Chapter 4
"This is it." Prof. Membrane stated brightly.
Dib, Zim and Gaz looked around. The campsite was lined with trees, mushrooms and wildflowers dotting the moss-bed ground. A lake was only meters away, glittering solemnly in the midday sunshine. Zim winced visibly. A tiny smile crept onto Dib's face.
They began unpacking, Prof. Membrane chattering about the particles making up the clean, brisk air. Three tents were eventually hoisted amid silent, bark-covered onlookers. Zim stared in recognition at the oddly-shaped dwellings he had seen in the 'camping' data files. His expression quickly turned to one of grim realization, as he recalled bringing only himself and his pak. Dib had taken note of this earlier, his expression somewhere between amusement and abhorrence.
"Looks like you two are sharing a tent." Gaz vocalized the two boys' inner conflict. She watched the two size each other up, daring one another to express his disgust by means of mouth.
She grinned. She nearly felt sorry for them.
"But at least you don't have to share a sleeping bag..." she smirked, tossing Zim a dark blue one. He caught it, not taking his eyes off Dib.
Dib looked mildly surprised. Gaz rarely paid the least bit of attention to him, or Zim, for that matter. Sending a quick death-glare in Zim's direction, he entered his tent. Zim could only follow.
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Zim watched Dib unroll his sleeping bag out of the corner of his eye. As far away from the human as the tent would allow, he mimicked his enemy's movements.
After unrolling his bed and unpacking his bag, Dib sat down, losing himself in his thoughts. A pleasant, familiar smell emanated from the sleeping bag, one he thought was lost forever.
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She smiled gently down at him, tossing violet ringlets over her shoulder. She kissed the top of his head lightly before continuing to read.
"I could take the color of your hair," she said "or all of your memories before you were three years of age. I could take the hearing from your left ear-not all of it, just enough that you'd not enjoy music or appreciate the
running of a river or the soughing of the wind." =
Dib sat upright in his mother's lap, listening intently. Gaz stared wide- eyed at the words on the pages, following her mother's fingertips. It was their favorite story, ever wonderful and magical, despite the number of times it had been heard. They sat together, a huddle of endearment and fantasy-charm, on Dib's sleeping bag beneath the real and beautiful stars.
But she herself was magical, Dib mused. My sweetly watchfull faery-mother.
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Zim had long since stopped trying to get Dib's attention with words. He tossed one of his boots at the human's head.
Dib snapped to, picking up the boot in a daze. He looked at Zim, annoyed.
"What was THAT for?!"
"Welcome back to reality, worm baby." Zim put his boot back on, storming out of the tent. He despised being ignored, especially by a creature of such inferiority.
Dib shook his head, temporarily clearing it of memories. Wondering what Zim's problem was, he stepped outside in pursuit.
The deliciously greasy scent of hamburgers and the powdery sweetness of fresh hot chocolate drifted to his nose. For some reason, it was the scent of reassurance.
Prof. Membrane had a fire going already, and was turning burgers, while humming a vaguely familiar tune. Gaz was sitting on a nearby log, playing her Game Slave as was expected. Zim was facing the lake, his hands folded behind his back. Dib had an overwhelming urge to push him in, but refrained on the count of it serving no current purpose. No one was watching.
He settled into one of the lawn chairs, fixing his gaze on the small blue flames engulfing the red embers.
Zim, sensing someone watching him, turned to face Dib. But the boy was merely looking at the fire with that same glazed look he had on his face when he was in the tent. He couldn't fathom what the meat-child could be thinking to exhibit that complete lack of awareness.
Dib looked up to see Zim staring at him, and motioned for him to sit in the lawn chair beside his. Surprised, Zim hesitated for a moment, but moved towards the chair and sunk into it, eyeing Dib suspiciously. Dib just shrugged and looked purposefully at his father. Zim, picking up on what was going on, realized the Dib-human's father supposed him to be a friend of Dib's. He swallowed an insult.
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=Exerpt from the book 'Stardust'. A must read if you haven't picked it up already.
Wow. I'm really getting into this one. Perhaps I will dip my keyboard in more memory-sweetness as the story progresses...=wondering what will come out next= I think I want to form some meager connection between Gaz and her mom at least, though...hmmm...