by Robin Martin
I sat down in the chair just outside the cubicle. There was no way I was going to trust Rion’s judgement on what fit or looked good.
‘Did you know, Zoe, that you have a very domineering side to your personality?’
‘Do you want to fit in or not? If you don’t look normal, people are going to think there’s something weird about you and start asking questions. I mean, you already sound different. You don’t want to look different, too.’
He sighed. ‘I suppose you have a point.’ He disappeared into the dressing room.
A few minutes later he came out wearing the T-shirt back to front and the jean legs folded up like he was going line dancing or something. All he needed to complete the image was a pair of cowboy boots.
‘I thought it would be cooler that way and give my body more ventilation,’ was his explanation.
This was going to be a long afternoon.
Finally, after forcing him to try on a heap more clothes, we had a couple of T-shirts, one long-sleeved shirt, jeans and a black jumper that was half price. Rion had protested about almost everything we bought. It seemed he didn’t want me to spend so much money. Who knew that an alien could be so worried over stuff like that?
Now there was only the matter of some socks and undies. I thought I could probably leave that with him. I really didn’t feel like going through the underwear section with him. And after all, even Rion couldn’t go wrong with socks and jocks.
I gave him some money. ‘You need to buy some underwear and socks,’ I said. ‘I’ll meet you in that coffee place outside. I seriously need some caffeine.’ He looked ready to complain again, but I cut him off. ‘It’s a question of hygiene.’ Then I went into a few details about how to pay. I crossed my fingers. Surely nothing could go wrong.
He nodded and I escaped outside. I started to feel a bit queasy, so I knew Rion must be further than a hundred metres from me. I hadn’t realised the shop was so big or that the men’s section was so far away from the coffee shop. I was just beginning to go through all the inconveniences that would become part of my life from now on when Rion came out carrying a bag and looking pleased with himself.
I nearly choked on my latte.
He was wearing the jeans and he’d rolled them up again, despite my telling him that it was so not cool, in a fashion sense, that is. But that wasn’t the worst part. He was wearing fluorescent pink socks that could only have come from the women’s section. I didn’t even want to think about the underwear he’d bought.
‘What do you think?’ he asked, hitching up his jeans so I could see even more of those hideous socks.
I grabbed his hands so he had to let go of his jeans and pulled him down onto the chair beside me. ‘Are you serious?’ I hissed.
He looked at me, all perplexed and innocent. ‘What? I thought you’d be pleased. I even tried them on first.’
I was glad I hadn’t been there to see that. Did he have to take things so literally?
‘Look around, Rion. Look at the guys your age, actually at any guys at all. Do you see any of them wearing pink socks?’
He scanned the crowded mall and then looked back at me. ‘No, I guess not. Male clothing isn’t very colourful, is it? Perhaps I should have materialised as a female. It would’ve been more convenient in many ways. We could’ve shared garments. It certainly would have been cheaper.’
I closed my eyes and counted to ten. Patience was not my strong point, and at the moment it was being stretched to its outer limits. I opened them again. ‘That would’ve defeated the whole purpose of you materialising in the first place, wouldn’t it?’ I was trying very hard not to be sarcastic.
‘Of course,’ he said, ‘how remiss of me not to remember. It was to make that boy jealous. By the way, I hope you’re still not attracted.’
‘No, Chad made it clear he only has eyes for Jas.’
‘I don’t mean Chad. It was plain that the two of you are not suited.’
‘Then who are you talking about?’
‘Me, of course,’ he said. ‘From your elevated temperature and pulse rate when we were dancing, I deduced that you were highly attracted to me.’
I pierced him with a look. ‘And what are your deductions right at this moment, smarty pants?’
He moved away from me slightly. ‘I think that is probably no longer the case.’
‘You’re not even close. I was never, ever attracted to you, you soap bubble in a mannequin’s body. And every time you speak there’s less chance I ever will be. End of conversation.’ I picked up my coffee cup and took a calming sip.
He folded his arms and put on a broody look that some might even call sulky. I ignored him.
