by Enid Titan
“I told you, I’m fine. I just need to get back to the dorm and I need you three to leave me alone.”
“Penelope…”
“Leave me alone!” She yelled, "Get away from me!"
Castor rolled his eyes.
“You heard her. Let’s get out of here.”
13
Jocasta’s Warning
Even with her cloak around her shoulders, Poppy shivered on the walk back to her dormitory. Her teeth chattered in the unceasing Devoran wind. It was hard not to miss Earth when the frigid snowy wind whipped her hair out of her ponytail and nearly blew her clear across the snowy paths. On the way back to her room, a pale cloaked figure waved at her to get her attention.
"Poppy! It's me! Jocasta!"
Poppy waved, stuffing her annoyance. It wasn't Jocasta's fault that she'd kissed the boys and then fallen into a super-embarrassing telepathic trance.
“Everything okay?” Jocasta asked sweetly.
Poppy pushed her experience with the three boys far out of her mind. That was the last thing she wanted to share with anyone.
“Yeah. I was just… held up at the rink.”
Jocasta linked arms with Poppy and wrinkled her nose.
“I see.”
“What?”
“You were with Cas, Ajax, and Jason… why?”
Jocasta might have been a bad skater, but she had no problem reading minds and sensing Poppy's withholding.
“They were just… talking to me. I promised to help Jason with math.”
If Jocasta knew that Poppy's answer skirted the truth, she didn’t say mention it.
“You should stay away from them, Poppy,” Jocasta said seriously.
“Why?”
“They’re from rich families in Devor. These types of men, they mate once, and they mate for life. They will marry rich Devoran girls who have not had the modification perhaps but they aren't the kind to get involved with foreigners like you or me... except as a joke.”
Poppy's cheeks flushed. The boys made fun of her before, so Jocasta's concern had some basis in truth, perhaps.
“What’s the modification?”
“What caused the breeding crisis all those years ago. How haven’t you heard of it?”
“I think I have. It’s just… we don’t learn much about alien cultures on Earth. Maybe just a sentence or two in our history books.”
“I see," Jocasta's ears wriggled, "Be careful anyway. I don't want any of these stupid boys to hurt my newest friend.”
Jocasta was awkward, but well-meaning Poppy decided.
“I will. Those guys have bad vibes anyway,” Poppy told her.
Her mouth dried to cotton and her bones quaked as they neared their dorm building door.
Once they entered the building, Jocasta wandered off to finish her math homework. Poppy returned to her bedroom where she found Daphne scowling at her mirror and fussing with one of the braids on her head.
“Hi.”
“Ugh,” Daphne responded.
It was the nicest she’d been in a few days, so Poppy accepted her grunt as the closest she'd get to friendliness from Daphne.
“Has Hecate been back to the room?”
“Can you shut up?” Daphne huffed.
“Sorry,” Poppy grumbled.
“She hasn’t been back. Now be quiet.”
Poppy sat on her bed and tried to do her homework. Devoran literature didn't grab her attention. Poppy's mind wandered to kissing the boys and the vision. After half an hour under the covers, Daphne left for one of her classes, leaving Poppy properly alone. She closed her eyes, relieved to get a break from the exhaustion of constant telepathic communication and Daphne's open hostility.
She sensed Devoran emotions every minute she spent around her classmates. They communicated via the constant buzz. Poppy found it exhausting. After some time alone, she wrote a message on her panel to Uncle Monty and told him to send a message back to Earth to CJ.
The distance between planets made some old fashioned methods of communication rise to relevance.
Hecate burst into the room as she was finishing her letter.
“That bitch!” Hecate yelled.
Poppy could feel Hecate’s rage like biting fire ants on the back of her neck. Her hand rushed to her neck.
“Ow!”
“Sorry! I didn’t think you were here.”
“What happened?”
Hecate plopped down on Poppy’s bed. She was so much taller than a normal teenage girl that Poppy could forget that they were both eighteen.
“So I met this girl yesterday… she’s a sophomore.”
“Uh oh,” Poppy mumbled.
“She was so sweet and I kissed her but then she tells me that she intends to marry… a boy back on Devor II.”
“Oh…”
“I mean, she’s doing it for family wealth and that’s normal, but she could have told me before leading me on.”
“I’m sorry.”
Hecate shook her hair loose and took a deep breath. Her pointy ears wriggled as she tucked her curls behind them.
“Whatever. I can focus on more important things.Like… P.E. class. What did Eugenia want to say to you?”
“Nothing. She wanted me to help Jocasta skate.”
Hecate wrinkled her nose.
“Oh.”
“What’s wrong with Jocasta?”
“She’s weird.”
“She mentioned Devorans discriminate against her planet.”
“For good reason,” Hecate grumbled.
“I don’t understand.”
“They’re disconnected, that’s why. It’s complicated. I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”
“Because I’m a jazad?”
“What? No! That’s not what I meant. Where the hell did you learn that word anyway?”
“Jason.”
“Jason called you that? What a prick!”
“It means outsider, right?”
“Yeah but it’s insulting. He’s such an ass.”
“Yeah, well he promised to help me so I guess I’m helping him with math.”
