Once An Alien Read online

  ‘Hi, Zoe. I’ve quit tennis. Told Mum I didn’t want to do it anymore.’ She looked defiant. Another surprise. Lou rarely went against her mother.

  ‘No point doing something you don’t enjoy.’

  Lou nodded. ‘That’s what I thought. Honestly, Mum treats me like such a child sometimes. Anyway, I decided to do some shopping.’

  ‘So I see.’

  ‘Hey, you want to grab a milkshake or a coffee or something?’

  ‘Sure. You want some help with some of those bags?’ Since I hadn’t found any fantastic bargains yet, my hands were free.

  ‘Thanks,’ Lou said, passing me a couple of bags. ‘Let’s go to one of those new rooftop restaurants. I haven’t been there yet, and I’ve been dying to go, but Mum always says it’s too busy for her.’

  We walked through the crowds and made our way to the rooftop where we found a totally cute, old-fashioned milkshake bar, perfect for a hot Saturday afternoon. After we ordered milk shakes, we sat in a booth with bright green seats. Lou seemed different. I’d felt that even from the beginning of term after the holidays. It wasn’t so much how she looked, but more about the way she acted. Now I was seeing it even more. She seemed… resolute and cool even. Pushing her hair behind her ears, she folded her arms and rested them on the table between us.

  ‘I’m really glad I ran into you, Zoe. You have such a great fashion sense. You really helped me last term when I was trying to decide what to wear for the play we went to.’

  I remembered that disastrous evening. Chad Everett had punched Rion for kissing Jas, and that had set off a whole lot of other things too, particularly between Rion and me. But I also remembered that I’d made one or two suggestions to Lou about what to wear and how to do her hair. Everyone, including me, had been so surprised at how pretty she was when she wasn’t wearing clothes for a twelve-year-old and put her hair back so you could actually see her face. I suddenly realised, since that time, Lou had continued to wear her hair back and show more confidence. I smiled at her, glad my friend was starting to sort of blossom and proud to have been a part of that process.

  ‘Well, Lou, I only helped with what was already there. You were always pretty, you just didn’t realise it.’

  She returned my smile. ‘Thanks, Zoe. It really opened my eyes, and I decided it was time to let Mum know I wasn’t in middle school anymore, but in year twelve. So, I’ve quit tennis and used most of my savings today to buy some new clothes. I just hope I’ve made the right choices. You can have a look and let me know. I can always return anything I don’t want.’

  I wasn’t sure I wanted to be responsible for Lou’s whole new look, and I certainly wasn’t any fashion guru. ‘Just buy what you like, Lou. After all, you probably shouldn’t go from your mum picking out your clothes to me. You need to work out your own taste.’

  ‘I get what you’re saying, but a second opinion doesn’t hurt either, does it?’

  ‘I guess not. So, what did you get?’

  Her eyes lit up, and for the next few minutes, she showed me her purchases. It was hard to say if they suited her or not when she wasn’t wearing them, but most of the things she bought seemed okay. You couldn’t go wrong with skinny jeans, and there wasn’t a frill or flounce in sight. One thing I did notice. ‘There’s a lot of black here, Lou.’ It wasn’t a colour I’d seen her wear before.

  ‘I know. When you said black was good for evening wear last term, I realised I didn’t have anything that was black, so I decided to change that. I think it’ll make me seem older.’

  I just nodded. Black was great in the winter or at night, but it was awfully hot during a Queensland summer. Still, I didn’t want to say anything critical, not when Lou was so pleased about everything.

  I asked the question that was on the tip of my tongue. ‘So, what does your mum say about all this?’

  Lou’s lips tightened. ‘She’s not impressed, but I don’t care.’

  I decided this was one time to say nothing. Lou’s mum could be kind of fierce at times, and I didn’t want to get in-between her and Lou.

  Our milkshakes came and Lou changed the subject. ‘So how are things going with you and Rion?’

  ‘Great,’ I said, as a warm feeling came over me just thinking about him. The more we were together, the closer we seemed to get.

  ‘I knew you two would eventually get together. You are so right for each other. It just took you a while to realise it.’

