"Hey, Lala!" Petra says, the other girls looking away as though they had nothing to do with me.
"Hey, Petra," I say calmly.
"Just came to meet your cousin and invite you to a sleepover," Petra says, "and to thank you for being with me in the hospital."
"No problem," I say, "Morgan, this is Petra Carter. Petra, this is Morgan."
"Good to meet you," Omega-Xis says.
"Same to you," Petra says.
She then rummages in her bag before handing me an invitation.
"An all-girl party?" I say in disbelief.
"Yes and no," Petra says, "the boys get to play video games on the first night, but then they have to leave before midnight. You wanna come?"
I look over at Omega-Xis and find him wearing a grin.
"Sure," I say.
The other girls rolls their eyes, but Petra says cheerfully, "Cool! I'll see you on Friday, then."
Today's Tuesday, so I have three days.
The group leaves, and Omega-Xis says, "Psh. I'll be able to beat any human in a video game."
"Careful, Mega," I warn, "if the boys find your true identity, we'll both be in trouble."
"Ha!" Omega-Xis says, causing a few tables to look at us, "I'll do the best I can, Layla, you'll see!"
I sigh and say, "At least keep your voice down. Geez, you are really annoying."
Omega-Xis rolls his eyes and says, "Whatever," quietly.
I notice another person walking towards our table, this one is Delilah.
"Can I eat here?" she asks.
"Yeah, sure," Omega-Xis says, scooting to make room for Delilah.
The girl sits down and places her tray on the table, saying, "Thank you. None of those other ruffians would let me place my tray with theirs, let alone sit down in an empty place."
"No problem," I say, "we're used to people coming and going. I'm-"
"Layla Woods and Morgan Jakobs," Delilah says, smiling a brilliant smile, "Yes, I know you both. The school's gossip mill is constantly at work about you two."
"What sort of gossip?" Omega-Xis asks.
"Like that you're not related to Layla," Delilah says, "or that you both are dating."
"We don't even have a relationship other than family," I say, "Morgan's from my mom's side of the family, and her older sister was his mom."
"Oh, my," Delilah says, then lowers her voice to say, "You both made that story up, Layla and Morgan...or should I say Layla and Omega-Xis?"
"Crown Lily," I whisper, "You're not seriously her?"
"Of course I'm her!" Delilah whispers, "My parents brought me here for a while, but we might move again sooner or later. I commend you for the effort for your cover story, but rest assured that I know you both, despite the fact that I've no idea how Omega-Xis is human."
"How'd you know who it was then?" Omega-Xis hisses.
"You reek of Z waves, Mega," Delilah says, "I could smell them from a mile away. I'm surprised that you both didn't realize that I was Crown Lily until just now."
"Aquarius told us," I murmur, "I forgot about it until you said Omega-Xis' name."
"Well," Delilah says, "Cygnus knows why I decided to return: to continue with my human studies and to make sure nobody grows suspicious. However...I want to make a deal."
"We refused your deal to help you become ruler," Omega-Xis says, "and we'll refuse it again."
"No, no, not that," Delilah says with a wave of her hand, "I'm up against Aries. She wants your sibling, not Thalia, but the other one."
"Aries?" I say, confused.
"Aries is a dangerous woman," Omega-Xis hisses, then says, "Why does she want the sibling? Is she after me?"
"I don't know," Delilah says, "but I do know that she has two backup plans in case she doesn't get the sibling. Both of them involve humans."
"She'll take a different human if she doesn't get the sibling?" I ask.
Delilah nods and says, "That's where you come in. Get Aquarius to find out who she's got her eye on, and warn them about the possession."
"How do we know you won't try backstabbing us?" Omega-Xis says.
"Trust me," Delilah says, "I, for one, do not trust Aries at all. Crown the FM-ian doesn't either. And I know for a fact that she's been talking to Cygnus, and that's another bad sign. Cygnus said that your sibling is almost ready, and when it is, it'll pick one of the FM-ians who doesn't have a body."
"Hey!" I hiss, "Why are they auctioning off my sibling?"
"Hush up, Layla," Delilah says, "this isn't your concern. Aquarius probably installed something in the sibling to make it loyal to him and not attack you, and the FM-ian sucker who gets it might refuse to fight you because of the sibling. However, Omega-Xis makes quite a bait. Be wary, both of you."
At this, Delilah picks up her tray of untouched food and walks away.
-------------------------------------
Uh-oh! Looks like Delilah knows more than she lets on. Especially about Aries and the sibling. Another new EM wave human is coming, and this will decide the fate of the sibling!