“Cool. I’ll tell Daphne to talk to him.”
“No don’t!”
“What’s with you and Daphne?”
“She doesn’t like me,” Poppy said.
Hecate rolled her eyes.
“Come on, it’s not that bad!”
“She’s so rude to me when you’re not around.”
“I think she’s used to dealing with other Devorans. You know her family is rich and insulated. They don't deal with outsiders much. She'll warm up.”
“I thought Devor was egalitarian.”
“Yeah, but we have a monarchy and people have titles… Her father is a Duke. She’s related to the Empress.”
“Really?”
“Yup. Her mother is like fifty years younger than him. It’s kind of creepy, but that’s how the royal family gets down.”
“FIFTY?!”
“Yeah, it’s not that big of a difference…”
“FIFTY YEARS?!”
“Yes…”
“What the hell!?”
“What’s the big deal? Most people live to about six hundred.”
“WHAT!?”
“You didn’t know?”
“How old are you?”
Hecate wrinkled her nose like it was a stupid question.
“Um… eighteen, just like you?”
“So you have like… five hundred more years to go?”
“If I’m lucky. Since I had the modification, probably. Breeders don’t live as long.”
“It sounds so dirty when you say it like that.”
“Hey, nothing against breeders. My mom was a breeder.”
“Right.”
Poppy found this whole planet confusing. She clutched her knees to her chest. Hecate shook her head.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it here. Why don’t you help me forget that idiot Ariadne? Let’s go to the city.”
“Into Vo
rtha?”
“Yes, silly! I'll sign us out on our panel. I’m sure you haven’t been to the priestess district.”
“I haven’t.”
“Perfect. You’ll need more clothes before we go out. It’s so scary when you turn pink!”
14
P.E. Class
For another week, Castor, Ajax, and Jason didn’t approach Poppy. She played her part avoiding them too. In P.E. and other classes they shared, Poppy focused on her studies and earned the approval of her professors.
She did have to try twice as hard as Devorans, but at least her professors liked her. Poppy could become a straight-A student from staying after class for "extra help" just to avoid the boys.
Kissing them had been a mistake. She couldn't get that stupid mistake out of her head. It wasn’t just their lips, it was Castor’s hand on her waist, the way Jason wiggled his thoughts into her head and the way Ajax had grabbed her shoulders forcefully, but awkwardly too. He’d been nervous.
For the first time, Poppy didn’t just see them as big old bullies. A tingle ran up her arm when she thought about the way Jason whispered jazad into her head. If anyone knew how she thought about them…
Poppy stuffed her feelings as Jocasta linked arms with her again. They strode through deep snow to the hockey rink for P.E. again. Jocasta had a Literature class while Poppy had Telepathic Practice so they met up on the walk to the rink.
Today Eugenia promised speed drills and shooting practice. Unlike hockey on Earth, Devorans didn’t wear pads or helmets. The vulnerability took getting used to. Devorans were physically tougher than humans, with skin that could withstand pucks flying at eighty miles an hour, and heads that wouldn’t be damaged if they got hit. Poppy tried to convince Eugenia that she should wear at least a helmet, but Eugenia rebuffed her.
“You skate fast enough to avoid the puck, you won’t need one. Plus, the doctors can heal you if you’re hurt.”
“What if I’m killed on impact.”
Eugenia wrinkled her nose, “We have modern medicine on Devor, child. Now help Jocasta. She’s struggling.”
Eugenia wouldn't change her mind.
Jocasta wobbled out onto the ice, her blood pumping through purple veins beneath her near translucent blue skin. Her tousled hair whipped over her eyes as two boys skated past her onto the ice.
Jocasta squealed and nearly lost her balance. Poppy skated up behind her and took the taller girl’s shoulder over hers.
“Thanks,” Jocasta mumbled, “They’re such assholes.”
“Yeah,” Poppy mumbled.
As everyone else skated around the rink, Poppy took Jocasta’s hand and squeezed, her knees wobbling as she struggled to keep the girl balanced. Jocasta scowled. The pain rushed through Poppy’s fingertips.
“Ow!”
“Sorry!” Jocasta huffed, “I hate the ice!”
Poppy smiled.
“Didn’t think I’d hear that from you. Earth doesn’t have ice anymore.”
“How can you skate then?”
“My uncle. He works for a university and I got to come to the rink when I was younger. My father used to be a hockey player.”
“Used to?”
“He’s dead.”
“I’m sorry.”
Jocasta’s wobbling decreased significantly. Keeping her distracted worked.
“Come on,” Poppy coaxed, “I’m going to let you go and then you only hold onto me if you need to.”
“Don’t let go!” Jocasta’s yellow eyes turned from a dull yellow to a brilliant glow. Poppy had seen that happen to Devorans before. Strong emotions changed their eye color.
It had happened with the boys before they kissed her. Poppy’s tongue dried up in her mouth. She knew they were on the other end of the rink, skating and passing the puck back and forth. She wanted to look over, but gawking at them would draw too much attention to her.
“Okay,” Jocasta said, exhaling sharply, “I can do this.”
“I’ll keep you focused on something else,” Poppy offered.
“Okay. Good.”