  Last term had been a roller-coaster ride of emotions. But I couldn’t tell Lou part of the reason it had taken so long for us to get together was because Archimedes had taken some of my memories of Rion away, and I certainly couldn’t tell her he was an alien. That was a secret only Rion and I shared… and also Emerson, but he didn’t count so much because he was only six years old, and besides, he was super loyal to Rion.

  ‘I need to ask you a question, Zoe.’ Lou stopped as if she didn’t know how to continue.

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘I asked you last term, but things are different now.’

  I knew immediately. ‘It’s about Harry, isn’t it?’ Lou had had a crush on him, and it seemed she still did.

  She nodded and her cheeks turned pink. ‘You know I liked him, but I thought you and he might have had a thing going. Now you’re with Rion, you don’t mind do you, that I’m kind of still interested in him?’

  ‘No, of course not, Lou. Harry and I have been friends for a long time. And yes, for a very short period, like a couple of nanoseconds, I wondered if we might… you know. But it didn’t happen, for lots of reasons. Now, we’re just friends, that’s all. So, if you want to go out with him, go for it, Lou.’

  She beamed. ‘You know something, I think I will.’ She hesitated. ‘Do you have any, like, tips?’

  ‘Just be yourself.’

  She shook her head. ‘That hasn’t worked so far. No, I mean real tips how to get him interested.’

  I thought for a moment. Both Harry and Lou were two of the genuinely nicest people I knew. It made a lot of sense for them to be together. Lou would never hurt Harry like I had in the past. But Harry, because we’d been so close once and because he’d had a crush on me, never really saw how perfect Lou would be for him. Time to change that.

  ‘Why don’t you ask him to go to the movies with you?’

  ‘I could never do that,’ she said. ‘I mean, I’d just never have the nerve. What if he said no? Besides, shouldn’t I wait till he asks me out?’

  ‘Lou, it’s not the last century or something. Besides, you can make it like a friendship thing if you want, rather than a date.’ I remembered that’s what Harry did when he asked me out last term, and it wasn’t an altogether unsuccessful evening, although the end of the night had been embarrassing—for me. I didn’t want to think about that.

  She looked at me, uncertainty written all over her face. ‘It just seems so… No, I don’t think I could do it.’

  I suppressed a sigh.

  ‘There must be some other way for Harry to notice me. That’s one of the reasons I bought all these clothes.’

  I thought again. ‘Maybe we could go somewhere together, kind of like a group thing, but really a double date. You know Kerri will never go out anywhere because she always wants to study. And that just leaves you, me, Rion, and Harry. You’ll get a chance to wear your new clothes and go out with Harry. Rion and I will head off after a little while, which will just leave the two of you. What do you think?’

  ‘I think you’re brilliant. I just knew you’d have some good ideas.’ Lou leaned over the table and gave me a hug, nearly spilling our drinks. When she sat down again, she beamed at me. ‘So, where will we go?’

  I considered the possibilities. Going to the movies was an obvious option. It was low key and kind of suitable for a group thing. ‘Movies. We could go for a snack either before or after to give you time to talk.’

  ‘Great. We’ll tell the boys on Monday and maybe go next Saturday, if everyone is free.’ Now that she’d had som
e encouragement, Lou was full of determination.

  I nodded, and we spent the next half hour planning and talking about our group “date.” I started to get excited too. It would be fun to have a day off from all the studying and stress of year twelve.

  When Rion came over that night, I told him about the idea. I left out the part that this was my plan to get Harry and Lou together. He had all these principles about never manipulating people and being totally honest about things—all very noble to a point… but I figured this was for a good cause. Harry just needed a little push in the right direction, and there was nothing wrong in that.

  ‘I’d rather go just with you. We don’t have a lot of time together. But sure, it might be fun to go with the group.’

  Fun, that was a word I never thought I’d hear coming from his lips a few months ago. I smiled, thinking how far he’d come.

  ‘What?’ he said.

  ‘Nothing.’

  He took me into his arms. ‘Come on, what is it? You know you can’t hide anything from me.’

