Beyond the Veil

Not from Around Here

"You mean you're not from around here?" Jenn asked.

Her eyes were wide, and she looked considerably paler than usual. I wasn't sure what all that meant, but something told me it wasn't exactly good. Why, oh why, did my parents have to be arguing about whether or not we should have come to this planet when I came home from school? It's not like we could go back.

"Nope," I answered for lack of anything better to say.

"Like not," Jenn started before trailing off and visibly floundering for what to say, "even Earth?"

"Nope." Again, I didn't know how else to answer considering she heard my parents' argument that made it plain we weren't human or from Earth at all. What was I supposed to do, pretend they were rehearsing for some play or something?

"Wow." Jenn's eyes glossed over, and she kind of stared off at nothing. Her voice had a tone to it I didn't quite know how to interpret. "That's just, wow!"

"Yep."

I fidgeted in a desperate attempt to keep from panicking. Images from human movies and other stories regarding alien species plagued my nightmares from our first month here. A human had discovered our secret. If she didn't react well, would my nightmares come true?

Jenn started laughing, and I jumped back, curling in on myself. I still didn't quite understand humans, but one thing I'd learned is their expressions and sounds can mean all sorts of different things. Even the same action can have multiple meanings, and I was garbage at guessing which ones meant what. I had no idea if this was an amused laugh or a hysterical or angry one.

"I'm a weird magnet," Jenn muttered.

One thing I was sure of, she didn't think I would have heard that. Humans might be considerably stronger and more durable than we were, by and large, but their visual and auditory senses were limited by comparison. I decided pretending I hadn't heard might be in my best interest, just in case things went sour.

"Are you okay with that fact?" I asked.

Jenn startled and shook herself before looking up at me from her seat on my bed. Her forehead scrunched before she asked, "Am I okay with what?"

"That I'm not from around here."

Jenn's brow smoothed, and she tilted her head to the side, considering me with eyes more focused they I generally saw her.

"Are you here to study us or take over?" she asked after a couple of moments.

I shook my head in a gesture I'd been told meant negative. "We just came to live here," I said. "I've been studying the way people talk and interact, sure, but that's just so I can fit in better."

"Of all the planets out there," Jenn said, still considering me with those focused eyes, "why move to Earth?"

The truth was nearly out of my mouth before I remembered how dumb of an idea that would be. Jenn knew about my family already. There was nothing I could do about that now, and she wasn't near as clueless as she liked to pretend. If I told her the real reason we were here, it wouldn't take her long to figure out there were many more of us around. As much as I despise lies, I couldn't tell her the real reason.

"It's pretty," I answered with a shrug.

Jenn's eyes narrowed, and I could almost see her preparing a rebuttal. Knowing that excuse wasn't enough, another idea came to mind. I smirked and leaned in like I was going to whisper a secret to her. Her expression shifted, and she leaned in to listen.

"Well, the environment is favorable for our species," I admitted with emphasis on the word is. "But it's your tech level that's the real draw."

Jenn leaned away, expression once more confused as she asked what I meant.

"We're space fairing," I explained. "You know how much we can cash in 'inventing' new tech here?"

Jenn's expression went flat, and she muttered something about how she should have known. I had the sinking suspicion I'd disappointed her, yet I was finally able to breathe again.