Poppy let go of Jocasta’s hand. She sensed Jocasta's nerves, her friend’s anxiety buzzing around her head like a housefly.
“My dad died when I was sixteen. Before he died, we moved to live near my Uncle Monty in Colorado. I’d visited him a lot when I was a kid. That’s how I learned to skate.”
“Your Uncle Monty is back on Earth?” Jocasta asked.
She skated a little bit faster. A little better.
“No. He’s here, in Vortha.”
“Hm. I didn’t know they allowed aliens here. For many years, my people were not allowed back on the homeworld.”
“Why not?”
“We never underwent the modification. We’ve always been breeders, even when the ancient Devorans attempted to solve the gender discrimination crisis by making women truly equal to men, we never believed that would solve anything.”
“Oh. I see.”
Poppy didn’t really get it. But perhaps it made sense why the others were so uncomfortable with Jocasta. She was Devoran, but to them, her culture was just as alien as Penelope's.
By the end of practice, Poppy told Jocasta everything she could about her first year living with Uncle Monty. Jocasta could finally skate on her own two feet, but she couldn’t yet skate backward or very quickly. Eugenia approved their progress.
She sent Jocasta on her way but kept Poppy after class again.
“You did well, Terran.”
“Thank you.”
“How are you adjusting socially? I know the Academy can be a difficult place.”
“It’s hard. But I get along well with Hecate. And Jocasta.”
Eugenia raised a dark brow, “Anyone else?”
“No… Not really.”
“Hm. Alright, child. Be careful with the Devoran elites. They are a strange bunch and as an offworlder, there’s much about our culture you might understand. We take certain things… seriously. Very seriously.”
“Yes, Eugenia.”
“Run along. I’m headed out.”
“Is it okay if I skate for a little bit longer? I can lock up the rink.”
“Don’t you have another class?”
“No. It got canceled.”
“Fine. Here’s the key. Give it to Octavius on the way out.”
“Thanks.”
Poppy stuck the key into the pocket of her cloak and shrugged it back off her shoulders onto the bench. Without other Devorans, the ice was so quiet — mentally more than anything.
Poppy sensed her telepathic abilities were getting better, but she still hadn’t actually met with Jason or the others to improve. After the kiss… she didn’t want to see any of them. The vision on the boat disturbed her. Her father's face transformed and... just thinking about it, the hairs on her forearm stood at attention.
Poppy skated to the other end of the rink. When Poppy turned around to skate back, the three boys crowded around the rink's entrance. Crap. The three of them blocked her exit with folded arms and giant, blue alien bodies she couldn't navigate around. Poppy skated around the goal considering an escape plan.
«You can’t avoid us forever, jazad.»
Poppy ignored Jason and skated half-circles around the ice. She could damn well try.
«If you want to improve your telepathy, you’ll have to talk to me someday. We made a deal, remember? You haven't held up your end of the bargain.»
«Go away!» Poppy replied.
When it came to those three, resistance was futile.
15
Three Big Blue Hunks Of…
Poppy skated across the ice. She stood in front of the three boys, arms folded. They didn't buy her tough girl act.
“What do you want,” Poppy huffed, maintaining the illusion that she had any power over three alien giants.
“You know what we want,” Cas replied.
They all towered over her and cast a shadow over the ice, blocking out the light from the bulb above.
Ajax chimed in, “Jason’s offended ‘cause you two were supposed to work together and he failed the math quiz.”
“Tough luck.”
“Not funny, jazad," Jason grumbled.
“Listen, I’m sorry. Clearly, we’re just not compatible.”
Castor smirked.
“That’s what you think? We’re not compatible.”
Poppy rolled her eyes.
“Can you three stop tormenting me?”
“We’ll think about it,” Ajax grunted.
«No,» they all thought together.
Poppy huffed and dug her toe pick into the ice.
“We want to know what happened to you,” Castor said.
For a moment, Poppy thought he cared. He hadn’t meant for her to realize that. It didn’t matter anyway. She didn’t want to tell Cas what happened — or any of them.
“Can’t you tell we’re worried about you?”
“Worried about me?” Poppy scoffed, “You’re obsessed with bullying me. You call me jazad which is like some kind of slur. Yeah, Hecate told me it's like... really bad.”
“We didn’t mean to offend you, Terran,” Jason grumbled.
“I’m not offended! You three want to treat me like garbage and trick me into kissing you and—“
“But did you like it?” Castor interrupted.
“That’s not the point!” Poppy huffed.
“So you did like it?”
“Can you three shut up!”
“I didn’t say anything,” Ajax piped up.
“Ugh!”
“Okay, fine. You tell us what happened and then we’ll leave you alone. Forever.”
"Forever?"
"You have my word."
“Fine. And when you’ve successfully left me alone, maybe then Jason will be mature enough to help me get better at all this mind-stuff.”
“Oh, I’m already mature jazad.”
Jason grinned and winked.
“Not helping,” Castor muttered to him through gritted teeth.
“I had a vision, like the one in the temple.”
“Oh.”
The three became visibly uncomfortable. Castor leaned against his hockey stick. Ajax stuffed his hands in his pocket and Jason's cheeks darkened.
