Chenda and the Airship Brofman Read Online Free Page B

professor's hand and started pumping it vigorously, crying “Oh, thank you, Professor Mortimer. Thank you. This is what Edison wanted.”
    Slightly embarrassed and already considering with whom she would leave her last will and testament, Candice pulled her hand back from the young woman. “Fine, dear, yes. And enough with the 'Professor Mortimer' business. I guess you can go ahead and call me Candice, as we are now traveling companions.”
    No longer knowing what to do with her hands, Chenda crossed them over her heart, saying “Thank you, Candice.”
    A sudden knock on the door made both ladies jump.
    “Candice! Candice, dear, open up!” a voice came through the door, followed by a squeaky hiccup. “ Meeep...”
    With a smile, Candice swept her office door open, revealing a short, pleasant-looking woman with a full face set with sparkling eyes. “Ah, Professor Hoppingood, your timing is perfection!” Candice gushed. Sniffing the air, she added, “Have you been drinking with your father again?”
    “Never you mind, Professor Mortimer,” the woman tisked as she entered. “ Meeep....”
    “I saw your light on from outside as I was heading to diner, and thought...” her voice trailed off as she noticed Chenda for the first time. “I'm sorry. I must be interrupting.”
    Candice made introductions. “Mrs. Chenda Frost, this is my colleague, Professor Henrietta Hoppingood, instructor of Languages, Literatures and Cultures as well as a researcher into the field of Esoterica . She is my most trusted friend.”
    Henrietta blinked in realization as to who stood before her. “Oh, Mrs. Frost,” Henrietta said, holding her head sympathetically to one side. “I'm so sorry for your loss. I read all about your husband in the papers.”
    Chenda blanched, hating her new fame as The Widow Frost. Candice quickly stepped in saying, “Henrietta, darling, can I have a word with you in the corridor?” She quickly dragged her short friend back through the office door, closing it behind them. Chenda found herself alone amongst the maps and stones.
    She tried to focus on the various dusty pictures of Candice displayed around the room. In each photo, the professor squatted over some exotic rock or hole in the ground, clearly pleased by some new discovery. Chenda tried not to listen to the conversation out in the hall, which worked well for a few minutes until Henrietta exclaimed, “Are you DAFT? You'll be killed!” There was some shushing followed by some fast murmuring which turned into a whispered argument. Finally, Candice said loudly and firmly, “ You owe me the favor, and now, I'm cashing it in. Pay up!”
    Chenda smiled. It always came down to favors. They were like the secondary currency of the Republic. Everyone seemed to owe a favor to someone else, and it was truly bad form to decline when someone asked for their favor to be repaid. Whatever Candice had asked Henrietta for, she was surely going to get.
    The door opened and Candice stepped in. Chenda heard Henrietta's footsteps disappearing down the corridor along with an exasperated voice shouting “As you wish... Meeep !”
    Candice grinned at Chenda and said, “I believe I've just come up with a plan.”
     
    Chapter 3
    CAPTAIN MAXWELL ENDICOTT
     
    Over the next few hours, Chenda and Candice hatched a plan to undertake what rational people would deem an insane journey. The first step involved developing a plausible reason to put themselves east of the Republic's coastline and over the Kohlian Sea, an action generally forbidden by the government.
    “Congratulations,” Candice said. “Consider yourself enrolled in Kite's Republic University!”
    “I have?” Chenda asked. “How does that help us?”
    “Well,” she said, “a geology professor, such as myself, often needs an assistant when she takes a sabbatical, and it's usually a student, such as yourself. You see? Your current area of study is the divergent plate boundaries of the Mid-Sea Ridge.” Candice