The Visitors (3 page)

My feelings overwhelmed me. I felt relief that the people of this new planet were welcoming and nice to us, excitement at the idea of being a part of this experience, and most of all, curiosity for what was to come. They could communicate with us, and I knew our crew was making history in this expedition that I got to be a part of. I anxiously brushed my long, dark, stick-straight hair and touched up my lip gloss in preparation for the welcoming dinner. Suddenly, I regretted that I hadn't brought a lot of makeup or hair accessories.
That's so ridiculous
, I thought, and smiled at my reflection in my little compact mirror.
Of course I didn't bring those kinds of things
–
I didn't come here to look pretty
.
But, even as my head scolded the vain part of me for worrying about my looks, a picture of the beautiful green-eyed stranger from earlier flashed into my head. I laughed to myself at my stupidity. Yes, he was gorgeous. But he was not going to be interested in me. Not only did I stand and gawk at him like a silly teenage girl, I was also ignoring the fact that
he was not even a human!
What was wrong with me?

“What's so funny?” Luke stood in my doorway with a big smile on his face. The sound of his voice caused me to throw my lip gloss and compact mirror up in the air in surprise, which made him laugh out loud.

I shook my head. “Don't sneak up on me like that.”

“I didn't sneak up on you. You were lost in your own little world. What were you thinking about that's making you smile and laugh in here by yourself?” he asked, tilting his head to one side.

I smiled as I walked toward him. “Nothing,” I lied, pushing the piece of light-brown hair that had fallen into his face back out of his eye. “I'm just in a good mood, I guess.”

He smiled back at me. “Good,” he said, beaming at me. I noticed the pleased look on his face that had probably come because of my touch when I moved his hair, and I made a mental note not to do that again. It was something I had been doing as long as I could remember – Luke had always worn his hair a little longer so that it often fell into his face. But after the conversation I so desperately wished I could erase, I was suddenly much more aware of anything he might consider “flirting,” and I wondered if that might be one of those things.

It was really such a shame, because I loved Luke. He honestly was my best friend, and the last thing I would ever want to do was hurt him. I watched him as he looked around my small piece of the visitors' chamber. It was unfortunate I didn't feel the same way about him; he was a good guy and I could definitely do a lot worse. He was also no slouch in the looks department – he was tall with a build that was way too athletic for a sixteen-year-old guy, but his baby face made him look younger. His innocent smile and lively eyes could light up a room. Why I didn't feel the attraction to him that he obviously felt to me, I didn't know – but I couldn't help it.

I decided not to give it another thought while on this planet. I couldn't spend my time worrying about issues back home; I had to make the most of every minute here. I chose to focus on my new world, looking around at the drab, empty, tan walls. “These people sure don't believe in decorating, huh?”

Luke smirked. “Yeah, what's with all the brown? The flowers outside are all like, neon, but the buildings are all so dark and plain.”

“I wonder how it stays so cool in here? I don't see an air-conditioner anywhere.”

Luke shrugged. “I don't know, but I hope you don't get cold, because I know we didn't bring blankets here. When we go to a planet that's hotter than ours, we don't plan to be chilly. I know one thing – I can barely even fit my shoes in the closet space.”

I giggled. Each bedroom contained only a twin mattress – no sheets or covers – and a shallow closet that was only about as tall and as wide as me.

The visitors' chamber was actually very nice – similar to a hotel, except much more open. It smelled of intoxicatingly fresh flowers, but when I looked around, expecting to find a vase of beautiful flowers on a table somewhere, I didn't find one. I didn't even find a table. One large common room was placed in the center of the building, with a large, brown cushioned couch that lined the walls on all four sides. Individual rooms for sleeping circled the common room, but the rooms were only separated by dividers, not actual walls. Very little privacy could be found anywhere in the chamber.

“Have you checked out the bathrooms yet?” I asked with a grimace. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary about this visitors' chamber until I reached the bathrooms. In fact, it took a while before I even realized that it was, in fact, a bathroom.