  My smile increased. How wrong he was there. But just to keep him quiet, I said, ‘I was just thinking how different your idea was about fun not that long ago, like maybe seven or eight months ago.’

  He rolled his eyes. ‘I don’t know how you put up with me then.’

  ‘When you were a bodiless, alien entity I didn’t have much choice. I think this version of you is much better.’ I kissed him to prove my point. His arms tightened around me, and for a moment I forgot all about my plans to help Lou.

  When Rion lifted his lips from mine, he said, ‘I can’t argue with you on that point. There is nowhere I’d rather be than right here with you now.’

  ‘Rion, I lo—’ I stopped. I couldn’t say it to him, not yet. Even though every day we were together I felt it more, and even though he’d given me that necklace. I wanted him to say it first, despite my brave words to Lou about taking the initiative and all that. So, instead I said, ‘I love that you’re here too.’

  For a heartbeat, we looked at each other, and it seemed as if he knew what I was going to say. But it wasn’t the right time, not yet.

  He broke the silence by saying, ‘We’ll never persuade Kerri to come.’

  ‘No, perhaps not.’ Which was part of the plan, but I didn’t tell him that.

  He shrugged. ‘I guess it doesn’t matter. The four of us should have a good time, and Lou and Harry seem to get on well.’

  ‘Yes, they do.’ Everything was coming along perfectly.

  Chapter Five

  Hey, Pan, over here,’ Jas called, waving from her usual spot by the window in English. Pandora, pushing back her curtain of dark hair, gave a dazzling smile in Jas’s direction and glided over to her.

  ‘Sure, why not.’ She slid into the seat across from Jas.

  In that moment, I knew Pandora had joined the beautiful crowd.

  Not that it bothered me. I had no desire to be “in” with Jas again. But I knew that Pandora’s talk about being friends with me was just that, talk. Because no one could be friends with both Jas and me. It just wasn’t possible—at least not in this universe.

  ‘I just loved those cute boots you wore to Chelsea’s on Saturday,’ Jas said, leaning across to her. ‘You’ll have to tell me where you got them. As a matter of fact, we should go shopping together. There’re a few parties coming up that won’t be totally boring. You’ll have to come.’

  Pandora shrugged. ‘Maybe.’

  She obviously didn’t realise the honour that Jas was bestowing. Not many people were that casual about invitations from her. Except Harry. I remembered how he had refused every attempt of Jas’s to include him in her group last term. I looked over at him, surprised to see his eyes glued on Pandora. As I looked around, I noticed he wasn’t the only one. She certainly knew how to attract attention.

  Our English teacher, Ms D, swept into the room looking in a mood. She dropped a pile of papers on her desk with a thud and gave us a death stare. In general, she was pretty chilled, but when she wasn’t, it was best to slink into your seat and hope you were invisible. The fact that she was only five foot two and about fifty kilos meant nothing when she was angry. She was like a cyclone that ripped through the class, leaving everyone in tatters and wishing they’d stayed home that day.

  The talking instantly stopped. She looked at us for a long moment.

  Finally, she spoke. ‘I was under the impression,’ she said slowly and in a deceptively quiet voice, ‘that I was teaching a year twelve English class where most of my students were aspiring to get an OP that was somewhere in the realms of respectable. I thought some of you, indeed quite a few of you, had ambitions beyond occupying space, fogging up a mirror, and having a heartbeat. Apparently, I was wrong.’

  Her voice started to rise. ‘It seems that despite studying one of the greatest writers in the English language and even going to a play last term didn’t help—although perhaps the less said about that occasion the better.’ She tasered Rion and then Chad with her eyes. Rion turned bright pink, and Chad slunk further down in his chair. ‘Despite being given every opportunity to learn about the great bard and one of his finest works, Macbeth, most of you have shown no more understanding of his work than a six-year-old child. And I’m insulting six-year olds here. We spent half a term going over this play. We watched videos of great actors, you were given copious notes, and I told you time and time again that this assignment would be worth 50 percent. Perhaps your maths is no better than your English. That means half of your total mark in English. You do understand that, don’t you?’ Her eyes bored into us. A few students gave hesitant nods, not sure if she wanted a response or not.

