Page 153 (1/2)

In the anteroorown-ups, neither of them Mo held gently in her hand and a polite smile on her face The other was Doctor Strickland

“No, she’s been very good about getting to the toilet,” Miss Carrie was saying “There are accidents now and then, of course”

“Of course,” the wo down so that he was hardly taller than she was “How is an, but before she could say Momger than Daddy, and he s her sides, and she laughed hard enough that she couldn’t talk anymore

“Thank you so much,” the woman said

“It’s a pleasure tothe wo Mei in the classroo Mei until the door to the Montessori cycled closed behind theht her breath

“Where’s Mommy?”

“She’s waiting for us,” Doctor Strickland said “We’re taking you to her right now”

The newer hallways of Ganymede ide and lush and the air recyclers barely ran The knife-thin blades of areca palm fronds spilled up and out froreen striated leaves of devil’s ivy spilled down the walls The dark green priue thrust up beneath theold Daddy said it was just what sunlight looked like on Earth, and Mei pictured that planet as a huge co in lines above the-sky, and you could climb over the walls and end up anywhere

Mei leaned her head on Doctor Strickland’s shoulder, looking over his back and na each plant as they passed Sansevieria trifasciata Epiprerin When she did it by herself, it made her body feel calmer

“More?” the woman asked She was pretty, but Mei didn’t like her voice

“No,” Doctor Strickland said “Mei here is the last one”

“Chysalidocarpus lutenscens,” Mei said

“All right,” the woht”

The closer to the surface they got, the narrower the corridors becah there really wasn’t any dirt on them It was just that they were more used up The quarters and labs near the surface here Mei’s grandparents had lived when they’d co deeper The air up there s and thurown-ups didn’t talk to each other, but every now and then Doctor Strickland would remember Mei was there and ask her questions: What was her favorite cartoon on the station feed? Who was her best friend in school? What kinds of food did she eat for lunch that day? Mei expected hi the other questions, the ones he always asked next, and she had her answers ready

Does your throat feel scratchy? No

Did you wake up sweaty? No