‘Hey, Zoe … and Rion.’
The surprise was evident in Jas’s voice as she came up to us. She was laden with bags. I might have liked shopping, but Jas lived for it. And with well-off parents who were generous, it was something she did a lot. But why did she have to turn up right now?
Without an invitation—Jas believed she was welcome anywhere and in most cases she was right—she sat down at our table and plunked her bags next to her feet.
‘What are you guys doing here? I thought you’d be heading home by now, Rion. You said you were only here for the weekend, didn’t you?’
‘There’s been a change of plan,’ he said. ‘I’m staying with Zoe and her parents for a while.’
‘What?’
I totally enjoyed Jas’s look of astonishment. Her thoughts were as plain as if they’d been written in a speech bubble above her head. Hot guy staying with Zoe, impossible!
‘Yes, I was going to stay with my uncle, but he’s away at the moment and Zoe’s parents kindly offered to let me stay with them.’ The lies flowed so smoothly from Rion’s mouth.
‘Really? So does that mean you’re staying for a while?’ Her eyes got all glow-y like.
‘For the foreseeable future,’ he replied.
‘Cool. So what about school and everything?’
He hesitated, and with a sinking feeling I knew what the answer would be. ‘I’ll be going where Zoe goes.’
He looked over at me and I nodded. Having to stay within a hundred metres of each other didn’t allow for separate schools or separate anywheres. It was a depressing thought.
‘That’s fantastic. I can show you around and introduce you to the cool peeps.’
‘What about Chad?’ I asked, with just a tinge of acid in my tone. After hooking Chad so quickly, was she going to just drop him now? Talk about catch and release.
‘Chad?’ She looked at me blankly.
‘Yeah, you know, the new guy you were so keen to be with at the party last night.’
For a microsecond she looked disconcerted and then she gave one of her laughs. How come I’d never noticed before how insincere they were?
She gave a flick of her hand. ‘Really, Zoe, I talked to him for like a New York minute. I was just being friendly, that’s all.’ She turned back to Rion. ‘So, are you going to try out for any of the sports’ teams? If so, we might see each other a lot. I’m a cheerleader, you know.’
‘Yeah, like Chelsea,’ I said. But not like me. I was definitely not the cheerleading type. Not that I want to be, I told myself.
‘I haven’t decided,’ Rion said. ‘I’m not sure how long I’ll be here yet. It depends on how long my uncle’s going to be away. He’s in the Brazilian rainforest at the moment on assignment.’
‘Really? Sounds exciting. What does he do?’ Jas asked.
‘He’s a journalist,’ Rion said.
‘He’s a photographer,’ I said at the same time.
Jas looked from one to the other, confused. We’d really have to get our stories straight.
‘He’s a photojournalist,’ Rion said.
‘You have the most awesome family, Rion,’ Jas said. ‘I’m dying to hear all about them.’
Time to go before we got caught in any more traps. I took out my phone and looked at it. ‘Wow, look at the time. We’ve go
t to get going.’ I stood up and grabbed some of our bags.
‘Certainly, Zoe,’ Rion said and rose.
Jas’s eyes were immediately drawn to Rion’s feet. God, I forgot about those socks. I tried to stop the giggle that was trying to escape.
But Jas just said, ‘Amazing socks, Rion. I just love that metrosexual look, so cool. I can see you’re a trendsetter.’
Rion smiled. ‘Thanks, Jas, that’s so observant of you. Not everyone appreciates an original look.’ Then he turned his head and winked at me.
He actually winked.
However was I going to survive this?
Chapter Eleven
Welcome to East Valley High, Orion,’ my maths teacher said as Rion came into class.
My mum had helped Rion to enrol, explaining to the school that it was only temporary until his uncle returned and he had the proper transfer forms and all. How she managed it, I don’t know, but being a teacher herself she knew the right things to say.
Mum seemed to have taken to Rion, probably because he was smarmy, and as sweet to her as honey on toast. Even Dad seemed to like him now. Clearly he approved of the fact that Rion was polite and smart, and called him sir.
