A (Not So) Healthy Dose of Chaos: A New World

  In the end, Scarlet’s assessment was correct. “Yes. He’s very shrewd.”

  “Well, I’d like to meet him some day.”

  “Perhaps when he attends the opening of the distribution center.”

  The reactions and relationships of business contacts . . . was it always like this on Earth? The way Alex and Scarlet addressed each other – and even Scarlet calling her by a lless-than-format name – they seemed like personal friends. Weren’t they in the business to make money? Of course the head of a company should be approachable and sociable. After all, no one likes to deal with someone who is always grouchy. However, they seemed to be crossing the line to the point of being friends.

  Was that how business was conducted on Earth?

  * * *

  “Good luck on your first day, Angelica,” Ken said, stopping in front of the hospital.

  “Thank you. Good luck, you two,” she glanced back at Cassandra and Alisa who were in the back seat.

  “You, too,” Cassandra replied. Alisa just nodded.

  Angelica picked up her bag and left the car.

  “If anything happens, you call me. All right?”

  “Okay.”

  “See you this evening.”

  She closed the door and headed into the hospital.

  The director of nursing, Victoria Santos, a tall, blonde woman with short, curly hair, was waiting for her at the front desk in the lobby.

  “Miss Elegance,” Victoria greeted her. “Welcome to your first day.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t you have wings? You did the last time we met.”

  “Oh, they’re still here.” She turned around to show Victoria where her wings were hugging her back. “I thought that since I’d be moving around a lot, it would be better if I didn’t knock anything over.”

  “Quite right. Let me show you to your wing,” she said, and they started walking. “Have you always had an interest in pediatrics?”

  “I . . . had someone close to me pass away when they were very young. So I thought maybe I could do something for children.”

  “I think the children will adore you. You seem to be nice.”

  Victoria led her to the Nurse’s Unit on her wing, the break room, and to her locker. After the introductions of the area, she took Angelica to a room at the farthest end of the wing. The door was closed.

  “This young man will be one of the children you’ll be looking after.”

  The name on the room read ‘Joseph Masters.’

  “He has a heart condition and they’re evaluating him to see if he’s able to make it through surgery.”

  “How about I introduce myself?” Angelica asked.

  “Seems like a good idea.”

  They opened the door and there was a small boy, sitting in bed with the TV on. Angelica thought he must have been about nine years old. His brown hair wasn’t short, but not long either, and his bangs were reaching down to his nose. He was drawing something on a piece of paper in his lap, and many crayons were spread all over his bed.

  “Good morning, Joseph. How are you doing this morning?” Victoria asked.

  “It’s a nice day out. I wish I could go outside.”

  “Maybe in a few days. You know how the doctors are watching you.”

  “Yeah . . .”

  Angelica was still in the doorway. Victoria glanced at her, then back to Joseph.

  “I’ve got a surprise for you. We have a new nurse who just started today. And guess what? She’s not from this planet.”

  “You mean she’s one of the aliens I heard about on the news?”

  “That’s right! Come on over, Angelica.”

  Angelica walked over and extended her hand. “Hi, Joseph.”

  He was so busy gawking at her he barely was able to shake her hand. “You sure are pretty . . .”

  She noticed that his hand was very small, and barely fit in the palm of her hand. She took care to shake it lightly.

  “Why, thank you.” She looked down at his paper, and saw he was drawing pictures of winged people. “What are you drawing?”

  “Angels.”

  “Angels?”

  “Yeah. Every now and then, I see them all the time.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Some people act like angels. But I really just like the wings.”

  “Like these?”

  Angelica stood up straight, and unfurled her wings slowly so she wouldn’t hit anything.

  Joseph’s mouth dropped open. “Y-You’re a real angel!?”

  Angelica giggled and shook her head. “No. I’m just a person with wings.”

  “C-Can I touch them?”

  “Sure.”

  She brought one of her wings down and Joseph cautiously reached up and stroked it. “Wow. It’s really soft. Like a bird’s wing.”

  “Everybody on my planet has wings.”

  “Really!? Tell me some more!”

  * * *

  “Are you two ready for your classes?” Ken asked, stopping in front of the college.

  Both Alisa and Cassandra were dressed in the clothes he had seen them in when they first arrived at his house: Cassandra, formally, and Alisa, informally.

  “I think I am,” Cassandra replied.

  “I am,” Alisa said.

  “Confident, aren’t you?” Cassandra remarked to her cohort.

  “I’ll pick you two up around the same time I pick up Angelica.”

  “Got it,” Cassandra saluted.

  “Understood,” Alisa acknowledged.

  “Are you sure you’re not going to attract attention by carrying that sword around?” Ken nodded toward Cassandra.

  “It’ll be fine. What’s the worst that could happen?”

  They got out of the car, and Ken drove off. Checking their classes, they found out that they didn’t have any together.

  “Well, the linguistics department is this way,” Cassandra said, looking toward a large building on the left side of the campus.

