by Robin Martin
‘Yeah, we went bowling,’ I said. ‘It was really cool. We had heaps of fun and we might even go again.’
‘But that’s not really a date, is it? Seriously, bowling? I mean, isn’t that what old people, little kids and losers do, bowl? No offence.’ Jas twirled her hair in one hand and looked at me with spiteful eyes. ‘But I guess Rion was just taking you out because he felt he had to. Maybe your parents asked him to or something.’
I took a deep breath before I said something I really regretted. I needed to turn on the smarts. I couldn’t let Jas have this one. I mentally counted to ten.
‘Soz, Jas,’ I said, ‘I know you had to ask, practically beg, Rion to help you with your homework. FYI, he was kind of embarrassed about that. But he did actually ask me out and he was the one who suggested bowling. He thought it would be really cool, and it was. As a matter of fact, it ended pretty well, too.’ I put on my most mysterious and smug smile. Let them think whatever they liked. And going by the looks on their faces, they were thinking plenty.
Jas turned an interesting shade of red. It looked like she was about to explode. But before she could say anything, Rion himself came strolling over.
‘Hi, guys,’ he said.
He was really getting the lingo now. But then he was a quick learner.
Then I did something I knew I would probably regret, but I never gave myself time to think about it. I stood up, grabbed Rion by the shirt collar and planted a kiss right on those warm, McDreamy lips. I think he might have, just a bit, returned the pressure. Then I let him go.
‘Great to see you, babe, I missed you,’ I said.
Okay, if I thought knocking over the birthday cake at the barbecue made an impact surprise it was nothing compared to that kiss. Shock and awe might be a better term, and that included Rion. He stepped back and his eyes widened. I wished I had that mind-meld thingy going on right then because I would’ve sent a telepathic message: Don’t mess this up for me, Rion. Play along.
But I wondered if he could read my mind anyway because, after a microsecond, he gave that crooked smile and said, ‘I missed you too, babe.’ Then he pulled me close and whispered in my ear, ‘You’d better have a good explanation for this.’
‘Oh, look at the time,’ Jas said. ‘I’ve got a dozen things to do before class. Chad, honey, can you help me out, I’ve got a stack of things to pick up at the library. I might need an extra pair of hands.’
Chad, looking like he’d just won Gold Lotto, said, ‘Sure thing, Jas.’
‘Great. Let’s go.’
Jas took his hand and pulled him away. Usually that would be a signal for the group to disperse, but not today. All the attention was directed at Rion and me as everyone waited to see what would happen next.
‘Rion, I was just telling everyone what fun we had at bowling,’ I said, using my best girly voice.
Rion gave me a look. ‘Yes, it was quite entertaining, Zoe.’
Chelsea was looking at me through narrowed eyes, and I knew she would report everything that was said. ‘So,’ she said, ‘are you two going out now?’
I hesitated. If I said yes that would make life way too complicated, and it would mean the end of any possible real dating for me in the future. If I said no then everyone would wonder what was going on and how sincere our little act was.
I looked at Rion and signalled with my eyes: Help! Thank God he could read me well.
‘Zoe and I want to get to know each other better before we make any commitment,’ he said, then flashed a smile that seemed to say a lot more than his words. I thought it was a fairly perfect answer.
Before anyone could say anything else, the bell rang.
‘We really need to get to history,’ Rion said, taking my hand and pulling me along. ‘See you guys later.’ As soon as we got out of earshot, he dropped my hand. ‘So, would you like to tell me what that was all about?’
‘I thought we had to get to history class on time. We don’t want to be late.’ I wasn’t eager to have this conversation.
‘Since when has that ever bothered you? Besides, we have exactly four minutes and twenty-five seconds before the final bell, plenty of time for you to explain things. What happened back there?’
I sighed. ‘Jas was making fun of the fact that we went bowling. She said it was a place you’d take your little sister and not a real date, and of course the others were following her lead. I just wanted to shut them up. Sorry for putting you on the spot like that. And thanks for playing along with it.’
