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Gearing Up

Written by Sean Massey

Happy Acres

October 1633

"Du dummes, undankbares Stück Scheiße!" Jost Neubert screamed. He waved his arms and hit the old John Deere Model B tractor with his hat. The tractor hadn't seen this much work in decades, and steam now poured out of the radiator. "Warum jetzt??"

Jost had harvested five acres of wheat on the other end of the field this morning, and had hoped to bring in a large portion of his crop before the sun set. But here it was, early afternoon and only half an acre harvested when the tractor broke down.

He unhitched the pull-type combine harvester from the tractor. I wish I had one of those fancy motorized harvesters.

The tractor, like the land he was farming, had once belonged to Ted Moritz's father. The land had been slated to become a subdivision until the Ring of Fire intervened. Ted's father had also been an avid fan of what he called the "Golden Age" of mechanized farming and spent a lot of time restoring old tractors and farm implements. Except for a few items that he held onto for sentimental reasons, Ted sold most of his father's collection.

"Having problems, Mr. Neubert?"

Jost looked up. He could barely make out Gary Rose standing near the road, accompanied by Marie Moritz.

"Yeah, Gary," he shouted. "Can you come take a look at it?" Gary Rose was the ad-hoc mechanic on the Neubert farm, and he had been responsible for keeping the two tractors, which were pushing the half-century mark, in operating condition. That had been a tall order, since two years of hard work for the Grange, along with a lack of regular maintenance, had taken their toll on the engines.

Gary looked the tractor over and shook his head. "Looks like you're really cooked her. I don't know if I'll be able to fix her this time." He paused a moment. "It might take all night, but maybe I can have the crawler back together by tomorrow."

"That would be great, Gary," Jost said. "I really need to get this crop in. Sometimes I wish I could have a new mechanical beast. Then I wouldn't have to keep you here all night working on these old beasts."

***

"Where's Gary?"

Marie shrugged. "He was talking with Mr. Neubert, Tad. It looked like he was having some problems with one of Dad's tractors."

Tad, Phil Jenkins and Albert Neubert were comparing different teams in one of the final video football games released before the Ring of Fire.

"Son of a . . ." Phil said. He cut himself off. He swore enough lately, and his mother hadn't been thrilled to learn of his expanded vocabulary. "All right, guys. It looks like Gary won't be joining us today. Let's get started without him."

"Isn't that Gary?" Albert said. He was looking out the large front window that overlooked the street. Gary was walking by, apparently oblivious to everything around him.

A mischievous smile spread across Phil's face. "Let's sneak up on him."

***

Gary was lost in his own little world contemplating the work he had to do when he reached the shed. He began to unlock the door, not even realizing he was doing it.

"Hey Gary!" someone shouted.

Gary fumbled with his keys and dropped them.

"Hey!" the voice called again. It was Phil Jenkins. "You gonna come up and join us?"

"Not today, Phil," Gary said. "I got work to do."

"Sure." Phil smirked. "You just don't want to come up because Sunshine isn't there."

Gary felt the blush creeping up his face. He had nursed a huge crush on Sunshine Moritz for some time now. Not that it mattered. She never noticed him, since she was after Phil. Gary's stumbling efforts to get her attention hadn't even gotten the time of day out of her. .

"It has nothing to do with Sunshine," he said. "I need to finish fixing the other tractor so Jost can get his harvest in. And how's Maria these days?"

Phil rolled his eyes. "Come on, man. That's low. You know she left two weeks ago. Why don't you at least come up, pick your team, and play your first game? We can simulate the rest until you're done. Or we can come down and help you so you get done sooner."

"What're you? Crazy? Unless you're gonna be here at three in the morning helping me, I don't think that's gonna happen. If it wasn't a Friday, I wouldn't even be doing this."

"Come on," Phil said. "Why can't Mr. Moritz do this? They're his tractors. Besides, you know you want to come up and see if Sunshine is home."

"You're not going to drop this until I go up there, are you?" Gary asked.

"No," Phil said. "I'll even help you out. Even if it takes all night."

Gary chuckled. "The last time you said that, you fell asleep at eleven. Right in the middle of Office Space, too."

"I'll stay up this time," Phil said. "I swear. We're not watching some crappy movie."

"Dude," Gary said, "it's not a crappy movie. You just have no sense of humor."