  “Electronics is over this way,” Alisa said, pointing in the opposite direction.

  “Shall we meet up in the cafeteria for lunch?”

  “Affirmative.”

  * * *

  Cassandra found her room for German 101, and sat down in the column of desks closest to the door, half way back. Classes hadn’t started for the day, and the students slowly filed in. She got a few stares from those coming in, but they sat down nonetheless, and class eventually started.

  Being the first class of the semester, the teacher went over the syllabus, aims and goals of the class, along with his expectations of the students. The teacher was middle-aged, and retired from the United States Air Force. He had spent many years in Germany, and married a German national. The teacher’s introduction took up almost all of the time for the class, so they were dismissed when he was finished.

  She had one more class before lunch, and that was Chinese 101. She went there, and in the same way as her German class, people looked at her funny. The teacher was from China, and Cassandra would be hearing from a native speaker.

  Class ended early. Right after the class was over, she was headed to the cafeteria, but realized she still has some time left before she would meet Alisa for lunch. She decided to walk around the campus, and then took up a seat on a bench in the garden to wait. She checked her schedule for the afternoon, all the while trying to shake the feeling that people were staring at her as they walked by. It was just a feeling at first, but turned out they really were staring at her. When she would glance in their direction, they would avert their eyes and continue whatever they were doing.

  Her first thought was to react by saying “What is it? Haven’t you ever seen an otherworlder before?” But she thought ahead and considered that the overwhelming majority of Earthlings had never seen one in the flesh. She didn’t look like one, so her sword was the point of cont
ention.

  Lunch time finally arrived, and she went to the cafeteria.

  * * *

  Alisa was at a work table in the classroom as the other students arrived. She had her tool kit and books out, and was watching the others as they came into the classroom.

  She realized she already knew all of what they were going to teach, but on a different level. Some of the techniques and materials used on Earth were different than she was used to, and the components she was familiar with weren’t readily available to her. Thus the need for studying intermediate classes to make do with what she could find.

  There was only one other female in the class, so they were paired up.

  “I’m Fay,” she said.

  “Alisa.”

  “Where are you from?”

  “Kodominé.”

  “Kodo . . . what? Never heard of that place. Is it out west?”

  Alisa pointed up.

  “North? Like in Canada?”

  “No. Up.”

  “Up?”

  “The planet Kodominé.”

  The gears in Fay’s head clicked. “You’re . . . one of the aliens?”

  “Yes.”

  “Wow. You look so normal.”

  “I think the same about you,” Alisa quipped, opening her tool kit.

  “Huh?”

  * * *

  “How many classes did you have already?” Cassandra prodded, trying to make small talk with the fellow tenant that normally didn’t talk.

  “Just one. It was a lab.”

  “Do you have any others after lunch?”

  “Yes. One more. What about you?”

  “Two. Japanese and Fran . . . Franch?”

  “French?”

  “That might be it.” Cassandra was looking for some other things to talk about. She had never really carried on a full conversation with Alisa before. The only thing she could come up with was what was the thing that was bothering her earlier.

  “Say, have you been getting . . . I don’t know how to put it . . . stares from people?”

  Alisa shook her head. “Not particularly. By that question, I assume you are?”

  “Yeah. I’m just wondering why you’re not.”

  “Putting it bluntly, I’m not carrying a weapon on campus.”

  “I have a license for it, and permission from the college.”

  “Be that as it may, how many others on campus have you see carrying one?”

  Cassandra looked down at her plate. “Sadly, no one.”

  “Just because you can carry one freely on Talsenia doesn’t mean Earth is the same.”

  Cassandra had to concede the point to Alisa. “Then what do you think I should do?”

  “Stop caring about what other people think.”

  “I see,” was all Cassandra could say, knowing that Alisa’s answer was the right call.

  “You might want to wear some clothes that are more Earth-like.”

  “I’m comfortable in these.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  Cassandra looked down at her clothes. “Do I really look that odd?”

  “To me? No. I’m just thinking about how others may react. There are two ways to go about this: either make a stand now, or conform to at least a small degree. There are benefits and detriments to either choice. You need to decide based on what makes you, you. I came into this exchange program to experience another culture, not to try and change other people, and not to try and find myself. Don’t take this the wrong way, but what did you come to this planet for?”

  The question from the quiet tenant – who was talkative for the moment – made her stop. Why did she come? She leapt at the chance to leave home and come to a new planet. For a long time, she felt a little out of place on Talsenia, and the chance to reinvent herself—even just a little bit—was something that she couldn’t pass up. Perhaps she simply wanted to get away from her home and her mother’s constant pressure of making her live in a specific way.

  “It wasn’t supposed to be a deep question,” Alisa announced, puzzled that Cassandra was taking so long to answer.

  “Then what do you think of this planet? We’ve been here about two weeks or so. Any opinions?”

  “I haven’t been here long enough to form an opinion. That being said, it seems like a good place. The other tenants are amusing, to say the least. And Kenaeth seems responsible, if high strung.”

