Photo: another toned down picture of Io.
Binks and his wife Lucy came in while George left. Apparently Binks would go to the near by hyper loop station and wait for Lucy to come from her college in India. They exchanged greetings with George as she left and they sauntered in. After introducing Binks and Lucy, the robot waitress arrived with more drinks.
Lucy introduced me to some more of my school mates, Octavia, Mary Ann, Henderika, Evangeline, Esmeralda, and Maryam they seemed like nice people. Esmeralda my earrings insisted that her hobbies included being and off world hit girl for an unknown evil corporation and was also known to bit her nails. Equally erroneously Maryam was known to like Darach and had once tried out to be on the school cheerleading squad only to discover that the chess team didn't have a cheerleading team. She had three brothers all into manga and anime versions of James Joyce Ulysses.
"What are you doing?" asked Evangeline when he saw Leo writing numbers on paper.
"I'm teaching Io about lying and the best way to do that is to teach her to lie " said Leo.
"That's very nice. That's very nice indeed. It's nice to see people teaching stuff outside school" said Binks "who is Io?"
"She is" we both said pointing to her.
"She is" said Io pointing to herself.
Binks offered out his hand to Io "Hello, I'm Binks very nice to meet you"
"You are? I am Io" said Io shaking Blink's hand again.
suddenly Io twisted in terror "F**K Sorry, you shocked me" she said.
I realised she copied me from the lesson in the classroom.
"Did I? I'm sorry" said Binks looking at his own hand.
"No that's not how we greet people" I said. I turned to Io's minder "Can you explain?"
Io's minder bot warbled in binary to Io. Io warbled back. Then nodded.
"What is this?" said Leo pointing to the number 3 he had written on the paper. Next to it he had a 2 and a second number 3.
Io scrunched her nose and looked up like she was trying to remember then said "Three."
He pointed to the two and the other three and established that they knew the numbers. He then pointed at the two.
"This is 3" said Leo clearly pointing to the two. "I'm lying"
"This is two" said Io.
"Two is truth" I said. Then pointed at Leo "three lying". We went round the table and showed everyone said it was 2 except Leo who was lying. Io was thinking hard and wondered about it.
I pointed at my hand "This is my foot" I said smiling "Is this the truth or am I lying?"
"Lying" said Io.
"I am Scarlett" I said.
"True" said Io
"I am a banana" Octavia said.
"Lying" said Io.
"Well done. I am a cupcake dancing with a bicycle on a trifle" I said. Pointing at myself and trying to make things easy.
"Lying" said Io.
"I'm whiter than the president of the KluKluxKlan" said Leo.
"Lying" said Io smiling.
"She is a robot" said Blinks pointing at Lucy.
"No I'm not. It's ridiculous. Who said anything like that?" said Lucy suddenly alarmed then added sheepishly "oh right lying."
I continued. We told Io one of us was a tiny space ship, the world's smallest apartment block, a type of coffee cup with three handles, a source of protein for walls , a fish who repairs bicycles, a refrigerator with a cold, the entire line up of 5 seconds of summer, a vampire with no sense of direction, a cure for flatulence in fish, a sugar cube with a cough, a ring with sense of purpose, a doorway with amnesia, an inside out well, a stone test-tube, an alarm clock with back problems, and a solar panel with shyness and ambition to be Kpop star. She understood they were all lies.
"I've never learnt so much" said Binks.
I decided to move closer to something which made sense.
"Scarlett likes Dante" I said. I wanted to work her closer to her UN-facebook boy friend problem. She knew who Dante was. I shook my head.
"Lying" said Io smiling.
"Dante is my boyfriend" I said.
"Lying" said Io smiling.
"Well done. You try." I said sitting back.
"Realise there is no spoon" said Io. Holding the spoon up.
"Lying" I said.
"The table is my ex-boyfriend" said Lucy pointing at the table.
"Really? You should have said something. Perhaps we should sit some where else" Binks said in shock.
"Lying" Io said.
"Oh right" said Binks. Getting the game.
I was about to move on to the subject of Io's fake boyfriend. When a man with a large camera came up. He had short black hair and a roundish flat face.
"Hi I was wondering if I could take your picture," he said to Io waving his camera.
"I don't have a picture" said Io.
"Yes why do you want her picture ?" I said suspiciously.
The man kind of changed expression, "I'm an artist. I'm Casey Young. I was struck by her face, it's this contradiction between the make up and the loneliness in it". I think he had quite a sexy English accent.
"You know who she is?" I asked.
"From the way you're talking I'm guessing a contestant on America's got talent" Casey said pulling a chair out and sitting down. He unbuttoned his stylish duffle coat.
"That was like a hundred years ago" I said.
"I don't get out much" said Casey.
For over a hundred years Youtube had preserved everything. This meant you got strange viral reruns of really old youtube videos which spontaneously took off. Back episodes of America's got talent was like that.
"I'm the same, Heavy cameras will do that to you" I said.
"She's sky girl" said Leo pointing out Io.
"Oh I thought you were from Camden town" said Casey to Io.
"I am you are Io. I am from Camden town, I am a sugar cube with a cold, you are a sugar cube with a cold." said Io practicing lying.
"We are teaching her to lie" I explained.
"A casual acquaintance would always insist on the truth, only a true friend would teach a friend to lie" said Casey.
"Ronald Bentham must to a true friend to everyone." said Leo. Lucy laughed.
Casey shrugged "He so is. I like that, you too. Where you all from ?"
"I'm from Mars" I said shrugging.
"I'm from Earth" said Leo making a point.
"I'm from Earth too" said Casey.
"I'm from medical bay 3" said Io joining in.
Casey produced a completely retro card. "Look if you're in London, I'm being shown at the Tate gallery. My studio is in London to. If you pop in I'll take your picture both of you".
I had been worried Casey was a news photographer but I got the feeling he was genuine.
"Would you like a trip to London?" I asked Io after Casey went.
"Does a vampire need a sense of direction?" said Io.
***
A/N We thank you for all your wonderful crazy, mad, delicious comments. Your votes have made Gravity the highest voted ( if you look at votes per read ) serial fiction novels in SciFi. Hope you have time this summer to share with Scarlett' s and Io's adventures. Join us next week to enjoy chapter 22 Sunrise in London and more Dante with Chapter 23 'We need to talk'.