Okay, here's some more. Same disclaimer as before. Tell me what you think! (Please!!)
TWO MONTHS LATER
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Scary saying, if you really think about it. If people had followed this advice, would Hitler be ruling the world right now?
Sorry- got sidetracked. It's a side effect from having so many different thoughts flying around in your head at one time. If a Yeerk was ever inside my head, he'd probably go mad.
It's a wonder I don't.
"Look! There's a sale in Express! Oh, thirty percent off!"
"The joy overwhelms me," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "I-I don't know if I can stand it. I think I'm going to break down with tears of-"
"Shut up already!" Rachel said. "You're worse than Cassie here, and I thought that was impossible."
"Hey!" Cassie said with a laugh.
"I think the mall sucks out brain cells," I said. "It's the only possible explanation for why the people who spend the most time here are the dumbest."
Rachel glared at me and I grinned wickedly.
Friends. I have actual human friends. It's strange, really, and it gets to me sometimes. For one thing, I have to sometimes lower myself to thinking at their level. And of course, there's the fact that they could become Controllers.
Correction- they would become Controllers one day. It was only a matter of time.
Their ignorance astounded me, and I mean all humans, not just my new 'friends.' They were slowly being taken over, and nobody noticed. It was like some really bad old sci-fi movie.
I can tell when someone's a Controller, in case you were wondering. Well, it's not totally failure proof, but it's got a 95% rate of accuracy. I can also tell when someone's lying most of the time. Humans aren't very good liars, to tell you the truth. Most tend to blink a lot, or smile too hard.
I, however, have mastered my lying skills. I had to.
"Hey there's Jake and- Marco," Rachel drawled, grinning at me. She thinks I have a crush on him.
Okay, being friends with human is one thing, and it's a stretch. I was not ready to date one of them. Ick. But I played the part and blushed and snorted, shaking my head and hitting her arm, which just made her grin more.
I thought I was going to be sick.
The two boys weren't alone. With them were two other guys, about the same age, who I had never seen before. Rachel smiled at one of them. "Hey Tobias."
"Hey, Rach. What's up?"
"Oh, uh, this is Alanna," Cassie stepped in. "Alanna, this is Tobias and Phillip, Jake's cousin."
"N-n-nice to meet you. Ooh."
I smiled back and said all that right things, but in my head alarm bells were ringing like crazy. There was something not right about these two.
"Where do you guys go to school?" I asked coolly, staring them down.
"Uh, Phillip's from out of town, and…" Jake stumbled over his words and I gave him an innocent, yet sharp, look.
"Tobias goes to a fancy private school," Marco butted in. "Isn't that right, Tobias?"
"Yeah, yeah," he said. He didn't smile at me. He didn't look like he could smile, or anything for that matter. He made all the right sounds but his face remained constantly passive. It wasn't right. Humans as a rule communicate through their facial expressions, and here was someone who seemed to have none.
"We went to Radio Shack. Shhh-aaack," Phillip said. I glanced at him. Was he dumb or did he have a stutter of some kind? Neither explanation seemed to fit him. Okay, I could almost believe he was Jake's cousin. They looked a little alike. Too bad Jake had a screaming 'I'm lying!' feel about him. About both guys. If pretty boy Tobias was from a private school, I'm part duck. You had to have money for a private school, and everything about him told me that he was used to not having a lot of money. Humans tend to judge people by their wealth, and the poorer people usually have that feel of being judged about them.
Man, the air reeked with lies. But I played along, like the good little girl I was.
"That's cool," I said with a perfectly believable smile. "I like Radio Shack. In fact, I was just about to suggest we go there."
"But Express-!" Rachel gasped, horrified. I laughed.
We began to talk about something. I played along, but right away I could tell I was the third wheel. The extra, out of place person. These people worked hard to seem like they were only casual acquaintances, but I knew better. These were close friends, close friends with a secret.
A secret I intended to find out. Little happens without my knowledge, and I'd be damned if a couple of humans were going to try to keep me in the dark.
