Julie and the Monkey Witch

Chapter 9

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The new research team members arrived that morning on a boat that came from Brisbane. The researchers who were leaving packed their gear up onto the boat, followed by the crewmembers of the Australian Navy vessel and the departing team members. Their "tours of duty"—a term the researchers playfully used, in spite of John's objections—had ended. Now it was time for the new researchers.

They, too, came from universities all over the Pacific Rim—University of Alaska-Anchorage, University of Tokyo, Far East Federal University in Vladivostok, the University of Seoul, University of Indonesia, UNAM, the University of Oregon and the University of Queensland.

Gina, as the team leader, greeted them all on the beach, ready with a handshake and an open palm. Of course, unlike Monsieur Thenardier, who sang the song that was just quoted, Gina's intentions were sincere. And also, unlike Thenardier, Gina informed the newbies about just what they were getting into.

She told them about the Teo Tribe, and how things were not going well amongst them. She also told them about how Unaki had almost split the tribe apart but forgot to tell them about the whole monkey-witch thing. She also told them there was a jungle boy and girl couple living deep in the rainforest, living like Tarzan and Jane, and "No, Mr. Tarasenko, that is not a joke, I am completely serious!" Gina finished. "Julie was a member of our team last year, but she has decided to live with her Tarzan-clone boyfriend Karza like, well, Tarzan and Jane. Please stop laughing."

"I'm sorry!" Mr. Tarasenko laughed, and Gina rolled her eyes.

"Oh, dear," she said to herself. "Well, at some point, you'll meet up with them, and then we'll see who's laughing."

For sure, the newbies would meet the jungle-dwellers soon enough. Just not right now.

Being a good mistress of the house, Gina showed them around the campsite, and when she got to the tent Prof. Ishida was murdered in, she spilled the beans about the murder. But again, she neglected to mention Unaki, P'li, and the internal problems plaguing the Teo Tribe. It just didn't register in her mind that this would be important.

After the newbies got acquainted with the campsite and set up their tents, a couple of the newbies asked to go out into the jungle to have a look around. They went with some veteran researchers who knew the place better, who would lead the way. Didn't want the newbies getting lost on their first day! Just think what their universities would think! And Gina didn't have the fucking time to deal with all that shit. She had more important things to worry about, and that was getting them all settled in and keeping them safe.

The tour group left an hour later, which was around the same time the Teo Tribe search party also left the village.

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Julie was still so angry at the tribe's Council of Elders a couple of hours later sitting in on a tree branch 20 feet above the jungle floor. Fucking stodgy old men who think they know what's best for everyone, even if it means nothing but trouble, are all the same, no matter where they live. Old men like her grandpa, on the other hand, who understand that his time was past, were better. But what would grandpa think?

Hey, I hate old men, too! He laughed once as they sat on a Santa Barbara park bench overlooking the Pacific. This was the summer before she went off to UCLA. You can't trust 'em, especially me! I mean, how many times did I pull the too slow trick on ya?

Julie's thoughts turned more to her grandpa. She thought about how she missed him the most. She missed everyone. That was the biggest regret she had about staying on Greystoke. But had she moved out of California to say, Chicago or New York, she would have missed them all the same way no matter where she moved. But it didn't make her moment of sadness any less valid, especially when her current situation left her on a tropical island thousands of miles from home because she fell for some jungle boy. Regrets were inevitable.