Evaluations of the Tribe Read online

  Planet and civilization type: Class 1.

  “Wow.” The Little One skipped off the road and into the wild grass. She didn’t travel too far since she didn’t want to miss her curfew, not that she ever did. It wasn’t like she ever got invited to the other mastras’ homes after school, anyway.

  The Little One fell back into the grass and smiled. When alone, she didn’t have to think about how cruel the other children were or how everyone back in the village gave her looks. No, out here, she was just one with the world and she couldn’t ask for more. She hummed a happy little tune as she rested her hands behind her head. She then imagined how odd the Argutain people probably looked. None of the aliens could look similar to her, after all. That would be boring.

  * * *

  The suns were setting faster, so the sky was on the verge of switching from orange to dark blue by the time Aly made it back home. Her hut was the brightest and loudest one on the block, since more people showed up at the end of the week. She crept through the door when she opened it, knowing that she ended up staying out in the fields longer than expected.

  It was like a party in the store, now that the village deemed it safe enough to go back to Shanvi’s. With couples dancing, a drum in the back booming, people chanting old folk songs, and the lack of the errand person reporting any fights between Aly and Catty at school, apparently things were back to normal.

  Aly shrugged and strolled in, hoping her rare case of tardiness might go unnoticed thanks to the commotion. However, everyone, even the drummer, got quiet the instant she walked into the hut. Aly thought of a swear word as she headed to the counter, knowing her presence was made public to the last person that needed to know.

  “There you are,” Shanvi said in Universal as his Little One sat in front of him. He lifted his chin up at the drummer for more music, and the musician did as told. Once the beat came back, the energy returned.

  “Apologies for the––”

  “I thought you were supposed to be speaking Universal after class today.” Shanvi looked back at a curriculum note he stuck on the wall three days ago.

  “I’m sorry for being late, Pappai,” Aly forced her lips to say. “I was...distracted, but there is no excuse.”

  Shanvi tried to look as serious as possible, but shook his head when he couldn’t keep his face hardened.

  “You’re too well-behaved for scolding.” He leaned in for his daily kiss.

  Aly smiled and laid one on his rounding cheeks. Shanvi slapped the counter before turning around and going back to work.

  “If I may, it’s weird hearing you speak in Universal,” Aly said as she watched her pappai rustle about.

  “I know. I had to go back and study some of your scrolls while you were asleep just to freshen up on it again. Still, it’s part of a parent’s homework as well as yours. I think it’s fun, actually. Why, I even remember liking the assignment when I had to do it at your age.”

  Aly shrugged as she pulled out a scroll and hopped off the stool.

  “I’m sorry to see that Catty still hasn’t come back in a while,” Shanvi said without turning around. “I hope your little brawl hasn’t ruined your friendship beyond – how do they say – repair?”

  Aly tried recalling the Goolian translation for the last word he said and just rolled her eyes when she remembered it. She picked up the rest of her notes and headed off to her bedroom to study. As noisy as it was, it was the visuals that distracted her the most. However, before she made it to the kitchen, she heard the drummer switch his beat and everyone fell into a different song. Her ears sprung up as she turned around.

  “I know this song!” she said to Shanvi with a hop. “We were taught it last month in class.”

  “That’s nice, dear.” Shanvi smiled passively as he cooked an order. “I’ll have to hear you sing it some time.”

  “Um, if I may, can I do it now?”

  “Not at the moment. You have homework to do.”

  Aly’s ears fell as fast as they rose. She nodded and strolled to the back of the kitchen. She then stopped and turned, watching her pappai concentrate on the dessert he was cooking as long as he could until her accidental guilt trip settled in.

  “Oh, all right,” her pappai eventually said.

  Aly dashed back to her stool, hopped back on it, and set her scrolls down on the counter.

  Shanvi turned and placed a finger on the counter. “Just one verse, okay?”

  The Little One nodded with the biggest smile on her face.

  “I can sing really good,” she said with too much excitement. “One time, when I was still in children’s garden, I tried singing to a sila and––”

  “All right, Aly.” Shanvi laughed. “Settle down. I’m sure you sound wonderful.”

