. You are something of a sensation, after all. We haven't had a proper teacher here for...a while. Years, in fact."
She did not mention that the Islanders had discovered she had literary experience and had asked her to teach in their fledgling school. She had turned down the position very firmly. She was not a teacher, by any stretch of the imagination. She had never particularly liked young people, not even when she had been young herself. She also had no patience for the teaching process. In any event, it would not be politick to mention that she had been asked to fill the position Meredith now held. Not that she'd been a first choice, so much as a convenient option.
"I suppose most people are daunted by the idea of having to establish an entire schooling system practically from scratch. From what I've heard, the position entails more than simply teaching. There's an administrative aspect as well. Unless I'm misinformed?" The query was in earnest. "Gossip about newcomers, particularly anticipated ones, runs rampant around here. Even those of us who try to keep away from society on the whole have a hard time avoiding it."
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Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 11:17 am
"You're not at all misinformed," Meredith confirmed. "But everyone has to do admin nowadays - mountains of paperwork are practically unavoidable no matter what your vocation of choice. Besides, if it turns out I can't spin that many plates at once it's a damn sight easier to find an admin assistant than the sort of teacher they were asking for. Pre-school through primary all the way up to sixteen, perhaps beyond; mixed classes in terms of gender, ability and age...it's not the usual job, and now that I think of it I suppose it's not for the faint of heart." She grinned a little. "But it's such an opportunity. I mean...in a school this small, on an island this small, I'll know them all by name. Once the classes get too large, you start to lose track of people. Little chance of that here."
A little paw on her hand and a soft "paluuuu" drew her attention back to Sasha, who was giving her an expectant look. She chuckled. "What, more? Oh, all right - just a few, mind, or there won't be any for my friends back home." She plucked a few more raspberries from the punnet and let Sasha take them from her fingers one by one. The dear little thing deserved them, she supposed, for calming her down.
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Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 12:01 pm
"Greedy guts," Aurelie muttered in Sasha's direction. "You're going to get so fat you can't even waddle."
Probably an impossibility. Sasha ate and ate and ate and never seemed to gain much weight. Of course, she seemed to keep her girlish figure through bulimia, since rarely a day went by when Aurelie didn't find a new gift to clean up. She'd asked around when Sasch was younger, talking to the native islanders. They said Sasha probably had a delicate stomach that got upset when she ate too much, too fast, and that Aurelie should be careful not to overfeed her. Not that she had any choice. A palui that wants to be fed is a force on par with gravity in terms of irresistibility.
Sasha ignored Aurelie anyway and ate the raspberries greedily, licking Meredith's fingers for any juices lingering in the tiny ridges of her fingerprints. When she determined that nothing more remained, she sat down on her haunches again and began to wash, spreading the faint raspberry flavor over as much of her coat as she could while it lingered on her tongue to savor later.
"I can't say how terrified I would be in your position," Aurelie said. "It's got to take all the guts in the world to stand in front of a classroom of people, knowing what you say is going to directly effect how they see the world."
She knew that writers influenced people, but the kind of writing Aurelie did was not earth-shatteringly important stuff. Raunchy romance novels under an assumed name and popular fantasy under her own name. Hardly the sort of books which changed lives.
"You're right about the class sizes. I haven't noticed that a lot of people of an age to be in school tend to come here. The local kids are nice, though. I'd warn you to watch out for locals bearing bundles, but I see you've already been gifted. You've just acquired a furry alarm clock."
She smiled and a dimple appeared on her left cheek. If she'd realized the dimple was putting in an appearance, she would've stopped smiling at once, but she had no idea.
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