Aliens Are Real: Part 2 (8 page)

“She would like
me
to observe a Thanksgiving meal.
”

“What?
Why?”
Jasmine
blurted.

“
Yumi
feels that this is a perfect chance
for us
to learn about
your
holiday traditions
.
”

“So
you’re looking for the whole she
bang
,
here?”

Honorio
appeared confused
.
“What is a shebang?”

“Never mind..
.
I
don’t know if
we
are celebrating it t
his year.
We typically skip it.
”

“Why would you skip such an important holiday?”
Honorio
looked
genuinely surprised.

“
If you must know,
my
mom died just before Thanksgiving
,
when
I
was a little girl.
We don’t have a lot of reason to cel
ebrate during this time
of year.
”
Jasmine
’s
mind raced as she considered all the preparation needed for a full
Thanksgiving
meal.
She
barely heard his response.

“
I
’m sorry to hear of your loss
.
”

“Whatever.
It was a long time ago
.” S
he dismissed
his concern
with a wave of her hand.
She wasn’t
about to share her feelings
of
the
loss
of
her mother and abandonment by her father with
some alien w
ho probably wouldn’t understand
.
“I
was thinking about taking baby-
steps to start celebrating
the holiday
again.
Maybe this is
just
the kick in the pants
I
need
.
”

“I assure you, I do not intend to kick you in the pants or anywhere at all
for that matter
. We came in peace, and mean you no harm.
” Honorio
replied in all seriousness.

Jasmine
had difficulty not laughing at him but the gravity of the situation brought her swiftly back to reality.
She thought
for another minute.
She
was still furious that Honorio would even imply
she
shouldn’t see Mark
let alone insist that she couldn’t
.
She
also needed to come up with a way to break up with
her
pretend boyfriend before too much longer.
A plot to break up at dinner
started to formulate
in her brain
.
“
I
’ll tell you what
my
dad says.”

***

Honorio watched Jasmine walk away after
Family Development
class.
His mind churned with turmoil. He knew lying to her was wrong.
He also knew that using Yumi as the carrot to get Jasmine to do what he wanted was manipulative.
Then there was the whole Mark thing.

She is trying to create a relationship with this guy
?
Of all the irresponsible decisions, she is looking for love.

He shook his head as he gathered his books.
He needed her focused on him.
She had
only
a small role to play
in their upcoming mission,
b
u
t she was still vital.
Something else
irritated
him
,
but he couldn’t discern what irritated him. It was an odd sensation. He felt the desire to crush something in his hands or throw something against a wall.
He clenched his hands and fought down his irrational desires.

He left the
classroom
an
d wandered down the hall toward
his locker.
He spotted Jasmine pushing her books into her
own
locker
,
and pulling out her purse.
Her locker was in
complete
disarray.
He
shook his head. T
he condition of her belongings was irresponsible and a major flaw in her character.
If she were
in
his division, she would earn extra patrol duties until she learned to respect her belongings.

As he observed the way she caught the pencil that rolled out from under some papers
,
and how she brushed her hair behind her ear,
the memory of the night at the
Quest
Center
flooded his mind.
He remembered the heat emanating from her body, the softness of her lips and the fruity smell of her hair.
Honorio felt his body heat up.
In a panic, he
dashed into the boys’ bathroom.
Still as yet unfamiliar with the biology of his human body, he feared he was about to spontaneously combust
,
from the way his body felt, at that
moment.
He strode to the sink, turned the cold handle and splashed frigid water on his face and neck.

He rubbed his cheeks forcefully, subconsciously attempting to rub away the confusing emotions that swept over
his
human form.
He
snatched paper towels from the dispenser and dried his face.
When done
,
h
e
crumpled the towel into a ball
,
slowly, watching the tendons and muscles in his arm flex together at his bidding.
Human bodies fascinated him.
He turned his eyes to the mirror and stared at his
human
face until his breathing slowed.

Once calm, he threw the towel in the trash then marched directly to his locker.

My orders are sound
.
Jasmine is on a need to know basis
...
and we need to get rid of the boy distracting her.

***

At home that night,
Jasmine
paced the living room
floor
as
the clock ticked by each second
her
dad
was late
c
o
m
ing
home.

