Children of the Fleet

Children of the Fleet

By Orson Scott Card

What do you do when all your plans work out? When all your dreams come true?

In his heart, Dabeet was already gone. From the moment Graff told him he was accepted into Fleet School, Dabeet detached from his friends. None had been close – or so it seemed to Dabeet, since he never felt toward his friends the kind of relentless dependency that others seemed to feel. He noticed when he wasn't included in some event – a party, a movie, a new game – but he didn't mind much, because he had other things to do. And now that he was preparing to go to Fleet School, he declined such invitations as he received. There was no point in investing any more time and effort with people he would never see again.

His friends, if they noticed his increased distance, said nothing about it. It was the teachers who were most demanding. Dabeet had not understood until now how much his teachers valued him. They were so eager to congratulate him – not just once, but over and over. And without Dabeet telling a soul about it, news of his acceptance into Fleet School flew through Charlie Conn. But only the reachers seemed to think it mattered much.

There was only one real surprise for Dabeet – how painful it was to think of leaving Mother. For more than a year, he had bent all his efforts to get away from her preferably with many miles of empty space between him. Now that he was really leaving, he began to realize how completely she had given over her life to him, and how dependent he was on her. Perhaps one of the reasons he hadnèt minded that he didn't have close friends was that his mother cared about everything he did, praised what was praiseworthy, commiserated with his miseries, and constantly told others how gifted he was. That which had been most annoying about her – the constant brag, the promises and lies – was now the mainstay of his life, and he could not imagine living without seeing her every day.

And yet when she immediately started trying to think of ways to come with him, he resisted her almost instinctively. Yes, he would miss her, and going to this new school would be frightening because of her absence. But he also knew that it would be disastrous it, through some fluke, she were allowed to come along.

“They must need some kind of nursing staff for the children,” said Mother. “It wouldn't take me long to take a refresher course.”

“Nursing staff?” asked Dabeet.

“I was a school nurse, once upon a time,” said Mother.

It was the first Dabeet had ever heard of it. “Then why aren't you working in medicine?”

“Because I chose not to,” said Mother. “I chose to work at the same kind of job as the other women in the neighborhood.”

“The hate their jobs.”

“And so do I,” said Mother. “Why do they do their jobs even though they hate them?”

“To put food on the table for their families.”

Mother shrugged as if that answer would do for her, as well.

Children of the fleet. Photo by Elena.