APRIL
April headed down in the elevator alone.
Bo had wanted to come too, but April had explained that she needed to get some exercise in the workout room, and Bo had no interest in that.
It was probably for the best.
The main errand she needed to run was a visit to Mrs. Ginger to apologize for last night. And that would be hard to do with Bo tagging along. She would never want to say anything that might reflect negatively on her father in front of the girl. But there was no way to apologize for his behavior without doing that.
The doors slid open to reveal the lobby and she took a deep breath, marched up to Mrs. Ginger’s door, and knocked.
A moment later, the door opened.
“April,” Mrs. Ginger said warmly. “Is everything all right, dear?”
But April could see the wariness in the woman’s eyes, and it broke her heart.
“I…I just wanted to apologize,” she said. “For yesterday. I didn’t ask Captain Rivvor to come down here, let alone to scream or threaten anyone.”
Mrs. Ginger smiled, the wariness gone from her eyes now. “Don’t you worry about it, dear,” she said. “My Zyr shouldn’t have taken your picture without your permission.”
“I would have asked him politely to take it down,” April said. “That’s all.”
“I know that,” Mrs. Ginger said. “It seems to me that Captain Rivvor was feeling protective of you. It’s good to have people that care about you, even if they overreact from time to time.”
April let that sink in for a second.
“Would you like to come in and have some tea?” Mrs. Ginger offered.
“That sounds lovely, but maybe another day?” April replied. “Right now, I think I need a little exercise before Captain Rivvor leaves for his work trip. Do you know where the gym is?”
“Do I look like I know?” Mrs. Ginger asked, laughing and pointing to her ample belly, her eyes twinkling. “I’m only joking, dear, of course I do. I like to walk on the treadmill. Take that door down the corridor to the end. You can’t miss it.”
“Thank you again,” April said.
“It’s my pleasure,” Mrs. Ginger said. “And don’t worry about the way the captain spoke to Zyr. But I certainly hope he won’t ever talk to you that way. You deserve both suns and the moon above, April. You’re a sweet girl.”
“Thank you,” April said, feeling a little embarrassed. “See you later.”
She jogged toward the door at the back of the lobby and headed down the corridor.
Mrs. Ginger was right. The gym was impossible to miss. Huge glass doors opened into a massive, well-lit space with every piece of equipment April could imagine, and some she couldn’t.
It was clear the building catered to all its residents, and with the diversity on Ulfgard, that meant appealing to every possible shape, size and texture.
Glass walls enclosed a wet room with steam beading the surfaces inside, where residents who were slimy or scaled seemed to be working out.
There were machines on the ceiling for winged residents, leaving more space for the wingless below.
And in another massive, glass room there was a wood floor covered with a thin sheath of rubber coating that could only be meant for one thing.
April’s feet were carrying her forward before she had consciously decided to go.
She entered the space as if it were a place of worship, the high ceiling making her feel small. She peeled off her workout shoes so as not to ruin the dance floor, and padded over to the sensors to find out what music was programmed in.
By some miracle, there were tons of her favorites.
She turned to look around the gym. There weren’t too many residents working out today, and most of them were focused on their own exercise program.