When he walked in the door
,
she
caught him in the entryway.
“Dad, you know how you wanted Honorio over for dinner?”

“Yes.”
He put his briefcase down by the front door
then removed his coat
.

“Honorio’s parents can’t be home for Thanksgiving so
I
was wondering if
we could
have him over
that night
.”

“Thanksgiving?”
Dad
repeated
.
He stood ram-rod straight for a few seconds then asked,
“
Why won’t his parents be home?”

Jasmine shrugged
.
“
I
did
n’t ask.
”

Her d
ad gave
her
a suspicious look.

“
I
only had a minute t
o talk to him between classes!”

“
I
need to go shopping if
we
are g
oi
ng to do Thanksgiving dinner.
”
He gazed
around
the house, distracted.

“Well, hopefully the stores still have turkeys. If they’re out, I’ll grab a ham or something.
Honorio doesn’t ea
t Kosher or anything, does he?”

“No, he’s not a Jew
n
or a Muslim
n
or vegan
, vegetarian
or piscetarian
n
or a space alien and he doesn’t have any w
eird allergies either.
Relax.
We don’t need to
go all out.
Baby
steps
, D
ad.
”
S
he
patted him on the shoulder then went to
her
room.
She didn’t want to answer any more questions.
She didn’t like having to come up with lies to
tell
her father.
Besides, how was she supposed to know what religion aliens were?

Before
Algeb
ra started the next day, Mark stopped next to
Ja
s
mine’s
desk.
“Hey
Jasmine
.
”

“Hi Mark.
”
S
he
smiled and enjoyed his crooked smile in return.

“So you know how you said you didn’t have plans for Thanksgiving?”

“Yeah
...
”

“Well
my
parents said you can join us for Thanksgiving.”
He
beamed as he waited for her response.

Her
shoulders
drooped
and
she
slapped
her
forehead.

“You don’t have to come if
you don’t want to.
No pressure
.
”

“Mark,
I
would love to come over for Thanksgiving but
my
dad made plans last night.
I
wish
I
could come,
I
really do
.
”

He shrugged
.
“Well, what can you do?
Um
...
Maybe next time.”

“Yes, next time would be great!”

He turned and walked back to his seat.
She
watched him go and saw him drop his backpack on the floor
,
and slouch in his chair.

Yumi
,
Jasmine thought
.

Yes
Jasmine
?
Yumi replied.

Honorio and
I
need to break up.

Break what up?

We need to not be a couple anymore.

What is the matter?

Mark is all bummed out because he invited
me
over for Thanksgiving and
I
had to say
I
had plans.
I
know it helps your cover and all but Honorio and
I
need to not be boyfriend and girlfriend
even if it is only
in front of
my
father.

Jasmine
,
I
do not want anything bad to happen to you.

Jasmine was shocked at the fear in Yumi’s
telepathic
voice.

What would happen?
It’s just a break up.
She thought to Yumi
.

Your father won’t
disown
you?

Her statement stunned Jasmine.
No.
Why would he?

Severing ties with someone
of whom your parents approve
is not a shameful thing?

Well, there’s always the pressure from your parents to date the person they want you to date but they know teenagers have lots of boyfriends.

That is interesting.

It isn’t that way on your planet?

No.
You do not date more than one person.

Wow!
That’s a lot of pressure to pick the right one.

That is not how it
...

“
Jasmine
.
Earth to
Jasmine
.”
Ms. Gallagher
, the Algebra teacher, was standing
beside
Jasmine
.
Jasmine
looked around and realized the whole class was staring at
her
.

She
started to blush again
,
wondering
how long
the teacher
had been standing there.
“Huh?
Yes?”

“Did you do your homework assignment?”

“Y
eah.
”

The teacher
held out her hand.
“May
I
have it please?”

“Oh.
Sure.”
Jasmine
opened
her
folder and rummaged through papers trying to find the homework.

“So kind of you.
”

Several
students
in class snickered and
Jasmine
felt her skin burn hotter
.

Did you hear
me
Jasmine
?

I
can’t talk now.
The teacher is talking to
me
.

I
will let you concentrate on your studies.
I
’ll see you in Art.

