Servo 11:2
Servo 11:2
Two days passed and of course I was absent from school. Rory and Suz were in attendance— well, they were until they took sick. The school nurse called Grandpa and he had to retrieve them. Now all three of us were miserable at home. Poor Grandma did her best to keep us hydrated. She made a big pot of fresh chicken broth and would bring cups of it to sip. At first it tasted terrible. Suz wanted nothing to do with it; I could hear her protesting loudly down the hallway. But after another two days of nearly starving, we all decided it was the only thing keeping us going. As I lay in bed wishing I was dead, there was a faint knock on the door. “Jonah?” It was Dagwood. I hadn’t heard him arrive at the house, let alone scale the creaky stairs to the second floor. Was my head so fuzzy that I missed all that? He was by no means a quiet individual. “Jonah?” he called again.“Yeah, Dagwood?”The door opened a crack and he peered in. “I came to see how you were.”I sat up in bed slightly. “Miserable.”“Your grandma says y’all got the flu.”“Yes.”He came in all the way, shutting the door carefully.“Should you be here? I mean, I’m sick,” I said. In a way it was comforting to see his softly rounded face. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Had a mild case of it already.”“Did it make you feel like you wanted to die?”Dagwood shrugged his shoulders. “Naw, not really. Felt bad a few days and missed some school.”I retrieved a damp cloth that was sitting in a bowl on the nightstand. With it, I dabbed my forehead and cheeks. “You probably think this is crazy, but I’ve never been sick before.”“Because you’re one of those GEE kids?”“Yeah.”He shrugged his shoulders again. “Not your fault.”“I suppose not. But living in this environment it’s opened us up to getting ill.”“We all get sick, just part of life.”“Your life, and what used to be my life, are two very different things.”“I know. You’re here now, though.”With my feeble nature, I almost let the words slip but I don’t want to be. Had I said them, I fear I probably would’ve hurt his feelings. Dagwood was proud of who he was and where he lived. This was his world, not mine. My attempts to fit in were as weak as my current physical state. “Oh!” Dagwood said loudly, thrusting his finger into the air. I startled, not exactly ready for an outburst like that.“I forgot.”“What?” I tried to calm my nerves.“I also came over to tell you about my cousin, Otto.”“Umm, okay.”“Otto Arkman, he’s my ma’s kin.”“And…?”“He’s eighteen.”At this point I was starting to get a little annoyed. “Dagwood?”“Huh?”“What is it about your cousin?”He fell silent for a few moments, almost as if collecting his thoughts. “He’s real smart—maybe not as smart as y’all, but he’s smart.” Then he picked at his fingers. “He lives in North Platte. That’s over in Lincoln County.”“Oh.”Dagwood pulled a chair up next to my bed. “I wanted to tell you about him because he’s into electronics and stuff.”“I see,” I replied, trying to be polite.“His family is kinda rich. They have about two thousand dairy cows—and a bot.”“How can he help me?”“They came over for a family barbeque this weekend and I asked him what kind of bot they had.”I perked up slightly.“He says they have an old model 108. Helps with getting all the cows milked.”“Did he say what year it was?”Dagwood scratched his head. “Umm, what year is yours?”“It was made in 2022.”“His is 2024.”Despite the utter disheveled condition of my poor brain, I was beginning to see where Dagwood was going with this. “And their bot still works?”“Yup! Plenty fine.”“And they can get parts when it breaks?”“Yup!”At that very moment I wanted to hug the daylights out of my simple-minded friend. “Could he get me parts?”“I’m sure he could.”“How would I get them?”He waved his hand through the air dismissively. “Pishaw! They come over all the time.”“Allthe time?”“Yeah. I dunno why I didn’t think of that sooner.” He playfully smacked himself on the forehead. “They’re coming over in two weeks; you wanna meet him?”“Of course!” I blurted out the words with the most strength I’d had in days. “If you want, I can bring him by and you can show him your bot.”“Yes, yes, perfect!”He stood and returned the chair to its original place. “Well, I better be goin’. You look like you need to rest and get better.”“Thanks for the visit.”Dagwood smiled broadly. “No problem, friend.”“I look forward to meeting your cousin.”“He’s pretty cool, you’ll like him.” He opened the door. “I’ll see ya ’round, Jonah.” Before I could reply, he disappeared. I sank back into the bed, my heart thumping with excitement. At the time I may not have known it, but I was learning a valuable lesson about the Outer States: it’s not what you know, but who you know that can solve many a problem.