  The master turned back around and went back to work. Aly’s eyes, however, followed his every move.

  “Don’t you want to hear me sing?”

  “I can hear you from here.” Shanvi put some food into a bowl and added spices and toppings on it.

  Aly shrugged, turned back around, and followed in with everyone else. Her voice was too quiet to go over the others, but she didn’t care. She could tell that she was on tune, and that was all that mattered to her. However, the two Goolians that were chiming in on the song beside her were able to hear the Little One, and they leaned back.

  “Have an eye at this one,” one of them joked. “She thinks to be of fame!”

  As the two laughed, Aly paused and glared at them before going back to singing.

  The Goolians kept chuckling as they amused themselves over the Little One’s voice. She wasn’t bad. No, not bad at all. Actually, it was pretty nice. But it was more than nice, the more they thought about it. And before they knew it, the masters’ jaws had done everything beyond hitting the floor as they listened.

  They were the first who became enthralled, and then Shanvi’s right ear twitched when he thought he heard the sweetest sound on Gooliun. When he turned around, tears immediately came out of his eyes when he realized where the sound came from. As Shanvi stopped and stared, three other Goolians wondered why the master’s face went so blank. They stopped talking and heard a child’s voice echo over the belligerent singing.

  The left side of the room stopped, and then the drums stopped, and Aly was too entrapped by her own voice to realize that the entire store was underneath what might as well have been a spell. It was just a carefree folk song that anyone could learn and sing in a matter of seconds. However, the Little One’s voice made it into a message that told of peace, tranquility, and the profound wonders of the entire cosmos.

  On and on, the message went. Only two measures were in the song, but even when Aly started over the sixth time, the Goolians in the tiny hut could’ve sworn that was the first time she started. Mates held hands. Neighbors wrapped their arms around one another. In a matter of seconds, that wondrous voice had united everyone into a single family.

  “Um...”

  When everyone came to, people were wiping their eyes and taking in deep breaths. Aly turned and looked at Shanvi, who kept shaking his head with his mouth gaping open.

  “Truly, I made no error with the wording, Pappai, nay?” Aly asked, forgetting to speak Universal.

  Shanvi didn’t answer. He just clapped cautiously, and everyone did the same. Aly figured she was supposed to bow, and did so.

  “Truth’s Grace,” one of the Goolians said, still baffled. “No one was to ever warn us of their kind’s spell.”

  Aly’ s left ear twitched toward the voice. “Pardon? Kind’s spell? Pappai, if I may, what does he––”

  “Come to think of it, Aly,” Shanvi said as he grabbed her scrolls and ran around the counter, “I think there’s a bit of a distraction here. Why not finish your studies over at Catty’s tonight?”

  Not being one to ever speak out, the Little One could only look up at her pappai in anguish as she took her scrolls and headed for the door. Aly kept that same look on her face all the way down t
he street, across the block, through the fields, and up to Quongun’s front door.

  She didn’t know Catty had used infrared to see who was knocking on the door. Regardless, Aly wasn’t surprised when the other mastra greeted her with a gape-opened mouth.

  “Seriously?” Catty said.

  “Trust me, I’ve been saying that since I walked out the door.” Aly welcomed herself in.

  * * *

  The visit to Catty’s was as awkward as expected. Cattalice still didn’t say anything to Aly while she was there, and even Quongun had a hard time opening up a conversation. If nothing else, Aly scored a great dinner made by the mistress herself. It was nice getting fancier food without the need of a broken hand or feeding an adversary all day. Still, when Catty asked if it was okay for Aly to leave, she was relieved.

  As the two headed back to Shanvi’s, Aly belched.

  “You could say ‘pardon me,’ you know.” Catty fanned the air.

  “What?” Aly rubbed her belly. “Too improper for a snob?”

  “Say that again.”

  “Or what? Maybe I’ll break the rest of your ribs.”

