Piper's Perfect Dream by Ahmet Zappa Page B

afternoon, too!”
    A newspaper!
She’d learned about that in her Wishers 101 class last year and Professor Elara Ursa had gotten it exactly right. It was exciting to actually hold a newspaper in her very own hands. The professor had said that more and more news was being delivered electronically—like it was on Starland—but many Wishlings still had papers delivered to their homes.
    â€œAre you visiting the Trunks?” the man asked, interrupting her thoughts.
    â€œTrunks?” she repeated. Was he asking if she was visiting trees? “Yes, the Trunks,” he repeated, pointing to the house behind her.
    â€œAh!” Piper said, remembering that Wishlings might be referred to by their last names. The house, and the newspaper, must belong to a family called the Trunks.
    â€œNo. I’m just picking up the newspaper for them. There!” She placed it carefully on the front steps and kept walking.
    Soon small stores replaced the small homes. Piper walked past a brick building with signs that read GREENFIELD STATION, TICKETS , and TRAIN PLATFORM, THIS WAY . Beside the platform, Piper saw what looked like a ladder running on the ground, with yet another sign: BE CAREFUL ON TRACKS .
    Two identical little buildings with windows all in a row and wheels at the bottom were parked on the side.
Greenfield Local
was painted on one,
Greenfield Express
on the other.
Can these houses actually move?
Piper wondered. It seemed doubtful.
    Piper kept walking, and the sidewalk grew more crowded. Some Wishlings hurried into and out of stores, carrying sacks. Others walked more slowly while chatting with friends. She passed the Coffee Corner. Peeking inside, she saw everyone drinking out of mugs and cups. Coffee, she remembered reading in a holo-textbook, was a staple of the adult Wishling diet. But she had never realized it was a drink!
    Then she stopped in front of a place called the Big Dipper. Her heart skipped at the words.
Home,
she thought. The older Starlings’ dorm. It gave her a pang just thinking of Starling Academy while she was here, in a place where she couldn’t even leave a children’s play-around without help. But what was this place? A line snaked out the door, so it must be popular. People were leaving, gripping cone-shaped holders with scoops of brightly colored food inside.
    â€œYummy ice cream!” said a Wishling boy walking outside with his mom.
Ice cream!
She’d heard about the frosty dessert, too. Maybe it was called the Big Dipper after an ice cream scooper, not the constellation.
    Next Piper passed the Greenfield Library and a flower shop. Finally, the Star-Zap led Piper to a place called Big Rosie’s Diner. It was marked with a glowing star on her Star-Zap screen. She was there. The spot where she would meet her Wisher.
    The diner looked a little like one of those vehicles she’d walked by earlier. Only, this one appeared to be stuck in the ground. Pretty flower boxes hung just below its windows. The diner was sweet-looking and inviting, with bells above the door. They jingled when customers came in or went out.
    A diner,
mused Piper.
That sounds like
dinner.
It must be some sort of restaurant.
Casually, she strolled closer. A few Wishlings stepped outside. One held the door open, assuming Piper wanted to go inside. She decided she might as well. Her Wisher might already be there.
    Nodding her thanks, Piper walked in and smiled. Yes, it was a restaurant! Tables with red-checked tablecloths stood in the center, while booths with red cushions lined the walls. There was a long counter directly in front of her, with lots of activity behind it. Wishling workers—not Bot-Bots!—bustled here and there, busily doing things Piper could only guess at. One sprayed some kind of liquid into glasses from a long hose. Another yelled into a window in the wall, where Wishlings appeared to be cooking in a separate room. “Two number fours, one with everything, one