Miz wandered boredly about the hotel's banquet hall with Norman, meeting
relatives. Kya was curled up around her neck, so people looking at her from
afar mistaked her for a red scarf. The Uvacian avoided social contact as
much as possible, but many foolish humans wanted to know EVERYTHING about
her; who was she, where'd she come from, why hadn't anyone seen her before?
Miz left all the explaining to Norman. The banquet hall was filled with
screaming younger children running about and throwing tempertatrums; aunts,
uncles, and distant relatives catching up on what happened since the last
reunion; cousins around Miz's age and older hanging around the snack table
(A/N: ALL RIGHT!! Dorritoes!).
Miz became tired and departed from her father while his back was turned, then decided to go back up to her room. She ducked under a busboy's arm, which was carrying a platter of refreshments, and went out into the lobby, not paying close attention to where she was going.
Meanwhile...
Riz came out of his bedroom, changed into a different shirt other than his "Be Happy" one and a pair of jeans that weren't as baggy compared with all his others. He checked both ends of the hall before pulling out his skateboard, which he had managed to smuggle along. With another check to make sure his parents weren't going to pop out from nowhere, he jumped onto his skateboard and zipped down the hallway. He slid down the stair rail (finally) getting it right and rolled down another hall.
Miz trudged her feet up the last step and started to head down one of the hallways. A faint sound of rolling wheels came toward her. Miz paused, listening as the sound became louder and louder. Suddenly a boy with blondish-burnette hair came riding toward her on a skateboard. Miz stood still like a deer caught in a headlight.
Riz saw the black-haired girl standing right who was standing right in the middle of the hallway he was coming down. Calmly, he tried to slow down to a stop for many unexplained reasons the experienced skateboarder couldn't.
RIZ: Look out! Whoa...
Riz hit Miz and they began tumbling down the staircase. Finally they stopped at the bottom, both on their backs. As they laid in pain, Norman and Liz rushed toward them.
RIZ: My arm! Oh, such pain...
LIZ: Ryzie! Are you all right?
NORMAN: Are you okay, Miz?
MIZ: Yes, Norman.
LIZ: Good, you didn't break your arm again. Thank heavens!
MIZ: Crazy male! What did you think you were doing? You have a broken arm there and you are pretispating in pain-increasing rituals... Or is that what you do at family reunions?
RIZ: Believe me, it hurt me hurt me more than it hurt you.
LIZ: I should say so. Be thankful that your arm is all right, Ryzie. Didn't your father tell you not to bring your skateboard?
RIZ: He might have said something, but Sy got to bring her cat--
MIZ: "Ryzie"? What kinda name is that?
RIZ: That's my mom's nickname for me.
MIZ: Heh, heh. Pretty pitiful.
RIZ: And "Miz" is better?
MIZ: Miserable human-male! It's Uva-- I mean Old English.
RIZ: I guess it originated from Queen E-"MIZ"-abeth, huh?
Norman, after helping his daughter to her feet suddenly noticed the blond- haired woman kneeling over her injured son.
NORMAN: Liz? Is that you?
LIZ: Norman! How lovely to see you.
RIZ: Hey, Uncle Norman.
MIZ: "Uncle"? What is the male-- I mean, what is he talking about?
NORMAN: Miz, this is my younger sister and your aunt, Liz and her at the moment fallen son, Riz.
MIZ: Younger sister? Hmm, how odd. Where I'm from usually it's the males who are the youngest in the family.
RIZ: Where are you from? Outerspace?
It was meant to be a joke, but a brief silence followed. Miz looked toward her father for support. Norman gave a small nod that only she could see before he laughed weakly. He ruffled Riz's hair as he helped him gently to his feet. Riz picked up his skateboard and tucked it under his arm. Norman lightly punched his chin.
NORMAN: You kids and your aliens. Ah! They can be so cute at this age. Remember when we were that young, Liz?
LIZ: Those were the good ol' days, Norm.