TWO MONTHS LATER
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Scary saying, if you really think about it. If people had followed this advice, would Hitler be ruling the world right now?
Sorry- got sidetracked. It's a side effect from having so many different thoughts flying around in your head at one time. If a Yeerk was ever inside my head, he'd probably go mad.
It's a wonder I don't.
"Look! There's a sale in Express! Oh, thirty percent off!"
"The joy overwhelms me," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "I-I don't know if I can stand it. I think I'm going to break down with tears of-"
"Shut up already!" Rachel said. "You're worse than Cassie here, and I thought that was impossible."
"Hey!" Cassie said with a laugh.
"I think the mall sucks out brain cells," I said. "It's the only possible explanation for why the people who spend the most time here are the dumbest."
Rachel glared at me and I grinned wickedly.
Friends. I have actual human friends. It's strange, really, and it gets to me sometimes. For one thing, I have to sometimes lower myself to thinking at their level. And of course, there's the fact that they could become Controllers.
Correction- they would become Controllers one day. It was only a matter of time.
Their ignorance astounded me, and I mean all humans, not just my new 'friends.' They were slowly being taken over, and nobody noticed. It was like some really bad old sci-fi movie.
I can tell when someone's a Controller, in case you were wondering. Well, it's not totally failure proof, but it's got a 95% rate of accuracy. I can also tell when someone's lying most of the time. Humans aren't very good liars, to tell you the truth. Most tend to blink a lot, or smile too hard.
I, however, have mastered my lying skills. I had to.
"Hey there's Jake and- Marco," Rachel drawled, grinning at me. She thinks I have a crush on him.
Okay, being friends with human is one thing, and it's a stretch. I was not ready to date one of them. Ick. But I played the part and blushed and snorted, shaking my head and hitting her arm, which just made her grin more.
I thought I was going to be sick.
The two boys weren't alone. With them were two other guys, about the same age, who I had never seen before. Rachel smiled at one of them. "Hey Tobias."
"Hey, Rach. What's up?"
"Oh, uh, this is Alanna," Cassie stepped in. "Alanna, this is Tobias and Phillip, Jake's cousin."
"N-n-nice to meet you. Ooh."
I smiled back and said all that right things, but in my head alarm bells were ringing like crazy. There was something not right about these two.
"Where do you guys go to school?" I asked coolly, staring them down.
"Uh, Phillip's from out of town, and…" Jake stumbled over his words and I gave him an innocent, yet sharp, look.
"Tobias goes to a fancy private school," Marco butted in. "Isn't that right, Tobias?"
"Yeah, yeah," he said. He didn't smile at me. He didn't look like he could smile, or anything for that matter. He made all the right sounds but his face remained constantly passive. It wasn't right. Humans as a rule communicate through their facial expressions, and here was someone who seemed to have none.
"We went to Radio Shack. Shhh-aaack," Phillip said. I glanced at him. Was he dumb or did he have a stutter of some kind? Neither explanation seemed to fit him. Okay, I could almost believe he was Jake's cousin. They looked a little alike. Too bad Jake had a screaming 'I'm lying!' feel about him. About both guys. If pretty boy Tobias was from a private school, I'm part duck. You had to have money for a private school, and everything about him told me that he was used to not having a lot of money. Humans tend to judge people by their wealth, and the poorer people usually have that feel of being judged about them.
Man, the air reeked with lies. But I played along, like the good little girl I was.
"That's cool," I said with a perfectly believable smile. "I like Radio Shack. In fact, I was just about to suggest we go there."
"But Express-!" Rachel gasped, horrified. I laughed.
We began to talk about something. I played along, but right away I could tell I was the third wheel. The extra, out of place person. These people worked hard to seem like they were only casual acquaintances, but I knew better. These were close friends, close friends with a secret.
A secret I intended to find out. Little happens without my knowledge, and I'd be damned if a couple of humans were going to try to keep me in the dark.