Library, Monday

[intotheout]

Tip came into the library after her workshop, still feeling all sunwarmed and chill. She plopped herself down behind the circulation desk and started idly scrolling through her email.

After about half an hour she started to realize how quiet the stacks were. Suspiciously quiet.

"Do I want to know, Bill?"

Bill gave a little bubbly shrug.

"Yeah. . . . Maybe in a little while."

She wanted to enjoy her chill a little longer, first.

[open!]

Comments

[intotheout]

Tip snorted. "Let's just say it's still better than living with my mother." She shook her head. "And I spend less time frustrated by other people's blinding stupidity."

The joys of coming from a kids' canon. 99% of adults were aggressively dumb.

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"People are smart here?" Shuri looked excited.

[intotheout]

"Smarter than they are in my universe?" Tip offered. "It's . . . not a high bar. But yeah, we've got at least a few geniuses around here."

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"Oh, good," Shuri said, a little relieved. "I love a challenge."

[intotheout]

"You'll definitely find that here," Tip assured her. "I come from a world that got invaded by aliens twice in a row, and I'm still surprised by some of what this island throws at us."

Name dropping her home's invasion in order to feel out what sort of weird Shuri came from? Nahhhhh. She was totally just making conversation. . . .

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"We've only gotten invaded once, and I'm not sure it even counts," Shuri said. "It was only a few blocks of downtown Manhattan."

[intotheout]

Oh, Tip liked this girl.

"Yeah, that's totally nothing. It would have to be at least the entire city to count as a proper invasion."

[scoffs_at_tradition]

Shuri nodded. "That's practically typical for New York."

[intotheout]

"I've never actually been," Tip admitted. "I mean, I spent a weekend once as a girl who grew up there, but that's not really the same thing."

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"...I'm going to pretend like the last bit made sense," Shuri said, "and confess that I've never been there either. I'm from Wakanda."

[intotheout]

"Cool," Tip said. ". . . I don't know where that is."

And she was reasonably good at geography, for someone who'd attended American public schools K-8th grades.

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"Southeastern Africa," Shuri told her. "Near Uganda. We've been pretty isolated for the last, oh, forever."

[intotheout]

"Cool!" Tip had so many questions. "Is this your first time in the States?" That one was the most tame.

[scoffs_at_tradition]

Shuri nodded. "We stopped in Oakland on our way here but didn't get to Coachella or Disneyland." She rolled her eyes. "Set up an outreach center instead."

[intotheout]

"So you got to see the real America, then," Tip said. "If Disneyland is anything like Happy Mouse Kingdom in my world, it's a creepy empty shell with all the soul cleaned out of it. And Coachella is all white girls trying to be 'exotic'." She rolled her eyes. "Nooo thanks."

[scoffs_at_tradition]

Shuri laughed. "Since I actually am exotic, I was going to make fun of their outfits. It's not like Beyonce would play twice."

[intotheout]

"More power to you," Tip said. "I'd probably get kicked out for shouting at people."

Actually that sounded kind of fun. And a proper tribute to the dear, departed Chief.

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"Oh, they couldn't kick me out, it would cause a diplomatic incident," Shuri said with a little, cheeky smile. "And I'd be subtle about it."

[intotheout]

"Subtle's good," Tip said. "Noooot sure 'diplomatic incident' would worry the current American regime that much, though."

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"Why? Who's in charge here?" Shuri asked.

Oh, Shuri.

[intotheout]

". . . I am so sorry." Tip couldn't bear to say it out loud, so she called up a news website on the library's computer and turned it to face Shuri. The home page as full of reports on the president's tweeting habits, racist propaganda, and blatant obstruction of justice. "It was the worst election I've ever seen. And I once watched an alien planet seriously consider electing an actual parrot."

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"What," Shuri said blankly as she read.

"WHAT?"

And...now you were getting a stream of very angry Xhosa curses, Tip.

[intotheout]

The mole on the back of Tip's neck started flashing purple excitedly. If Shuri kept that up long enough, Tip was going to be able to tell what she was saying by more than just context and tone.

"Yeah. Pretty much."

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"HIM?!" Shuri spat. "This is completely unacceptable."

[intotheout]

"Yep," Tip said. "I am really glad this isn't actually my universe."

In her universe a recent president had straight up refused to come out of hiding and take the job back after the invasions. That -- and the fact that everyone had been moved to Arizona for the duration of the invasions -- had changed politics in Tip's America pretty thoroughly.