A Teenager's Guide to Life in the Uncharted Territories
Chapter 5
You Must Be Kidding Me
The next day after everyone but Mom, Dad and I had left the central chamber, Dad announced that we were going back to visit Earth.
"What?" Okay, this was a major change from the dad I know.
"We're going to earth next monen," he repeated.
"John, are you sure that's a good idea?"
"I'm positive. We haven't been in several cycles, why not now?"
"Because just yesterday you were on a Peacekeeper base," I replied.
"You sound just like your mother," he tells me, earning him a slap on the shoulder from her. "All the more reason to go. We're far enough away from him so that a starburst farther into the Uncharteds would go unnoticed so we can go through a wormhole."
"All right," Mom concedes.
"Sounds like fun," I reply, only half serious. I just love Earth. Cough, cough. I head back to my room and grab my CD player and a Sheryl Crow CD. I head to the training room to work off some extra energy. That's where Mom found me an arn later.
"Do you really want to go to Earth?"
"Sure, why not?" I answer.
"Come on, you need a routine to do everyday. We need to work on some of these skills."
~~~~
True to his word, Dad's taking us to Earth. We're sitting in his module, the only vehicle we ever take, waiting for the wormhole. I'm starting to agree with Mom, this truly is a piece of dren, especially compared to the Prowler. The one good thing about going to Earth is the government goes all out for us. They give us money galore and a cabin by a lake as well as anything else we want. I think they're afraid of us. Whatever the reason, we get stellar treatment while we're here. We landed, causing massive amounts of confusion at IASA and NASA. That's probably my favorite part. It's so amusing to listen to adults shouting out useless orders to Dad. Every time they tell us to wait for the jets that will accompany us down to the ground, and every time he ignores them. You'd think they'd get the idea by now. Within two arns- hours, we're settled in the cabin. It's in the middle of nowhere to discourage the media. Dad suggests swimming. Again Mom and I look at him like he's gone farboht. If you haven't noticed, we do that a lot. Somehow he convinces us, and next thing I know, I'm up to my waist in freezing cold water. It's about midday and the sun is directly overhead. At least Mom and I don't have to worry about heat delirium in the water. We stay out on the lake until it starts to get dark. Then Dad tells us we have to go in because he's made reservations for himself and Mom for dinner.
"What am I supposed to do while your gone?" I asked.
"Rayne, you have uninterrupted Internet access and over six hundred TV channels, you'll find something to do," he tells me. "Just stay inside and out of trouble. And don't let anyone in."
I look at him and sarcastically say, "Yeah, Dad, like I'm really going to let anyone in. You know, since I'm such a people person and there are so many people around."
He and Mom laugh. I didn't think it was all that funny. "Good point," he concedes.
He has such a way with pointing out the obvious. "When do you expect to be back?" I ask.
"No later than eleven."
"Okay, bye." Once they're gone, I take a long bath, another perk to being on Earth. When the water starts getting cold, I get out and order a pizza. I pity the person who's delivering. IASA's probably going to be pissed that I'm giving someone directions here, but I really don't care. Then I flop onto the couch and start looking for a good movie. I finally settled on "Armageddon". I laughed my ass off through the entire thing. Well, most of it anyway. Seeing space through the perspective of humans that haven't been there was just too funny. I think I scared the pizza guy. I don't know, maybe he saw the module in the yard, or the pulse rifle I've started wearing. Go figure, these guys scare easily. He even ran off before I could pay him. Oh well, his loss. When "Armageddon" was over (decent movie might I add) I resigned myself to flipping channels. Apparently I fell asleep because the next thing I remember is Dad picking me up and carrying me to my bed. Guess I was more tired than I thought.
~~~~
When I woke up, I could hear my parents in the kitchen. Grudgingly I got up, dressed and headed in to see what we were doing today.
"We're going shopping," Dad told me.
Oh goody. Yep, you guessed it, more sarcasm. The only thing I like to shop for is music and equipment for playing music. What can I say, I have a one track mind. "Do we have to?" I ask.
"Yes," Mom replied. Damn. "You need some new clothes." Dren. "And you need a haircut." Frell. Not the hair. I happen to like my hair how it is, thankyouverymuch. I begged. I pleaded. They resisted.
"I thought all teenage girls liked to shop. God knows my sisters did." Dad said.
"I'm not a normal teenage girl, by any definition." I reminded him.
"You got that right," I thought I heard Mom say under her breath. My suspicions were confirmed when Dad tried not to laugh.
"Besides, you need something nicer than that for tonight," Dad casually mentioned, well, tried to.
"Why? What's tonight?" I asked, fully confused now.
"A dance at a local high school," he said nonchalantly.
I looked at him like he'd lost it for the umpteenth time. "You're kidding, right?" I asked.
"Afraid not," he informed me. "Our good friends at IASA called me this morning and said they thought you should get to have the experience of going to a dance."