  Catty offered Aly a free shot by raising her arms up. “I helped you pick up your mess today because I felt sorry for you, but don’t get the idea that I’m scared of you.”

  “Truly, and do not get the idea that I am in need of your pity,” Aly countered, her cheeks flaring up.

  Catty kicked a rock and whistled loudly, waking up some of the silas in their nests. “Fine. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, all right?”

  “Whatever.”

  “Truth’s Grace, I’m trying to be nice! What’s with the attitude?”

  “Just leave me alone.”

  The mastras didn’t talk anymore on the way back into town. When they made it to Shanvi’s hut, however, they looked at each other, bewildered.

  “Were there this many people here when you left?” Catty asked as she stopped.

  Aly shook her head, eyeing what had to be a hundred people lingering outside her hut with caution. She paused when everyone stopped talking and stared at her.

  “Uh uh.” Catty shoved Aly through the crowd. “I don’t even want to be out here. Pardon me, Masters and Mastras. Excuse me, and excuse you.”

  When they made it through the door, Catty turned around and slammed it behind her, sighing as if she had just evaded a monster outside.

  Shanvi came out of the kitchen to see who it was. “Oh. I didn’t hear you approaching.”

  Catty tilted her head and Aly raised a brow.

  “What?” they both said.

  “Sorry. I was concentrating on... Thank you for walking her home, Catty.”

  “Of course, Master Shanvi.” Catty bowed, but still looked bewildered. She looked and pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. “If I may, is there any reason why there’s a crowd outside?”

  Shanvi glared at the door. “No, there isn’t. Excuse me.” He went and opened it, and cleared his throat. “Truly, did I not say this already? We be closed. Be well!” He slammed the door and sighed as he heard the crowd disperse.

  Catty and Aly looked at each other. Shanvi pressed his back against the door, grumbling to himself. Then he froze as the Little Ones stared.

  “Catty, why not stay for the night? It’s been a while since you’ve done that, anyways. I’ll make your favorite.”

  Catty rolled her eyes and took a seat at the counter. “You people are so weird.”

  * * *

  Chapter 9

  “Why do we have to wait on her, Requai?” one of the mastras in Catty’s clique asked. “She’s walked with us for years, and she still doesn’t talk that much anyway.”

  “Yeah,” another one said. “If we slow down any more, she’s going to make us late.”

  Requai groaned. “I know, but my folks said I’d get into trouble if we left her behind again. So, now I have to play the pity game like Catty, here.”

  Catty acted like she was studying a scroll so she wouldn’t look hurt. “I’m not playing a pity game.”

  “Whatever makes you feel better, Goody Good.”

  Catty noticed several mastras look at her out of the corner of their eyes, as if they were waiting for her to defend herself. However, trying to maintain the well-being of her position was tiring her out. So, if they thought less of her for not making a comeback, more power to them.

  “Maybe she thinks she’s really something because of all the attention she’s been getting over the past few months,” Requai said.

  “That’s possible,” another mastra said. “Everybody is rambling away at how well she can sing. So what? The last thing that one needs is an ego boost.”

  Glani eyed the ground. “Yeah...but she does have a nice voice though, doesn’t she?” When the other five turned and looked at her, the Little One gulped. “And, in spite of it only being morning, I’ve decided that I’ve said enough for the day.”

  Catty curled up her lip at the sight of the stares they gave Glani, but she figured she’d pick her battles with caution, and didn’t say a word.

  Requai’s ears twitched and she looked over to her right. “Ah, here she comes, finally. Aly, why don’t you hurry it up? You’re going to make the rest of us late.”

  Aly jogged all the way up to the six and caught her breath. “Sorry. A couple of people had me stop on the way for a quick tune.”

  The girls didn’t say anything else since their eyes were glued to the blue robe the mastra was wearing. It looked brand new, with a triangle pattern stitched on the side in yellow thread. They all looked at Catty to see if her robe was just as blue, and Catty knew she was blushing when they realized it was.

  “Well, aren’t we fancy today?” Requai walked around Aly, sizing her up. She lifted the mastra’s hood to see if the triangle pattern was on it somewhere. She nodded approvingly when it was. “It’s...not bad.”

