The Alien Question

"Aliens are not real," Mirtala stated, "and if they were, then they would have visited this planet by now."

Chloe's helmet blocked Milka's view of her face. She shifted her gaze to Chloe's hands, watching them form fists. Chloe dug her knuckles onto the wooden picnic table and straightened her back, air brushing against Milka's ankles from how briskly Chloe began swinging hers.

Mirtala twirled a loose lock of dark red hair. She cupped her cheek, locking eyes with Chloe. "Factually speaking, this planet is billions of years old and has gone without a single recorded encounter with them. I can say with absolute certainty aliens are not real."

Milka selected a crayon from the pile in the center of the table. She dragged it against the wood, leaving behind a teal trail. She peered back down at Chloe's fingers splayed on the table as she leaned forward, her creased brow nearly touching her faceplate.

"I can assure you that your objectivity is completely wrong, Mirtala," Chloe slowly remarked. "You're failing to consider other universes and the primitive nature of this planet. While Earth lacks the technology needed to make such recordings, another superior species will have the capability to do it." She folded her hands, her thumbs digging into her skin. "With that in mind, I hope you realize the foolishness of your denial."

Mirtala broke into a cheek-splitting smile. It crossed her face whenever she debated with Chloe. She shook her head, resting her elbows on her drawing as the wind picked up. "Nope. You can't prove that," she said, giggling. "What you said sounds like something out of science fiction. It's not tangible proof, and you're not believable."

Chloe bristled. Maintaining eye contact with Mirtala, she pushed aside her blueprints and questioned, "Well, can you provide physical evidence that the government is creating this alleged fabrication of alien life? If you can't, then you cannot state what you are claiming as truth."

The corner of Milka's lip raised as Mirtala's face fell. She had fallen into the trap she set herself, and she pursed her lips, mulling over the facts. And as Mirtala pondered, Chloe visibly relaxed and shared a glance with Milka.

Mirtala and Chloe's debate over aliens had become a common occurrence at Whispering Rock. Over the summers since Mirtala arrived, the campers would have found them arguing at least once a week. Their cerebral spats fascinated Milka, who silently listened to their war of words, only intervening if their discourse became too heated and a punch was ready to be thrown.

"As you said, factually speaking," Chloe added, crossing her arms as Mirtala's nose wrinkled, "humans do have tangible proof. The evidence exists in UFO sightings, Mirtala."

A disgruntled mewl rose in Mirtala's throat. She slumped forward, resting her chin on the table and narrowing her eyes on Chloe. "Nuh-uh, no way. UFOs stand for unidentified flying objects. Those could be anything!"

"Including the possibility that they're alien spaceships. Before you mention tangibility, you can't prove that they aren't spaceships because you have never seen any of the footage that I have," Chloe interjected, sliding her blueprints in front of her. She pinched their corners and neatly folded them into squares, Mirtala sputtering out excuses and lightly rapping her fists on the table. "If you have any further refutation, Mirtala, please use proper words."

Mirtala jumped to her feet, growling. She shook her head, her bells jingling with enough force that Milka thought they would fly off her head. "No, no, wait! We weren't talking about the existence of UFOs! You tried changing the subject and-!"

"No," Milka interjected, cutting through Mirtala's budding rant. "A UFO can be anything because no one can prove it. Also, it's tangible, and any single one of them could belong to aliens."

Mirtala deflated and dragged her hands down her face, showing the full whites of her eyes. "Nooo, Milka, you can't side with her," she whined, shaking her head, her bells jingling with enough force that Milka thought they would fly out of her hair.

"Milka is impartial in her judgment," Chloe stated, and Mirtala stuck her tongue out in response.

Grumbling, the acrobat conceded. Milka offered the winner polite applause, the sound heard only by the girls. Chloe thanked Milka and held her blueprints to her chest, announcing she would have to leave for class.

"Another riveting debate, Mirtala. As the earthling saying goes, you had me on the ropes," she said, offering Mirtala her hand.

Rolling her eyes, Mirtala clapped her hand against Chloe's and shook, mumbling, "Yeah, yeah, you're lucky you're cute. Otherwise, I'd tear down your arguments easily."

Chloe slowly tilted her hand, not releasing Mirtala's hand. "Attractiveness has nothing to do with whether aliens exist. Are you implying that it is somehow a factor?"

Milka grinned, observing how quickly a reddish tint blossomed on Mirtala's cheeks. Mirtala lifted her nose in the air and tugged back her hand. She crossed her arms and squeezed her eyes shut, her theatrics hardly deterring the girls as Chloe shrugged, saying her goodbyes to Milka.

While Chloe walked towards the bridge, Milka retained her smile. She evenly met Mirtala's gaze, showing off her teeth when Mirtala ordered her to stop. Mirtala raked her fingers through her tight braids, another disgruntled whine trapped in her throat that had Milka chuckling to herself.

"In my three years of coming to this camp, I've never seen someone fail so hard at crushing on someone," she said, and she avoided every single crayon Mirtala flung at her.