‘So they were, in effect, bullying you?’ A frown came over his face.
‘I don’t think it was as bad as that. It’s just the way they are.’
‘You know, Zoe, I think you could’ve chosen better friends. That group seems to demonstrate the worst traits in human beings—you know, the herd instinct and the propensity to target the weak.’
‘Sometimes they’re okay.’ I didn’t know why I was defending them. I was beginning to think Rion had a point.
‘I differ on that opinion. I can see, though, that we’ll have to talk about this further. I anticipated that there might be some problems with our relationship, but I hadn’t expected them to develop quite so quickly. We’ll talk about it after school. Now we really do have to get to class.’
I wasn’t very comfortable with how this conversation was going. I was starting to feel like a fool for having kissed Rion and trying to save face with people who I was beginning to realise weren’t worth the effort.
For once I was actually glad to get to class.
It was a long day, and more than once I wished I hadn’t kissed Rion. Jas totally ignored me, and now I felt weird with Rion and Harry. Of course Rion acted normally, for him at least, and was super-attentive in class and ignoring everyone but the teacher. If I hadn’t known him better I would’ve said he was a total suck-up. But, sadly, I knew he was just a nerd who loved learning. Never mind that he knew more than the teachers anyway.
But now we had kissed twice, and even though I knew it meant absolutely nothing, especially on his part, it had kind of felt nice. And that was the weird part. Rion wasn’t even real, at least not in any human sense. And he was way too old for me. Ha, ha, joke. He was too old even for my great-great-great-grandmother, whoever she was.
The problem was that he’d chosen to package himself as the most beautiful sixteen-year-old boy possible. I wished he’d gone for something slightly less awesome. I mean, other than his looks, we had no connection at all. Okay, we did get on all right when we went bowling. And sometimes I could bear to talk to him when he wasn’t showing off or being bossy, but other than that, zilch.
After school we met outside the gate.
‘Bus or walk?’ he asked, shaking his head to get his fringe out of his eyes. Some boys did that for effect, but Rion did it so he could see.
‘Walk.’ I started walking down the street. Anything that avoided people was my preferred option this afternoon.
He swung into step beside me. For a few minutes neither of us said anything. And that suited me, too. As far as I was concerned, what had happened at lunchtime was over, history, never to be repeated again.
Rion, however, had other ideas. ‘We need to talk,’ he said, as we turned the corner and were out of earshot and sight of anyone else.
‘Yeah, now you mention it, I could really do with some help on that history assignment,’ I said, hoping to deflect his attention from anything personal.
‘You’re good in history. You’ll be fine,’ he said, shifting his books to his other arm and placing a hand on my shoulder. He stopped and turned me to face him. ‘Why did you kiss me, Zoe, in front of your group?’
‘You know why. I told you. They were putting me down and I wanted to show them I wasn’t a loser. Stupid move, I know. Sorry if it embarrassed you.’ It annoyed me that even feeling his hand on my shoulder felt nice, reassuring.
He shook his head impatiently. ‘It didn’t embarrass me. It surprised me. I understand what you were tryi
ng to do, but you could’ve chosen something less dramatic. I mean, you could’ve just said that you missed me without that kiss, or even just held my hand. But kissing me like that … you did it like you meant it. Which leads me to think you really wanted to. Are you attracted to me, Zoe?’
‘What? No! Eeuw! How could you think such a thing?’ I took a step back and his hand slipped off my shoulder. ‘It was an act. Totally and completely.’
Rion put his head to one side and looked at me. ‘No, not totally and not completely,’ he said. ‘I’ve had three kisses with humans now, which, by the way, has been fascinating and informative in terms of my research on human behaviour. The first one with Jas was interesting because it was a novel experience, but that was it. The second one, with you on Saturday night, was actually mildly enjoyable, to my surprise. It gave me a glimpse of what these human emotions are all about. But the one today was different again. There was increased pressure on the lips, mainly from you, I might add. It was definitely enjoyable again, and this time even somewhat exciting. I believe I had an elevated pulse rate and my breathing was shallow afterwards. You also had the same reaction, I observed.’
