The Tempest by A.J. Scudiere (story read aloud .txt) 📗

endangered may very well change the configuration of the array,” Joule hopped into the conversation. They’d done numerous calculations accounting for the possibility of the treeline getting higher nearby and casting longer shadows. They'd calculated for winter days and lower sun.

But the clipping her brother had brought to the lead environmentalist might just change all of it.

18

Joule clinked her glass to Sarah's. Almost eighteen of her Helio Systems teammates sat around the long table. Plates of fragrant Indian food sat decimated in the middle.

Their three days off had been met with a storm that managed to only knock out the power for a few hours Thursday afternoon. Friday had bloomed bright and humid, but it was too late to call the employees back.

They’d set to work with a renewed vengeance the following Monday, and now the corner pylons that formed the base of the array were finally set. Though this wasn’t an official work dinner, that was the reason for the celebration tonight.

Joule was glad to be having a night out with friends. More work graced the horizon, but the team had achieved a major breakthrough. The pylons should be able to withstand high winds, hail, and twisting forces—like tornadoes. They would hold up even under the high pressure of flood water, should the creeks rise. They'd even tested for blizzards and mudslides, though neither was expected to occur here.

While everyone was laughing and having a good time, Joule felt something tugging at the back of her brain. She was still thinking about the protesters showing up every morning. Sometimes they harassed Helio Systems team members at dinner or if they ran into the workers on the street.

That might be one of the reasons that this had been the suggested celebration place. The owners were pleasant and welcoming of the solar team. The town itself was becoming more divided. Some of the bigger landowners—with larger power bills—were grateful for them. But still, there was always Jerry leading his band of protesters. They seemed to no longer be mad about pollution, but now were angry about God, despite the fact that there had not been another tornado.

“More?” Chithra held the plate up for her.

The tall and thin-to-the-point-of-willowy woman had managed to put away three plates of food tonight. Joule had made her best attempt to do the same, but now she held her hand up to stop. “I’m stuffed.”

Still, she looked at the remaining plates and wondered who was going to get the joy of the leftovers. And who was going to get to do the math for the check. Probably the engineering team. But as she looked around the table, she realized that she was glad that the two teams had intermingled quite a bit. For the first time, it occurred to her that that might be why she and Cage had gotten these jobs.

One of the things that had attracted her to the position was that the company was big on innovation. While Joule had found that most places like to say that, very few actually wanted to hear from their lowest-level employees. But the description of the intermingled teams had grabbed her.

Now she wondered if the company was utilizing her twin-relationship to build the community between the enviro and engineering teams on site. Given the interlocking designs of the teams, Joule wouldn't have been surprised to find out it was a manipulation they'd done on purpose. But she realized these people were now her friends.

She liked Mitch. He was fun and an excellent boss, always making sure everyone was getting what they needed. She liked Chithra; the woman's management style was not flowery in the slightest. She got shit done. And was more than willing to answer any question, no matter how big or small, or how stupid. And Radnor, for all of his bluster, seemed to understand that his employees needed to care about the project and each other.

She wondered what would happen when the job was over. Would she and Cage be offered permanent positions with Helio Tech? What were the odds they'd wind up on the same project in the future? If they were permanent Helio employees, they might not get to decide where they were placed.

She took another swallow of the pale ale in her glass. Not her favorite, but it went well with the spiciness of the food. It also quelled some of the concerns in her heart as the conversation rolled happily around her. Why couldn’t she just soak that in?

“Okay,” Sarah called out so the whole table could hear her. “What’s the over/under that the new buckeye plant—the one lone bottlebrush buckeye—causes the array to be moved or delayed?”

Others were shouting out options and timeframes and placing bets. Joule joined in.

“How much do you want on that?” Sarah asked, pen poised over the napkin where she was copying bets down.

“Oh please!” Joule chimed in, laughing. “I’m not betting money by way of a napkin with curry stains. Half of you are too drunk to even remember this—”

“Y’all ain’t drunk, are you?” Sarah called down the table, her own southern accent creeping in. Her tone let Joule know that, yes, Sarah was at least tipsy enough to lose the napkin.

“No!” came from all along the table.

“Sorry, I want a real bookie and a receipt!” Joule smiled at them as though she’d ever done any of those things.

They finished their drinks and Sarah pocketed the napkin. Joule wanted to bet on the likelihood that it went through the wash and the ink ran. But the unease sat just at the back of her brain through the remainder of the evening.

Sure enough, the engineers had fought over who got to divide up the check. The managers volunteered to cover the appetizers. Joule wondered what would happen when they headed into work tomorrow. Would the protesters be there again, signs held aloft? Would it be more or fewer of them?

But as they headed out to the car, the wind kicked up her hair