  “Do you think we’ll be fine?”

  “Why not? And since you asked me, what about you?”

  “About here?” She had to stop a moment and consider the question. “I think about the same as you. I’m not too fond of Natalia, but there are always people around that will rub you the wrong way. And then there’s Ken.”

  “What about him?”

  “I like him. He reminds me of my dad.”

  Alisa raised an eyebrow. “Electra complex?”

  “No!”

  * * *

  French class went off without a hitch, and that meant the same as her classes before lunch – stares.

  The teacher was a young man, not much older than the students. He was spirited and jovial, and was smiling all through the first lesson.

  She made the point to take multiple ‘romance languages’ next semester, so at least some classes would have a similar background.

  Her final class of the day was Japanese. It was taught by another native, a Japanese woman in her late twenties. Cassandra was at least thankful some of the characters were similar to Chinese, but the languages were about the same as an orange and a grapefruit: they may vaguely look similar on the surface, but most everything else is completely different.

  The class finished, and that meant the end of her classes for the day. She was ready to go home, but needed to find Alisa before Ken arrived.

  As she put her things away in her bag, she was approached by three students: two young women, and one young man. The shorter of the two women had short light brown hair to her shoulders; the taller one had black hair down her back, flowing free. The man had short light brown hair about the same color as the shorter of the women.

  Cassandra mentally went on the defensive. After all of the stares she received that day, it was the first time any student, minus Alisa, had talked with her.

  The woman with shorter hair asked, “Say, we’ve seen you around campus and we were wondering what the sword was for.”

  “My mother gave it to me. She was in the Talsenian military.”

  “Talsenia?”

  “A planet a couple of galaxies away.”

  “Wow! You’re one of those aliens!” the long-haired woman reacted excitedly.

  “Y-Yes.”

  The young man cut in. “Don’t mind her. My twin sister is always too energetic.”

  “Quiet, you!”

  “I’m Guy, my sister Jill,” he pointed to the long-haired woman, “and our childhood friend Nellie.”

  “Cassandra Pyredom.”

  “’Pyre?’ As in . . . ?”

  “Yes. My ancestors were morticians generations ago.”

  “Your outfit looks like some sort of sci-fi military,” Nellie commented

  “You’re correct.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “No. Talsenia has a long military history. And – well, that’ll have to wait for another time. My ride home is going to be here soon.”

  “You don’t drive?”

  “Not yet.”

  “We’ll have to have lunch the day after tomorrow,” Jill said. “Will you be here?”

  “I think so,” Cassandra replied. “I’ll have to check my schedule.”

  “We’ll talk more then.”

  “See you, Cassandra,” Guy said.

  “Bye!” Nellie waved as she turned around.

  And the three students walked out the door.

  Cassandra let out a sigh of relief. Making new acquaintances was easie
r than she thought on Earth. At least they had the nerve to step up to and talk to her.

  Was she really that intimidating?

  Then she remembered her sword.

  * * *

  Angelica was already in the car when Cassandra and Alisa spotted Ken’s vehicle.

  As they drove home, Ken began the interrogation. “So, everyone, how was your first day?”

  “The children are cute. But I wish I could do more for them,” Angelica said.

  “Lots of languages to remember,” Cassandra said.

  “Easy classes,” Alisa said.

  “Anybody get hit on yet?” Ken asked.

  “’Hit on’?” Angelica echoed.

  “Any guys profess a romantic interest?”

  “No,” Angelica said. “There aren’t any men on my wing.”

  “No,” Cassandra lamented.

  “Three,” Alisa announced.

  Ken looked at her in the rear view mirror. “Three!?”

  “There is only one other woman in my classes. Once they found out I wasn’t from this planet, there was no end of questions.”

  “Then you’re a big hit there,” Ken nodded approvingly.

  “But they were asking about teleporters, holo-rooms, beamsabers, BT-BTs, and trylithium crystals. Do you know anything about them?”

  Ken shrugged. “Can’t say that I do.”

  * * *

  “Junction A16TNK345B11—” Katrina stopped, took a deep breath, and continued, “—11Q5488IHJ73. Cataloguer Katrina Faerblood here,” Katrina said to the monitor in front of her.

  A woman appeared on the screen. “Cataloguer Faerblood. How are you doing?”

  “Oh, fine. I’m calling to give my weekly report and transmit data.”

  “Understood. Was there anything out of the ordinary?”

  “Nothing I could find. There are minor spikes and fluctuations, but it doesn’t seem to be a problem. I do have a different concern.”

  “Explain.”

  Katrina put her right index finger up to the edge of her mouth, and tipped her head in thought. “How should I put it? It’s like this area is a place where different types of space-time energies flow over. I know that’s not unique, but I think it’s a first for me.”

  “I’ve noted your concern. Do you think you need another manipulator there to do in-depth data extraction?”

  “I don’t think so. Like I said, it’s hard to put my finger on it. Every now and then it’s like an itch on the back of my neck.”