The two now older siblings embraced, and began chatting about childhood memories, while Miz and Riz sized each other up. Miz nodded to her cousin and beckoned him to follow her, leading him toward the lobby.
RIZ: Since when did Uncle Norman have kids?
MIZ: Oh, I've been living with my mother after she and my dad split up.
RIZ: Say, how's Aunt Ammie anyway?
MIZ: Uh, she's doing just fine.
In the dimmest, but still flooding with sunlight, corner of the lobby Syco sat behind a vase. She pulled out one of her JtHM comic books, and began reading. As Miz and Riz entered the room, the latter spotted her feet, which was the only part of her body visible from her hiding spot. Riz came up to her smiling.
RIZ: Hey, Sy.
SY: Hello, dweller of the sunlit world.
RIZ: Yeh, well. Remember what Mom says. If we can see your reflection when you pass a mirror, you're one of us.
SY: As I told you before, I was probably injected with a formula from a alien-pod made by a dying species before my birth, so that by the age of eight I would become one of my people.
RIZ: Okaaaaaaaaaay. Hey, I thought you weren't into science fiction.
SY: Anything to proof I'm not human like you are.
MIZ: Actually, only the Berians did that and it was a practice test. Of course, the pods only got to Zek--
RIZ: What?
MIZ: Oh, something I read in a book. Heh, heh.
SY: Who's that? Not that I really care...
RIZ: Our cousin Miz. Uncle Norman's kid, y'know.
MIZ: Who's this?
RIZ: My younger sister Syco, Sy for short. And I'm not kidding. Hey, Mom was high on painkillers when she named you, wasn't she?
SY: Just like Alo.
RIZ: He bothered Ethrandir a lot. We gotta try writing that story again, huh Sy?
SY: Leave me alone now. I haven't yet taken my daily dose of 'Nny.
Syco continued reading her comic and failed to shut out the giggly noise of younger cousins running around the hotel. Miz read the title with interest.
MIZ: I think my friend, Cyn Arrix, reads those comics.
SY: Do you read them?
MIZ: No--
SY: Then leave before I inflict you with my doom.
Miz took a step back, even though she got that attitude from Cyn on a regular basics. Riz, having been forced to deal with similar comments since his sister went into her Goth phase, poked Sy just for the fun of it. In turn the girl growled. Her brother just chuckled and poked her again. Sy reached inside her shirt and pulled out her spoon, whacking Riz upside the head.
SY: You no longer have your smiley face shirt, thus meaning you no longer have control over me!
RIZ: Ow! Quit whacking me wit tat spoon. Grr...
MIZ: As much as I hate intruding on sibling rivalries, I think we should be moving on. The clerk behind the front counter is giving us some funny looks. So Ryzie...
RIZ: It's Riz.
SY: Oh! You've found out his real name have you? Isn't it good more and more people aren't calling you "Riz", eh Ryzie?
RIZ: Shuddap.
MIZ: So what's under your arm, Ryzie?
RIZ: Can't you people get it right? It's Riz! Riiiiiiiiiii...
MIZ: Whatever. So, what do you have there?
RIZ: ...iiiiiiiiiiiiz! My skateboard. Wanna try riding it?
MIZ: Uh... How do you stay on?
RIZ: Good question... I think balance has something to do with it, buuuuut a lot of kids end up in the emergency room. I got to ride in a helicopter. C'mon.
Riz laid his skateboard on the floor, and Miz cautiously put one foot on it, but suddenly stiffen. Riz curiously followed her gaze to the front desk where two relatives were checking into the hotel. A jumpy, black-haired girl around four wearing a polka-dotted vest and a blue and green striped skirt stood bouncing next to her parents. Syco, from behind her hiding spot, saw her and stood up slowly. Like Miz and Riz, she too recognized the kid. It was their cousin, Tik.
SY: Oh no! The Happy Child.
RIZ: She doesn't see us. Maybe we can sneak away.
