[IC Inbox -- Snowblind]

[heavensreader]

Is it worki - oh. Ahem. This is Kesara Freamon. Please leave your message here and I will call back on you as soon as I can.







Wait, is it still - argh, how do I ma-

Comments

Day 167; video; @notasidekick

[nursetemple]

Hi, Kesara. That's your name, right? My name's Claire.

[She smiles at the camera, feeling awkward and yet - this is important. Alfie's right, and if the kid is from a long time ago, she probably thinks her prospects in life are limited, due to the fact that she's a girl, to start with, but mainly because she's black.]

I just wanted to say hello - your name came up in a conversation I've had with Mr Solomons. So I wanted to meet you, introduce myself, and also let you know - I'm a nurse, so if you ever have a need for some medical assistance for you or your own, I'll be very happy to help.

[She doesn't come out and say 'hey look, in the future, we're free and we have jobs and we can marry whoever we want and we walk the streets next to white people without being spat at'. One, it wouldn't be entirely accurate, and two, it's a bit much, to throw at a kid like that.]

video;

[heavensreader]

[Kesara watches the message twice. It isn't as many times as she's reviewed other information, the sort she could hardly believe, but after the second time she's still blinking, sitting down to roll it around in her mind. This is the first time she has seen a woman of her own colour in Norfinbury. And that coloured woman is a nurse.

Not a governness. She understands the difference now. A nurse like the Chinese woman, Jia Xu. A medical professional. So it really is true. In the future even women who are not European can be something like that. She's full of wary, buzzing, jealous curiosity as she sits down to respond. Who is this Miss Claire? Or is it Doctor Claire? Where was she born, who were her parents? Where did she go to school? How?

But she restrains herself at first, only opens with a smile that fails to cover her hungry fascination.]

Hullo, Miss Claire - I mean - excuse me, is it Doctor Claire? They say in the future, being a nurse is very different from my time...

[nursetemple]

[Claire chuckles, gently. Kesara, on video, looks bright and well, if tired - Claire has no idea how long she has been in Norfinbury for, and it would be expected that she'd be exhausted. But at least, she looks like she's eating healthily enough.]

No, not doctor, just Claire is fine. I imagine being a nurse for me is very different from what you know, yes. I assist doctors in the emergency services of the hospital, looking after patients that need urgent care.

[heavensreader]

In my time, a nurse is what we call a governess. A woman who looks after the children.

[She says it carefully, afraid of giving offense. Of course being a governess is a perfectly respectable profession but it is absolutely nothing like tending to medical emergencies.]

But I've heard what a nurse is in the future. We found these videos of a woman who was a nurse in Norfinbury once, whom they say was doing important medical research. Jia Xu. She was Chinese.

[A small step closer to the true matter at hand. She looks carefully for Claire's reaction.]

[nursetemple]

I do look after children from time to time, when they come through my ward. I'll even let you in on a secret: they're definitely my favorite patients.

[Claire gives her a wink, smiling. There is no offense taken; it's the truth, plain and simple.]

I heard about her, as well. Her role was closer to what I do, although my specialization doesn't involve much research.

[Claire licks her lips. She's just going to tell Kesara her ethnicity, instead of beating around the bush.]

I'm half African-American, half Puerto-Rican. Half black, half hispanic. And if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them.