Earthlings Haven't Changed
As the dream ended, they chased it, forlorn. No matter how far they ran, the black hole sucked them into its endless ocean of destruction. The heart of the vortex devoured them, sealing them off from the bright stars and planets, but as they struggled for breath, their eyes snapped open to a world they detested.
Chloe blinked and met the sun rays filtering through the bush. Thorns pricked their arms, and broken branches covered their body. Rubbing their neck, they groaned and tried sitting up only to wince. Their elbows throbbed, and when they inspected them, they found swollen patches of dark blue skin covering a good majority of their arms.
Bruises again, they thought, shaking their head. Their mother would worry about the new injuries, but they didn't have time to think about her reaction. Escaping from hostile territory was their priority.
Chloe twisted through the thorns and leaves, stumbling into the parking lot. They glanced around, wondering how much time had passed since they ended up in the bush. Only a few cars were left in the lot, most of them belonging to the janitors. A quick glance at the sky confirmed it was almost dusk, the sky bleeding with reds and oranges instead of a comforting black dotted with stars.
They couldn't spot any students loitering on the basketball court or running around the track. Although they were in the teacher's parking lot, they believed the students must have gone home or were away at games. If they had correctly estimated the time, it must have been nearly 7 p.m., and they sighed, brushing stray thorns off their jacket as they marched towards the student parking lot.
As they anticipated, most of the cars were gone. They knew no student in their right mind would want to spend any extra time in school. Only a few cars remained, but their heart dropped into their stomach when they realized one of them had parked next to their small gray Mitsubishi.
Out from the hot pink Audi stepped a girl with platinum blonde hair and a face caked with too much make-up. Her clothes were designer, wearing high class brands that would make Kitty Bubai blush. They thought those types of girls only existed in the reality show trash they watched while eating dinner. She was flanked with two other girls, both of them irrelevant and bland compared to their leader. Chloe was reminded of the Plusians, renowned for their powerful, beautiful women who beat each other down to rise above their social class.
"Chloe," Gwen Hunter started, smiling with pearly white teeth and bright ruby red lipstick, "you were late to student council. What's up with that?"
Her falsetto tone harmed their ears. Chloe gripped their elbows, saying, "I have nothing to report to the likes of you."
"'The likes of me,'" Gwen crooned, her heels clicking on the concrete. "That's funny. We waited for you, and you know what?" She flicked the taller student's nose, Chloe's face beginning to burn. "We asked Lupita Schaumburg,the new freshman treasurer, remember her? Kinda short, likes to wear frayed jeans." She waved her hand. "Anyway, we asked her to look for you, and she found you in the bushes in front of the school."
The girls behind her giggled, reminding Chloe of a cheap teen movie. They had their smartphones out and ready, their cameras lights blinking red.
"It was sooo strange hearing that, and it got a great laugh out of everyone." Gwen rubbed her hands together. "Like, were you drunk or something?"
"I said I have nothing to report to you," Chloe growled, fishing in their pockets for their keys.
Gwen flipped her hair over her shoulder, laughing. She stepped between Chloe and their car. Tapping her fingers against their window, she said, "Listen Chloe, I know we don't always see eye to eye, but I'm worried about you. Are you being bullied? Did Tommy throw you in the bushes again?"
They tightened their jaw, phantom pain burning in their arms from where he had grabbed them. They remembered his spit landing on their face as he screamed that they were a freak, his tennis buddies cajoling around him to continue. He had shoved them into the school, their head having cracked against the bricks and down they slid into the bushes, their laughter the background music of their descent into a starry dream.
"I keep saying that I have nothing to report to you. Back off," Chloe hissed, and Gwen sucked down a breath, glancing at her friends.
"Oh, my God, Chloe, you don't need to be defensive. If you're being bullied, tell us." Gwen cupped their shoulder and dug her thumb into their collarbone. Sighing, she tilted her head and whispered, "Look, I don't need dead weight from girls in my own grade. "
They twitched. "I-I am not-"
Gwen jabbed her finger at Chloe's neck, her long nail grazing their throat like the tip of a knife. Her lip curled as she snarled, "Shut up. I got chewed out because of you. This is the third time you were late. Even if Tommy kicked the shit outta you, I expect you to at least text me so I can have some excuse about where the hell you are to the vice principal. He's getting on my case about you being late so often that he wants me to bring you to our meetings personally." She dug her nails tighter into their shoulder, Chloe wincing and making her scoff. "Do you understand? Are we on the same wavelength, alien? You gotta report to me from now on or my ass is on the line, and I'm not losing my spot as the junior class president to that bitch Yvonne."