I stood there speechless, but only for a moment. Then I exploded. ‘I did not. I was just angry at those jerks I call friends. And damn it, Rion, do you have to analyse everything, even kissing? What kind of freak are you? And as if I’d enjoy kissing someone who was a total alien weirdo.’
Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have said those two last sentences. But sometimes he drove me to say and do things I wouldn’t normally do.
His lips made a straight line and his eyes darkened. Maybe aliens did feel something after all. ‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘I’m not human, and this state of being is not normal for me. Now I truly understand why our species has been so reluctant to take human form. It was never a wise idea, despite the extensive research that could have been done. Human beings are too faulty, and their emotions make everything … messy. I’ll endeavour to contact my people again. I’ve tried to make a mental connection with my supervisor, but he has several hundred others of my kind to oversee so he might not respond for a while. I’ll try again. My unique situation may cause him to respond more quickly than usual.’ He turned away from me and started to walk again.
That little speech gave me some hope. Maybe we wouldn’t have to wait years after all. I rushed to catch up with him. ‘So, if he contacts you what will happen?’
‘I’m hoping he’ll return me to my natural state,’ Rion said, not looking at me.
I thought about it for a moment. ‘Does that mean … we’ll still be connected?’ I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
‘I honestly don’t know. I hope not. I don’t think that would be wise, all things considered. I really would prefer to return to the mothercloud and wait for a more suitable host.’
His long legs were taking large strides and I had to rush to keep up. Usually he adapted his pace to mine, but today he looked like he was in training for speed walking in the Olympics.
‘So we wouldn’t, like, know each other any more?’ I asked.
‘Obviously I’ll remember the connection because I have a perfect memory, but you might choose to forget. However, if you mean that we’ll have no contact with each other again, yes, that’s an accurate assumption.’
The thought of never talking to Rion again, or arguing with him, or hearing one of his many hundreds of lectures about everything under the sun made me feel kind of sad. Yes, he was annoying at times, and yes, at the beginning I wanted nothing more than to be rid of him. But I knew him now. He was real to me.
‘I wouldn’t choose to forget you, Rion,’ I said, feeling a lump in my throat.
He didn’t answer me. We turned down our street.
‘Can you slow down a bit?’ I said. ‘Struggling to keep up here.’
‘Oh,’ he said, slowing his pace just a little, ‘I forgot you weren’t very fit.’
‘I’m perfectly fit,’ I snapped. ‘You happen to be a lot taller than me so you can walk faster. I think we should talk some more about this.’
He slowed down a bit more. ‘I don’t think there’s much else to say, Zoe. I can see my presence is very uncomfortable for you and has complicated your life. I will endeavour, as I said, to remove my freaky, weirdo alien self as soon as I can.’
‘Jeez, Rion, don’t be so sensitive. I’m sorry I said those things.’
‘But from your point of view, that observation is correct.’ He stared straight ahead, not making eye contact. Obviously still upset.
‘But you’re also my friend, and if you went away I would miss you.’ I took a deep breath. I realised it was true.
He stopped again. This time he looked at me. ‘But I’m not at all like you. You argue with me and rarely listen to my advice. It doesn’t seem logical that you consider me a friend.’
‘We also have fun sometimes, like when we went bowling. And you stuck up for me and didn’t give me away to my group when I kissed you today. And you wouldn’t even have a human form at all if you hadn’t tried to help me. In many ways you’ve been a much better friend to me than my so-called “friends” in the group.’
I could see the beginnings of his crooked smile. ‘Perhaps you’re right. They’re not very nice to you. You should change groups.’
‘Yes, I was thinking that,’ I said. ‘I might go back to Harry’s group—if they’ll have me.’
‘I’m sure Harry would.’
‘Seriously, we are just friends.’
‘Like you and me?’
