Diggers: The Sharp Edge of the Universe Read Free Page B

shoulders.
    He didn’t wait for a response before he pushed away from the table and headed for his room, putting his door into privacy mode. He found Jasper curled up in his usual place in the middle of the mound of blankets on his bed. Just as he started to pull his slides out from their hiding place, ELAINA announced, “Mrs. Margaret O’Reilly is at the door.”
    “’Kay.” Finn covered his hiding place and tried to paste on a smile, but Maggie standing beyond the door could only mean one thing—the lecture wasn’t over.
    When the door whooshed open, his mom stood at the entrance and looked around for a place to sit. She finally settled on the desk chair filled with miscellaneous articles of clothing.
    “Finn, what’s going on with you?” she asked.
    “Nothing.” Finn chose the automatic answer over the truth.
    Maggie ignored his auto-response. “Look, I just want you to know that you do have other choices for Journeymen positions. You don’t have to be a Digger.”
    Finn looked up without smiling. “Mom, I don’t want to go into Janitorial Training.”
    “Well, it wasn’t what I wanted to do, either.” Maggie pushed the pile of clothes on the floor and leaned back in the chair. “Just know it’s there for you if you change your mind.”
    Finn gave a little gasp at the revelation.
    Maggie had spent the last eleven years telling him to clean his room and lecturing him about how much mold and junk grew in his used spaceball gear. She’d made him clean his room until it glowed so bright it actually hurt his eyes. When Maggie wasn’t cleaning the entire Space Station to a high gloss, she was telling Finn, Quinn, and his dad to clean up their messes.
    “Mom?” Finn asked. “If you could have done any job on the entire space station, what would it have been?”
    Maggie sat for a moment and stared at the luminaries in the ceiling. “When I was your age, I wanted to be a Space Station captain, or maybe a captain of a scout ship.” She smiled at the memory.
    “Well, why didn’t you go for it?” Finn sat forward.
    Maggie leaned over and massaged the spot in her back that always gave her trouble. Her demeanor might come across as severe to people who didn’t know her, but not to Finn. Most people just assumed she was no fun from her tight bun of auburn hair, or maybe the boring beige uniform she made sure never had a wrinkle. She came from Digger heritage, like Gus, so her thick waist and shoulders didn’t help, either.
    Finn loved her light blue eyes most, because even if she didn’t say the words, he could always tell she loved him. Then, too, she’d been known to give a look that made ice melt when her anger flared. An angry look from Maggie could make a person want to hide. But the blue color made them Finn’s favorite feature. He was glad he’d inherited her subtle hair and eyes and not the various shades of orange or flaming red hair most of the Diggers possessed.
    “Finn, you know very well we all continue the careers our first ancestors took aboard the Vortex ,” Maggie said. “It’s tradition.”
    “Why didn’t you become a captain anyway?” Finn pressed for the answer he’d hope she would give. "Some people try new things. Well, one or two people, at least."
    Maggie laughed. “It was a just dream, Finn. Nana McGee worked in Food Services, and Papa worked as a Digger. My Nana Gwenevere was a Janitor. Me wanting to be a captain didn’t even register as a possibility to them.”
    She was the only person in the family who tried to understand Finn, and yet she still didn’t seem to grasp his true nature. He wondered for the hundredth time if he should just tell her about his dream of being a scientist.
    Just as Finn started to muster up the courage to tell Maggie about his dreams, she pushed out of the chair, walked the few steps to his bed, and kissed him on the head. “Remember, Finn, you made a promise. You aren’t going to miss anymore Digger classes. O’Reillys don’t go