SY: Let's make a break for it before--
Tik suddenly turn and saw her older cousins. With a happy screech that could've broken windows ten blocks away, she ran to them. Riz, Miz, and Sy each had a identical look of horror on his or her face.
TIK: Mizzy! Wyzie! Syco!
SY: How come she only says my name right? Huh? Huh? Huh?
RIZ: Run for your liiiiiiiiiives!!!
Miz became tired and departed from her father while his back was turned, then decided to go back up to her room. She ducked under a busboy's arm, which was carrying a platter of refreshments, and went out into the lobby, not paying close attention to where she was going.
Meanwhile...
Riz came out of his bedroom, changed into a different shirt other than his "Be Happy" one and a pair of jeans that weren't as baggy compared with all his others. He checked both ends of the hall before pulling out his skateboard, which he had managed to smuggle along. With another check to make sure his parents weren't going to pop out from nowhere, he jumped onto his skateboard and zipped down the hallway. He slid down the stair rail (finally) getting it right and rolled down another hall.
Miz trudged her feet up the last step and started to head down one of the hallways. A faint sound of rolling wheels came toward her. Miz paused, listening as the sound became louder and louder. Suddenly a boy with blondish-burnette hair came riding toward her on a skateboard. Miz stood still like a deer caught in a headlight.
Riz saw the black-haired girl standing right who was standing right in the middle of the hallway he was coming down. Calmly, he tried to slow down to a stop for many unexplained reasons the experienced skateboarder couldn't.
RIZ: Look out! Whoa...
Riz hit Miz and they began tumbling down the staircase. Finally they stopped at the bottom, both on their backs. As they laid in pain, Norman and Liz rushed toward them.
RIZ: My arm! Oh, such pain...
LIZ: Ryzie! Are you all right?
NORMAN: Are you okay, Miz?
MIZ: Yes, Norman.
LIZ: Good, you didn't break your arm again. Thank heavens!
MIZ: Crazy male! What did you think you were doing? You have a broken arm there and you are pretispating in pain-increasing rituals... Or is that what you do at family reunions?
RIZ: Believe me, it hurt me hurt me more than it hurt you.
LIZ: I should say so. Be thankful that your arm is all right, Ryzie. Didn't your father tell you not to bring your skateboard?
RIZ: He might have said something, but Sy got to bring her cat--
MIZ: "Ryzie"? What kinda name is that?
RIZ: That's my mom's nickname for me.
MIZ: Heh, heh. Pretty pitiful.
RIZ: And "Miz" is better?
MIZ: Miserable human-male! It's Uva-- I mean Old English.
RIZ: I guess it originated from Queen E-"MIZ"-abeth, huh?
Norman, after helping his daughter to her feet suddenly noticed the blond- haired woman kneeling over her injured son.
NORMAN: Liz? Is that you?
LIZ: Norman! How lovely to see you.
RIZ: Hey, Uncle Norman.
MIZ: "Uncle"? What is the male-- I mean, what is he talking about?
NORMAN: Miz, this is my younger sister and your aunt, Liz and her at the moment fallen son, Riz.
MIZ: Younger sister? Hmm, how odd. Where I'm from usually it's the males who are the youngest in the family.
RIZ: Where are you from? Outerspace?
It was meant to be a joke, but a brief silence followed. Miz looked toward her father for support. Norman gave a small nod that only she could see before he laughed weakly. He ruffled Riz's hair as he helped him gently to his feet. Riz picked up his skateboard and tucked it under his arm. Norman lightly punched his chin.
NORMAN: You kids and your aliens. Ah! They can be so cute at this age. Remember when we were that young, Liz?
LIZ: Those were the good ol' days, Norm.
The two now older siblings embraced, and began chatting about childhood memories, while Miz and Riz sized each other up. Miz nodded to her cousin and beckoned him to follow her, leading him toward the lobby.
RIZ: Since when did Uncle Norman have kids?
MIZ: Oh, I've been living with my mother after she and my dad split up.
RIZ: Say, how's Aunt Ammie anyway?