"Right," Phil said. "Keep telling yourself that. So are you coming?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

***

Gary yawned. It had to be about three in the morning.

He didn't know how Phil could sleep on the shed's concrete floor with only a cruddy old blanket to keep him warm, but he somehow managed that an hour ago. At least all the hard work was done by then. Phil had stayed awake long enough to get the engine remounted on the tractor's chassis and reconnected to the drive train.

Gary was beginning to feel a little tired himself, and he wished he had a Coke or something. He could use the quick boost of energy.

He yawned again and picked up the shop manual—an old book that showed how the engine and drive train fit together. The picture started to blur, and he shook his head to clear his vision. Thank God that Mr. Moritz and his father used to restore these things. I don't know how I would get it done without them.

He flipped through the book until he found the exploded view of the drawing he was looking for. He rubbed some sleep from his eyes and pressed on with his work.

***

Gary was startled awake by a rooster's crow. He wiped some drool from the corners of his mouth and massaged a kink out of his neck. The tractor seat wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, but it was much better than a concrete floor.

Phil was still sleeping in the same spot. The floor couldn't have been as warm or comfortable as a bed, and he was amazed that Phil hadn’t gone home.

After a few quick stretches, Gary inspected the tractor, hoping he hadn't missed anything. Having the tractor break out in the field because he missed something would be a bad thing, and he didn't want Jost to miss a rent payment to Uncle Huddy.

The rooster crowed again. Oh crap! I bet it's already after 6. Mom is gonna be pissed when I get home. I should have called her before I started working on this. I'm dead.

***

"Yes, Mrs. Rose," Mrs. Neubert said. "I'll send someone down to check on Gary, and when he gets up here, I'll make sure he calls. And I'm sorry this whole thing happened. Jost should have had more sense to make sure he checked in with you first. You have a good day."

Wilhelmine Matz watched as her aunt carefully navigated the minefield that Gary's poor sense had caused. She was always amazed by Aunt Franziska's diplomacy skills and tact, and hoped that she had inherited them..

"Mina, would you be a dear and go down to the shed to check on Gary? And tell him to come up here when he gets done. I should have some breakfast ready soon."

"Yes, Aunt Franziska," Mina said. She wondered what Gary would look like after a night of working on an engine as she slipped on her shoes. She giggled as she imagined his hair disheveled and strategically placed grease smears across his face. She hadn't really admitted her crush on him to anyone. He was two years younger . . . and interested in Sunshine.

I don't get what guys see in Sunshine. She's a . . . Mina struggled to find the word to describe Marie's younger sister, but she couldn't find just one word that fit. Besides, she's too skinny. Whenever she wears that bathing suit, I can count her ribs. Worse, she's a . . . gold digger. That's what the up-timers call it. Why do guys like girls that?

When she finally reached the shed where Gary was working, she was surprised to see the doors wide open. She could see the top of his head peaking out from behind the green caterpillar tractor. The butterflies in her stomach began to fly around. She turned as if she was going to walk back toward the house and began to chew on her thumbnail. What do I say? I didn't think he'd be awake!

"Mina?" Gary asked. "What're you doing down here?"

"Your mom . . .um . . . called, and you're supposed to, um, come up and call her back."

He smiled. "Yeah, I forgot to call her last night. I'm probably going to be grounded until I'm thirty."

"Oh," she said. "I'm sorry that my uncle got you in trouble."

"It's my fault." Gary shrugged. "I should have called. Oh well. I'm sure it won't be that bad. It's not like Larry hasn't been out all night with some girl without calling, and he usually gets off kind of easily."

***

"Mom," Gary whined, "that’s not fair. I’m only asking if I can go to the library after school. It’s not like I want to go running around town with Freddy and Larry!"

"I said no. Because you’re grounded," Maxine Rose said. "That’s what happens when you stay out all night and don’t call."

"But I was working," Gary said. "And if you let me go to the library after school, I’ll be working on some ideas that I have for Jost’s farm." He could tell he wasn’t making any headway, and really didn't want to try the last resort—groveling. "Mom, please? This is important."

"Fine," she said. "But don’t think you’re getting off easy. You’ve just added another month to your punishment, and you need to be home by five every night. And you’ll have more chores around the house."

***

Mina didn’t find the dog-eared paperback that interesting, but it was one of the few romances that she hadn’t read yet. She was starting to wonder if she'd have to start reading something else, like science fiction.