Two days passed and of course I was absent from school. Rory and Suz were in attendance— well, they were until they took sick. The school nurse called Grandpa and he had to retrieve them. Now all three of us were miserable at home. Poor Grandma did her best to keep us hydrated. She made a big pot of fresh chicken broth and would bring cups of it to sip. At first it tasted terrible. Suz wanted nothing to do with it; I could hear her protesting loudly down the hallway. But after another two days of nearly starving, we all decided it was the only thing keeping us going. As I lay in bed wishing I was dead, there was a faint knock on the door. “Jonah?” It was Dagwood. I hadn’t heard him arrive at the house, let alone scale the creaky stairs to the second floor. Was my head so fuzzy that I missed all that? He was by no means a quiet individual. “Jonah?” he called again.“Yeah, Dagwood?”The door opened a crack and he peered in. “I came to see how you were.”I sat up in bed slightly. “Miserable.”“Your grandma says y’all got the flu.”“Yes.”He came in all the way, shutting the door carefully.“Should you be here? I mean, I’m sick,” I said. In a way it was comforting to see his softly rounded face. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Had a mild case of it already.”“Did it make you feel like you wanted to die?”Dagwood shrugged his shoulders. “Naw, not really. Felt bad a few days and missed some school.”I retrieved a damp cloth that was sitting in a bowl on the nightstand. With it, I dabbed my forehead and cheeks. “You probably think this is crazy, but I’ve never been sick before.”“Because you’re one of those GEE kids?”“Yeah.”He shrugged his shoulders again. “Not your fault.”“I suppose not. But living in this environment it’s opened us up to getting ill.”“We all get sick, just part of life.”“Your life, and what used to be my life, are two very different things.”“I know. You’re here now, though.”With my feeble nature, I almost let the words slip but I don’t want to be. Had I said them, I fear I probably would’ve hurt his feelings. Dagwood was proud of who he was and where he lived. This was his world, not mine. My attempts to fit in were as weak as my current physical state. “Oh!” Dagwood said loudly, thrusting his finger into the air. I startled, not exactly ready for an outburst like that.“I forgot.”“What?” I tried to calm my nerves.“I also came over to tell you about my cousin, Otto.”“Umm, okay.”“Otto Arkman, he’s my ma’s kin.”“And…?”“He’s eighteen.”At this point I was starting to get a little annoyed. “Dagwood?”“Huh?”“What is it about your cousin?”He fell silent for a few moments, almost as if collecting his thoughts. “He’s real smart—maybe not as smart as y’all, but he’s smart.” Then he picked at his fingers. “He lives in North Platte. That’s over in Lincoln County.”“Oh.”Dagwood pulled a chair up next to my bed. “I wanted to tell you about him because he’s into electronics and stuff.”“I see,” I replied, trying to be polite.“His family is kinda rich. They have about two thousand dairy cows—and a bot.”“How can he help me?”“They came over for a family barbeque this weekend and I asked him what kind of bot they had.”I perked up slightly.“He says they have an old model 108. Helps with getting all the cows milked.”“Did he say what year it was?”Dagwood scratched his head. “Umm, what year is yours?”“It was made in 2022.”“His is 2024.”Despite the utter disheveled condition of my poor brain, I was beginning to see where Dagwood was going with this. “And their bot still works?”“Yup! Plenty fine.”“And they can get parts when it breaks?”“Yup!”At that very moment I wanted to hug the daylights out of my simple-minded friend. “Could he get me parts?”“I’m sure he could.”“How would I get them?”He waved his hand through the air dismissively. “Pishaw! They come over all the time.”“Allthe time?”“Yeah. I dunno why I didn’t think of that sooner.” He playfully smacked himself on the forehead. “They’re coming over in two weeks; you wanna meet him?”“Of course!” I blurted out the words with the most strength I’d had in days. “If you want, I can bring him by and you can show him your bot.”“Yes, yes, perfect!”He stood and returned the chair to its original place. “Well, I better be goin’. You look like you need to rest and get better.”“Thanks for the visit.”Dagwood smiled broadly. “No problem, friend.”“I look forward to meeting your cousin.”“He’s pretty cool, you’ll like him.” He opened the door. “I’ll see ya ’round, Jonah.” Before I could reply, he disappeared. I sank back into the bed, my heart thumping with excitement. At the time I may not have known it, but I was learning a valuable lesson about the Outer States: it’s not what you know, but who you know that can solve many a problem.
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