Mirov by David C. Hoke

Author:David C. Hoke [Hoke, David C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-08T16:00:00+00:00

The School

Walking to school sucks.

Alice skipped from the house's side door, happy with her choice of a red jacket over the navy-colored, heart-themed dress. Her backpack snuggly fit in place, and her hands were free to carry a toasted pastry and a strawberry milk bottle. The tiny bit of happiness lifted her lips. Hopping over the seam between her driveway and the sidewalk, she set out on her trek to school. After a short walk, she reached the end of her block, looked both ways before crossing the street, and continued her journey.

Her comm dinged in her pocket, and she tucked the bottle under her arm. Pulling the comm free, she projected the text into the holo-screen. The top of the image displayed the sender as "Ana."

"Good morning, Alice, how are you today?"

She replied with talk to text. "Heart emoji, cat emoji," she said, and the comm followed her commands. "I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'm wonderful. What are you doing?"

"Walking to school."

"How far do you live from the school?"

"I don't know. I just know I have to leave like thirty minutes before the first bell to make it on time."

"Why isn't Margaret driving you?"

"Because she's still asleep from being drunk last night," Alice replied. Reaching the end of the next block, she turned right. In the short distance from the intersection, she saw her new friend stepping out of a car parked along the curb. "Is that you?" Alice asked with surprise into her comm.

****

Mirov smiled and placed her comm in her pocket. "Of course, it's me."

"What're you doing here?" Alice asked as she put her comm away and took a sip of milk.

"I was nearby. I was just checking on you, making sure you're alright."

Alice shrugged. "I guess I am. I've had to walk to school plenty of times. I don't want to, but I can do it."

"Do you want a ride?"

"No, I don't want a ride. I don't want to get to school too early. If I get there early, I have to wait in the cafeteria and the kids are mean in there," Alice replied.

"Okay. Can I walk with you then?"

"Sure."

Mirov walked with her a short distance and then looked back at the car. "Ethel, meet me at the school."

Alice watched over her shoulder as the car turned around without a driver. Staring at the vehicle, she followed it as it sailed past and disappeared down the road. "You got a robot car?"

"Something like that."

“Cool," Alice said then took a bite of pastry.

Mirov looked her daughter up and down without her noticing. Thoughts from last night second-guessing her effort to revel in the child's presence led to this deliberate attempt to soak her in and she didn’t give a fuck what anyone thought. She wondered if her face glowed like a morning sun. This kid has a fashion sense I never, ever had.

"You always dress so pretty. Do you pick out your outfits?"

"Yeah, Margaret doesn't care what I do so I pick my own. When we shop, she doesn't even help.

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