“Thank you,” they replied in unison.
The teacher gave them another stare before he moved on to the next table to hand them the worksheet.
“You get to fish it out,” Jena declared.
“Fine. You get to be the one to cut into it,” Juila rebutted.
Jena wished she had offered to remove it from the container.
Juila unscrewed the lid to the jar and almost gagged when the smell of formaldehyde rose from the container. She looked around to see what the other kids were doing and then used the tongs to pull the stiff frog from the disgusting liquid. She immediately dropped it onto the desktop before replacing the lid on the jar. It lessened the smell, but with everyone in the room doing the same thing, it lingered like a disgusting funk around them all.
“You cut, and I’ll mark the worksheet,” Juila offered sweetly.
Jena replied, “Thanks.” She picked up the scalpel she had seen the other kids use, and cut into the frog. Soon enough, her fascination with the different organs captured her attention and she no longer cared about the smell or the fact she was dissecting something which used to be alive.
The rest of the day went by along the same vein. At lunch, they sat with Sofia and a friend of hers, named Valentina, and then had one more class with Sofia before the day ended. As the last bell rang for the day, Jena and Juila wondered what they were supposed to do. They had never discussed how they were getting home. At their locker, they debated the problem between themselves, “Do you think we should call Mom and find out if she’s coming to get us?”
“I don’t know. I would have thought she’d have mentioned if she were coming to get us,” Juila stated.
Sofia walked up to them and said, “Are you going to ride the bus home?”
“There’s a bus that goes to our house?” Jena asked with a surprised expression.
Sofia could not help but giggle and said, “Almost all of the kids take a bus to get home. Where do you live? Maybe I can help you figure out which one gets you closest to your house and then you can walk the rest of the way from the stop.”
Jena felt rather stupid with her first question about the bus. She nodded for Sofia to help them while Juila told her their address.
Sofia brightened and declared, “You only live a couple of blocks from me! Come on; we can all take the same bus.” She began weaving her way expertly through the throngs of kids milling around. She walked through a gate in a chain-link fence and down the row of bright yellow busses. When she got to the one with the number fifty-seven she turned and said, “This is our bus. We take the same one home every day. Bus forty-eight comes around and picks us up in the morning at the same place fifty-seven drops us off.” She mounted the three large steps and started walking down the aisle.
The girls looked at one another and then shrugged their shoulders as they decided. Jena declared under her breath, “We wanted the Earth experience.” She followed Sofia’s example and entered the bus.
Not to be left behind, Juila speedily followed. They found an empty seat near the back of the bus and sat together across from Sofia. The only other vehicle the girls had ridden in was the 4-Runner, so this was definitely something new. They had no idea vehicles could get so large. Still, more and more students filed into the bus until all of the seats were taken.
The driver shut the door and pulled forward along with the line of other busses. Jena stared out the window at the passing scenery while Juila struck up a lively conversation with Sofia.
Sofia asked, “I heard someone say you were from South Africa. Is it true?”
Juila nodded and said, “I guess you could call us immigrants then, too!”
“When did your family move here?” Sofia continued to question.
“Oh, they’ve lived here all along. It’s just the two of us who were in boarding school in South Africa,” Juila said. She really did not like lying to Sofia since she seemed like such a nice girl. “We just came home on July 17th,” she said. She was proud she had remembered the name of the month correctly.
“Why didn’t your parents go with you?”
“It’s a long story, but the short version is that my dad is an engineer and has to travel a lot. My mom was in a really bad accident a long time ago, and she was in a coma for seven years.”
“Oh, wow! She sure seemed fine when I met her at the open house,” Sofia could hardly believe that such a nice woman could have been hurt badly enough to be in a coma for so long. It probably explained why she still looked so young, though.
“Yeah, we missed out on a lot, but we’re finally a family again.”
“What are your parents’ names?”
“Amanda and Riccan Stel.”
“Are you kidding? The Riccan Stel as in the NHRA drag racing Riccan Stel? The same man who volunteers his airplane and time for search and rescue missions?” Sofia’s voice rose louder and louder with each question.
Several students were now turning around to see what the commotion was all about.
Juila blushed and replied, “I guess. He’s just our dad.” She did not know what NHRA drag racing was, but she knew he had participated in the telepod races in Tuala so she could well imagine he would also partake of a similar sport on Earth.
“That’s so cool, Juila. My dad just loves to watch your dad on TV,” Sofia kept talking excitedly.
The students who had turned around to listen were now whispering to their seatmates and then to the kids in front of them. Pretty soon the entire bus knew who Juila’s dad was. She was not sure if she should be proud or embarrassed because everybody seemed to know of her father.
The bus made at least a dozen stops before Sofia announced the next stop was the one for them to exit. It seemed such a strange concept to drop kids off at the corner of the road. For some reason, it did not seem entirely safe. Yet, Sofia did not seem to think anything of it at all.
