Holiday Homecoming

Most girls at a party will wander outside alone to see if a guy will follow them. Not me. So many human bodies in one place had made the party more claustrophobic than the two drink tickets could contend with. It was nice out, not too cold and the Christmas lights were very pretty.

"Hey, you." Mark... he'd followed me. I had hoped he hadn't seen me.

"Hi, Mark." I turned to smile at him.

"You look lovely tonight!"

"Oh, thank you! They tell me red is my color. I guess it goes with the season."

I gave a nervous laugh that lasted a little too long, one thing I still haven't mastered.

"Look, I know it's awkward." He stepped closer.

"You have no idea."

"Office parties can be such a drag. I was just thinking since I don't have a date and you don't have a date, maybe tonight we could..."

"Oh. Mark." I had cut him off. Oh man! Why now? "That is a VERY sweet offer. Really! But I'm not going to be here that much longer."

"Oh I hear you, this party is so lame. I was probably going to head out too. If you want, maybe we could go grab a drink at..."

"No. Mark." Oh No. He was going to make this difficult. "I'm not going to be HERE that much longer."
That seemed to break through with some understanding. He cocked his head to the side. "Right... the party. Here?"

"No, Mark. Not here... the party."

Maybe I felt sorry for him, standing in the cold. Maybe I honestly wished for more time so I could see what would happen next. But I was out of time.

"Mark, you've been so great..."

"Oh don't. Don't do that." He looked so hurt. "We're all grownups here and there is no need to sugar coat it, Ok. Life is complicated enough!"

"Ok." How refreshing. "For the last 7 months, I've been hiding at Commucorp and posing as a human. It's a right of passage for my people. We wish for diplomacy with Earth but until humans are ready to..."

"You're sick, you know that?"

"Mark..."

"No! This is really sick! I mean if you don't like me just say it, you don't have to..."

"But I do like you, Mark! True, that mating between our peoples is yet untested, but there has been promising resear..."

"Stop it! What the hell is this?"

I was only hurting him further. I didn't want that.

I turned at the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow.

"You're Majesty, our window to the Orbiter is open. The solar winds have steadied." Barlak, come to take me home.

I bowed my head in acceptance and turned back to Mark. The sight of Barlak had his eyes popping out of his head.

I gave a sigh as I pulled the blonde wig off my head and tossed it to him. I bowed low with my left foot in my right hand, my people's sign of thanks and gratitude.

I'll never forget the look on his face, staring with such confusion at the wig in his hands as Barlak engaged the cloaking device and swept us away.

Poor guy was right: Life was complicated enough.

Gator Girl

The truth is I had been sick for a long time. But when my hair started to fall out in such a way that I could no longer hide it, I knew something was wrong. It wasn't until the scales began to grow in that I really freaked out. But I started to feel stronger. And the tail, my tail. Waking up with that thing growing in made for an interesting morning. But when I learned I had control of it, that was pretty cool!

My dad was really supportive! It was great! He bolted these iron bars to the ceiling of my room so I could practice swinging around, lifting things. I got really good at it. And he turned our pool into salt water because the chlorine was drying out my scales.

Mom was supportive in... other ways. She kept enrolling me in these "pageants". Well that's what she called them, but "pageants" aren't held in S & M dungeons at midnight.
Underground freak shows, however, are apparently alive and well!

I was grateful she decided to home school me so I went along with it. I figured this would just be one of my extra-curricular activities. And, I mean, it wasn't so bad. I'd always wanted to try theatre! But I wondered how it would look on a transcript. Then again, I think that would be the least of the challenges a college would have accepting me.

"Gator Girl", that's what they started to call me. Actually, it was started by an old guy wearing a pair of blue leather chaps and not much else. He did a double take when he called me to the stage for the very first time. My mom was about to launch into a lecture about acceptance, but I stopped her. I'd never been popular enough to get earn a nickname that didn't indicate I was some kind of loser or a spaz. And when everyone started chanting it! Well I'd never felt so accepted! 

It just goes to show you! Sometimes what you're born with has to be shed so you can grow into who you really are! You never know what life will open up and show you.