  ‘Well, if that’s the case I fail to understand why this is what was handed in.’ She lifted the pile of papers and let them drop to the desk again. ‘Let me give you some examples.’ She picked up an assignment off the top. ‘“Shakespeare wrote lots of plays such as Macbeth and Pride and Prejudice.” I wonder what Jane Austen thinks of co-authoring a book with Shakespeare? After all, they only lived several hundred years apart.’ Then she took another paper and read, ‘Lady Macbeth didn’t like sex because she said, “unsex me now.”’ A couple of boys tittered until she glared at them. When silence fell again, she picked up another one. ‘Ah, here’s a gem. “Lady Macbeth was not very good at cleaning because she said, ‘Out damned spot.’ She swore a bit too.” A temptation I can well understand at the moment.’

  She dropped that paper on top of the others. ‘I won’t go on, though I could. These are just a smattering of year twelve’s literary efforts I’ve had to read over the Easter holidays. I may as well give up now and not bother to try to illuminate your adolescent brains, which are obviously concerned with more important things than the inspirational works of some of the greatest writers in the English language. Perhaps I should teach Shopping 101, Miss Howard?’ She looked at Jas. ‘Or maybe Play Station 4, Mr Li.’ She raised an eyebrow at Mike, who was a game addict. Then she turned her attention to Lou. ‘And no doubt a course in day dreaming and doodling would suit you.’ Lou actually looked as if she might burst into tears.

  ‘There were one or two students who didn’t totally disgrace themselves.’ She looked at Rion. ‘Your analysis of the inner conflict experienced by Macbeth had one or two insightful comments. And, Mr Crosby.’ She shifted her glance to Harry. ‘You showed some knowledge of the play, and some is better than none. But the person I was most surprised about, and not in a good way I might add, was you, Miss Nichols.’

  Kerri’s head shot up like it was on a spring.

  ‘You may have the periodic table down pat, Miss Nichols, but you have no insight whatsoever in character analysis. Empathy and understanding of human nature, as expressed in the great literary works, seems something totally beyond your comprehension. I suggest you do something about it before the midterm exam.’

  Kerri’s face went deathly pale, and I honestly thought she was going to pass out. It seemed to me Mrs D wasn’t di
splaying a lot of empathy herself at the moment. Though, of course, I didn’t say that out loud.

  It was a painfully long period. I got my mark back and saw it was a mediocre C, when I was used to As or at least Bs in English. It looked like I had some studying ahead of me.

  When the bell went, no one lingered but got out of the classroom as quickly as possible.

  I had an uneventful class in history next, and for once I didn’t mind being bored. It certainly was better than being torn to shreds, though I got off better than most because Ms D didn’t even mention me. Still, I wasn’t happy with a C.

  At lunch Lou had a blotchy face. ‘I got a D,’ she confessed to me. ‘Mum’s going to kill me. She’s already cranky that I quit tennis.’

  ‘Never mind, Lou. You’ll do better in the next assignment. We’re finished with Shakespeare now. We’ve got something more modern next.’

  ‘At least I’ll be able to understand the language,’ she said with a sniff and took out a crumpled tissue to blow her nose.

  ‘I suppose you got an A,’ I said to Rion as he sat down beside me.

  ‘Yes, though Ms Deveraux did make one of two critical remarks I didn’t altogether agree with. But I didn’t feel today was the right time to argue the point.’

  ‘Ya think?’ I said, though he completely missed my sarcasm.

  ‘Wise choice,’ said Lou.

  Harry came over to join us, sitting down with a heavy sigh.

  ‘Don’t know why you’re sighing,’ I said. ‘You were one of the stars in English today. One of the very few.’

  Harry shrugged. ‘I only got a B. I was aiming for an A. If I want to get into a veterinary course, I’m going to need to get straight As.’

  ‘You’ll get there. After all, you usually get good marks. Ms D was on the warpath today. I wonder what happened to put her in a cranky mood?’

  ‘Who knows. I can never work teachers out,’ Lou said. ‘Sometimes I think they were born on another planet.’