  “Thank you.” Aly twirled a tent around a finger. “My pappai bought it for me over the weekend.”

  Glani eased in to get a closer look. “Wow. It looks expensive. My parents could never afford something like that.”

  “Well, my pappai said he was able to save up for it, since business has picked up a little more.”

  Catty scoffed and turned around. “A little more” was an understatement. There was always a crowd at Shanvi’s hut now, especially during the weekends when they knew Aly was allowed to sing. Shanvi even had to close his doors earlier now, just to make sure his Little One had enough time to do her homework. The household still wasn’t anywhere near as well off as Quongun’s, but they apparently had enough savings to purchase an extravagant dress.

  “It must be nice being the village’s other Goody Good now,” Requai said.

  “Stop it.” Catty shoved the mastra in the chest with a finger. “Who’s the jealous one again?”

  Requai chuckled and shook her head as she went back to Catty’s side. Aly trailed behind, as usual, but Glani waited for her to catch up.

  “I really do like your dress, Aly.” The mastra smiled. “It’s very pretty.”

  Aly smiled back, but didn’t say anything as she held her scrolls up against her chest.

  When the class went to the sparring grounds that afternoon, they had to share the area with some of the Young Ones in the tribe. The Little Ones tried to keep a safe distance from their idols, noting they were more aggressive with sparring and being-control. To them, it was pretty scary, but exhilarating all at once.

  “Did you see that?” Catty pointed as she changed her clothes. “He shot two beams out of his hands.”

  Requai was taking off her shoes. “So? You’ll probably be able to do that by next month too, show-off.”

  Catty shoved the mastra’s head. “Only you could make a compliment an insult as well. And maybe you’d be better at being-control too, if you attended extra sessions like some of us. How many times do I have to say it? I’m not a show-off. I just put in more time.”

  “Of course you do. The
wealthy can afford to have more time.”

  Catty saw a rock on the ground. It took every part of her not to pick it up and throw it at Requai. As she calmed herself down, she watched Aly look for a spot to place her new clothes, probably so they wouldn’t get dirty. She looked like she was debating between setting everything behind a tree or in a branch.

  Catty shook her head as she pulled her robe over her head. That mastra was just begging for harassment.

  “Hey, Catty.” Glani crept over to her and Requai. She pointed to Aly and a group of six Young Ones approaching her. They looked like they had bad attentions, and that was never a good thing when it came to the much bigger and older Goolians.

  Catty hopped up and loosened her neck. “Well! That was quick. Wait here.”

  “Wait here?” Requai’s eared flapped. “Truly, and what does this one intend to do?”

  “Then, I beg, make yourself of use and find Teacher. I shall return.”

  “Truly, this one has lost her wits,” Glani said. “Oops. I mean – Seriously, you out of her mind.”

  As Catty marched over to them, she heard Aly nervously say, “Hello,” to the Young Ones. One of the lads bent down and grabbed the bottom of the mastra’s robe.

  “Practicing your Universal assignment, I see,” he said as he examined Aly’s attire. “How cute. And truly, this be a lovely color. Take care. This one would not wish for it to gain filth, nay?” The lad kicked dirt on the bottom, and his comrades chuckled.

  Aly bent over and brushed the dust off. “Stop it.”

  “You heard her,” Catty said as she approached the group.

  Some of the Young Ones stopped smiling when they saw her. She might have gotten beat up by Aly a while back, but the entire tribe knew she was a child prodigy when it came to being-control.

  The lead Young One straightened up and lifted his hands over his head. “Look, Masters and Mastras. The little mistress arrives.”

  “Hold your tongue.”

  “Ooh, and thus she speaks with her authority. Fret not, Little One. We only converse with the one of new popularity. So, what say you, Aly? Surely this one enjoys the new local fame, yes?”

  He kicked more dirt on Aly’s dress and the other ones laughed, undoubtedly finding strength in their numbers. Catty moved in between the lad and Aly, and pushed the taller Young One down.