The girls let Sofia lead them down the aisle and off the bus. Once the bus had driven away, Sofia announced, “I’ll walk you to your house since you’re probably not very familiar with the neighborhoods yet.” She took off down the sidewalk clearly expecting the girls to follow.
Jena and Juila were glad to have the escort since they had no idea where they were dropped off. Some landmarks seemed vaguely familiar, but they were eager to have the company along the way to keep them on the right track.
Sofia kept thinking to herself how exciting it must be to have a famous dad, but she decided to keep it to herself since it seemed to make her new friends slightly embarrassed. Instead, she changed the subject back to school and asked, “So how do you think your first day in an American school went? Was it easier or harder than what you’re used to?”
“Some of the stuff we’d already taken, like the writing class. The biology class is totally new and pretty fascinating,” Jena spoke up finally. She was furthest away from Sofia and had to look around her sister to talk as they walked.
“Oh, yuck. You guys are dissecting frogs, aren’t you? I could smell it from two halls away. It’s so disgusting. I still think it’s weird that the teacher has you do it on your first day even though you haven’t covered any of the subject yet,” Sofia commented.
“I liked it,” Jena muttered to herself and kept walking.
Juila had heard her sister and asked her own question of Sofia, “What have been your favorite subjects?”
“I really enjoy English, Health, and Math,” she answered and then amended part of her answer, “although I really struggle trying to learn all of the parts of the body in Health.”
“Oh that’s really easy,” Juila stated. “We already memorized every body part from our previous schooling. If you need any help with it, let us know, and we’ll try to give you some tricks to make them easier to remember.”
“That’d be awesome. Thanks. You know I’m going to take you up on the offer, right?”
“Yes, that’s why I offered,” Juila said seriously, not realizing Sofia was trying to be funny.
/> Sofia laughed anyway at just how strange the girls reacted to normal sayings. She could really get to like these girls. There was something new and refreshing about them. Even though they were stunningly gorgeous, it was almost as if they were completely unaware of it. They were very approachable, and that was what Sofia found so pleasant about them.
Juila had been reading Sofia’s thoughts and became embarrassed by the praise. Naturally, she could not refute Sofia’s ideas since she never actually said any of them out loud. This was another case where she should probably stop invading people’s privacy and leave their minds alone. It was just so hard to not take a look when she was curious about the people of Earth.
They had been walking up one very long street for quite a while when Jena began to notice certain houses and landmarks which looked extremely familiar. Before she knew it, they were standing outside their gated driveway.
Sofia had driven by these houses many times, but she had never been able to see this particular house since it was not visible from the road. Wishing she could invite herself over, she refrained and instead said, “Well, now you know your way home. I guess I’ll head over to mine.”
Juila had not given up on the mind-reading yet and heard Sofia’s yearning to come inside so, she asked, “Do you have time to visit for a bit? We can call your parents and let them know where you are.”
Not wanting to seem too eager, Sofia smiled and said, “That would be great. Thanks.”
Chapter Ten
AMANDA HAD DROPPED the kids off at school for their first day and immediately drove back home. She wanted to discuss some matters with Riccan while the girls were away. Most importantly, she wanted to know what Riccan’s plans were for when he had to head back to work after this next week was over. Were they going to live apart for the week and then come back together for the weekends? She sincerely hoped that would not be the case, but she did not know how the girls were going to have the Earth experience if they all went back to Tuala.
She parked the truck back in the garage and walked to Riccan’s office. She walked through the doorway knowing he would be in there only to discover the room was empty. Amanda shook her head and whispered, “Where are you?”
After walking through the living room and kitchen, she thought he might be out in the other garage with the telepod. He had been working on some new technology for the telepod, after all. She opened the garage door and was not surprised to see the room was completely empty. Without thinking twice, she walked confidently across the floor and put her hand up to where the entry pad would be located on the side of the cloaked telepod.
With her hand held out in front of her, she took step after hesitant step until she was past the spot where the telepod would normally be resting. It was at that moment she had to admit the telepod was not just cloaked for security, it really was gone from the garage. She laughed at how she must have looked, walking through the empty garage with her outstretched arm. Now she really did not know where Riccan had gone.
Maybe he’s somehow testing the new software, she thought to herself. She went back into the house and fixed herself some breakfast, the old-fashioned way since she had not yet mastered the skill of creating it from the elemy. The power seemed to work easier on Tuala, so Amanda had decided to only practice the skills when she was in Tuala. Until she had a better handle on accessing the power, she would not frustrate herself by trying and failing, on Earth.
After the simple meal consisting of a bowl of cereal and some toast was ready, Amanda sat on a stool at the island and ate in silence. Her mind kept coming back to allowing the girls to stay on Earth while she was able to divide her time between the two worlds. If the girls were in school all day, there was nothing to keep her from working in Tuala during the day as well. Maybe she could work with Riccan again. She had adored her job during her dream. It might just work out.
She took another bite of food and chewed absently while her thoughts kept returning to her girls. It was still unbelievable that they were as old as they were. There was still so much she wanted to know about their lives which she would probably never know. Then there was the betrothal agreement with Elder Debbon’s son. Now that she was back among the living, she should probably make an effort to meet the future family of her daughter’s.
