by Robin Roseau
"What happens if I let you have the towel?"
"Give it up and you'll find out," Pixel responded. "Skye, what happens next is the entire reason you're here."
I sighed. "Fine." I squirmed around to pull the towel out from around me then balled it up and dropped it to the side of the bed.
"Thank you, Skye," said Pixel. "Get comfortable."
I squirmed around, and then the chair began to cocoon me.
It was oddly comforting.
The chair covered me completely, even my face, and I felt it pressing against me everywhere, very gently.
"Relax now, Skye," urged Pixel. She talked softly to me, encouraging me to relax every part of my body.
I must have been tired, because not only did I relax. I slept.
I had dreams. I don't remember a single one.
Planning a Future
I stared straight ahead. I'd been out of the chair for a while, but my thoughts were slow and muddled. Two people had come for me and moved me into a wheelchair. But it was an alien wheelchair. I knew that because it swallowed my arms and legs.
Somewhere along the way I'd gotten back into my regular clothing, and the visor was gone. I didn't remember doing either.
But I sat in the chair in a plain, white room, staring straight ahead. And then a doorway opened, and Jasmine Brighteyes entered the room. She took a seat on a chair I was sure hadn't been there a moment earlier.
"Hello again, Ms. Andrews." I blinked at her a few times before I could fully focus on her.
"Did I pass, Administrator Brighteyes?"
"Perhaps," she said. "Do you remember when we talked about college?" I nodded. "And are you with me enough to remember what we talk about now?"
"I think so."
"Skye, you are a bright girl."
"I'm an adult."
"Legally, yes, but the next few years are very important to humans. I want you to experience them with other humans."
"You don't want me. You're not going to take me."
"That's not true." She smiled. "You are currently borderline. You scored very well in some areas."
"What areas?"
"The two that are most important. You score very low on xenophobia."
"I'm not at all xenophobic!"
"You are, a little, but everyone is."
"I'm not."
"Tell me. How do you feel about spiders?"
I made a face. Administrator Brighteyes smiled. "That is a common reaction. To be fair, I have a similar reaction."
"I'm not afraid of you," I said. "I was startled by that Beaker, and his size was a little intimidating, but I wasn't afraid of him because he was an alien."
"Like I said, you score very low on xenophobia, which we both knew would be the case before Testing began. It was a very, very good score, Ms. Andrews."
"All right," I said.
"You are also intelligent and curious. You are not exceptionally so, but both are high enough to be interesting to us."
"Okay," I said slowly.
"I want to ask you something."
"All right."
"You know I knew a great deal about you before we first talked." I nodded. She'd seemed to know everything. "There's something I didn't know, however, and I'm curious why that is."
"What?"
"You seem to like males, but you are not remotely attracted to them. On the other hand, you respond quite positively to females. Why didn't I know you were a lesbian, Skye?"
I stared at her. "Please don't tell my mom!"
"Ah. Now I understand. But why don't you want your mom to know?"
"We had to deal with enough with Audra. And now to have a gay daughter. I don't want to be a problem for her."
"And being gay is a problem?"
I stared at her before lowering my gaze.
"Do you think your mother would love you less?"
"I don't know," I whispered.
"I have your mother's Testing results, Ms. Andrews. It was some years ago, but some things don't tend to change. Your mother is a very accepting person, Ms. Andrews. I do not believe she'd judge you."
I looked up. "No. But she'd worry. I don't want her to worry."
Administrator Brighteyes nodded. "I'm not going to tell her. But I hope you'll listen to advice. Talk to her. Don't hide who you are from her."
"Do I have to?"
"No. It is your choice."
"I'll think about it."
"Good. Ms. Andrews, I am going to be blunt. I am not taking you as a mating candidate at this time."
I hung my head. "I understand," I said.
"I do not believe you do. I said at this time."
I looked up. "At this time."
"That's right. I am going to ask you some questions, and you will answer honestly. Do you wish my answer were different, that I took you immediately?"
"I wish I knew you were going to take me. I guess it wouldn't have to be today."
"All right. So if I said you should go to college first, how do you feel about that?"
"We can't afford it."
"If you could?"
"I like school. I like learning."
"As I said, you score high in curiosity."
"You want me to go to school."
"And I am going to ask for a certain commitment from you. For now, assume you can afford to go to any university you want, but you have to be accepted through their normal process. Do you know what you want to study?"
I shook my head.
"I will give you a little more advice. Your curiosity did not extend to the engineering fields." I made a face. "You seemed interested in biology, however."
"I liked that in school."
"You also seemed interested in understanding how people think. You might be interested in psychology or sociology."
"You want me to be a shrink?"
"I want you to pursue what interests you with an eye towards your future."
"But if you take me, won't I be some sort of housewife?"
"It depends on who takes you and your personal aspirations. Is that how you see yourself ten years from now? An apron around your waist and a bow in your hair?"
"I thought you wanted us to take care of your kids."
