Starseed by Liz Gruder Page B

girl to school. From the way she looks, I guarantee we have a whole lot more coming.”
    In a flash of clarity, Kaila realized Jordyn had come in the night. She and he and this grass thing were connected . . . somehow. A veil was lifting.
    “Don’t worry, Mom,” Kaila said. “This is the sign for Venus. It’s a hoax. Nothing from outer space would make something like this.”
    Her mother clutched her baseball cap tightly on her head.
    “See, I told you,” Mike said, his arm draped across Lee’s shoulders. “What’s next? Boys serenading outside the house?”
    “Well, I think it’s a strange way to romance . . .” her mother’s voice trailed off.
    Kaila stared at the morning dew on the bent grasses. She smiled, recalling that the symbol of Venus was the sign of love.

    “Kaila! Back here!” On the school bus, Kaila spotted Melissa and Pia sitting in the back.
    “Look at you,” Melissa said, her long dark bangs swept at an angle over her face.
    “You look hot, girl,” Pia said. She had gel in her auburn hair. She wore an orange t-shirt, black skinny jeans, and Converse shoes. “You get a makeover last night?”
    “I was feeling like a hick yesterday. So my grandfather took me to the mall.”
    “Be a hick,” Melissa said, smiling. “We don’t care.”
    “Just don’t be a poser,” Pia warned.
    “Is that bad?” Kaila asked.
    “Little Miss Innocent,” Pia said, squeezing Kaila’s shoulder. “Have fun, be yourself. And that’s exactly what you’re doing. So that’s cool.”
    Kaila smiled back at Pia. It felt good to have friends.
    Pia blew a huge pink bubble of chewing gum. Too much to resist, Kaila popped the bubble gum on Pia’s nose and lips.
    “Okay,” Pia said, peeling the gum from her nose. “Not so innocent after all.” She balled up the gum and pried open Kaila’s lips. “But now you’re gonna eat it!”
    “Stop!” Kaila said, laughing.
    Too late. The gum was in her mouth. She pulled the gum from her mouth and tried to push it into Pia’s. Pia curled her lips over her teeth and lowered her head, shaking with laughter.
    They wrestled, Kaila saying, “Take it, take it!” while Pia shook her head.
    “It’s goin’ up your nose, then,” Kaila cried.
    Pia snatched the gum and threw it. The gum splatted against a window two seats up and stuck. People turned around and looked. Kaila and Pia ducked, laughing until they cried.
    When the bus pulled into the parking lot, Kaila was dying to go to the back of the school. She inexplicably longed to be with Jordyn. She knew she had dreamed of him, but she couldn’t remember much other than it felt good to dream about him. She sensed there was something poignant to reclaim like a beautiful melody she’d heard and forgotten.
    She explained to Melissa and Pia that she had something to do.
    “Hey,” Pia said, wagging her finger, bracelets jangling. “You can’t fool us. We know what you’re up to.”
    “We’ll go with you,” Melissa said.
    So, the three girls trudged to the back of the school where it was humid and hot as all Louisiana August mornings. Kaila was unused to wearing heels and worried that they might get muddy.
    “Oh well,” Pia said once they turned the corner. They were greeted by nothing but the hum of lazy, chirping crickets. “No aliens. Strike three.”
    Yet Kaila knew they were coming. She sensed the invading energy. Gooseflesh rose on her arms. She faced out to the back field with the rising sun and modular units as Pia and Melissa faced her. Behind them, the six aliens appeared, seemingly from thin air.
    They stood in a line, their silhouettes blocking the sunlight. Kaila recalled Jordyn’s voice in her dream. “Less emotion.”
    He observed her with large golden eyes, a sun god emerging from the skies.
    The six wore the same clingy silver overalls with different colored t-shirts beneath.
    In a split second, they formed a semi-circle around Kaila, Melissa, and Pia. Melissa and Pia’s jaws dropped.