MIZ: Uh, she's doing just fine.
In the dimmest, but still flooding with sunlight, corner of the lobby Syco sat behind a vase. She pulled out one of her JtHM comic books, and began reading. As Miz and Riz entered the room, the latter spotted her feet, which was the only part of her body visible from her hiding spot. Riz came up to her smiling.
RIZ: Hey, Sy.
SY: Hello, dweller of the sunlit world.
RIZ: Yeh, well. Remember what Mom says. If we can see your reflection when you pass a mirror, you're one of us.
SY: As I told you before, I was probably injected with a formula from a alien-pod made by a dying species before my birth, so that by the age of eight I would become one of my people.
RIZ: Okaaaaaaaaaay. Hey, I thought you weren't into science fiction.
SY: Anything to proof I'm not human like you are.
MIZ: Actually, only the Berians did that and it was a practice test. Of course, the pods only got to Zek--
RIZ: What?
MIZ: Oh, something I read in a book. Heh, heh.
SY: Who's that? Not that I really care...
RIZ: Our cousin Miz. Uncle Norman's kid, y'know.
MIZ: Who's this?
RIZ: My younger sister Syco, Sy for short. And I'm not kidding. Hey, Mom was high on painkillers when she named you, wasn't she?
SY: Just like Alo.
RIZ: He bothered Ethrandir a lot. We gotta try writing that story again, huh Sy?
SY: Leave me alone now. I haven't yet taken my daily dose of 'Nny.
Syco continued reading her comic and failed to shut out the giggly noise of younger cousins running around the hotel. Miz read the title with interest.
MIZ: I think my friend, Cyn Arrix, reads those comics.
SY: Do you read them?
MIZ: No--
SY: Then leave before I inflict you with my doom.
Miz took a step back, even though she got that attitude from Cyn on a regular basics. Riz, having been forced to deal with similar comments since his sister went into her Goth phase, poked Sy just for the fun of it. In turn the girl growled. Her brother just chuckled and poked her again. Sy reached inside her shirt and pulled out her spoon, whacking Riz upside the head.
SY: You no longer have your smiley face shirt, thus meaning you no longer have control over me!
RIZ: Ow! Quit whacking me wit tat spoon. Grr...
MIZ: As much as I hate intruding on sibling rivalries, I think we should be moving on. The clerk behind the front counter is giving us some funny looks. So Ryzie...
RIZ: It's Riz.
SY: Oh! You've found out his real name have you? Isn't it good more and more people aren't calling you "Riz", eh Ryzie?
RIZ: Shuddap.
MIZ: So what's under your arm, Ryzie?
RIZ: Can't you people get it right? It's Riz! Riiiiiiiiiii...
MIZ: Whatever. So, what do you have there?
RIZ: ...iiiiiiiiiiiiz! My skateboard. Wanna try riding it?
MIZ: Uh... How do you stay on?
RIZ: Good question... I think balance has something to do with it, buuuuut a lot of kids end up in the emergency room. I got to ride in a helicopter. C'mon.
Riz laid his skateboard on the floor, and Miz cautiously put one foot on it, but suddenly stiffen. Riz curiously followed her gaze to the front desk where two relatives were checking into the hotel. A jumpy, black-haired girl around four wearing a polka-dotted vest and a blue and green striped skirt stood bouncing next to her parents. Syco, from behind her hiding spot, saw her and stood up slowly. Like Miz and Riz, she too recognized the kid. It was their cousin, Tik.
SY: Oh no! The Happy Child.
RIZ: She doesn't see us. Maybe we can sneak away.
SY: Let's make a break for it before--
Tik suddenly turn and saw her older cousins. With a happy screech that could've broken windows ten blocks away, she ran to them. Riz, Miz, and Sy each had a identical look of horror on his or her face.
TIK: Mizzy! Wyzie! Syco!
SY: How come she only says my name right? Huh? Huh? Huh?
RIZ: Run for your liiiiiiiiiives!!!