Alto came from a good family. His father was a water user as well. Alto learned his ability from him, rather reluctantly. He held out for a long time looking for something that had a cool affect. Maybe something like prismatic light that also did damage. He thought water, though useful, was boring.
Now that he was working with Lana and Dobin, though, he was far more appreciative of his ability. Somehow he got lucky. His ability meshed well with them. He was useful without being bullied or having to cater to the demands of others as his father did.
His family weren't travelers. They were even able to afford to live in a Level-1 city on one of the three Beastiary planets but his father's company overworked him with his ability. He didn't see him enough and he, frankly, felt robbed of time with his father. He was an only child so he couldn't even practice his ability in that fashion and his mother died in the war. She left behind some insurance money and that was why they were able to stay.
So many others had to move off planet after the war when a parent died. He was grateful for what he had, though he often wondered if his father used the demands of his boss as an excuse to stay away. He thought his father deserved better and hoped one day he'd be able to give him that.
Lana hoped that maybe, somehow, her dream of happy could extend to those who chose to trust her with their friendship. Could a dream of being happy really spread to others? At some point, her desires succumbed to will of sleep.
In Agriculture class, Lana asked about having her own stall. Since it was mandatory, she wanted hers first.
Sergeant Elder chuckled, "See me after class. The rest are not ready for that yet."
She nodded, took her seat and stayed through the boring parts. The practicals were to plant and grow a carnivorous plant. Each student was given a seed. Two students would each have the same plant, 5 different plants in total. At the end of the month, they would all write a paper on what they learned about carnivorous plants.
Since Lana needed to spend the second hour in the infirmary, she did her practical while the lesson was going on. Lana thought this might be interesting. She planted her seed in accordance with the teacher's instructions. She watered it then placed her hand over the pot and whispered to it asking it to wake up and grow. Grow it did. Her plant was 3 feet tall. "Um, I think I need a bigger pot…"
Her teacher looked at her rather sharply then chuckled. "I guess you do!"
They decided to just place hers outside near her tree, on the apple orchard side, so it could grow as big as it wanted to.
Once Lana was released from her time in the infirmary, she returned to talk to Sergeant Elder.
"Okay, there is a process to this and first we need to see if there is a stall you would like to use and if it's available. Follow me, please."
With that, they were heading to the market.
As they walked, "Have you put much thought into what you want to sell?"
She nodded, "Produce, for one but also, pies, tarts and jams. I can sell sandwiches as well with fresh-baked bread."
"What about the overhead?"
"I already have that covered. I have not spent my allotted funds in weeks to ensure I'd be okay. I bought some things yesterday and I'll be making jams during the week and making sure I have enough wheat to make flour for the baked goods."
He teacher stopped and looked at her, "You are growing your own wheat for baked goods?"
She nodded and giggled at his expression. "That's a lot of work, young lady."
"Yes, but I've been working my way up to running experiments on the food I grow in comparison to the food others grow. I think mine is better but there is only one way to find out. We feel more energized and healthier after eating my meals."
It was his turn to nod, "Okay. Let's find you a stall. Have you priced how much you can sell it for?"
Lana replied, "I was planning to sell it for the going rate. The customer doesn't need to know how fast I grow food."
He smirked, "You are a shrewd woman. I like it. Here are the stalls. You need one with produce boxes and if you will be cooking, you need a cooking area in it as well."
"I just need produce boxes on 3 sides. The cooking I have covered. And it's sure to cause quite the stir." She had a huge grin on her face.
"There's one, on the end! It's actually the only one I see that I like," she stepped into the stall. "Yes, this will do. I will need to get my friends in here to help me and will need their help carrying things as well."
"Will they help?"
She laughed, "they have been eating my food all term and will be gaining ability books once we raise enough money so yes. They will help if I ask them to."
Her teacher beamed at her with pride. "In that case, there is a 5 credit per day fee to reserve the stall. Interestingly, you are requesting stall number 1. There is also an advertising aspect to let people know you will be here."
"Okay, where do I pay the fee? And do they take a portion of my profits?"
"Let's head back to the classroom and I will walk you through the process so you can pay the fees on your own in the future. There is a 10% fee as well."
She frowned but of course they would take her hard-earned profits. But then… She is using their stall on their property. It could be forgiven. For now.
He showed her how to pay fees and the 10%. She reserved the stall for every Sunday through the month of January. Now she just needed to grow a whole bunch of food and carry it all over on Sunday. This was going to take a while but it would be worth it.
Kattie helped her with advertising which was free and by the time Thursday closed out, they had launched their campaign. When she brought Paul his dinner, he had already seen it.
On Saturday morning, Lana went to the library and purchased 50 credits worth of supplies she would need for selling food such as disposable wrappers, baskets for produce, jars for jam, and mini pie plates. She spent the day making food to sell as well as growing fresh food.
The next day, Lana, Blaine and her team were manning the stall. Some would think having six people working the booth would be overkill or that they would be all over each other trying to work. The day started off slow but word of mouth travelled fast. By lunch time, they couldn't move from their spots. Lana and Kattie manned the kitchen making fresh sandwiches and gyros. Paul even left his room for the event, purchasing an entire apple pie and a gyro. He paid 1,000 credits for his purchase. With a broad smile, he hurried off to his room to be alone with his food.
In the end, the team sold out of everything. They all went back to Lana's room where Blaine decided to surprise them with dinner from a place they had not experienced before. The food originated from an area of a country called France that was no longer there. The coasts of that country were wiped out long before the Walkers arrived and devastated the planet by rising sea levels. Specifically, an earthquake had occurred where none would have predicted which caused a tsunami. The large wave washed miles inland leaving nothing but cleared land in its wake. The villages in the area were completely eliminated. All that remained were books that had been published about their way of life, vanishing into the annuls of history.
Some entrepreneurial people, decided to purchase historical cookbooks and bring back a portion of such cultures 150 years later and market such rare dishes to those who could afford it. This included small satellite restaurants near military bases to cater to the leadership and their visitors. They also knew that students from original families would tire quickly of military food. Their delivery service was a booming success.
Blaine ordered many sampler platters which enabled the friends to try many kinds of foods from the region without worrying about disliking a plate and being forced to finish it. Dobin was in heaven.
"I have a question," Dobin looked to Lana, "if Paul is rich, why doesn't he do this rather than have you bring him food?"
Lana chuckled, "I think it is an option for him but he's helping me with my study. It means he has to eat my food. While he hasn't said as much, I think it also gives him a bit of human interaction where he'd have none otherwise."
They finished eating, almost stuffing themselves. All the leftovers of the meal went to Dobin's room. Lana kept the leftover dessert. She decided she needed to further experience French cuisine.
Sunday's market stall was now added to her schedule, making Lana a very busy person. She decided she wanted to have a bit of time to just enjoy her friends so she worked even harder to get ahead so she could take a day off and just have fun. It took her three weeks. She had sold all the excess crystals and both teams were finally able to pick up their things from their forger.
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