“No, I just put my stuff in my room and came straight in here. Where are they, anyway?”

I led Luke out of my room to a square room next door. I didn't speak, but motioned for him to go inside. It was only big enough to hold one person at a time, with the same plain walls as every other room. There were no mirrors, no cabinets or drawers. In the back corner of the room, a toilet was cut out of the floor. It didn't stand up so that someone could sit on it like a seat – you had to sit on the floor to use it.

“Wow. That's weird,” Luke muttered, squatting down to see it closely. He then leaned over, looking at the other corner of the room and touched something. “Hey, check out the sink!”

I peered over his shoulder at a large, stainless steel bowl with no faucet. “That's a sink?”

“Yeah, watch,” Luke said, sticking his hands inside the bowl. Water shot out from one side, followed by foamy soap from the other side. Luke rubbed his hands together and rinsed the soap away. He jumped in surprise when with no warning, air shot from the front of the sink, drying his hands in seconds. He smelled his newly-washed hands, then shrugged. “Doesn't smell like the flowery girly stuff my mom buys.” He paused, then added, “Doesn't smell like anything at all, actually.”

He glanced up, noticing the showerhead that stuck out of the wall beside the door. “The shower's normal, at least,” he observed. “Well, except for the fact that it doesn't have any walls.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Better hope no one comes in the bathroom while you're showering, I guess.”

One bathroom was positioned between every three rooms, which forced me to share a bathroom with the other two women who had come on the trip.
At least I ge
t to share with women
, I thought, as I remembered how disgusting my step-brother kept the bathroom at my mother's house.

It was time to go to the welcoming dinner, so I glanced quickly around my little room to make sure everything was in place. I didn't want to make a mess as their guest. Once I felt satisfied with the tidiness of my room, Luke and I walked out into the common area where the rest of our crew was waiting. I saw my dad look closely at my lips with a confused face, and I quickly turned my head, feeling my cheeks get hot. I could practically read his thoughts. Dad knew I didn't wear a lot of makeup normally, and I was sure he wondered why I put lip gloss on for this occasion. “Are we all ready?” I asked the group, backing toward the exit.

“Yes,” Luke's father agreed with a smile. “Let's go. I'm so curious to see what they will serve here. That's one of my favorite parts about visiting other places – you get to experience new kinds of foods.”

“Do you remember that chewy, brown, insect-like creature that was the main source of protein on Ladonia? I wouldn't have made it a week on that planet without the sustenance we brought with us.”

“What about that rock mix we had to eat on Salmite? I broke one of my back teeth trying to chew that stuff…”

When we stepped outside, all conversation halted momentarily. Once again, the stifling heat took my breath for a brief moment before my body tingled in adjustment. When we felt comfortable, the rest of the crew continued to discuss the food they had eaten on other planets. Luke and I fell into stride next to each other and just listened as we walked outside. I looked around at the beautiful, never-ending flowers that lined the brick path. I loved hearing stories about their travels to other parts of the galaxy. Without a doubt, I knew that this would be my chosen career. Nothing fascinated me more than our vast universe. I frowned as I remembered my mom leaving my father when I was only four because of all the time he devoted to work. Even then, I understood how it could consume so much time and had chosen to stay with my dad. When he could travel to places light years away, why would he ever stay home?

My thoughts were interrupted when we were greeted outside by Sir Andrew's smiling face as he stood outside, ready to lead us to our welcoming dinner. He was the only one, to this point, that we'd had any real conversation with, and I wasn't sure how I felt about him. He seemed nice enough and I could tell that he was very important to this community, but there was something I couldn't put my finger on, something I wasn't sure I trusted. I studied him as he led us to another large building just down the path from our visitors' chambers. His walk contained a slight air of importance – his head held high, shoulders back, and a serious expression. As if he knew I was questioning my feelings about him, he turned and looked directly at me with a warm smile. “I think you'll find this dinner very enjoyable. Our top chefs have been working diligently in preparation.” With that, he opened the doors to the dark stone building where our welcoming dinner was to be held.

