“Um, sure,” Bess said. Her cheeks turned pink.
Nancy could see that Bess felt embarrassed about asking Joann about her name. “Joann’s a nice name,” she said, jumping in. “But I like Xiao Yan, too. Did I say it right?”
“Oh, yes, very good,” Joann said. She looked over at George. “Would you like to go by my room now? You could drop off your things.”
Ned broke off his conversation with Cyril. “Why don’t you wait a little,” he suggested, glancing at his watch. “Penny and Dina said they’d come by to meet Bess and Nancy. Bess, you’re staying with Penny, and Nancy’s with Dina. Once they get here, we can work out how to link up later.”
“I hope Dina’s okay,” Cyril said. “When I saw her a couple of hours ago, she seemed on edge.”
“The campaign’s probably getting on her nerves,” Ned told him. He turned to Nancy. “Dina’s the club’s treasurer now and is running to succeed Cyril as president of the International Friendship Club. It looks like a tight race.”
Cyril laughed. “Times do change. Last year no one wanted to be president. Criselda, the outgoing president, almost begged me to stand for office. I was elected by a vote of twenty-one to zero. But here we are now with two candidates and everyone else choosing sides. It makes things lively, but I do wish people didn’t take it quite so seriously.”
“Who is Dina running against?” asked Nancy.
“A bloke named Vlad Miuskin,” Cyril replied. “Very serious, very intense. He’s from Rethalstan, in Eastern Europe. Same part of the world as Dina, as a matter of fact. She’s from Gorvonia, right next door.”
“That’s quite a coincidence,” George remarked.
“No coincidence at all,” Cyril told her. “Their countries have been going at it hammer and tongs for generations. When Vlad found out a Gorvonian might be the next IFC president, he decided to try for it himself. Or maybe it was the other way around.”
“People should try harder to get along with one another,” Joann said. “Even if they are from countries that disagree. Why else have an International Friendship Club?”
“Maybe you should run for president of the club, Joann,” Bess suggested.
Joann gave her a look of alarm. “Oh, no,” she gasped. “That would not do. I am no politician.”
“I’m not, either,” Cyril joked. “My record proves that. Seriously, Joann, you should think about standing for election. It would do the IFC a world of good to have you on the board.”
“You are kind to say this,” Joann murmured. “Please excuse me. There is something I must do.”
Nancy watched Joann cross over to the nearest computer terminal a few feet away. She wondered why the girl had reacted so strongly to Bess’s suggestion. Was it something from her culture that made her nervous about making herself stand out? Or maybe she was simply very shy.
Joann typed briefly, not bothering to sit. Nancy saw what looked like an e-mail program come up on the monitor. Joann stared at the screen. Suddenly she clutched the computer shelf with both hands. The blood drained from her face, and she swayed forward. As her knees gave way, she started to slump to the floor.
2
Suspended Animation
Nancy dashed over to Joann’s side. She caught the girl an instant before her forehead struck the edge of the computer shelf.
“Are you okay?” Nancy asked, holding Joann up by the shoulders. “Did you hurt yourself?”
Joann took a deep breath. She straightened up and shook her head. “No, it is . . . I am fine. Please, it is nothing.”
“Sit down,” Nancy urged her and helped her to sit on the chair at the computer. “Bess, get her some water, please.”
The others had gathered around her and Joann as Bess ran off for a glass of water.
“What’s wrong?” Ned demanded. “Anything I can do to help?”
“Joann felt faint,” Nancy told him.
“I am sorry,” Joann whispered. She raised her head to look at Ned. “I have had some bad news, that is all.”
“Is someone back home ill?” Cyril asked sympathetically.
“No, no, nothing like that,” Joann said quickly. She shook her head, and a dizzy expression came over her face.
“You should put your head between your knees,” Nancy said, and took the glass of water that Bess had brought.
Ned caught Nancy’s gaze and raised his eyebrows. Nancy briefly shook her head, indicating that Joann would probably find it easier to talk to just one person. The others moved off.
“What’s the matter, Joann?” Nancy asked.
Joann stared past Nancy into the distance. After a short silence she said, “My country is having very bad troubles with the economy. It is only temporary, I am sure. We are hard-working people. But I am in America on a government scholarship.”
“Uh-oh,” Nancy murmured. She could guess where this was heading.
Joann nodded. “Yes. Last week I learned that all programs to pay for study in other countries have been suspended. That means I have no more financial aid.”
“That’s terrible,” Nancy said. “What are you going to do? Can your family help out, just until the situation gets better?”
“They would like to,” Joann said. Tears glistened in her eyes. “You understand, we are not wealthy people, but they would do all they could. But now, because of the crisis, no one is allowed to send money out of the country.”
“That’s not fair,” Nancy said indignantly.
Joann gave a fatalistic shrug. “When there is a crisis, many things happen that are not fair. The problems of one little student in far-off America do not count for much. Now today the college registrar sends me an e-mail. I am suspended until I have paid the next installment on my bills.”
