Secret of The Red Planet

by Chris Hawley

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  MACDONALD’S

  The next morning I woke at 4 o’clock. It was still dark. I put on a sweater and, taking my pillow from the bed, I found a place by the wall and made myself comfortable. I think I really believed that I would make contact with Michu as soon as I closed my eyes. I sat for twenty minutes, trying to concentrate on her face but nothing came to me and I gave up and went back to bed, thinking I would have to borrow a book from the library on meditation techniques.

  There was no more sleep for me that morning. I was curious to read the book Sonia had found for me. I sat up in bed and read the first two chapters, which considered the possibility of life on Mars, something on the first spacecraft sent there in the 1970’s and early photos of Cydonia.

  After breakfast I set off again for the library, carrying the rolled up photo of Michu under my arm, intending to have it framed in the photo framing shop. On the way I bumped into Ben and Tim and they invited me to MacDonald’s for lunch. Sonia was already in the reference section as I came in the door. She gave me a bright smile. I noticed she had changed her hairstyle. Gone were the pigtails of the day before, replaced by what I can only describe as a ‘piled-up’ hairstyle. Also gone were the round glasses, the absence of which gave her eyes a cross-eyed effect. I decided she looked better with the glasses on.

  ‘Do you notice anything different?’ she asked as casually as she could.

  ‘You painted the library during the night!’ I said, in mock surprise, looking round at the walls.

  ‘Silly! I mean about me!’

  ‘You are wearing a different dress.’

  ‘Forget it!’ she said crossly and stomped off into the lending library.

  I picked up the local newspaper from the centre table and, taking the same seat as the day before, I started flipping through the pages. Sonia came back into the room and I looked up. She gave me a scowl and busied herself at her desk. Poor girl, I thought. I have offended her. I crossed the room and went up to her desk.

  ‘Look I’m sorry, Sonia. I didn’t mean it: I was only joking. Of course I noticed and I like your hair the way you’ve done it.’

  She looked at me with her blue eyes and flushed. ‘It’s okay. What book do you want to study today?’

  ‘I want to read about the last ice age and the great meltdown,’ I said dramatically, spreading my arms wide.

  She gave me a sweet smile and hurried off to find the book. As I watched her go, swinging her hips, I thought to myself, take care, Bill, she really likes you. She really isn’t your type and don’t forget, Michu is waiting for you.

  I went back to the table and began reading the local daily. After a while Sonia approached with two heavy books, which she placed on the table beside me. Then she lent over my shoulder and pointed with her finger at an article in the newspaper.

  ‘My Dad wrote that,’ she said proudly. ‘He’s a journalist.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said. ‘What sort of stories does he write?’

  ‘He can write about everything, but he likes a big story, the more exciting and dangerous the better.’

  I read the first part of the article. It was about a meeting of the Women’s League in the Town Hall the day before. I wanted to say to her that it was the most boring article I had ever read in my whole life, but I couldn’t risk offending her twice in one morning.

  ‘Cool!’ I said, with as much enthusiasm as I could muster, which was not much.

  ‘Dad’s terribly ambitious,’ she continued. ‘He says one day he’ll uncover a story that will shock the world and his name will be known in every newspaper office on Earth. Imagine! He’ll get a job with the Times or even the New York Herald and editors all over the world will be crying for his services.’ Sonia obviously thought a lot of her father.

  ‘Let me see the books,’ I said.

  ‘Here you are. This is the best one, I think.’ She pulled it across in front of me and opened it. Her face was over my left shoulder and her right cheek a bit too close for comfort.

  ‘Thanks, Sonia, I can manage now.’

  She took the hint and went back to her desk. I began to read. It was fascinating. Just imagine, this town was under many metres of ice 20,000 years ago! I remembered what the Similarian elder had told me about how the ice age suddenly ended with the impact of several enormous asteroids.

  The book kept me entertained the whole morning and my eyes were sore by the time I was to meet Ben and Tim. As I was going out I said goodbye to Sonia.

  ‘Are you coming back later?’ she asked.

  ‘Sure, but I have to meet some friends at MacDonald’s.’

  ‘Can I come?’ she asked shyly. ‘I can take my lunch now.’

  ‘Er, if you want,’ I said.

  I waited for her while she went to the cloakroom. She was gone at least ten minutes. Typical, I thought. She was probably doing up he face, not for me, I hope!

  We found a table for four in the bay window of MacDonald’s. I watched the passersby and thought what an odd lot the English are, to be sure. Then I saw two familiar figures sauntering down the street. Ben, not very tall, short blonde hair, serious minded and Tim, stouter, tough looking, also with short blonde hair. They made faces at me through the window and then came to join us at the table.

  ‘Meet Sonia,’ I said. She works at the library. ‘Sonia, meet Ben and Tim, friends of mine from school.’

  Sonia smiled coyly and shook hands with the boys.

  ‘So what mischief have you been getting up to?’ Ben asked me, glancing at Sonia.

  ‘Nothing at all, really. How about you?’

  ‘Studying mostly,’ he replied. ‘A bit of tennis and of course the Tai-kwon-do three times a week.’

