Tanya found Charlie on the phone. He was staring at it like it had wronged him, and there was some sort of guttural language coming from it.
"Listen, giving up your entire race isn't too bad. It's a free deal. I get a whole new set of bodies for my people, and you get to know you contributed to a good cause. Namely, mine," said Charlie.
"ARTT UIKOY ZEZEK!" screamed the voice on the other line.
"Okay, if you're gonna use that sort of language, our business is done here," retorted Charlie, who hung up the phone. A rotary phone, actually. Charlie had acquired it from a junkyard, and demanded that he be allowed to keep it. Miss Quill hadn't objected, though of course she thought it was silly.
"What exactly were you doing?" asked Tanya. Charlie jumped, and gave her a sheepish grin. It looked almost guilty.
"Just handling some busy-ness," said Charlie. He delivered his best "I'm-not-being-naughty" smile. He adjusted his shirt, and tried to walk away from Tanya. Probably trying to avoid extra questions.
Tanya caught Charlie's arm, and glared at him intently.
"It sounded like you were trying to get someone to deliver their entire race for your benefit," said Tanya. She made her eyes squint up, trying to look extra-judgey.
"Really? Wow, Tanya. Because that was exactly what I was doing," said Charlie flatly.
Before Tanya could reply, Matteuz walked into the room. He had his signature look of being utterly cool, and wore a shirt that said "I'm definitely not Polish" on the front and back. Charlie stared at him like salvation, and jumped to him, smooching his boyfriend instantly.
"Please let's have sex or something. Anything to get me away from Tanya. Anything," said Charlie.
"Matteuz promised that we would study today. April needs help with physics, and we all need time to cry about Quill's tests," said Tanya.
Matteuz looked at Charlie, then Tanya, then shrugged, and tore Charlie's shirt off.
"I'll catch up with you later," lied Matteuz.
Tanya was soon in front of April's house. She was worried about April. Out of all the students, April was the one with the most long-lasting effects of the alien incursions. She was the one with an alien living in her heart, and unlike the others, April braved it all with a cool face. The girl had started acting oddly recently, and whether that was because of seeing her father before, or just trying not to worry the others, Tanya couldn't be sure.
April soon walked out the door. She was dressed in a nice blue jacket, and hugged Tanya tightly. Tanya instantly felt better about her day. That was just what being around April did to you. She was sweet, to an almost sickening level.
"Where's Charlie?" asked April.
"He's with Matteuz. Doing, well, you know," said Tanya, giggling.
"Ah, well then, we're just gonna have to pick up Ram. Minions, come on!" said April. Her eyes glowed red, and she beckoned from the door. An army of children marched out of her house, all in file.
"Do we really have to go? I have maths homework to do!" whined a child. He looked about six or seven, and seemed rather shy.
"Um, April," started Tanya.
April walked slowly up to the little boy. Her smile was as sweet as ever, but her eyes were glowing red.
"Excuse me, soldier. Did you say something? I thought I heard a complaint. Do you know what the Shadowkin does to soldiers who complain?" asked April.
"Ooh! I know! We kill the traitors! WE KILL THEM!" said another girl. She looked about five, with a small short haircut, and purple overalls.
"Um, April," started Tanya again.
April looked back, and said in an irritated tone "What?"
"Are you sure you're not being affected by Corakinus?" said Tanya.
"No," said April firmly.
She looked back at the group of child soldiers, staring at her.
"Er, of course not," said April. She pursed her lips, and then waved the children away.
"We can go home?" asked the whining child.
"For now," said April.
In the blink of an eye, the rabble of children had disappeared. Only the little girl who screamed out "WE KILL THEM" was left. She tugged on April's sleeve, with a forlorn expression on her face.
"You can hang out with me, if you like, Zoe" said April. She grinned at the little girl, who smiled back.
Tanya stared at this, and opened her mouth, then closed it. Part of her wanted to point out how annoying it was that the lily-white April had chosen mostly non-white children as her soldiers, and how problematic it was. Part of her was concerned about how her pacifistic friend was gathering an army, and wondering just how much of April's heart was intact. Part of her wanted to just go home and watch Youtube vids.
But, Tanya instead said "Cool. Your new friend can come along. I mean, like, what the hell?"
Zoe said "My king, your friend doesn't seem very articulate."
Tanya didn't quite know how to respond to that, so she said "Let's go find your boyfriend."
"You've got a boyfriend? Sounds like a waste of time," said Zoe.
"You'll understand when you're older," said April.
"No, I won't" claimed Zoe proudly. Tanya was already starting to like her.
A few minutes later, April and Tanya were staring dumbfounded at Ram's house.
"Is Ram's house's always full of holes in the walls and scorch marks?" asked Zoe.
