Free Surviving Antarctica by Andrea White Page B

and listen, but I couldn’t.”
    Andrew remembered a nice nurse standing over him and encouraging him to drink a purple liquid.
    “I’d give anything to know what they did to us,” Robert said. He didn’t have a good feeling about that clinic visit.
    “Remember, we’re on camera,” Billy said.
    “Use your head. Do you think that darn Hot Sauce is going to broadcast anything she doesn’t like?” Robert glared at Billy. He finished his last bite of sandwich.
    “‘Hot Sauce’?” Polly asked.
    “The Secretary’s nickname,” Robert explained.
    Steve chuckled. “I wonder how that kid learned her nickname.”
    “I don’t know,” Chad said.
    Except for Pearl, who was sweeping the same spot on the floor over and over, Steve and Chad were alone. The rest of the crew was on a break.
    “We need to double delete that whole conversation,” Chad said. “Hot Sauce is so paranoid about the corneal implants that she doesn’t allow references to the clinic even on the backup system.”
    Steve reached for the DELETE button, but Chad grabbed his hand. “On second thought, sometimes we save some of these cut scenes.”
    “Why?” Steve asked.
    Chad shrugged. “They could be useful.”
    “If you say so,” Steve said hesitantly.
    “Let’s double delete the scene from the official records but save it in a separate file.”
    Steve pushed the TRANSFER button.
    Chad leaned over his shoulder.
    The computer asked Steve to name the file. “What’s the file’s name?”
    “‘P.B.’?” Chad said.
    “What does that stand for?” Steve asked.
    “Possible blackmail.” Chad laughed.
    Steve froze. Blackmail?
    Chad clapped Steve on the back. “But we’re very careful.”
    The
swish, swish, swish
of the broom competed with the thumping of Steve’s heart as he nodded.
    Jacob Petrello walked in and joined them at the screens. Jacob was a sandy-haired man around thirty-five years of age. When Steve had first met Jacob, he had liked him instinctively.
    On the screens, the kids were all working silently at their different jobs.
    “Hey!” Jacob pointed at Andrew’s screen. “He’s talking.”
    Chad turned the volume up.
    Andrew was alone with the ponies. “You know, guys,” he said to the animals, “I have a confession to make. I’ve never been this close to a pony before. But if you help me, I’ll help you.” He held up a round contraption. “This is a horseshoe.” He paused. “I mean a pony shoe. I need to put this on you.” He looked into the eyes of one of the ponies. “So?”
    “How long do you think it’s going to take for Andrew to get that thing on?” Chad asked.
    “I guess about two hours,” Jacob said.
    “I’ll put it at three,” Chad said.
    “He’ll figure it out,” Steve said confidently.
    Two hours and fifty minutes later, Steve had to admit that Chad was right. Andrew still hadn’t been able to get the pony to raise its hoof long enough for him to secure the shoe.
    Andrew looked as discouraged as Steve felt.
    “You’d help him if you could, wouldn’t you?” Jacob said to Steve.
    What an odd question! How could he, a production editor, help any of the kids? But Steve didn’t hesitate before answering. “Sure.”
    The pony kept still for an instant. Andrew jammed the shoe on.
    Yeah, Andrew! It’s a shame, Steve thought, that he can’t hear our cheers.

10
    IT WAS THE END of a long day, and Polly felt exhausted. The ship rolled in the impossibly vast sea. To calm herself, she clutched the sides of the deck chair and stared at the moons. The natural moon was pearl-colored. The second moon, which had been installed by advertisers years ago, was light green and shone with the Gap company logo.
    Andrew plopped down in the deck chair next to her. He noticed the book in her lap. “Maybe you could write a book about polar exploration.”
    “Someone already did.” Polly held up her book so he could read the title:
The Worst Journey in the World
. “Apsley Cherry-Garrard, one of