Like anyone wants to read any of that, she thought. How can you make a story out of space and technology?

She began to read the first couple pages of the novel. How could someone waste paper on this? I can probably write a better novel!

Mina didn’t bother to pay attention as she walked. She had been in the library enough that she knew the layout almost as well as the back of her hand, and she could read while walking without running into anyone.

Except today. As she rounded the corner at the end of one of the stacks, she didn’t see the large stack of books with legs walking right toward her. The stack couldn’t see her either. The next thing Mina knew was that she was on the ground, covered in books.

"Sorry, Mina," she heard the other person say. "I didn’t see you there."

"It’s okay," she said. She brushed a lock of blonde hair from in front of her face, then checked to make sure her ponytail had stayed in place. "It is my fault for trying to read while I was walking." She shook a couple of cobwebs out of her head and looked up at the person she ran into. Oh! It just had to be Gary! As if this couldn’t get more embarrassing.

"Are you alright, Mina?" Gary asked. He extended his hand to help her up, and within a few seconds, she was back on her feet.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "I think I will be okay. I heard about the trouble you’re in because you were working for my uncle. I’m sorry about that."

"It’s okay," Gary said as he bent down to stack up his books. "Mr. Neubert gave me a good idea to work on while I’m being punished." As he stacked his books, he found her paperback. "This must be yours. You really should find something better to read. This stuff will rot your brain."

Mina sent Gary a look that would have killed. "Well, what would you suggest I read?"

"I dunno," he said. "Whatever you feel like, I guess. So what have you been up to lately?"

"Don’t change the subject on me, Gary Rose," Mina said. God, what a stupid boy. He can be so cute sometimes, but then he opens his mouth.

Gary sighed. "I usually read regular fiction and science fiction."

"I don’t know what you find so appealing about spaceships and laser swords and little green guys who talk in funny sentences."

"Star Wars you have seen, mmm?" he said in his best Yoda voice.

Mina tried to stifle her laugh, but she couldn’t hold it in. "Gary, cut it out. I guess I just like these books better. Who knows, maybe someday, I’ll start writing my own novel."

"That would be really cool," he said. "I have to be home in about twenty minutes. Can I walk you to the bus stop?"

"I would love that," Mina said.

***

They made idle conversation as they waited. Gary vaguely talked about his project and the time he was putting in at the library. Mina talked about how her cousin had made her come to the library to get a new book a couple of times a week.

When the bus pulled up to the stop, Mina stepped forward. Then she stopped and turned back toward Gary. "If I wrote a book, would you read it?"

Gary smiled. "That depends. You wouldn’t be writing a romance, would you?"

"Of course," she said. "A very sappy one that’s worse than the book I’m reading now."

"In that case," he said, "I’ll definitely read it."

"See you tomorrow." Mina couldn't keep from smiling. She looked out the window and watched Gary walking away.

***

She’s something else, Gary thought. But she’s not Sunshine.

"No one is quite like Sunshine," he reassured himself. But he had trouble thinking about anything but the shy German girl.

November 1633

Lights were burning in Uncle Huddy's study when Gary got home He swore silently. There was no way he could sneak by, and since he was supposed to be home before dark, he figured he'd be in for another week of being grounded.

"You're late," Huddy said. "You're lucky your mom's not back from the office yet."

"Sorry, Uncle Huddy," Gary replied. "There aren't many clocks in the library."

"You've been spending a lot of time there lately. You're not hiding your girlfriend there, are you?" A broad smile spread across Huddy's face.

How did he know I was spending time with Mina? "What girlfriend? I’m grounded, remember?"

Gary turned to walk up to his room, but Huddy stopped him. "Jost stopped by today to drop off this year's rent payment. He mentioned that you were looking into building some farm equipment for him."

"Oh!" Gary said. "Well, I wasn't going to build it for him. He just said that it would be nice to have some newer equipment, and I decided to look into that a little."

"That sounds like it would be a good business opportunity," Huddy said.

Gary swallowed hard. He hadn't really thought about the business part yet, just about the millions he could be making. "I don't know, Uncle Huddy. I was trying to do a little research on farm equipment, but I'm not really an expert on it. And you're always so busy with your other projects, I figured you wouldn't have the time to help me out."

"You're my nephew," Huddy pointed out. "This will be ...