#julia heller

A New Year celebration was a bit arbitrary, set in the spring like this. But then, Julia had never celebrated the new year on any planet at all, only on one of the stations in Earth's solar system. Keeping Earth's calendar was as sensible on G889 as it had been on the stations. Consistency did count for something. It was hard to believe that the last New Year she recollected was twenty-two years in the past. Her memory brought to mind flashes of her med school peers laughing, wearing silly hats and glasses, drinking and chatting the night away as they waited for the midnight countdown. Julia had never been a drinker; her glass of bubbles that night was strictly non-alcoholic. She frowned, remembering suddenly Rob's puff of bad breath as he'd leaned over and tried to kiss her at midnight. She'd recoiled, both from the breath and the man. Maybe Rob had had some ideal romantic moment in mind, but she'd rebuffed his every overture during school and his last-ditch play had been extremely inappropriate. She hadn't seen much of him after that, thank goodness, and after graduation that spring, she'd joined the Eden Project at the behest of the Council. There was nothing to tie her to the space stations anyway, and loyalty to the Council demanded compliance, after all. Julie sighed. It was all working out for the best, now that her deception was uncovered and resolved. Wasn't it? Putting thoughts of Rob and the Council away, she emerged into a cool, breezy evening. The kids were already gathering around a fire that John Danziger stoked with a sturdy stick. They'd been promised some extra VR time because of the holiday, but didn't seem to want it. Julia approved. VR usage wasn't strictly dangerous, but it was lethargic and addictive and everyone could see how Morgan scrounged as much of it as he could. It only deepened his depression. Julia counseled both him and Bess to put the gear away, but sometimes he slipped back into old habits when stress got the better of him. She took a seat next to Uly and ruffled his unkempt hair in greeting. "Hey, Julia," he said, ducking her hand after a moment. "Hi, Julia," True echoed. "Do you want to try some of this grass? It's sweet!" Curious, Julia looked at the handful True showed her, and recognized it as the specimen Uly had brought in earlier. Julia had cleared it for consumption after reviewing the scan he'd done. They didn't do a taste test, though. Apparently, Uly and True were trying it out now. Julia plucked a blade from the bunch and masticated it gingerly. A sugary sweetness flooded her mouth and her eyes lit up. "Wow, Uly, good find! And just in time for a party. I wonder if it'll boil up sweet drinks, too." "We already thought of that," Uly said, smug. "True's dad has a kettle going." "It's almost ready," added Danziger from across the fire. "Didn't the old world have a hot drink tradition, too?" "Chocolate, I think," Julia answered, almost reluctant to bring up a resource they didn't, and would never, have. "And I think that was the old Christmas holiday, too, not New Year's." Danziger shrugged. "Close enough." Julia smiled in agreement. Other members of Eden Advance were migrating toward the fire as twilight deepened. Danziger ladled out cups of the sweet drink to everyone. They had hours and hours to wait until local midnight, but the time was filled with laughter and warmth. Magus took over fire duty and kept it stoked high, while Danziger refilled the kettle with grass and water to keep the hot drinks coming. By the time midnight was imminent, Julia found herself seated next to Danziger, who refilled her mug yet again. "I hope this grass won't have adverse effects; we've all drunk a lot of it," she murmured, nonetheless taking a sip of her fresh refill. "Eh, lighten up, Heller. Some of us would have prefered something a bit stronger, anyway," Danziger replied. Julia giggled. "Not all of us."

Danziger dropped the ladle into the kettle and left off of refills for a bit. He nudged Julia's shoulder and pointed at the kids, who were all but asleep, staring sleepily into the fire. She giggled again. "Not a drinker, huh?" asked Danziger, picking up the thread of conversation. Julia shrugged. "Nah. No time, no inclination, and now, no opportunity." Danziger grinned, wiggling his eyebrows at her in the firelight. "You never know. Something fermentable may grow on this ridiculous planet. Maybe we just haven't found it yet." "Oh, undoubtedly!" She laughed. "Maybe we'll come across some colonists who have a vineyard already, but don't hold your breath, Danziger. We'll probably have to start from scratch at New Pacifica." "Anybody ever tell you that you're a killjoy, Julia?" "All the time. It's a point of pride by now." She let the irony show in her tone, which drew a bark of laughter from Danziger. Now that he didn't hate her, Julia was glad to get to know John Danziger better. He was clever in word and action, and had a totally opposite life experience from hers. He was someone she could certainly learn from. Julia was pulled from her pleasant thoughts by Walman, who held up his timepiece and began a loud countdown. The kids roused themselves, and the group stood, excited, to count away the last seconds of the year on G889. At zero, they cheered and shouted Happy New Year!, laughing and chattering and clinking mugs together.