plunged instantly into the bright, swirling throng. Zee fought against the crowd to keep them from being pulled
towards the beach.
‘Aren’t we going to the pier?’ David asked.
‘Not yet,’ Zee said. She felt excited to be there with him, and when they finally struggled free of the masses around the station she led them quickly inland, until they arrived at
what looked like a vast green meadow. Above the meadow, people balanced on surfboards and coasted about five metres in the air. Some seemed to glide up an invisible curving wall, do a complete
loop, and go on their way. Others lost their balance and fell onto the green of the meadow, which turned out to be as soft and yielding as marshmallows, swallowing them up for a few seconds, then
popping them back up to the surface where they would reclaim their boards, lay flat on their stomachs, touch the board in a certain place, and rise slowly into the air again. Then they would get to
their feet and go shooting off through the air as if nothing had ever happened.
‘I hope you’re up for this,’ Zee said, her cheeks flushed with anticipation. ‘I haven’t been airboarding for years, but I used to love it. My dad taught
me.’
They checked in their belongings and rented boards. Zee showed David how to read the symbol-coded signs around the park. Beginner air currents were in the front nearest the sea. The farther from
the sea you went, the stronger the currents became.
Zee pointed out an area far from them, at the very back, where the green foam of the meadow was marked with black diamonds. ‘Don’t go there unless you want to get rag-dolled. Wicked
air.’
She showed him the pressure points built into the board, and how to get the board aloft and stand on it. He wiped out twice before he could do it, but laughed each time and tried again. He was,
she saw, a quick learner, and within an hour they were riding the advanced beginners waves together. They tried riding in holding hands but tumbled off their boards each time, falling together into
the softness of the meadow. Neither of them seemed to mind, and neither was quick to let go of the other’s hand.
By the time they turned in their boards, they were tired and breathless and leaning on each other. ‘That was great,’ David said, slinging his arm around her. ‘And now I’m
so hungry I could eat a horse.’
The sun was starting to dip and they headed for the pier. There were all sorts of shops along the way – old-fashioned shops that sold things no one needed but everyone seemed to want.
Candles. Charms. Books printed on paper. Clothes that had gone out of style a hundred years ago. Badges with pictures of all three Queen Elizabeths on them – sixteenth, twentieth and
twenty-third century. Some poses were serious, other showed them with pink glitter crowns on their heads.
‘Why do people buy all this stuff?’ David asked.
Zee shrugged. ‘For a bit of a laugh, I guess. For fun. To take home to friends as gifts and make them feel remembered.’
‘That’s crazy,’ David said, shaking his head but smiling at the same time. ‘Will I ever understand Earthlings?’
Zee surprised herself by taking his hand. ‘You just need to get to know us better.’
They walked on, holding hands and smiling at each other and at other couples, who smiled right back at them, as if they were all in on a happy secret. If anyone noticed that David was an alien,
no one seemed to care.
While Zee was gazing at a window that contained a complete and highly detailed replica of Buckingham Palace in chocolate, David suddenly broke away from her, promising to be back in a minute.
Zee watched him disappear into Ye Olde Book Shoppe, glad he’d left her in front of the chocolate shop.
‘Sorry I took so long,’ he said when he came back twenty minutes later. ‘I got a little carried away.’
‘Over books?’ Zee wrinkled her nose.
‘Yeah, of course over books. Especially old-style ones like that shop
towards the beach.
‘Aren’t we going to the pier?’ David asked.
‘Not yet,’ Zee said. She felt excited to be there with him, and when they finally struggled free of the masses around the station she led them quickly inland, until they arrived at
what looked like a vast green meadow. Above the meadow, people balanced on surfboards and coasted about five metres in the air. Some seemed to glide up an invisible curving wall, do a complete
loop, and go on their way. Others lost their balance and fell onto the green of the meadow, which turned out to be as soft and yielding as marshmallows, swallowing them up for a few seconds, then
popping them back up to the surface where they would reclaim their boards, lay flat on their stomachs, touch the board in a certain place, and rise slowly into the air again. Then they would get to
their feet and go shooting off through the air as if nothing had ever happened.
‘I hope you’re up for this,’ Zee said, her cheeks flushed with anticipation. ‘I haven’t been airboarding for years, but I used to love it. My dad taught
me.’
They checked in their belongings and rented boards. Zee showed David how to read the symbol-coded signs around the park. Beginner air currents were in the front nearest the sea. The farther from
the sea you went, the stronger the currents became.
Zee pointed out an area far from them, at the very back, where the green foam of the meadow was marked with black diamonds. ‘Don’t go there unless you want to get rag-dolled. Wicked
air.’
She showed him the pressure points built into the board, and how to get the board aloft and stand on it. He wiped out twice before he could do it, but laughed each time and tried again. He was,
she saw, a quick learner, and within an hour they were riding the advanced beginners waves together. They tried riding in holding hands but tumbled off their boards each time, falling together into
the softness of the meadow. Neither of them seemed to mind, and neither was quick to let go of the other’s hand.
By the time they turned in their boards, they were tired and breathless and leaning on each other. ‘That was great,’ David said, slinging his arm around her. ‘And now I’m
so hungry I could eat a horse.’
The sun was starting to dip and they headed for the pier. There were all sorts of shops along the way – old-fashioned shops that sold things no one needed but everyone seemed to want.
Candles. Charms. Books printed on paper. Clothes that had gone out of style a hundred years ago. Badges with pictures of all three Queen Elizabeths on them – sixteenth, twentieth and
twenty-third century. Some poses were serious, other showed them with pink glitter crowns on their heads.
‘Why do people buy all this stuff?’ David asked.
Zee shrugged. ‘For a bit of a laugh, I guess. For fun. To take home to friends as gifts and make them feel remembered.’
‘That’s crazy,’ David said, shaking his head but smiling at the same time. ‘Will I ever understand Earthlings?’
Zee surprised herself by taking his hand. ‘You just need to get to know us better.’
They walked on, holding hands and smiling at each other and at other couples, who smiled right back at them, as if they were all in on a happy secret. If anyone noticed that David was an alien,
no one seemed to care.
While Zee was gazing at a window that contained a complete and highly detailed replica of Buckingham Palace in chocolate, David suddenly broke away from her, promising to be back in a minute.
Zee watched him disappear into Ye Olde Book Shoppe, glad he’d left her in front of the chocolate shop.
‘Sorry I took so long,’ he said when he came back twenty minutes later. ‘I got a little carried away.’
‘Over books?’ Zee wrinkled her nose.
‘Yeah, of course over books. Especially old-style ones like that shop
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