Last night I’d overheard Mum telling Dad that Rion was probably neglected, maybe even abused, and they shouldn’t ask too many questions at this point because they might traumatise him. So far, so good, but I knew it couldn’t last for long.
When Rion slid into a seat there was a flutter of interest, mainly from the girls. Even though he was wearing the dorky school uniform of a white shirt and grey trousers, which Mum had also managed to get for him, Rion still looked like every girl’s fantasy.
Not that it affected me. I turned to the maths problems I was working on and ignored the whispered comments flying around me.
It turned out that Rion and I shared most of the same classes, except for physics, which my alien told me he absolutely ‘adored’. Yep, that was his very word. I was still working on his vocabulary. And I was getting used to the queasy feeling I had when he was further than a hundred metres away. We worked out that as long as it wasn’t too much further than that, we could manage.
Jas honed in on him as soon as maths class was over. ‘Hey, Rion,’ she said, ‘isn’t it great you’re here.’ She linked her arm through his, leading him away.
I didn’t care. I knew Rion and I were both in the next class and I was glad of some alone time, however short it was. We had refined and gone over a few more details of his story last night, so hopefully he wouldn’t get himself into any trouble with Jas or anyone else who asked him questions.
Just then Harry came up to me. ‘Hi, Zoe, good party on Saturday, wasn’t it?’
Considering the fact that hardly anybody had talked to poor Harry, and all he’d seemed to do was stand in a corner and eat pizza, I was surprised he thought that, but then I decided that he was probably just making conversation. After all, we’d known each other for years and I knew I was one of the few girls he felt comfortable talking to.
‘Yeah, I guess,’ I said, shifting my books to the other arm. Why did they have to make textbooks so heavy? It’s not like many people were going to read them all or anything.
‘I can take those for you, if you like.’ Harry fell into step beside me. I noticed he was the same height as me now, and even though I wouldn’t call him slim exactly, he had dropped a little weight so I figured he must have been having a growth spurt or something.
‘That’s okay,’ I said, ‘I can manage.’
‘Yeah, Harry, she’s probably twice as strong as you anyway,’ Jack Casey said as he pushed by us.
I frowned at his back. Stupid jock. Then I turned back to Harry, who was trying to act all unconcerned and everything. ‘Actually, this history book is getting on my nerves,’ I said, and gave him the heaviest of my texts. I tried not to notice when he nearly dropped it.
We pushed through the crowds to my next class.
‘So that new guy, hey, he seems nice,’ Harry said.
Nice. That wasn’t exactly the adjective I’d use for him. Frustrating, egotistical and opinionated maybe, and yeah, eye candy, not that it mattered to me. And sometimes, for a microsecond or two, he was bearable. But nice? Definitely not.
I shrugged. ‘He’s okay, I guess.’
‘So he’s staying with you?’
‘For the time being,’ I said, hoping it would be for a very short time. Surely his people had noticed by now that he wasn’t in his normal state. I couldn’t believe it could take years, like Rion had said, for them to start looking for him.
‘You’re not …’ Harry hesitated and turned kind of pink. ‘You’re not going out together or anything, are you?’
I almost laughed out loud at that one, and then I remembered that the reason my alien had turned into a real person in the first place was to make Chad Everett interested in me. Chad had totally ignored me in the one class we’d had that day, so I was sure that was never going to happen.
‘Nah,’ I said. ‘We were just having some fun dancing together on Saturday. We’re just friends.’ And even that, I thought, was an exaggeration.
‘Oh, that’s good,’ Harry said.
We were nearly at history class, which was a relief because Harry wasn’t acting normally and it was starting to creep me out.
‘I better have my book now,’ I said.
But Harry was holding onto it tightly and shifting from one foot to another. ‘Zoe, I was wondering …’
‘Don’t stand in the doorway, Crosby, move,’ Marko said as he brushed past us.
‘Hey, Zoe, did you get that English homework done on the weekend? If so, can I borrow it at break?’ Chelsea asked as she came up to us.
