*FRIED BURRITOS*
The next morning Izzian woke up, startled to find Enot hovering above his bed. Still groggy from sleep, Izzian muttered senselessly, "Mommie? Wha's…wha's it's nine o'clock?"
"Wake up, Izzian. I need to talk to you," Enot shook the boy's shoulder.
Realizing it was morning and knowing he mustn't be late to meet Eliza, Izzian jumped up, accidentally causing his head to collide into Enot's nose.
"Ouch! Izzian, get dressed. We need to talk. Now," said Enot, apparently in no kind of mood for pity.
"What time is it?" demanded Izzian.
"It's eight thirty or so. Why? Do you have something important today? I highly doubt that…" Enot grumbled, becoming his usual negative self.
Automatically, Izzian was defensive. "What do you mean that you highly doubt I have something important to do today? Why do you think I'm on earth? The only reason you are here is because of my Goodwill Project! How dare you barge into my room-"
"Calm down. I didn't mean it like that. I only meant that I doubted your plans were more important than what I have to tell you," said Enot.
"Oh. What's so important? I actually do need to get going." Izzian did not want to be late and needed to get dressed, but Enot was still sitting on the bed.
"I'm sorry for barging in like this, but Gala might be back with breakfast any minute and…I don't want to worry her. She's acting all weird and I don't want to overburden her with what's happened back on Klesia Moon Prime," Enot said, with his voice full of worry.
Suddenly, Izzian became worried. Enot had apologized. Enot never apologized.
"What is it Enot? Tell me," Izzian begged, his voice laced with urgency.
Enot took a deep breath and said, "There was a small explosion at Comet Central Station."
He told Izzian that as soon as the Gratified Speed 1213 had lifted off, some type of detonation occurred at Comet Central Station. The CIC had investigated. At first, the Klesians protesting the Al203 Telescopes were the most likely suspects.
In the end, the only thing the protestors had been found guilty of was crowding the walkways and annoying passengers. After careful consideration, Klesian President Boojum Twoeyes had dismissed the firecracker-like explosion as a prank.
"My ortnots…are they okay?" Izzian asked.
"Yes, I had a short message on my SpaceBook account. That Junipean ambassador's head caught on fire again, but no one else was injured. Also, some girl has disappeared, but officials believe she's a runaway."
"And…what? You think I did it? You think I caused the explosion?" Izzian grew defensive.
"Of course not. You couldn't have. I was with you the entire time. We were already in the air and you were strapped in. I checked, remember?"
Izzian recalled Enot's manic behavior that day and recounted how many times Enot had checked and rechecked everyone's seat belts. It was a staggering number and a testament to Enot's obsessive compulsive nature, in Izzian's opinion.
"Besides the little explosion, something else is bothering me," Enot appeared uncertain.
He had something important to say, but didn't want to cause a panic. He needed to confide in someone and Izzian was his best choice. Ojolian, Izzian's father, had a good head for solving puzzles and Enot desperately hoped that Izzian shared those abilities. Since Ojolian was nowhere near earth, his son Izzian would have to do.
"Enot, just tell me!" Izzian spouted, still groggy from sleep, teetering on the edge of irritable.
"I don't think you should worry, but I can't seem to get in touch with anyone on Klesia or Klesia Moon Prime," said Enot.
"What do you mean?"
"Like I said, I got the message on my SpaceBook account, so I called Ojolian. I tried my office at the CIC and at least twenty other Klesians. Not one single response, Izzian. I sent out a bulk Freemail. No one answered. I checked the GS 1213's communication beacon. It was working fine, sending my messages as it was designed to do. It's like everyone has disappeared."
Izzian said, "Maybe they're busy or something."
Enot nodded his head, saying, "Yes, possibly. The more obvious answer might be that the explosion interfered with all outgoing communications…but…"
Izzian interrupted, finishing Enot's sentence, "If the small explosion had caused all communication systems to stop working, you wouldn't have received that message on your SpaceBook account."
"Exactly," said Enot, relieved that Izzian had also connected the same dots. "It's just so strange. My messages send, but it's like nobody is there to accept them."
Izzian considered Enot's words and was not terribly worried at the moment, but Enot seemed completely baffled.
Izzian and Enot both jumped in surprise when Gala poked her head into the room.
"Gala," said Izzian. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to see the two of you falling in love," she joked, but Izzian did not care for her sense of humor at the moment.
Enot stood and headed out of Izzian's room, sniffing the air and asked, "What's that smell? Did you buy fried chicken for breakfast?"
"Yes. I also got eggrolls, pizza and some type of fried burrito. Breakfast is served, gentlemen," Gala shouted.
After Enot left the room, Gala approached Izzian. "So, what the heck was that all about? I really hope I didn't interrupt anything."
"Nah, we just decided to try to get along, that's all. Enot said he'd help me with my project when he isn't working on his own research paper. He's not such a bad guy, I think."
Gala grinned and said, "Well, neither are you and now I've seen everything! Enot and Izzian as friends? Who'd have thunk it?" She punched Izzian playfully on the shoulder and walked to the door.
"Izzian, is that's all you two were discussing? You can tell me. I know how to keep secrets," Gala said, looking as if she might have a few of her own.
Izzian considered telling Gala what he knew. She was a good person and would never want to hurt anyone, despite Enot's concerns.
"Well…" Izzian hesitated.
He had promised Enot after all. "Enot also told me he was falling in love with you. He said he wanted to run his fingers through your tangled hair but was afraid his fingers would get stuck. Enot also said he watches you sleep at night," Izzian joked.
"Very funny, you Glotfish. Come eat your fried breakfast before it gets cold," said Gala as she retreated to the kitchen. "Cold grease is not a very pleasant way to start off the day!"
Izzian supposed he could get used to life on earth if breakfast always included fried chicken and eggrolls.
***
CHAPTER 15