by Robin Martin
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Published by Bennett Lane Press 2019
Copyright © 2019 Robin Martin
All rights reserved.
www.robinmartinthomas.com
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of Australia.
Book cover design and formatting services by Self-publishingLab.com
ISBN:
978-0-9946465-7-6 (pbk)
978-0-9946465-8-3 (e-bk)
To my sister, Judy
Far in distance, close in heart
Chapter One
Mist, like a spectre, curled on the cool pavement of a Brisbane suburban street and gathered in a dense cloud. The night sky was clear, and there was no meteorological reason for its formation. But it was the quiet time when everyone was asleep, and the only witness to this phenomenon was a grey tabby sitting on a nearby fence post. Tired after the night’s exploits, it took no notice at first. Then its sleepy gaze intensified, and its ears pricked. The mist stilled and, slowly dissolving, revealed a tall, angular shape. The cat arched its back, fur bristling and tail twitching. The shape began to look human in form, female. She shook her head, sending long hair cascading over a shoulder. A soft, low laugh shattered the silence of the night. The cat hissed and showed its sharp teeth. Its claws extended and dug into the splintered wood of the fence.
‘Hey kitty cat,’ the figure said in a soft voice. Her fingers clicked, sending an arc of light toward the feline.
The cat’s emerald eyes dilated, but only for a moment. Retracting its claws, it jumped off the fence and trotted over to this strange female, who bent down and gave a pat to the little feline. The tabby raised its head to her touch and purred loudly. Then standing again, the woman said, ‘Let’s hope humans are as easy to control as you are,’ and blew on her long fingers. Putting her hands on her hips, she looked around the quiet street and breathed in deeply. Then she said, ‘Really, Orion, how could you have kept all this fun of being an organic for yourself? Time to share, I think.’
With another laugh, this time a little louder and not quite so soft, she strode down the street, the sound of her footsteps disappearing into the night.
‘Seriously, Rion, I can’t believe you of all people are going to make me late for school on the first day back after the Easter break.’ I looked at him, feeling only a little irritated, because I wasn’t exactly known for being anywhere on time. I closed the front door behind me.
He pushed the dark hair from his face and smiled. So unfair that smile. It made something inside me melt every time. ‘I know. I’m sorry, but I had a good reason,’ he said.
‘What?’ I asked, looking up at him.
‘First things first.’ He dropped his bag, pulled me into his arms, and kissed me with his warm, firm lips. Aliens really knew how to kiss—well, this one did anyway.
After a moment or two, I pulled away, curious about what made Rion late. He was anally conscientious about time usually.
‘I guess that was worth waiting for,’ I said, ‘but what’s this good reason?’
Rion looked at me sheepishly. ‘This.’ He bent down and pulled a small square box out of his school bag. It was covered in crinkled blue paper and on the top was a red bow slightly askew. ‘I’m sorry, I’m not very good at wrapping presents. It took me five attempts to get it right.’
‘You got me a present?’ I looked at him and wanted to kiss him again. ‘What is it?’
‘Open it and see.’
I unwrapped it and took out a small blue jeweller’s box. Taking off the lid, I saw a thin silver chain with a heart. Lifting it out, I stared at the delicate necklace.
‘Turn the heart over and see what’s there,’ he said, anxiously.
On the other side of the heart was engraved ‘Zoe and Rion’ and underneath in small italic numbers was a date.
‘It’s beautiful, Rion. Thank you so much.’ Holding the necklace and box tightly, I put my arms around his neck and this time I kissed him.
After a moment, or maybe two, he lifted his head. ‘Do you like it?’
‘I love it! But what’s the date?’
‘That’s the day you finally remembered who I was again. The happiest day of my life. I got the necklace so you would never forget our connection again, or what you mean to me.’
‘Oh, Rion,’ I said, tears welling in my eyes.
Most of last term had sucked. Rion hadn’t been there at the beginning, and when he did come back, things were… tricky between us. I had lost my memories of the close bond between us, due to Rion’s guardian, Archimedes, removing them. It was only when Rion finally kissed me, that I remembered how much I cared about him, and then everything that had happened between us came flooding back to me. Now we were together again, and nothing was going to change that.
‘‘I’m not going to forget you ever again, but I love this necklace. Wearing it will always make me feel closer to you. Will you help me put it on?’
I turned around, and he put it around my neck, fastened it, and kissed the back of my head.
‘I did get something else too, but it’s more practical.’
I turned to face him again as he reached down in his bag once more and pulled out a purple book. ‘It’s a diary, and I put something in it to help you this year.’
Curious, I took it from his hand and opened it. Inside was a printed sheet that he had glued to the first page. It looked like a schedule of some sort. I gave him a puzzled glance.