  ‘Of course,’ I said. Both boys were mad keen on Tai-kwon-do. I could never remember the order of the colours but the boys had gone far.

  ‘Tim’s been practicing hard with the school team, as you can imagine,’ continued Ben. ‘Mad keen on rugby and damn good!’ The explanation was for Sonia’s benefit.

  Tim drew himself up to full height and puffed out his chest proudly. I couldn’t help a chuckle but I could see Sonia was suitably impressed.

  We were all seated now and were looking at the menu. Sonia was on my right, Ben opposite and Tim on my left. I put the photo down on the table next to my side plate.

  ‘Hey, how’s the spacecraft coming along?’ said Tim rather loudly.

  Sonia looked at me in surprise.

  ‘Okay,’ I said dismissively.

  ‘We’ll come round to your house later to have a look,’ he said.

  ‘I….er…I sold it,’ I said quickly.

  ‘Sold it!? What’re going to go to Mars in then, if you’ve sold it?’

  I looked sideways at Sonia and I noticed she was studying my face. I didn’t know what to say to Tim.

  ‘What do you want to eat, Sonia?’ I asked, desperate to change the subject.

  She looked again at the menu and was quiet.

  ‘Why did you sell it?’ Tim was not to be put off. ‘All that work, three weeks, wasn’t it?’

  ‘I dunno,’ I said, shrugging my shoulders.

  ‘I can’t believe it!’

  ‘Don’t then!’ I said crossly. ‘Sonia?’

  ‘Veggieburger, please.’

  ‘Tim, give it a rest. Can’t you see he’s upset,’ said his brother.

  We ordered our food and nothing was said for a while. People were passing along the street and I noticed some had put up umbrellas. The street was wet. My next thought was that I would have to take care to keep the photo from getting wet and I looked down to make sure it was still there. It had gone.

  ‘Hey, this girl is something!’ said Tim.

  ‘Give it back!’ I reached across to snatch the photo from him but he swung it swiftly to his left.

  ‘What’s wrong, Bill? You’re so touchy today,’ said Tim as he handed the photo back to me. ‘Sorry, mate,’ he said.

  ‘It’s okay.’ I knew I was making too muc
h fuss about it.

  ‘Let me see,’ said Ben.

  I showed him the photo.

  ‘So where did you meet this girl,’ he asked.

  ‘It’s a long story,’ I said.

  ‘We’ve got the time for a long story,’ said Ben.

  ‘She’s a long way away and I won’t see her for ages.’ That was the truth.

  ‘How far is a long way away?’ said Tim. He never gives in, I thought.

  ‘Millions of miles away,’ I said, hoping that by making a joke of it, the subject would be dropped.

  ‘Hey, maybe she’s a Martian,’ cried Tim, laughing.

  The people on the next table all turned to see what the noise was about.

  ‘Shush!’ I whispered.

  ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be cool to have a Martian girlfriend!’ he went on.

  ‘Trouble is all those tentacles and aerials would get in the way,’ suggested Ben.

  ‘And her kisses would be slimy too,’ said Tim.

  They both laughed heartily.

  While this was going on the blood was rushing to my face and I was silently fuming. Sonia looked very embarrassed.

  ‘Stop! Stop it!’ I cried. ‘Michu doesn’t have tentacles or aerials and her kisses are not sloppy or slimy! She’s a beautiful girl and I love her and I won’t hear you talking that way!’

  Ben and Tim had both stopped laughing by this time. They looked at each other and I could see they were sorry.

  ‘Sorry, mate,’ said Tim. We had no idea.’

  ‘Can’t you see you’ve made him cry?’ said Sonia, angrily, throwing her napkin on the table.

  I hastily wiped away the tears that had inconveniently appeared in my eyes.

  ‘Bill?’ said Ben, slowly. ‘Is she really a Martian? She doesn’t look like she’s from here.’

  ‘I can’t tell you,’ I said. ‘I have sworn to keep this a secret.’

  ‘But we’re friends and there should be no secrets between friends.’

  ‘Friends or no friends, I can’t tell you.’

  Sonia pushed her chair back and got up from the table. She picked up her handbag which she had hung on the back of her chair.

  ‘I’ve lost my appetite. Thanks for inviting me, Bill. I’ll see you back at the library,’ she said and walked out, without a look behind her. I watched as she tripped down the street on her high heels and disappeared into the Saturday lunchtime crowds.

  Most of the rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Ben tried to make conversation but it was forced and in the end we kept quiet. Finally we all left MacDonald’s. Both of my friends told me again they were sorry for upsetting me and I told them to forget it.

  That afternoon, after going to the shop to leave the photo for framing, I sat at the table in the reference library and tried to concentrate on the great ice age, but it was difficult. I was worried that the secret I had promised to keep would one of these days leak out. Sonia brought me a cup of tea and did her best to cheer me up.

  ‘She really is a Martian, isn’t she,’ she said gently, putting the cup of steaming tea down in front of me.

  I said nothing. I looked at her, but I was thinking of Michu.