‘Yeah, I guess so, but …’ I looked at him sideways. ‘I’ve never kissed Harry. And you’re right, I did have an elevated pulse thingy when we kissed.’ Hard to admit, but it was true. Perhaps that was why I reacted the way I did.
‘Oh.’ He processed that for a moment. And then he added, ‘So, you would miss me?’
‘Absolutely. I mean who else is going to tell me about the nutritional value of Coco Pops?’
‘Coco Pops have no nutritional value, you know that,’ he said in his nearly normal condescending voice.
‘I do now.’ I gave him a cheeky grin. ‘What would I do without you?’
‘I have no doubt you’d go on in your usual haphazard way, putting your health and your education at serious risk. In other words, you would just be a normal teenager.’
‘Not quite normal, Rion.’ My books were getting heavy and I shifted them to my other arm.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Because now that I’ve met you I can never be quite the same again.’ And that was true. I mean, how many people have met an alien, let alone become friends with them?
He took my books and added them to his own. ‘I guess that’s also accurate for me, too. I’ll never be the same again, either. I’ve never met a human quite like you, Zoe. You’ve opened my eyes to some unique experiences. I’ve learned more from you in a few weeks than I have in decades with my other hosts.’
I think, though I wasn’t sure, that my alien had just given me a compliment. After all, he did place a high value on learning.
We started to walk again. ‘So, friends, then?’
‘Friends,’ he said, matching his stride to mine this time.
Chapter Twenty
You’ve got to be joking. There’s no way I’m going to the State Library on my birthday,’ I said.
For Rion, going to the State Library would be equivalent of receiving the best birthday and Christmas gifts ever for the next decade or so. He really thought he’d come up with a great idea.
‘But we could also do some research for our history assignment on the federation of Australia. And …’ his eyes sparkled as if he was about to give me tickets to a Katie Perry concert or something, ‘we could also go to the science museum, which is only a three and a half minute walk away, probably four minutes for you as you do walk a bit slowly.’
‘Yay. And while we’re at it why don’t we do the art gallery as well? We could follow it up with
an exciting cup of herbal tea.’
His face lit up even more, if that was possible. ‘What an excellent suggestion.’ He stopped and looked at me more closely. ‘But you don’t seem very pleased, Zoe. In fact, your voice sounds flat. Perhaps I’m not as good at reading human reactions as I thought, but your words don’t correspond to either your facial or vocal signals.’
‘Ya think?’ I said, and flopped down on the chair beside his desk. Sometimes it was exhausting interacting with my alien.
‘Oh, I see. Sarcasm again.’ He sat down on the bed opposite me. ‘I’m still learning about that.’
‘Give the man a prize.’
I knew he was only trying to be helpful. I would be sixteen in two weeks and it was a milestone birthday I’d been looking forward to for ages. In fact, I’d hoped to have a party with all my cool new friends. For a micro-minute or two I’d even imagined Chad Everett playing a major role in the celebrations as my boyfriend. But that was all ancient history now. Chad and Jas were a thing now, although she still flirted with Rion occasionally, mainly out of habit, I think. Basically, Jas flirted with any male under thirty. She ignored me, of course, except to throw a barbed comment my way, but only a couple of times a day.
I didn’t sit with Jas and her group at lunchtime anymore. The party invitations had dried up, and I was never invited to any group activities either. Not that I cared. I was really over them.
So Rion and I formed a cosy little group of two at lunchtime, except when he was cleaning the lab or helping out in the library, which was every second day. And then I ate alone. Oh joy.
I guess I could’ve asked to join my old group again, but things weren’t the same with Harry anymore. He seemed to think, like the whole school did, that Rion and I were a couple, which we absolutely weren’t. We were just friends, although sometimes even that was a stretch. We still argued, and we both managed to say the wrong thing to each other several times a day. But since that disastrous day when I’d kissed him in front of everyone, we’d kind of accepted each other. Sometimes we even liked each other. Just as well, because after that epic kiss, it seemed we were stuck with each other.
