I _ AN HARRIED ALIEN

/

What a great sun ! What a nice heat ! What a relaxing day !

This was more or less what every MBC member thought on that summer day. The foursome was enjoying a Wednesday afternoon at the Singletown swimming pool. And it just seemed like the perfect day to dive into that cold water, that would cool them up and send delicious thrills down their spines.

Chris and Danny were enjoying themselves on the helter skelter, Cathy was coming back from the pool, all wet and shaking (she would never really bear the contact of the wind after coming out of water), now running towards the towels laid in a square pattern, a little way ahead from her.

"Oh God, it's soooooo cold ! Brrrrr, I'm happy to have my towel around me ! Your earthling wind is not that warm on summer !" the blond girl exclaimed.

Beside her, the African-American girl lying on her own towel, her back offered to the caress of the sun, smiled and looked at her ingenuous friend through her shades. "Cathy, don't mention "earthling" when there are people around, please !" she whispered, and pursued in a normal tone : "And you'll get used to it someday, Cath', don't worry about that ! And it's not that the wind is cold : but when it meets with the water drops on your body, it kind of increases the sensation of coolness. I'm not an expert, and I think Chris should be able to detail it way better than me, I'm sure !" And she smiled again at her alien companion.

"Well, okay then, I'll ask him. Aren't you gonna go and have fun on the helter skelter with the boys ? It's too bad to remain lying this way when there's so much fun waiting for you over there…"

"Well, yeah, I think I will make my move in a few minutes. Just keeping you company for a while, right ? So, how is the water ?"

"Just fine, I tell you ! There is no water on Rhapsodia. They don't know how much fun they're missing up there. Water is just amazing ! I love it !"

"Yeah, I can see that. Mmmmmmh, sun isn't too bad either, I'd say…" Sam trailed in a lazy tone. "It's nice to alternate cold and hot." She crossed both arms up on the deckchair and rested her head over it, like were it a pillow. It therefore looked like she was sleeping on the belly.

"Yeah, well I think I'm gonna rest for a while with you, while I'm drying up." Cathy spoke up in a relaxed voice. And she just lay down on the towel, looking at the blue sky where no clouds showed their white faces. It was such a beautiful day, with an endless ocean of blue above their heads… Forgetting aliens… forgetting studies… forgetting problems… Ah, life could be so good… !

A movement magnetized Cathy's eyes on the right.

A young boy, maybe 3 or 4 of age, was walking towards Sam and her. He finally stopped in front of Sam and his gaze focused on her. He looked at her, silently, and it seemed that there was some puzzlement in his stare.

The scene lasted for long, long seconds. Cathy looked at the boy who looked at Sam. What did this little human want with her ? Why did he seem perplexed ?

At last, Cathy couldn't help it and said, in and almost shy tone : "Sam…" But was unable to end her sentence. She didn't know how to exactly put it in words. But her firstname uttered was enough for the black teenager to open her eyes and give her friend a look through her shades, without moving. She saw Cathy staring at something behind her, a surprised expression plastered over her features. So she turned the other way around and saw the toddler observing her.

Sam got up on one arm and took her sunglasses off. She realized that the young boy had an hesitating attitude, as if he felt unsure of what to say or do. He merely kept watching her and looked uneasy. Sam didn't understand why. Was there something peculiar about her right now ?

In order to learn the reason of his behaviour, she opened her mouth and let out a nice greeting : "Hello, little boy !" The child didn't reply immediately but waited, and after a short while, he greeted her back : "Hello…" But his tone clearly showed he wasn't too confident, perhaps even suspicious.

Since he didn't seem ready to utter anything else, Sam decided to pull the truth out of his mouth with questions : "What are you doing here ? Is there anything I can do for you ?" And she concluded her sentence with a friendly smile.

The toddler appeared hesitant again, as if he was inwardly struggling to decide between two opposite attitudes to adopt, but he finally made up his mind and talked on : "Why you have dark skin ?"

For a few seconds, Sam remained there motionless, her mouth slightly open, eyes wide open out of surprise. What an unexpected question ! Cathy was equally taken aback. She would never have imagined that ! And now, the boy was waiting for an answer, after he had made the two girls wait for his question ! And Sam knew she had to reply. The kid watched her expectantly.

She smiled again and kindly answered : "Well, you know, I was born like this. With a dark skin. My mother and father made me this way. So I just decided to accept it and live with my brown skin." And she winked to him.

The child smiled a bit more confidently and went on : "I think it was the sun that baked your skin..."

Sam laughed and gave Cathy a look. She was laughing as well at this naive remark, the kind of touching and spontaneous words children regularly let out. And she then precised : "Well, no, it's not the sun that tanned my skin. It was already like that. And I'm not sure I could get a darker skin even if I spent hours under the sun. But there are advantages to it : for example, if I'm blushing, no one will notice, my brown skin hiding the red underneath. Right ?" And once again, she winked and her smiled grew bigger.

