DAY ONE-SETTLING IN CONTINUED

Jim led the way into the dining room. Equally crowded with a table, chairs, piano and,more bookcases, i was beginning to see clutter as a lifestyle.
Jim, and Gail seated themselves and I followed suit.
I had supplied references earlier and of course they had checked out. I had monitered the communications from their primiive telecom system from my skimmer and robustly praised myself via the ship's AI. Still there was the ritual interview to make sure I wasn't going to eat the childern or steal the family silver.
"So," began Gail, " you're British?"
"Er, yes," I replied with a little hesitation. " How did you know?"
She giggled a little. "Your accent. It's a lttle obvious"
I knew all of us shouldn't be using the same recordings to learn English. Broadcasts from London were the norm for all of us studying this world. After all, what better peopele to learn English from than the English, reasoned the Powers That Be. I had pointed out it was a fractured. regionalized planet, but laziness or perhaps budget constaints won out.
"Frazzi? Isn't that an Italian name? asked Jim.
"Yes," I confirmed. "My mother was Italian, my father was English."
The apes both looked puzzled.
"So how did you get your mother's sirname?'
It's a long story," said I, looking for a way to tapdance. I noticed what I recognized as a red guitar hanging on the wall. I nodded toward it. "Do you play?"
Nothing like appealling to a monkey boy's ego to get the subject changed.
" A bit," he smiled with something of a false modesty. Jim got up and took the guitar. He sat back down and began playing. After a few chords came the singing. The playing was better, but I listened politely, smiling, as I noted Gail was doing.
Alexander burst throiugh the kitchen and squealed "Stop singing!"
"Ok," agrewed Jim, who halted his songfest entirely. Xander dashed back out. "For some reason Xander just won't let me sing, " explained Jim as he returned the instrument to it's wall brace.
"Imagine that," I commiserated. "Well, where were we?"
The ritual interview continued and I managed to avoid anymore potentially embarassing situations. A shaking of forepaws and an exchange of money and Jim offered to show me to my quarters..