Damn. They knew about the pizza guy. "And this means I have to go, why?"
"Because they're attempting to be nice," Mom said, effectively ending that conversation.
"What do teenagers wear to dances?" I asked, wanting to know how bad this was going to be.
Dad looked at Mom, almost like he was scared. "It's a formal dance, so that means-"
"No. Absolutely not. You will not make me wear a dress." Fast-forward three arns. I'm standing in hideous dress number six with a little old sales lady asking me if that one was any better. I gave Mom a look, begging her to get me out of this new form of torture. I despise dresses.
"Why don't you try the next one, honey," Mom says, trying hard not to laugh.
See, even she hates this one. I retreat to the dressing room and discard that one. The next one has more promise. It's midnight blue, plain, with thin, black straps and comes down to my ankles. I think we have a winner. Mom thinks so too. Now for shoes. God help me.
Another two arns- frell- hours, later I have the dress, the shoes, and I'm short half an inch of hair. Mom refuses to let Dad see my dress, or hers for that matter. Oh, I forgot to mention that. My parents will be joining me at the dance. This just keeps getting better and better. The plus side is, I got a frelling awesome leather duster. It's a lot like Mom's, only not PK issue. Now it was time for the fun part. Music store, baby.
I spent arns in there. I think I bought around five hundred bucks worth of stuff in there. On the card IASA gave us. Payback is a bitch, but damn it's fun.
~~~~
When we got back to the cabin, we went swimming.again. The dance didn't start until 9:30 (what is wrong with these people?) so we had plenty of time. Actually, I was trying to put off getting ready as long as possible. Unfortunately Mom caught on. She led my back to my room. "Now, put your dress on. I'll be back in five minutes." Damn. She wasn't going to let me out of this. You'd think she'd have pity seeing as she hates dresses as much as I do. True to her word, she came back after exactly five minutes. She had her dress on also. It was black silk, definitely expensive (no doubt to piss off our 'good friends' at IASA), and like mine, plain. Her hair was down, extremely rare, and was that makeup? Oh no. No. What's that in her hand? Oh frell. Now I have to wear makeup?! I know they're kidding now. Mom saw my distress.
"Don't worry, only dark eye shadow." Okay, so maybe it wouldn't be that bad. Half an hour (Yay! I got it right this time!) later my long, dark hair was straight and down and I was finally ready to go.
~~~~
Let me know if you like it people! I'm not going to keep posting unless I get some reviews. Thank you to all the people who have reviewed already!
Chapter 5
You Must Be Kidding Me
The next day after everyone but Mom, Dad and I had left the central chamber, Dad announced that we were going back to visit Earth.
"What?" Okay, this was a major change from the dad I know.
"We're going to earth next monen," he repeated.
"John, are you sure that's a good idea?"
"I'm positive. We haven't been in several cycles, why not now?"
"Because just yesterday you were on a Peacekeeper base," I replied.
"You sound just like your mother," he tells me, earning him a slap on the shoulder from her. "All the more reason to go. We're far enough away from him so that a starburst farther into the Uncharteds would go unnoticed so we can go through a wormhole."
"All right," Mom concedes.
"Sounds like fun," I reply, only half serious. I just love Earth. Cough, cough. I head back to my room and grab my CD player and a Sheryl Crow CD. I head to the training room to work off some extra energy. That's where Mom found me an arn later.
"Do you really want to go to Earth?"
"Sure, why not?" I answer.
"Come on, you need a routine to do everyday. We need to work on some of these skills."
~~~~
True to his word, Dad's taking us to Earth. We're sitting in his module, the only vehicle we ever take, waiting for the wormhole. I'm starting to agree with Mom, this truly is a piece of dren, especially compared to the Prowler. The one good thing about going to Earth is the government goes all out for us. They give us money galore and a cabin by a lake as well as anything else we want. I think they're afraid of us. Whatever the reason, we get stellar treatment while we're here. We landed, causing massive amounts of confusion at IASA and NASA. That's probably my favorite part. It's so amusing to listen to adults shouting out useless orders to Dad. Every time they tell us to wait for the jets that will accompany us down to the ground, and every time he ignores them. You'd think they'd get the idea by now. Within two arns- hours, we're settled in the cabin. It's in the middle of nowhere to discourage the media. Dad suggests swimming. Again Mom and I look at him like he's gone farboht. If you haven't noticed, we do that a lot. Somehow he convinces us, and next thing I know, I'm up to my waist in freezing cold water. It's about midday and the sun is directly overhead. At least Mom and I don't have to worry about heat delirium in the water. We stay out on the lake until it starts to get dark. Then Dad tells us we have to go in because he's made reservations for himself and Mom for dinner.
"What am I supposed to do while your gone?" I asked.
"Rayne, you have uninterrupted Internet access and over six hundred TV channels, you'll find something to do," he tells me. "Just stay inside and out of trouble. And don't let anyone in."
