"Got used ta people tryin' ta do it on purpose back in my old haunts. Got real good at dodging 'em."Diane looked around as she leaned her bike against...one of the few surviving sections of wrought-iron fence. "Richie not here yet?" I'm sure he's wheelin' here as fast as his legs will take him." Ned paused. "He got a real big one stuck in his craw over Jason talkin' ta ya."Diane sighed. "I wish he'd stop making a big deal over it."Ned smirked. "So I take it that it ain't as bad as Richie makes it. One thing was for sure, he wasn’t getting back to the Wake in this Hog, so he’d better find somewhere flat to put his wounded bird down and then see about surviving.“Mudlark Nine, report your status.”The mission controller, who was sat safely aboard CSS Wake up in orbit, whispered in his headset. The calm and professional manner of the controller cut through the panic that John was starting to feel. As his nerves settled down it dawned on him that he hadn’t been forgotten. There may not be a. When school did start, he felt like he was pretending to be SailorScout in a cosplay show. Sandra wondered if the uniform's skirts could possibly be made any shorter than they currently were. ?Are you ready for school?? Mina asked as she and Akanesmoothed the wrinkles out of their uniforms and made sureeverything was straight. ?I?ll be ready in a minute,? Sandra said. ?I?m just glad that I hadtime before school started to learn to walk in the different heightsof women shoes. Not to mention. She was delighted with the train, and with the scenery, and with her fellow passengers, and with life in general. Her only disappointment was that her husband could not join her.I must admit to surprise at this. One, she was not wearing a wedding ring. Two, she did not seem so disappointed when she spent her first night aboard with a man she had met in the lounge. Yet she expressed great love for her husband, and for a few moments had the wistful look of one who is homesick.I was, of course,.