"You're good with children," she said. "And you enjoy being around them."
"I know."
"For a few hours at a time. But your brain needs more stimulation than that."
"Oh. But-"
"But that means there are many ways to see to the needs of children."
"Oh. So. College."
"College. And maybe an advanced degree in your field."
I thought about it. "Did you pick a school for me?"
She shook her head. "That is your choice. It is your life. It is your education. There are a great many universities in the world. You should begin reviewing your options."
So I nodded. "How am I supposed to pay for it?"
"We'll come back to that," she said. "As I said, your scores are currently borderline. But unless you were to cheat them, if I were to send you through Testing again, perhaps five or six years from now, I suspect you would be more firmly in the Selected category. Right now, it is a judgment call. I could take you, but I am not obligated to take you."
"All right," I said slowly. "What's wrong with me?"
"You require more maturity. I've told you this."
"Oh."
"And I'm not ready to take you yet. There are certain changes I want to make before I would take you. I'm not going to explain those today. They have nothing to do with if I could take you but everything to do with how I could treat you."
"All right."
"I tell you this as a prelude. Ms. Andrews, at this point, if I register your scores, I can also make a judgment call to take you or not take you. It becomes entirely my choice, not yours." I said nothing, and she continued. "That being said, if you weren't here asking me to take you, I wouldn't select you."
"Oh."
"But you are here," she
added. "I am about to make an offer to you, but I want to ask you something. Are you sure you want to be selected?"
"Yes!" I said firmly.
"Even if I give you to a race that doesn't have challenges?"
I thought before answering, then said, "Even then, but-"
"But it is a sign of your immaturity that you wish to be fought over, even when you wish to be a mating candidate."
"Oh." I felt embarrassed about that.
"I want you to make a commitment to me."
"All right," I said slowly.
"You will go to college. Whenever you come home to visit, we will meet. I may send you through Testing again. I may not. I may decide at any moment to take you. I may wait. You will accept my decision."
I looked down at my hands, still held firmly by the wheelchair. "All right," I said.
"You agree to my terms?"
I looked back up. "Yes."
"I am considering this a binding decision. Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
She smiled. "I find I am able to offer a limited number of scholarships. You have just earned one. If you accept this scholarship, then you are mine, Ms. Andrews."
"You want me as your mate?"
"Oh, you aren't for me, but I may give you to someone else. You will accept any decision I make. Do you accept my offer, Ms. Andrews?"
"You'll give me to a woman?"
"A female. Yes."
"Do you know whom?"
"No. I won't for some time. I may take your desires into consideration. I may not. Do you still accept?"
"I accept."
She smiled. "Good. I took certain liberties with you while you were in Testing."
"Oh?"
"I adjusted your psychology very slightly. You are able to have girlfriends, and you are even able to fall in love, but you will not be able to feel mated to another human. I will encourage you to be very up front with any women you start dating."
"I should tell them I can't get married?"
"You won't be able to explain why, but yes."
"You could tell me not to have any girlfriends at all."
"That wouldn't be good for you. And you need the maturity such relationships grant you. I wouldn't have done this to you, but I don't want you sneaking away from me, Ms. Andrews. If in the end I decide you are not a fit for anyone seeking a mate, I will reverse what I have done, and you'll be free to fully explore a human relationship."
"Did you do anything else to me?"
"No."
I smiled. "You intend to take me, don't you?"
"Yes."
My smile broadened.
"I want us to be friends, Ms. Andrews," she added. "I have sent my contact information to you via email."
"I'd like that, Administrator Brighteyes."
"Perhaps we should begin that process. My name is Jasmine."
I smiled again. "Skye. I'd hug, but..." I rattled the chair.
She did... something. I couldn't tell what. But the chair withdrew, freeing me. "The restraints were because you were in a daze. Would you like to experience a Catseye hug?"
I smiled broadly and nodded.
"Stand up," she said. "Loosen your shirt. This is better if you remove it entirely, but we'll do it this way for now." She also stood, unbuttoning her blouse. She didn't take it off, but the tentacles emerged. "Are you sure?"
I stepped forward, and soon we were in a human style hug. But then I felt her tentacles begin to wrap around me. They were a little cool, but they slid inside my blouse and against my skin. I shivered for a minute, but I pulled her a little more tightly against me so she would know I wasn't freaked out.
"This is a casual hug," she said. "Do you want more?"
"I don't understand."
"Are you nervous?"
"No."
Her tentacles wrapped tighter, all four of them now inside my shirt. Two were wrapped around my back with the tips slipping out of the shirt at my collar and wrapped partway around my neck. The other two ran up my sides, and then I felt her unbuttoning some of my buttons.
"This is just for access," she said. She released two buttons, and then her tentacles emerged between us. She placed them both against my cheeks as we pressed together. "How are you doing?"
"Okay," I said. "That feels weird, but it's okay."
"I'm going to suck, just a little." And then she did, and it was like little suction cups attaching to me all over my skin.