They forced their expression into a neutral mask. Ignoring the pain pricking in their skin and pulsing along their arms, Chloe wished they had woken up sooner. Although they thought they would have become accustomed to their classmates' cruelty, the others had never forgotten what Chloe was like as a child. Their mannerisms stayed with them as they all grew taller and older. They were the alien, the freak, the resident target of their abuse who couldn't escape from their leering and jeering, especially with space so far out of their grasp.
"I-" Chloe swallowed and pushed her arm away. "I didn't even sign up of my own volition. Ms. Kerrington-"
"We know Ms. Kerrington signed you up for it! You're so fucking antisocial that a teacher needs to assign you activities," Gwen snapped, her friends laughing behind her. "Oh, my God! You're a freak, but this is ridiculous. Can't you be normal for once? I mean, at this point, Tommy's teaching you a lesson in how not to be a freak in public." She tiffed and leaned back, flicking her chin up. "For fuck's sake, you really never changed. You're still the same weird little kid, just lanky and still sporting that stupid bow. Aren't you ever gonna grow up?"
Blood pulsed through their veins and warmed their skin. Chloe furrowed their brows, digging their uneven fingernails into their palms. They knew it wasn't their fault why their classmates targeted them. Others hadn't grown out of their childish wiles, and they suffered for it because they were different. When they were a child, they were too short and too blunt to others who wasted their time. Now, they were still too curt, but they were too tall with their head in the stratosphere thinking of space and machines.
When they were all wide-eyed children, the memory of Chloe insisting they were an alien seemed cemented in their minds. None of them forgot, and so they paid the price for years.
Gwen glanced at their bruises, remarking, "Do they hurt?"
Chloe covered them as best as they could, tugging down the short sleeves of their jacket.
She lowered her voice to a whisper. "If you skip out on the next student council meeting, then I'm gonna ask Tommy to make those bruises spread all the way up to your shoulders. Understand?"
Closing their eyes, Chloe knew they couldn't lash out. They could set her and her entourage on fire or PSI blast them into their car, but that would jeopardize everything. They had their entire life ahead of them with the Psychonauts, and they clung to their future plans with both hands, so they nodded, ending the tirade.
"Good!" Gwen chirped, and she pivoted on her heels. She waved her hand, and the girls lowered their phones. "Well, we'll see you tomorrow at student council. Don't be late."
"Did you ask Tommy to attack me today?"
They blurted it out without thinking. Gwen's eyes widened, her long lashes fluttering. She glanced at her cohorts, gesturing for them to continue recording.
"Are you accusing me of something? Do you wanna say it more clearly, Chloe?" She challenged Chloe to continue with a flick of her head.
Swallowing, Chloe evened their glare and said, "I believe my implication is strong enough. If you feel the need to film this, then isn't it acceptable for me to ask that?"
Gwen breathed in deeply. She whirled around, and her friends lowered their phones. She crossed to the front of Chloe's car and pulled out her lipstick. Uncapping it, she marveled at the rich red color before smearing it on the hood of Chloe's car, Chloe's eyes widening as she wrote out a very familiar word. Tossing the lipstick to her friend, Gwen refused to meet their glower and simply extended her middle finger. She leaped into the front seat of her own car, the others following her, and as she revved the engine, she winked back at Chloe, filling the parking lot with smoke as she sped off.
Coughing, Chloe slipped the car keys out of their pocket. They brushed through their short hair, massaging the worn material of their bow. Staring down at the word Gwen left behind, Chloe pressed their palm to their neck, shuddered, and wished they were among the stars.
Freak, they thought, that word having followed them since they were a child. God, I hate humans. At least I can go to the Motherlobe for winter break to get away from them.
(As they got in their car, they wondered what their old friend was up to now that he was an adult. They wished they had kept in touch, but their mother had blocked all communication between them after he left Whispering Rock. She insisted he was a bad influence when he turned down that internship, but he was the only one who fully believed in them, and that belief kept them going. He really didn't know how much he influenced them.)