I shook my head. ‘I was going to ask you the same thing,’ I said.
Ms Bradbury’s voice came from inside the classroom. ‘I presume you people are eventually going to come into the classroom. Please don’t let my lesson interrupt your conversations.’
‘Oops, better go. Bradbury sounds in a fine mood, doesn’t she?’ Chelsea said as she went into the room
‘Harry, book,’ I said.
‘Oh, sorry.’ He finally gave me my history book.
I slipped into the classroom and saw Rion sitting in the front row, book open and pencil at the ready to write down every one of Ms Bradbury’s pearls of wisdom. Ignoring him, I moved to the back, slid into a seat and prepared to be bored for the next fifty minutes.
By the end of the day, Rion had made himself popular with all of the female population of the school and most of the teachers he’d encountered. He was attentive and polite in class, wrote copious notes and answered questions correctly. Thankfully he didn’t show off too much, but I’d warned him about that.
‘Don’t act like a know-it-all or you’ll only draw attention to yourself,’ I told him. ‘They’ll think you’re a genius or something and want to test you, and before you know it they might figure out you’re not, well, human.’
He’d seen the wisdom in that and for the most part followed my advice. He only corrected a teacher once or twice and even then he was polite. The teachers loved him.
But I was exhausted. I’d been constantly worried that he would say or do the wrong thing, and that our whole story would come apart like soggy Weet-Bix in a bowl of milk.
Jas had also been a pain. She’d hung around Rion all day so I never had a chance to talk to him privately and tell him what he should or shouldn’t do. And it wasn’t easy to lose her, even after school had ended.
‘Rion, you should come with us after school to Macca’s,’ she said. ‘Everyone will be there.’
Before he had a chance to answer, I said, ‘No can do, Jas. We gotta go home straightaway. Mum has some stuff she wants us to do.’
I realised, of course, that Jas hadn’t included me in that invitation. But she was going to have to understand that from now on was Rion and I were a pair. Wherever Rion went, I went, and we would never be more than a hundred metres
from each other. I couldn’t help grinning when I thought how that would upset Jas. And then I remembered, guiltily, that she was supposed to be one of my best friends.
But I was seeing her differently since Saturday night. Before then I hadn’t noticed how manipulative and self-centred she was. Or maybe I had, but didn’t care. I wondered if that was how I seemed to Rion. But more importantly, I wondered why I was feeling upset that Jas was hitting on Rion. After all, he was nothing to me.
‘Oh come on, you can go for half hour or so,’ Jas said to Rion. ‘Zoe’s mum doesn’t get home from work until after four so she won’t even notice. And I so want to talk to you about that history assignment we have to do. You seemed to know everything about the Second World War. Even Ms Bradbury was impressed.’ She latched onto his arm and batted her baby blues at him.
For a moment I sensed he was wavering, actually wavering. Jeez, were aliens even affected by Jas as well as everyone else? Life was so unfair.
But then Rion seemed to come to his senses. He removed her hand, gave it a pat and said, ‘Thanks for the invitation, Jas, but we do have a lot to do this afternoon. Some other time, perhaps.’
She gave a pretend pout. ‘Okay, I’m going to hold you to that. Anyway, call me tonight. I wrote my number on your book.’
‘Sorry, I don’t have a phone,’ he said.
She looked at him as if she could hardly believe his words.
‘He broke it,’ I said, and then grabbed his arm and started to walk away. ‘We gotta go. See you tomorrow.’ Unfortunately, I thought, as we made our escape.
We could have caught the bus, but I made sure we walked home. There was too much danger of the other kids asking Rion questions, and besides, it wasn’t far. It was good exercise, burning up carbs and all that.
‘Does she ever give up?’ I complained as we headed down the street.
‘She’s just being friendly,’ Rion said.
‘Is that what you think?’
‘Of course,’ he said. ‘Jas was very helpful in showing me where everything was at school, and she invited me to join the other students in a social setting, which is more than you did today, Zoe.’ There was just the mildest accusation in his tone.