"Oh, wow."
"If I suck too hard, I can leave marks. I won't do that today." But the tips of two of her tentacles moved slowly across my face, then one came to a rest across my lips. "There is one more thing, but we don't have to do it."
"What?" I said past the tentacle.
"If you kiss the tentacle, it is an offer."
"An offer for what? To suck?"
"No. To slip in."
"You want to French me with your tentacles?"
"There is no sexual connotation, Skye. And you may find the taste unpleasant."
"But you want me to kiss, don't you?"
"I want you to decide."
"If I were your, I don't know. If I were your niece or your daughter, would I kiss them?"
"Yes."
And so I did, a simple kiss. The suckers on the larger parts of her tentacles were big, perhaps bigger than an American quarter, but the ones on the tips were very small, and so I kissed across several of them. And then I parted my lips as she slipped the end of one tentacle, and then the second into my mouth.
She was right. The taste was weird, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it. She ran the tips over my tongue, and that felt weird, too, and then she rested there, and I could feel her sucking very lightly. I wrapped my lips around her tentacles lightly and let her do what she wanted.
Finally she withdrew, first the tentacles from my mouth, then the entire hug. She stepped back, and she looked a little dazed.
"You're only the third human I've hugged, Skye," she said. "Thank you."
I smiled at her. "Is that how we'll always hug?"
"It will be your choice," she said. "And we won't do that in front of an audience. Most people wouldn't understand."
"That's just a hug."
"Like I'd share with any friend." She smiled. "Sapphire lets me suck a lot harder. I leave marks across her back."
I turned my head and pulled my shirt up. I didn't see any marks.
"Would it have bothered you?" Jasmine asked.
"No, I don't think so." I tucked my shirt in, and by the time I was done, Jasmine had buttoned hers and looked professional again. "Why didn't you?"
"Because I didn't want to frighten you."
"Oh." I offered a smile. "I liked your hug, Jasmine. You can hug me like that again, and if you leave a few marks, that's okay."
"Thank you, Skye. I enjoy making human friends. I must warn you. If you meet other Catseye, if they know I hug you, they'll also want to hug you. And some are less familiar with humans and don't wait for a kiss before they slip into your mouth."
"So they're grabby?"
"Yes. It's not sexual though. It's how we greet, and frankly, if given the choice, we actually prefer hugging humans than each other."
"Why?"
"Because you taste really good."
"What?" I said.
"You understand greetings between a great many species involves whatever they use for tasting. In the animal kingdom here on earth, dogs lick. So do the great cats."
"Oh. I suppose."
"Each species that does this does it differently. For instance, I don't have a tongue. I taste through my tentacles, but I have to suck harder to taste."
"Hard enough to leave marks?"
"Yes."
"Oh."
"Humans don't lick. They kiss instead. Kissing is quite unusual, though."
"Oh. I suppose. If you want to taste in the future, you may, but please don't mark my face."
"Sapphire told me the same thing. When you meet other Catseye, yo
u should warn them not to mark your face, and if she doesn't understand, tell her if she tastes the skin of your face, she'll mark you, and you'll be offended."
"She won't be offended?"
"If she is, it's her problem. How can people learn different cultures if we don't communicate? It is best to be clear."
"I will, Jasmine."
University
"Mom! I'm home."
"Skye!" My mom's voice came from the kitchen, so I stepped through the house, and as I stepped into the kitchen, she almost attacked me, wrapping her arms around me tightly and squeezing the stuffing out of me.
"I missed you, too. Thanks for the meat loaf. And for the heart. I almost cried."
"I love you, My Darling," she said.
She held me for a long time, slowly releasing me. Then she drew me to the center island, and I hopped up on a stool. "Where's the squirt?"
"In her room. You should go say Hello. She's worried, too."
"I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere. Well, that's not true. Mom, they offered me a scholarship."
"What?"
"I met with Jasmine Brighteyes. She told me if I go to college, she'll give me a scholarship." I didn't explain why.
Mom was no idiot. "I haven't heard of them doing that before. Did she say why?"
I shrugged. "Will you help me?"
"Of course, Darling. College. Imagine. My daughter is going to college." A tear began to crawl down her face, and she brushed it away. "One daughter is healthy, and now the other gets to go to college."
"She said something about an advanced degree, Mom. I think she wants me to be a doctor or something, but I don't know if I have the grades for that."
"One thing at a time," Mom said. "Oh, Darling. I'm so happy for you."
* * * *
I looked at schools. It turned out Mom knew almost nothing about college. All she could say was things like, "That's supposed to be a good school," or "Oh, isn't that a pretty campus?"
Jasmine had, indeed, emailed me. In her email, she assured me I should write as often as I wanted and could call, but perhaps only in an emergency. So I sent her an email. "How do I pick a school? There are so many."
"I can try to help," she wrote back. "But to be fair, the college guidance counselor at your school is very good and knows more than I do."