I look at him and sarcastically say, "Yeah, Dad, like I'm really going to let anyone in. You know, since I'm such a people person and there are so many people around."
He and Mom laugh. I didn't think it was all that funny. "Good point," he concedes.
He has such a way with pointing out the obvious. "When do you expect to be back?" I ask.
"No later than eleven."
"Okay, bye." Once they're gone, I take a long bath, another perk to being on Earth. When the water starts getting cold, I get out and order a pizza. I pity the person who's delivering. IASA's probably going to be pissed that I'm giving someone directions here, but I really don't care. Then I flop onto the couch and start looking for a good movie. I finally settled on "Armageddon". I laughed my ass off through the entire thing. Well, most of it anyway. Seeing space through the perspective of humans that haven't been there was just too funny. I think I scared the pizza guy. I don't know, maybe he saw the module in the yard, or the pulse rifle I've started wearing. Go figure, these guys scare easily. He even ran off before I could pay him. Oh well, his loss. When "Armageddon" was over (decent movie might I add) I resigned myself to flipping channels. Apparently I fell asleep because the next thing I remember is Dad picking me up and carrying me to my bed. Guess I was more tired than I thought.
~~~~
When I woke up, I could hear my parents in the kitchen. Grudgingly I got up, dressed and headed in to see what we were doing today.
"We're going shopping," Dad told me.
Oh goody. Yep, you guessed it, more sarcasm. The only thing I like to shop for is music and equipment for playing music. What can I say, I have a one track mind. "Do we have to?" I ask.
"Yes," Mom replied. Damn. "You need some new clothes." Dren. "And you need a haircut." Frell. Not the hair. I happen to like my hair how it is, thankyouverymuch. I begged. I pleaded. They resisted.
"I thought all teenage girls liked to shop. God knows my sisters did." Dad said.
"I'm not a normal teenage girl, by any definition." I reminded him.
"You got that right," I thought I heard Mom say under her breath. My suspicions were confirmed when Dad tried not to laugh.
"Besides, you need something nicer than that for tonight," Dad casually mentioned, well, tried to.
"Why? What's tonight?" I asked, fully confused now.
"A dance at a local high school," he said nonchalantly.
I looked at him like he'd lost it for the umpteenth time. "You're kidding, right?" I asked.
"Afraid not," he informed me. "Our good friends at IASA called me this morning and said they thought you should get to have the experience of going to a dance."
Damn. They knew about the pizza guy. "And this means I have to go, why?"
"Because they're attempting to be nice," Mom said, effectively ending that conversation.
"What do teenagers wear to dances?" I asked, wanting to know how bad this was going to be.
Dad looked at Mom, almost like he was scared. "It's a formal dance, so that means-"
"No. Absolutely not. You will not make me wear a dress." Fast-forward three arns. I'm standing in hideous dress number six with a little old sales lady asking me if that one was any better. I gave Mom a look, begging her to get me out of this new form of torture. I despise dresses.
"Why don't you try the next one, honey," Mom says, trying hard not to laugh.
See, even she hates this one. I retreat to the dressing room and discard that one. The next one has more promise. It's midnight blue, plain, with thin, black straps and comes down to my ankles. I think we have a winner. Mom thinks so too. Now for shoes. God help me.
Another two arns- frell- hours, later I have the dress, the shoes, and I'm short half an inch of hair. Mom refuses to let Dad see my dress, or hers for that matter. Oh, I forgot to mention that. My parents will be joining me at the dance. This just keeps getting better and better. The plus side is, I got a frelling awesome leather duster. It's a lot like Mom's, only not PK issue. Now it was time for the fun part. Music store, baby.
I spent arns in there. I think I bought around five hundred bucks worth of stuff in there. On the card IASA gave us. Payback is a bitch, but damn it's fun.
~~~~
When we got back to the cabin, we went swimming.again. The dance didn't start until 9:30 (what is wrong with these people?) so we had plenty of time. Actually, I was trying to put off getting ready as long as possible. Unfortunately Mom caught on. She led my back to my room. "Now, put your dress on. I'll be back in five minutes." Damn. She wasn't going to let me out of this. You'd think she'd have pity seeing as she hates dresses as much as I do. True to her word, she came back after exactly five minutes. She had her dress on also. It was black silk, definitely expensive (no doubt to piss off our 'good friends' at IASA), and like mine, plain. Her hair was down, extremely rare, and was that makeup? Oh no. No. What's that in her hand? Oh frell. Now I have to wear makeup?! I know they're kidding now. Mom saw my distress.
"Don't worry, only dark eye shadow." Okay, so maybe it wouldn't be that bad. Half an hour (Yay! I got it right this time!) later my long, dark hair was straight and down and I was finally ready to go.
~~~~
Let me know if you like it people! I'm not going to keep posting unless I get some reviews. Thank you to all the people who have reviewed already!