After a minute of inspection, Riggy asked, "You wouldn't want to trade,
would you?"
"For your sonic pistol?"
"Yes. You want to?"
I considered it for a minute, and then I said, "All right," and we
traded. There is a certain amount of satisfaction in shooting an
antique like that, but I know which is the more effective weapon.
Besides, I only had one full clip of ammunition left.
* * * * *
There is a certain amount of prestige in coming back alive from
Survival. It's your key to adulthood. There were no brass bands waiting
for us when we got back, but our families were there, and that was
enough.
The fifteen of us went down the lowered ramp, and when I stood again on
solid rock, I looked around that ugly, bare scout bay and just drank it
in. Home.
I turned to Jimmy then and I said, "Jimmy, it's a relief to be back,
isn't it? And that isn't snobbery. It might have been before, but I
don't think I am now."
And Jimmy nodded.
The waiting room wasn't bare. They had the decorations up for Year End,
colored mobiles with lights that ranged through the spectrum, and more
decorations on the walls. In the crowd of people waiting for us, I saw
Jimmy's mother and her present husband, and Jimmy's father and _his_
wife. When they saw Jimmy, they started waving and shouting.
Just as I said, "I'll see you tonight," I saw Mother and Daddy standing
off to one side, and I waved. It was as though I had left the real
world entirely for a month, and now at last I was back where things
were going on and I wasn't missing a thing. I ran to them and I kissed
Mother and hugged Daddy. Mother was crying.
I leaned back in Daddy's arms and looked up at him. He put a measuring
hand over my head and said, "Mia, I believe you've grown some."
It might be so. I felt taller.