Free Swans and Klons by Nora Olsen

challenge! But I know how kind and considerate you are, Rubric, and that you like to be surprised with a nice cup of hot chocolate when you’re up late doing your art projects. Right?”
    “Yes,” Rubric said faintly. “But what happened to Bloom? Why was she reassigned? Where did she go?”
    Nanny Klon blinked in surprise. “My, you and I are very close!” she said. “I’m not sure, honey. They don’t give me that kind of information.”
    “Is it something that she requested?” Rubric said. “Maybe something so that she could be closer to a friend? Or a schatzie? Maybe a Klon named Shine?” Of course, Klons weren’t supposed to have schatzies, they just had snuggle buddies, since they weren’t supposed to be capable of deep relationships. She desperately tried to focus on this thought, so she couldn’t start to think of any bad reason why Bloom might have been reassigned. Like that Rubric might have caused trouble for her. Scheiss. She had thought of it anyway.
    “It doesn’t generally work that way, dear,” Nanny Klon said. It was so disconcerting, the way she looked exactly like the old Nanny Klon. “Listen, dear, is it distressing to you to find that I’m a different Klon than my predecessor? I know that can be disturbing sometimes for you when you grow close to us. But you should know that I am her Jeepie Similar, I’ve received exactly the same training, and I’ve received exhaustive information about you and your likes and dislikes. I might be a bit off today—it’s only my first day, I’m sure I’ll know you better by tomorrow. I know there are conversations we’ve had that I don’t remember, but you can always bring me up to speed on whatever we talked about.”
    “I never had a conversation with you,” Rubric said flatly.
    “In a way. We’re interchangeable, you know.”
    “How many Nanny Klons have there been since I arrived at the dorm?” Rubric asked. What if there had been several and she’d never even noticed?
    Nanny Klon furrowed her brow. “I don’t know, dear. We usually stay somewhere for a long time.”
    “Then why did she leave?”
    “You really are upset! I can try to find out some of these things for you, but I am not sure if you should really be interested in them. Honey, I’m sure you’ll feel better about this by tomorrow. But if you really feel upset, you should definitely talk to another human about this, maybe Panna Lobe or Panna Stencil Pavlina. Or”—Rubric could see her racking her brains—“your schatzie…Tuna Jo?”
    “Salmon Jo,” she said.
    “Yes! Tomorrow I’ll remember that. You two are so close, so much in love. Maybe you should talk to her.”
    “I think I will. Thank you, Nanny Klon,” she said politely.
    “Thanks for the peppermint oil,” Nanny Klon said. “I’m sure it will make my fat slide down smoothly.” She squeezed Rubric’s arm, and Rubric walked away.
    Rubric couldn’t stop a few tears from trickling down her cheek. She would never see Bloom again. And she had no one to blame but herself.
    Her vision was so blurry that in the hallway she bumped into Filigree Sue.
    “Rubric, what’s wrong?” Filigree Sue asked.
    “It’s no big deal, Fil.” Rubric sniffed. She didn’t even know if she should tell her. But why should she have to keep it a secret? “It’s just that Nanny Klon has been replaced by another Nanny Klon.”
    “Huh, no kidding. So?”
    “So I miss her.”
    Filigree Sue laughed and clouted Rubric on the back of her head. “You thicko, next you’ll be missing the pierogi you ate for lunch! You need to get more sleep and stop drawing pictures. I remember when you were a little child and you used to have tea parties with your dolls and gave them all different personalities. You haven’t changed at all. Too much imagination is your problem. You’re just another Hollyhock!”
    Completely unexpectedly, Salmon Jo appeared at her side. Salmon Jo was looking particularly disheveled. Her curly hair was