Jasmine
finally located
her
homework
,
and handed it to the teacher.
She
exhaled and leaned back in
her
seat.
She fanned her
self with
her
folder trying to blow away
her
blushing.
Mortification set in as
she
realized
she
started sweating.
She was a gross mess.
She
made a mental note not to ignore this teacher ever again.

***

Jasmine
hoped that Mark would join
her
in the hallway
during lunch
like
the day before
.
Maybe
they
would actually hold hands!
The idea sent
exhilarating
chills through
her
body.

She
waited about ten minutes then spotted Mark walking down the hall.
She
wasn’t expecting to see the whole group though.
Alex, Abigail, Derrik, Tasha and Mark
were walking in a group toward
class.

Even though
she
didn’t get the chance to have alone time with Mark, the gentle banter between these friends was an enjoyable alternative.
They teased, pushed and laughed with each other.
They took little seriously
,
and found humor in every subject.
She
was in bliss until a minute before
the bell would ring, signaling the end of lunch
.

She
was listening to a joke Mark was telling when
she
heard
her name called
.
She
looked over
her
shoulder and saw Honorio walking up to
them
.
She turned back to her group of friends and fought the urge to hide or run away.

Tasha whispered to Abigail.
“Who is
that
?”

“
I
dunno
,
but yummy!”
Abigail replied.

They all looked at
Jasmine
.

She
sighed
, turned around and said,
“Hi Honorio.
”

Honorio
stood as tall as he could as he met the group.
“
I
’m lookin
g forward to dinner on Thursday.
”
His big smile seemed out of place on his usually stern features.

“Uh, that’s great.”
Jasmine
said
, wishing
he would go away.

He stood for a m
oment
looking at
her
.
“Are you going to introduce
me
to your acquaintances?”

Jasmine
wanted
to die.
Better yet, she wanted Honorio to disappear.
S
he
didn’t want him to meet Mark.
She
wanted him to have absolutely nothing to do with
these friends
.
He and his posse were a separate part of
her
life
,
and
she
wanted to keep them that way.
However, since it is rude not to introduce people
,
her
ma
nners took over
.

“This is Alex,
Derrik, Abigail, Ta
s
h
a and
Mark,
”
s
he
said quickly.
She h
oped
Honorio
would turn around
,
and walk away
with introductions done
.

Honorio shook everyone’s hand in turn.
Tasha held his hand a little
longer than a normal handshake, batting
her eyes at him.
He politely detached his hand from hers with a slight bow.
Honorio turned square to Mark to shake his hand.
She
would have sworn that he was sizing
up
her crush
.
Mark was also looking at Honorio.
Well, looking down at Honorio.
Mark was a few inches taller than
the alien
,
but
lacked
the
same
shoulder
breadth
and muscle development
.

The whole experience was surreal.
Why on earth was he meeting
her
friends?
For someone so concerned with keeping a low profile, he was doing a rather poor job of it by bringing himself to
her
friends’ attention;
e
specially Tasha.
She was looking at Honorio as if he w
ere a tall drink of
water
,
and she had been wandering in a desert for a week.

She
was saved from intervening by the bell signaling the next period.

“It was a pleasure to meet you all.
Jasmine
, see you around.”
Honorio smiled and winked at
her
.

Her
mouth dropped open.
First, it was weird to see him do something so human and casual.
Second, he just made it seem like
there
was
something more
than just friendship
between
them
.
She
was determined that at the end of
their
Thanksgiving dinner
, their ruse-relationship would finally come to an end.

Jasmine
realized that everyone was staring at
her
.
“What?”
  A
blush slowly
crept
over her body.

Ta
s
h
a put her arm around
her
.
“Do not
‘
what
’
me
girl!
Who was that fine specimen of the male gender
,
and how can
I
get
me
one of those?”

“He’s no one really.
Just a guy
,
not as great as he looks
...
”

“MmmHmmm.
”

Abigail chimed in with her own opinion.
“Seriously
Jasmine
, he was
♪
fine
♪
.
”
She had actually sung the word.
“
With a capital F
#
.”

“He’s like supermodel-
gorgeous
Jasmine
!”
Alex blurted.

“Hey now!”
Derrik protested.

“Not as handsome as you though
,
hunny.”
She reached up to stroke his hair reassuringly,
then hugged him.