He rushed to explain. ‘I made out a study timetable for you to follow, along with an exercise program slotted in and also time for recreation, sleep, and of course…’ — he blushed — ‘time for us to be together. It will take all the stress out of this year. I’ve planned it all out. If you follow it, it will make your life so much easier. I was just putting the finishing touches on it this morning. That’s when I thought it might be a little inflexible, so I factored in a spontaneity portion of time for those small unexpected events that happen. It threw the whole thing off at first, but I managed to work it out in the end. What do you think?’ His dark eyes widened in excitement.
I tried hard not to smile. ‘I’m sure that will be very useful.’
‘I know senior year is supposed to be stressful, and now that we’re together, I didn’t want that to make it harder for you. I wanted to make everything as easy as possible for you this year.’
This time I did laugh. He looked at me puzzled. ‘Only you could think of such an o
riginal gift. Thank you.’ I reached up and gave him a quick kiss. He had come a long way as a human, but there were still times that he was my fact-obsessed, yet surprisingly thoughtful alien. And it was one of the quirky things I loved about him.
He beamed at me.
‘And, speaking of schedules, we’d better get a move on if we have any hope of getting to school on time,’ I added.
At school, it seemed as if we hadn’t even had that two-week break. Assignments were due or set and group projects, reading lists, and presentations pelted down on us like hail from a thunderstorm. When were we supposed to sleep? Perhaps that schedule Rion made for me might come in handy after all.
At lunch I collapsed on the grass next to Harry, my long-time best friend and almost boyfriend. I say almost because for a while last term, it could have gone that way if it weren’t for Rion. But in the end, though I really liked Harry and we knew each other so well we could almost finish each other’s sentences, I knew my heart belonged to Rion. Harry knew it too. At least I thought he did. We hadn’t really talked much since Rion had become my boyfriend.
‘I am so over this term already,’ I complained as I opened my lunch box and looked in distaste at the limp lettuce leaves and slightly brown avocado in it. Salad had seemed such a healthy option this morning, but after having been in my bag for four hours in nearly thirty-degree heat, it had suffered. Right now, even a peanut butter sandwich was looking more appealing.
Harry handed me one of his crispbreads and cheese. ‘Here, have this. I’m not very hungry.’
I looked at it, tempted, but I shook my head. ‘Nah, I’m good.’
The laughter lines crinkled around his hazel eyes as he grinned. ‘I saw that look on your face. Go on. I’m really not hungry. I had a high-protein breakfast, and that keeps me going nearly all day. It’s just Mum insists I take something.’
I caved and took it. ‘Thanks. Don’t know why I bother sometimes to be healthy, but jeez, Harry, you’re doing well.’ Up until this year, health and Harry had never occupied the same sentence. He ate junk food, didn’t exercise, and was perfectly happy. Then, in term four last year, he caught glandular fever and was sick for months. His uncle helped him build up his strength with an exercise and diet regime, and Harry got really into it. Now, with a superhero physique, he turned girls’ heads wherever he went. But the good thing about it was, he was still Harry, a really nice guy, and that hadn’t changed at all.
He shrugged and said, ‘Yeah well, it’s just become part of my routine now. If I don’t exercise, I feel really off, and I don’t crave junk food nearly as much as I used to. I only think about a Big Mac and a double choc milkshake once a day now instead of every half hour.’ He laughed. There was a pause, and I knew he was trying to sound casual when he asked, ‘Where’s Rion?’
‘Today is one of the days he helps Mr Hasan clean up in the lab. He’ll probably just eat his lunch there.’
‘So, I guess you saw a lot of each other during the holidays.’
I felt the heat come to my face. ‘Yeah. I guess you could say we’re official now.’
He nodded. ‘I thought as much. You’re good together.’ That was generous of him.
‘Thanks, Harry.’ Awkward silence.
To both our relief, Kerri walked towards us, laden with several books and her lunch on top. Her glasses had fallen halfway down her freckled nose, but her arms were too full to be able to fix them. She dropped her lunch and books on the grass and sat next to me. ‘You know we really should be sitting in the shade. The UV rays at this time of the day are at their strongest.’
‘How was your holiday?’ I asked to change the subject before she insisted we move. I hadn’t seen her since the end of last term, or anyone, except Rion as everybody seemed to have gone away for the break.
Kerri pushed her hat off her face and tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear. Then she gave me an actual smile, a rare occurrence. ‘It was very productive. I got such a lot of work done. Finished all the assignments that were due and did a bit of advance reading for this term. I’m almost ready for term two, although another few days would have been nice. I haven’t quite finished the extra reading list for English.’
‘Did you do anything that was fun?’ I asked, although I was pretty sure what the answer would be.
‘Fun?’ She took her ham salad wrap out and gave me a puzzled look. ‘Well, getting most of the studying done that I’d planned was very satisfactory, but I did watch a few episodes of Hospital Emergency. I know it’s commercial TV, but sometimes they have some interesting operations to perform. Oh yes, and my parents insisted we go to the Gold Coast for a few days. It was awfully hot, and I was always getting sand in my swimsuit. Still, they have a good library there.’