The little boy said nothing, as he probably was trying to figure out what she had just been telling him. Then he seemed about to answer, but...

"Christopher, come here !" The mother swiftly walked up to her son and grabbed him gently by the arm : "Christopher, I told you not to walk away like that and bother other people who want to rest here." Then she turned to Sam and Cathy, and watched each in turned as she spoke : "I'm sorry about my son. He is so curious and sometimes unexpectedly wanders off and starts talking to people around. I hope he didn't said anything wrong..." She trailed off, as she was secretly wishing for a negative answer.

Sam smiled and talked on a relaxed mode : "No, no, don't worry. He has been doing nothing bad. He just felt like befriending around. That's fine with us ! He's an adorable little boy. You are lucky to have him."

"Thank you very much. I'm glad to hear that he didn't annoy you. Sorry again and have a nice day !" To which Sam replied : "Thank you ! Have a nice day as well !" And with that being said, the mother asked her son to follow and he did, but couldn't help turning back twice to take looks at Sam and her dark skin.

"What an adorable kid ! Don't you think, Cath'?" Sam said as she faced her alien friend. The latter grinned : "Yeah, little humans can be so cute (she saw Sam give her a warning look and knew what the matter was)... hum, yeah, I mean, little boys can be so cute. They say such funny things sometimes. You can be very surprised with them..."

"That's for sure. They can utter things that can bright up your day. Really touching !" Sam went on.

Cathy seemed to be lost in thoughts for a while. Her gaze was set on Sam, but appeared somehow distant. She wasn't really looking at her friend but rather stirred some unknown thinking. Sam watched her for a while, then her smile faded and she felt a tad concerned by Cathy's attitude. "Are you okay, Cathy ? You look... very thoughtful, all of a sudden."

The blonde girl shook off from her reflection and looked at Sam in the eyes. "Hum, yeah... I was simply wondering why indeed some of the... (she just recalled something) ...people here have dark skin. I mean, it's not like that... where I come from."

Sam watched Cathy with a grateful expression (Thank you for avoiding to mention humans and your planet !) and immediately answered her : "Well, you know, it's genetic : if one or both of your parents have black skin, or white skin, or other, then you'll most probably have a dark skin, or a white skin. All because it's in our genes, that program our body in such or such way. That's the way it goes."

A spark of comprehension twinkled in Cathy's irises. "Ok, I see the whole picture. Thanks for your precisions !" Sam's grin widened : "Anytime, Cath' !" And that being uttered, she put her shades back on and lay down, but on the back this time : the moment had come to tan the other side !

While Sam got back to her sunbath, Cathy, who had also laid down, remained lost in thought. And after a few minutes, she turned to watch her friend, resting quietly on her towel, her eyes closed, her breath slowing down. The brown skin of Sam actually reminded her of something… something tasty : chocolate ! It may sound stupid, but that's exactly what Cathy thought about as she stared at this dark skin. Chocolate. Cathy was fond of that food. She would have done anything for a chocolate bar. And now, she felt like eating all of Sam's body.

Cathy shook her head a bit. What strange thinking have I got myself into ? Eating Sam ? Sam's body looking like chocolate ? Come on, Cathy, you're just silly ! Wake up ! And she began to stare again at Sam.

This time, her eyes followed the neck, the arms, the chest, the legs, the feet. She detailed all of her friend's anatomy. The young alien had never noticed how beautiful all these curves in her human friend's body were. Samantha really had a splendid build, neither too thin nor too plump. Exactly the good proportions. Then again, she practised enough sport to keep herself in good condition and avoid gaining weight. And anyway, given that Sam was a vegetarian and didn't absorb fatty food, sauces, crisps, chocolate bars, candies and all those stuff who make a whale of you, she then remained athletic and her abdomen was flat. She had a discreetly muscular body and Cathy, who now fully realized this, began to envy her for that.

Not that she was fat herself, but… the body of her female mate suddenly appeared perfect to her. A slender yet athletic build, and with that brown skin… Cathy now found that a body of dark colour was more attractive than a white one. Dark had something… mysterious. Something… sexy, too. Yes, sexy, exactly !

Cathy blinked. Did she just think that the colour of her best friend's body was… sexy ? Was it really what she had been using for a word, mentally ? That's a wording that a BOY would have used to describe a girl's body. Yes, a boy. But would a girl choose such a term to depict her female friend's anatomy ?

Cathy felt confused. She had turned her head away from Sam, trying to understand what was going on. But after a short while, her eyes flew back to the dark body resting a few inches away from her. That dark sexy body. Yes, it is sexy, and you know it is, girl ! So why are you that ashamed of using that word ? Oh, Cathy, Cathy, what's happening to you ? There was an inner fight going on, deep within. A part of her felt something attractive in Sam's build, while another part refused to admit that attractiveness. It was as if…

"Hey, Cath', you daydreaming or what ?" a familiar voice exclaimed. The blue-eyed girl raised her head to the green-eyed boy who arrived by her side and collapsed on his own towel. He smiled teasingly at her.