Speaking of family, she still needed to find a way to tell her own parents about the girls. Somehow it seemed to be the biggest hurdle she had yet to face. Even telling them she had gotten married, seemed simpler than explaining why her children were only nine years younger than she was. It actually scared her to even contemplate how that conversation would go. Her father would accept and believe whatever she told them, but her mother was always one to ask the hard questions.
Maybe her parents would actually end up being the key for her to continue her life in both worlds. When Riccan was growing up, he had lived with various relatives while attending school. Her daughters would love to get to know their Earth grandparents. Amanda was not even considering leaving her children for weeks or even days at a time, but she did want them to have a safe place to stay until they got home from work in Tuala.
She dipped her spoon back into the bowl and discovered she had finished eating. It seemed almost a waste of food to not even recall having eaten it. She smiled at herself and stood up from the stool. With the bowl in her hand, she turned to take it to the sink to clean it when she came face-to-face with a woman she had never before seen. The bowl immediately dropped from her hands, crashing into a million little pieces on the floor.
Amanda screeched a small startled scream as her hands flew to her mouth in surprise. “Who are you? And what are you doing in my house?”
The woman looked equally surprised and answered swiftly, “I’m Riccan’s housekeeper. I come to clean every other Friday. Who, may I ask, are you?”
Amanda could not help but chuckle at how ridiculous the whole scene looked now and replied, “I’m Riccan’s wife. I guess we still have a few things left to talk about.” She held out her hand to the maid and introduced herself. “My name’s Amanda. I’m sorry I screamed when I saw you.”
“It’s understandable, given the circumstances. I wasn’t aware Riccan was even dating anybody, not to mention contemplating marriage. My name’s Mary.” She shook Amanda’s hand as she spoke. She had hoped one day to introduce her daughter to the most eligible and handsome bachelor, and now it appeared she had waited too long. “Let me get this mess cleaned up,” she said and turned to get the dustpan and broom from the cleaning closet.
Amanda felt terrible that her first meeting with a staff member also caused her more work. She realized Riccan had not been kidding about having staff and she was going to have to find out the schedules of all of the help so she would not be startled again by a stranger in or around the house. It would not help to hover while Mary cleaned up the mess, so she picked up the big pieces and her spoon and walked over to the sink. She threw the broken pieces in the garbage under the sink and then washed the spoon by hand, dried it, and put it away.
She was glad she had not tried to practice her crystal skills now since she could easily have been seen. Going into the secret room was definitely out of the question. There had to be something she could do until Riccan finally came home. She felt uncomfortable sitting around the house while Mary worked around her. Making up her mind, she grabbed her purse and went back to tell Mary she was leaving.
The drive to her parents’ house was uneventful. She hoped her mother would still be on talking terms with her. They had not had any conversations since she had left their house after telling them she had gotten married. It felt like her whole life had changed all over again since that night. There had to be a way to convince her mother the truth about her girls. The trouble she kept running into was the age of the girls; it seemed to be an insurmountable obstacle.
She pulled into the semi-circular driveway and stopped outside the front door. Her parents had changed the front yard recently to make it easier to get in
and out of the garage. She liked the change since it meant her parents were up for something new. Her news was definitely in the category of new.
The walk to the front door seemed to take forever. Amanda knew she was dragging her feet since she was not exactly sure what she would tell her mother about the girls. Then an idea struck her, and she realized the answer was simple. She took the last few steps eagerly and knocked on the front door.
Her mother answered right away, and a smile crossed her lips when she saw it was her youngest daughter. Everyone had always said Amanda looked the most like her and she tended to agree. Amanda, however, did not share her temperament; hers was totally that of her father.
“Come in, honey. What are you doing knocking? This is your house, too,” she stood aside and gestured for Amanda to enter the house.
“I just didn’t know how I’d be received since I dumped my big news on you the last time I was here,” Amanda stated simply.
“Oh, honey, I was just surprised. You’ll always be welcome in our home. We love you!” Diane hugged her daughter to emphasize her words. “Right now, I’m wondering why you’re here alone. Where’s your husband? Oh, that still seems weird to say!”
Amanda chuckled and said, “He had a few things to take care of with his vehicle. I thought I’d come over and talk to you about Riccan’s family.”
“Oh, has something gone wrong with them? Are they giving you a hard time, too?” Diane would be relieved if she weren’t the only one to get mad at the sudden news of them getting married.
“No, no, it’s nothing like that. They were thrilled to hear the news,” Amanda replied easily. She missed her mother’s hurt expression as she had looked down to try to decide how to go about the next part of her conversation with her mother.
“So, what’s the problem with his family?” Diane prompted.
“Nothing’s wrong, really. I just found out Riccan has two teenage girls and I thought you and Dad might want to get to know them, too. I know you already have grandchildren, but they are a part of my family, and I just wondered…” Amanda trailed off and looked across at her mother.
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