I sighed. Why did I bother?
I finished eating the crispbread Harry had given me.
Lou was the last to join us. She rushed over from the shade shelter that led to the entrance where our school lockers were. Her pale face was flushed, and her blue eyes were round with excitement. It flashed through my mind that she looked a little different from last term, but I wasn’t sure how. And anyway, two weeks couldn’t make that much difference. It must be my imagination.
She flounced down on the other side of Harry, dropping her lunch box on the ground. Crossing her legs under the skirt of her uniform, she leaned forward and said, ‘Have you heard the news?’
Kerri looked up from the book she had opened and took a bite of her wrap. I shook my head, and Harry said, ‘Go on, Lou, tell us.’
‘There’s a new girl, and she’s in our year.’
That was mildly interesting but not exactly earth-shattering. From time to time, we got new students during the year. But Lou obviously thought this was a big deal. ‘Have you met her?’ I asked. ‘Does she seem nice?’
‘I haven’t actually spoken to her, but I have seen her…’ Lou looked as if she were bursting.
‘And?’ I said, wishing she would get on with it.
She seemed to search for words. Lou had always had trouble expressing herself. Then she said, ‘She… she’s amazing, so different. She came into our art class, and we were doing a still life of some fruit and a bunch of flowers. Within a few minutes, she’d done a sketch that was better than anyone in the class, even Mr Bouchard’s. And she was so nice. She helped a couple students who didn’t get it, and she even spoke French to Mr Bouchard, so she completely won him over.’
‘Impressive,’ Harry said.
Kerri took another bite of her sandwich and went back to her book, clearly finding it more interesting.
‘What else can you tell us about her?’ I asked, just a little intrigued. Someone who was good at art and spoke French had to be cool. ‘Where’s she from?’
‘No idea,’ Lou said. ‘I wanted to talk to her, but when the bell went, there were too many other students crowded around her.’
The thing that impressed me most about this was that Lou would actually want to speak to someone she didn’t know.
‘So, what’s she look like?’ I asked, wanting details.
‘Amazing,’ Lou enthused.
‘Yeah, you said that.’
‘What’s her name?’ Harry asked a more practical question.
‘Pandora,’ a voice interrupted us.
We all looked up.
A tall girl with jet-black hair that fell like a curtain over her shoulders looked back at us with her cobalt blue eyes and an eyebrow slightly raised. She was standing with one hand on her hip and her head at an angle, an amused expression on her face, as if she not only heard every word we said but also knew every thought in our brains. We had the dorkiest uniform in Brisbane, with a long grey skirt and a blouse that would not have been out of place in Victorian times. On this girl, however, it almost looked cool. Her skirt was hitched up shorter than normal, and the blouse was unbuttoned almost to her bra line. The school tie, which we all hated, was loose and pushed to the side, almost like a fashion statement. I wondered
how long the teachers would let her get away with that. I saw what Lou meant immediately. This girl was different and was sure to stir things up at school. In a word, I sensed trouble.
Lou turned a deep shade of red. ‘Pandora, we didn’t see you there.’
Even Harry looked impressed. ‘Do you want to join us?’
‘Sure.’ She sat down and turned to me. ‘So, you must be Zoe.’
I was surprised. ‘How did you know?’
‘I just figured. I’ve heard about you, and as I soon as I saw you, it was obvious.’
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. I wondered if what she’d heard about me in the brief time she’d been here was good or bad. I just hoped she hadn’t been talking to Jas, who wasn’t exactly in my fan club.
Her eyes focussed on me with an intent look that left me feeling uncomfortable. She smiled and said, ‘We’re going to be friends.’ Then she sat back, and her glance took in the rest of the group. Even Kerri looked up from her reading and was watching Pandora with some curiosity.
‘I saw you in art class, though you probably didn’t notice me,’ Lou said, the second part of her sentence disappearing into a mumble.
‘Sure I did. You were sitting in the corner. You have such an interesting face, Lou, sometime I’d like to sketch your portrait. There’s so much more going on there than most people see, isn’t there?’
Lou turned even redder, if that was possible. ‘Oh gee, thanks.’
‘Do you need lunch or anything?’ Harry asked, and I realised Pandora didn’t have anything with her, not a drink, lunch box, or books. ‘If you want, I can show you where the tuckshop is.’
She laughed and flicked her hair over her shoulders, and I could see my best friend looking as awestruck as Lou. ‘I forgot about lunch, but anyway, I’m not very hungry right now. It’s too hot. Though I would really love some water, cold preferably.’
‘I’ll get you a bottle,’ Harry said, jumping up. ‘Back in a few minutes.’ He rushed away with all the eagerness of a Labrador puppy.
Pandora looked at me and said, ‘He’s so nice, isn’t he? And not hard to look at either.’