"Yeah… kind of…" she trailed off. And she smiled, or at least she did her best to. For once in her life, the smile didn't came naturally over her lips, but somehow forced, to hide some trouble.

"Are you alright, Cathy ?" Danny asked. He now had an uncertain look and his smiled had vanished away. What could make his funny friend that odd ? She gave him a gaze she wanted to make happy, and a smile she tried to make convincing, but today, her eyes and mouth seemed unwilling to obey… "Yeah, everything alright !" the usually bubbly girl said in a calm voice.

"Hey Cathy ! Have you been here for long ? We actually didn't see you leave the pool, and thought you were still over there. And we looked for you, before suspecting you had made it here a while ago. Have you been tanning ?" The blue haired boy followed with a cheerful smile. A spontaneous smile, in his case…

"Not yet… And sorry for not warning you when I left the pool to come over here." She seemed confused, but her three teammates didn't know it wasn't so much because of her unexpected leave… There was something that troubled her more… much more…

Cathy was looking at Chris, but her eyes shifted quickly over Danny and stopped on Sam, who was sitting on her deckchair. The African-American girl took off her shades and greeted the boys : "Hey guys ! How was it ? Did you have enough fun ?"

Danny smiled : "Oh yeah, you have no idea ! You left way too soon, Sam ! You should've stayed with us !" The yellow member answered : "Yes, I know, but I wanted to lie a bit under the sun. I felt a bit tired. Maybe because I didn't sleep well last night. And I was glad that Cathy came round a bit later, to keep me company. Thank you, Cath' !"

And her golden eyes looked straight into the alien's blue eyes.

Cathy gulped and looked away after a few seconds of resistance. She just couldn't accept anyone to learn what was going on within her heart… and especially Sam ! It may just ruin their friendship…

Sam's face changed from smile to surprise, as it became obvious that something was wrong with Cathy. "Hey Cath', are you alright ? You… look confused ! And your face ! It has got pale ! Or is it me ?" The leader turned to the two boys and exclaimed : "Guys, have a look ! Isn't Cathy pale right now ?" They watched their friend's face and their eyes widened. "But… but Sam is right ! You're all pale, Cathy ! What's wrong ?" Chris said in an alarming tone.

The young Rhapsodian felt uneasy, but she knew she just couldn't avoid replying. So she gathered all of her inner strength and hesitantly answered : "No, I'm fine… really, I am… maybe a bit tired, but no more… don't worry, I'll be alright !" And she made an effort to smile, but she doubted it was convincing.

"Are you sure ?" Sam let out "You should lie down on your towel and rest a while. You're certainly weak. Rest with us !"

"Yeah, Sam's right. Lie down and close your eyes. I hope you're not sick. How do you feel ?" Danny intervened.

"Well, tired but okay. It's probably nothing. Just a brief weakness, that's all !" And the pink member tried another smile, but it still looked difficult…

The Rhapsodian looked at each of her friends in turn, her gaze remaining the shortest time on Sam's. Then she lay down and closed her eyes. She didn't feel as okay as she had claimed she was. It seemed to her that fever had sneaked inside her body. And it wasn't the only symptom : she also felt slightly dizzy, although she was in horizontal rather than vertical position. That was very odd. And finally, her heart was pounding so fast within her chest. It was racing and racing, as if to catch up with something. But with what ?

She actually fell asleep after a long time, and her buddies didn't dare to wake her up. But they were a bit worried, and hoped she wasn't coming down with a flu or a cold.

She woke up at 5:30 and looked around to see anxious faces. "Are you okay, Cathy ?" Sam asked, her concern filling her eyes as she stared at her. The blonde got up and stretched, then smiled : "Yeah, much better indeed ! What are we doing down ? Going home ?"

"Hum, yes, I think we better pack and leave, for it starts getting late now" Chris spoke up quite sensibly. And everyone agreed, so the foursome started gathering their stuff and soon left the place. They were all pretty tired from swimming and worrying about Cathy.

But although it looked like everything was in its right place again, yet, it wasn't. Apparently, things were back in order, and everyone felt good. Still…

Cathy had said that she felt "much better", but it was all deceit. She didn't feel any better, but had now found some way to make it look more convincing. She had managed to make her friends think that she was good again, and they had believed her. But deep inside, there was trouble. There was emotion. There was fear. There was… there was…..

The usually bubbly girl kept on brooding over the thought that had come to her mind when Sam had first gazed at her intently, that afternoon. That thought was a very serious one. And a very unequivocal one.

*flashback*

"And I was glad that Cathy came round a bit later, to keep me company. Thank you, Cath' !"

And her golden eyes looked straight into the alien's blue eyes.

Oh God ! Such beautiful eyes ! I never noticed what incredible golden eyes Sam has ! Oh my God ! So beautiful ! Sam… Sam….

*end of flashback*