Colossal plants bloomed in pots and vases inside the enormous room, giving it a very tropical feel. It did not match the gray, bland appearance of all the buildings I had seen so far. Beautiful, intricate designs swirled inside the stone walls. The flamboyant flowers placed along the long rectangular tables mesmerized us all. Once again, I was so distracted by the scenery that I did not notice the people already seated at the table when I took my place.

It didn't take long before those familiar green eyes caught my attention, and I saw the beautiful man from earlier sitting directly across from me. He watched me as I sat down, so I gave him a shy smile. Immediately, he put his head down with an irritated look, which wiped my smile right off my face. He might as well have just leaned over the table and slapped me. Why was he so aggravated by my attempt to be friendly? Suddenly, my face grew insanely hot as I remembered my staring from earlier. He must have noticed it. That had to be the explanation. I had completely creeped him out, and now he was forced to eat dinner across from me. Right then, I made a mental note not to look up at him for the rest of the dinner. I had never been so grateful to have Luke sitting beside me. I scooted my chair a little closer to his.

As soon as we sat down, the first course rolled into the room on a steel cart from where I can only assume was the kitchen. It looked similar to our salads, with lettuce and fruit and a dressing, but the taste did not even compare. The lettuce was much crisper and tasted very fresh. I could have made a meal on the fruit alone, with its amazingly sweet and fresh flavor. The dressing was unlike anything I had ever tasted before – it was sweet, but had a tangy bite to it. “Oh, man, this is the best thing I have ever had in my life!” I said out loud, looking at Luke as I scarfed it down. He grunted a reply as he inhaled his, so I took that to be an agreement.

I finished my salad entirely too fast, but I couldn't help it. As I put my fork down, I felt the eyes from across the table on me, so, going against my mental note not to look at him again, I looked up. Just as I suspected, he was looking at me, but this time he didn't look so irritated. In fact, he was smiling a little. I rolled my eyes to myself, realizing he was probably laughing at me for the piggish way I had just put away my salad. Great. So now, I'm a freak who stares too much
and
eats like a wild beast. Some impression I was making on this guy.

Again, I reminded myself how stupid it was to worry about it. He was
not a human
. I had crushed stupidly on some impossible people before, like movie stars and such, but this was the dumbest crush yet. So far, I hadn't even actually heard the guy speak, and I was getting so flushed and embarrassed around him as if there was some chance something could actually happen between us.
You're only here for ten days
, I reminded myself.
S
nap out of it. S
top wasting valuable time on this individual.
So many people would love to be here in your place
– stop acting like a teenage girl
and focus on what is important
!

Luckily, the second course came next, which took my mind off of the situation for a few moments. This time, the course was what I can only compare to rice, covered again in some sort of fruit topping. The portion was small, but it was the main course, we were informed. No wonder these people had such awesome figures. They lived on fruit and ate such tiny meals.
Control yourself
, I thought, as I took my first bite, but I enjoyed the taste of this meal almost as much as I enjoyed the salad. I counted to ten between bites to keep from wolfing it down, but I found myself speeding up the counting in anticipation of the next bite. The food was just so incredibly delicious, I couldn't resist. I cleaned that plate only moments after Luke finished his. Glancing at the plate across from mine, I found the food untouched. When I looked up to meet the eyes of the beautiful green-eyed man, I found him once again looking at me with a slight smile.

Instead of getting embarrassed and turning away, I decided to bite the bullet and speak. “Hi. I'm Jady,” I said, holding my hand out to shake his.

He hesitated, but then took my hand and shook it slightly. “I'm Noah,” he replied shortly. Even in those two short words, I fell in love with his musical voice.
This guy i
s dangerous
, I thought warily.